How Many Five-Star Recruits From 2011 Are Left?

Rating high school players is an in-exact science. Just look at the recruiting rankings for 2011. In total Scout.com gave 27 players a five-star ranking and as we get set to enter the 2014-15 college basketball season there are only six of those five-star players remaining. Anthony Davis was the No. 1 ranked recruit and he certainly lived up to the billing leading Kentucky to a championship during his only season in college and is now an elite player in the NBA. Teams spent high draft picks on other members of the 2011 draft class with varying degrees of success including Andre Drummond, Bradley Beal, Austin Rivers, and Cody Zeller. Other five-star players were not so lucky. James Michael McAdoo went undrafted after three years at UNC and Marquis Teague is out of the NBA after getting drafted in the late first round in 2012. After 27 players were deemed five-star recruits just 11 are in the NBA (including Quincy Miller who was recently waived by the Nuggets) while 10 are out of the league (or in the D-League), and 6 are still in college. For the remaining college players, they still have one season left to impress NBA scouts. 

No. 9 - LeBryan Nash, 6’6”, SF, Oklahoma State

The highest rated prospect of the 2012 class still in college. The athletic wing expected to be a one and done player, but is now a senior for the Cowboys. He spent part of his freshman season injured and averaged 13.3 points and 5 rebounds per game. His field goal attempts have decreased each year and his efficiency has risen. As a junior Nash averaged 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds with a 109.5 ORtg. He had some big games in league play including a 29 point performance against West Virginia, but Nash only managed to score 6 points in a first round loss to Gonzaga last year. Heading into his season year, Nash was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

No. 14 – Branden Dawson, 6’6”, SF, Michigan State

Last year Dawson was the third leading scorer for an underachieving Spartans squad. This year he will be “the man” for a relatively inexperienced Michigan State team. Despite missing nine league games in a row last year, Dawson scored in double figures as Michigan State cruised to the Big 10 tournament title. The athletic wing had monster games in the tournament against Harvard and Virginia but struggled mightily in a low scoring loss to UConn in the Elite 8. Dawson finished his junior season averaging 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds to go along with a 123.3 ORtg. Dawson received votes for the AP preseason All-American team, but he was not named to the All-Big ten first team. In his three year career Dawson is 0-9 from the three point line. Will he hit his first as a senior?

No. 17 – Wayne Blackshear, 6’5”, G/F, Louisville

Blackshear has a championship to his name, but he has not experienced the type of career that many expected coming out of the Windy City. He lost most of his freshmen year to injury and then played 20.1 minutes a game as a sophomore and 19.6 last year. He averaged 7.6 points as a sophomore and 8.2 points last year. With Russ Smith no longer in the line-up will Blackshear become a consistent double-digit scorer for the Cardinals?

No. 21 – Rakeem Christmas, 6’9”, Power Forward, Syracuse

Christmas has been one of the anchors in Syracuse’s 2-3 zone over the last two seasons averaging almost two blocks per game. As a freshman Christmas averaged 11.5 minutes and just 2.8 points per game. His playing time doubled; however he only averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds a game as a senior. With the loss of three starters, Christmas will be expected to steady a Cuse team in the beginning part of the year.

No. 24 – Kyle Wiltjer, 6’10”, Small Forward, Gonzaga

Wiltjer spent his first two years at Kentucky. The first winning a championship in minimal minutes and the second with a first round loss in the NIT. The Oregon native averaged 10.2 points and shot 37% from behind the arc during his sophomore season. With a much ballyhooed freshmen class arriving in Lexington, Wiltjer decided to transfer back to the Pacific Northwest. After sitting out a red-shirt year, he will join an extremely experienced and talented Gonzaga team that is ranked No. 13 in the nation by the AP voters.  

No. 27 – Dorian Finney-Smith, 6’8”, Small Forward, Florida

Finney-Smith was the biggest name recruit to sign with Virginia Tech and he decided to leave Blacksburg after his freshman year. The talented small forward sat out the 2012-12 season and played 25.8 minutes per game for the Gators who were ranked as the top team in the country for most of the year. With his role expected to increase as a junior, Finney-Smith will need to improve on his 37% field goal percentage. As a sophomore he averaged 8.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. 

