Class of 2013 Ranking Analysis

Scout.com recently released its updated Top 100 list for all upcoming seniors in the class of 2013. There were not many changes in the rankings at the very top with Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, and Andrew Gordon all staying put at #1-4. Florida point guard Kasey Hill jumped into the top 5 after some impressive spring performances and James Young basically flip flopped with former top 7 player Troy Williams. Young has been one of the most consistent scorers throughout his four spring AAU tournaments. While the top players in the country remained consistent, there was a lot of movement below in the ranks. We’ll take a look at some of the players that had their rankings change the most, for the good and bad.

The Good:

#1 – Jermaine Lawrence – Lawrence went from unranked to a top 15 player in a matter of months (for comparison purposes Rivals.com currently has Lawrence ranked #64). Lawrence first began making headlines as a sophomore at Cardozo High (NY) and received offers from various Big East and A-10 programs such as Louisville. Lawrence transferred out of Cardozo to Pope John XXIII in Sparta, NJ in the middle of his junior year to focus on academics. The SF/PF combo blew up in the two Hoop Group jam fests of the spring and now has added offers from schools such as Kansas and Florida.

Lawrence highlights

Jujuan Johnson

#2 – Jajuan Johnson – Johnson first blew up at the Hampton EYBL and continued his impressive play recently at the Dallas EYBL. The 6’4 sinewy shooting guard has scored at a high level over the past month and picked up interest and offers from SEC and Big East schools while going from an unranked prospect to the #29 prospect in the country. Johnson teams up with another top wing in Nick King and they will try to improve their teams’ 6-8 performance in the final EYBL event in Oakland in order to be eligible for the prestigious Peach Jam.

Marcus Lee

#3 – Marcus Lee – The California power forward has been one of the most talked about players during the spring period. Lee’s rise began at the first EYBL event in Minneapolis and has continued over the past few weeks. Lee’s length and athleticism initially drew the attention of all the major west coast schools, but with his play on the Nike circuit schools from all over the country have taken notice, including Duke, who recently offered Lee a scholarship. Lee recently struggled in Dallas and got into early foul trouble in his much anticipated match-up with 2014 big man, Dakari Johnson. Despite these struggles, Lee’s shot blocking and versatility vaulted him from an un-ranked big man to the #44 player in the country.

The Bad:

#1 – Austin Colbert – The Jersey PF dropped 64 spots. Colbert was previously ranked #34 and he dropped all the way down to #98. Colbert is playing on a talented Team Final AAU team. While teammate Rondae Jefferson has impressed with his play, Colbert has not made as strong of an impact averaging 7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Colbert is still receiving strong attention from all sorts of Big East schools and still has two more Nike AAU events to pick up his game along with other opportunities throughout the summer.

#2 – Derek Willis – The Kentucky recruit dropped 61 spots. Willis went from a top 30 player to the #91 prospect. After initially committing to Purdue, Willis switched is commitment to the Wildcats in January. Willis has been quite on the spring AAU circuit before playing well in the Kentucky state AAU tourney this past weekend. Despite the drop, there is obviously a reason that Calipari went after Willis hard upon his de-commitment from Purdue.

#3 – Jarquez Smith – Smith went from a top 50 prospect (#47) to the #89 prospect in the latest rankings. During the first two EYBL events, Smith was averaging approximately 12 points and 5 rebounds per game. Smith had a rough trip to Dallas and did not break double digits in any of his five games.  Smith still possesses a high skill level and a nice shooting ability for a guy that is 6’9 and will need to show that off in Oakland over Memorial Day weekend. Smith is currently looking at local Georgia schools along with Louisville and South Carolina.

#4 – Stephen Domingo – Domingo dropped 31 spots despite being one of the top shooters in the country. Domingo who stands at 6’7 recently dropped from the #55 prospect to the #86 prospect; however that drop did not stop him from committing to Georgetown on Monday morning. The Hoyas had been pursuing the shooter for a long time and nabbed their first West Coast recruit in a few years. Domingo, who runs with Dream Vision stands as the number 29 prospect per rivals and should see his ranking rise back up once the Adidas events heat up in July.

Domingo - Gtown Commit

Dallas EYBL: Player Review

The third Nike EYBL installment took place this past weekend in Dallas and provided a look at the premier high school talent in the US and Canada. The three day event featured overtime games, buzzer-beaters, upsets, blowouts, and highly competitive individual match-ups. Here is a review on how various players performed:

Andrew Wiggins (CIA Bounce - 2014) – As noted yesterday, Wiggins performed like the top player in the country, regardless of class. He helped CIA Bounce stay undefeated in the EYBL with his 31 point and 15 rebound performance against Indy Spiece Heat. This was the best individual performance of the weekend and Wiggins provided the viewers with several jaw dropping highlights. Among the 15 total rebounds, six of those were offensive where Wiggins showed off his explosive leaping ability. He also displayed his agility and quickness with several nicely executed spin moves on drives to the basket. While extremely gifted and a capable outside shooter, this is one area for him to improve on. Wiggins was 0-4 from the three point line in this game; however he bounced back in his next game going 3-4. His misses are either usually short or long, which is a good sign and with a lot more repetition Wiggins will be pretty much un-guardable.

