West Coast Week: What we learned

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Rivals.com national basketball analyst Eric Bossi spent last week making California stops in La Verne, Palm Springs and Fullerton (Calif.), along with a visit to Portland, Ore.

Here are his four major takeaways from his West Coast week.

We don't normally update rankings during the course of the high school season, especially for the senior class. However, we may need to revisit this. Much of that has to do with the exceptional play of Washington commit Michael Porter Jr., who currently ranks No. 2 in the class of 2017.

Having seen both Porter and Arizona-bound No. 1 DeAndre Ayton during their senior seasons, it is hard to deny that Porter is currently performing as the better prospect. He's elevating the play of those around him and he's putting up ludicrous numbers. While leading Seattle (Wash.) Nathan Hale to the title at the loaded Les Schwab Invitational, Porter averaged 32 points, 16.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Factor in his 6-foot-9 size at the small forward to go with elite skill and athleticism, and Porter's ceiling is quite high.

Make no mistake about it, Ayton is still an elite prospect and he has a very good chance to finish in the top spot. But as of the beginning of the new year, the edge goes to Porter.

No. 2 overall in the junior class, Zion Williamson, has sure made things interesting as he racks up YouTube clicks and takes defender's souls with one rim-rattling dunk after another. However, Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon's Marvin Bagley III is still the top player and prospect in the class of 2018.

I've been asked several times for a comparison and I can't come up with a perfect one. However, when I was watching him play last week I remembered watching a young Amare Stoudemire play during his high school years. Bagley isn't quite as much of a bully as Stoudemire was at the same age, but the way he plays above the rim, his exceptional quickness from one side of the lane to another, his size and his overall game do remind me a lot of the Big Stat at the same age.

Maybe what I like most about Bagley is that he hasn't fallen victim to the urge so many young bigs have to play facing the hoop. Yes, he's working to incorporate more jump shot and dribble into his game. Yes it will be important for him to improve in those areas if he is going to develop into an elite player at the highest level. However, he's not going to do it at the expense of what he already does best and he's a committed team player.

Whichever school gets him on campus 18 months from now – Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Kentucky, Oregon or UCLA – will be getting a guy who would probably could make a considerable mark in a high-level college game tonight.

Unless you are a Stanford fan, the most hardcore of recruitkniks or read last week's feature on Kezie Okpala, you probably don't know much about the 6-foot-8 small forward from Anaheim (Calif.) Esperanza, who will play his college ball in Palo Alto.

That's fine by Okpala. He's a quiet kid who just wants to work on his game and isn't worried about getting a bunch of recognition or hype. However, the guy is still deserving of some praise and after finally seeing him in person it is clear that he's under-ranked at No. 69 in the class of 2017 and he has huge potential.

Let's be clear here, there's a good chance that Okpala won't arrive on campus as a guy ready to put up monster numbers right away. The potential, though, is there. He handles like a guard, has range, is athletic and has significant room to expand his game and develop. Frankly, he didn't even play that great but it was hard not to walk away from watching him thinking about just how good he can be a couple of years down the road.

For a while now, much of Jordan Brown's No. 4 overall ranking in the class of 2018 has been based on the hope that the 6-foot-10 power forward at Roseville (Calif.) Woodcreek would tap into his inner beast and start to dominate.

Sure, Brown has always put up good numbers but he's seemed to lack the true competitive spirit at times and his production was perhaps a bit hollow. From the looks of it, Brown has turned the corner and is now playing with new fire, physicality and purpose.

He's really developed as a back-to-the-basket scorer, he is totally owning the glass and he seems to have an extra bounce in his step. For a while, there has been a bit of a dividing line among the top three of Marvin Bagley, Zion Williamson and Romeo Langford but Brown has now firmly moved himself into that group.

Programs such as Arizona, Cal, Kansas, UCLA, St. John's and others are chasing but Brown's recruitment hasn't turned into a knockdown-dragout affair just yet. Look for that to change soon. He's too good for teams to not go all out for him.