Rank	School, Hometown	Hgt / Wgt	School	Yrs in NCAA?	NBA?	Notes
1	Anthony Davis	6-9/190	Kentucky	1	Y	No. 1 pick, soon to be NBA All-Star, Avg 24.4 pts, 12.8 rbs, 4.4 bpg
2	Andre Drummond	6-11/265	Connecticut	1	Y	No. 9 pick, Avg 10.4 rbs per game for Pistons and 10.8 ppg
3	Austin Rivers	6-5/180	Duke	1	Y	No. 10 pick, averaging 21 minutes and 7 ppg, struggled in first two years.
4	Quincy Miller	6-9/195	Baylor	1	Y	No. 38 pick, recently waived by Nuggets, interest from Lakers
5	James Michael McAdoo	6-8/220	North Carolina	3	N	Cut by Golden State after going undrafted
6	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	6-6/190	Kentucky	1	Y	No. 2 pick, 9.4 pts and 5.6 rebounds in third season
7	Brad Beal	6-3/180	Florida	1	Y	No. 3 pick, Currently injured, shined in playoffs last year for the Wiz
8	Marquis Teague	6-1/165	Kentucky	1	N	No. 29 pick, cut by Nets, selected 9th in the NBA D-League draft
9	LeBryan Nash	6-6/210/13.6	Oklahoma State	4	C	Senior at Oklahoma State
10	Adonis Thomas	6-6/190	Memphis	2	N	Waived by Pacers, played a total of 6 games in the NBA
11	Myck Kabongo	6-2/170	Texas	2	N	Undrafted, plays for Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the D-League
12	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	6-6/175	Georgia	2	Y	No. 8 pick (2013), Avg 13.4 ppg for Pistons, but just a 10.0 PER
13	Cody Zeller	6-10/210	Indiana	2	Y	No. 4 (2013), 23 minutes and 9 pts per game in 2014
14	Branden Dawson	6-6/210	Michigan State	4	C	Senior at Michigan State
15	Khem Birch	6-8/210	Pittsburgh --> UNLV	3	N	Undrafted in 2014 draft
16	Josiah Turner	6-3/175	Arizona	1	N	Los Angeles D-Fenders D-League
17	Wayne Blackshear	6-5/215	Louisville	4	C	Senior at Louisville
18	Jabari Brown	6-5/200	Oregon --> Missouri	3	N	Undrafted, Waived by Lakers
19	Tony Wroten	6-4/170	Washington	1	Y	No. 25 pick, playing for worst team in the NBA, but avg's 22.5 ppg, 7 apg, and 4.5 rpg
20	Jarnell Stokes	6-8/250	Tennessee	3	N	Grizzlies assigned to Iowa Energy - D League
21	Rakeem Christmas	6-9/230	Syracuse	4	C	Senior at Syracuse
22	P.J. Hairston	6-5/230	North Carolina	2	Y	Played in D-League last year and drafted by Hornets in 1st round in 2014.
23	B.J. Young	6-2/160	Arkansas	2	N	Undrafted, plays for the Delaware 87ers D-League
24	Kyle Wiltjer	6-9/225	Kentucky --> Gonzaga	4	C	Junior at Gonzaga
25	Chane Behanan	6-7/240	Louisville	3	N	Rio Grande Valley Vipers D-League
26	Rodney Hood	6-7/185	Mississippi State --> Duke	3	Y	Rookie with the Jazz. Averaging 15 minutes and 4 ppg.
27	Dorian Finney-Smith	6-7/190	Virginia Tech --> Florida	4	C	Junior at Florida

Oh yeah, let's not forget about players that have outplayed their high school ranking. Some players that played above their four-star ranking out of high school included Nick Johnson (#29), Otto Porter (#30), Michael Carter-Williams (#35), Ryan Boatright (#77), and Trey Burke (#94).