Julius Randle (Texas Titans - 2013) – Randle is an absolute beast on the court and a double-double machine. Randle is definitely one of the most powerful players on the circuit, but also displays a quickness that is not usually seen in players his size. Randle had some dominant games (27 and 13) over the weekend and was probably the only player that routinely commanded constant double teams. In the Titans’ first game of the tournament, Randle found an easy way to offset the double teams he was receiving in the post. Randle would grab an offensive rebound, push the ball up the floor like he was a point guard, and then either drive and dish to an open shooter, or drive down the lane for a powerful finish. Randle was also a man amongst boys in his hometown and showed why college coaches are beating down his door.

Tyler Ennis (CIA Bounce - 2013) – Ennis is considered one of the top point guards in the class of 2013 and with the size and athletic combination he possesses it is easy to see why. Ennis is great at pushing the ball on the break and getting to the basket for a strong finish. Against the Indy Heat, there were times where Ennis was intent on getting to the basket for a lay-up and did not look to kick the ball out to the open man. This resulted in a 4-15 shooting performance and only 1 assist. Ennis learned from this game quickly and toned done his shooting on Saturday night and dished out 7 assists. While Ennis is one of the tallest point guards out there, he will need to figure out how to play a balanced offensive game going forward. 

James Young (The Family - 2013) – Young was one of the most talked about players in his first three tournaments of the spring and had his first sub-par game on Friday night in Dallas. In this game Young shot 4-10 in a 34 point blow-out loss. Despite this performance it was easy to see why Young has sky rocketed up the recruiting rankings. He is one of the tallest and most athletic wings in a country and also has a smooth looking left handed jumper. Young shook this game off and scored 20+ points in both of his Saturday games including a 27 point performance against the NJ Playaz.  Young showed that he is one of the best natural athletes in his class and was one of the most impressive players in the tournament. Young’s game is somewhat reminiscent of a certain NickSwagyPYoung (Nick Young) and will be in the league in the near future.

James Young

Kennedy Meeks (Team United -2013) – Meeks recently added a UNC scholarship offer to his list before the tournament and showed off why he is highly coveted at times, but also struggled at times in his short stint in Dallas (Meeks played 2 games before returning home for Prom). Meeks put together a solid 18 point and 15 rebound performance in a one point win Saturday morning, but also struggled on Friday night with foul trouble and finished with 5 points and 5 rebounds. In his better game, Meeks struggled in the first half routinely getting blocked while trying to figure out the zone that Alabama was playing. Meeks figured the zone out in the second half and dominated the offensive glass. The majority of his points came off offensive rebounds. While he did score 18 points primarily in the second half, Meeks had a bad habit of taking one dribble after a rebound to gather himself before going back up for the lay-up. This worked against the shorter Alabama team, but will most likely lead to a lot of shots blocked on the next level. Meeks will need to work hard on learning how to go up quicker while also looking to become more explosive. 

Sindarius Thornwell (Team United - 2013) – Thornwell was one of the best wings at attacking the basket over the weekend. Standing about 6’4, Thornwell got to the basket almost anytime he wanted which was shown by the 14 free throw attempts during his 35 point explosion on Saturday night. Besides attacking the basket, Thornwell was one of the top defenders and harassed Devin Booker (2014) into his worst game of the tournament. Despite the gaudy scoring numbers, Thornwell did not make an impact with his outside shot as he went 4-15 from the three point line over the weekend.

Devin Booker (Alabama Challenge – 2014) – Booker established himself as one of the top three point shooters on the Nike circuit in Minneapolis, and for the most part continued his display in Dallas. Booker performed well in 3 out of his 5 tournament games. In the first game on Friday night he hit 5-10 three’s for 23 points.  He shot 13-13 from the line in his third game on the way to 26 points and 8-11 from the field for 25 points in his fourth game. Booker showed off a nice looking form on his shots and also used screens like Reggie Miller to get wide open looks. Booker also displayed nice ball-handling skills, but was a little slow in one on one situations. As noted above, Thornwell harassed Booked in the second half of their game and Booker missed his last 7 shots in a one point loss. Also, in the last game of the weekend Booker went 1-9 from three. Despite these two off games, it is obvious that Booker will be an elite shooter in his class. He will need to work on his quickness in order to create shots for himself, but as of now is an advanced guard for his age.

Joel Berry (E1T1 – 2014) – Berry led his E1T1 team to a 3-2 record over the weekend and had his best game against another highly touted 2014 point guard in Jackson Parker-Cartwright from Cal Supreme. In this game, Berry used his size and strength to get to the basket on Parker-Cartwright and finished the game with 23 points. Berry showed that he could push the ball on the break, while also running an efficient half court set. At times he was a little out of control as shown by his 7 turnovers Friday night, but for the most part played calm and under control.

Roshcon Prince (ICP – 2013) – Prince’s ICP team is somewhat of a west coast after thought behind Cal Supreme and the Oakland Soldiers, and in a similar fashion, Prince was somewhat of an afterthought with the plethora of wing talent on hand in Dallas. Despite the lack of attention, Prince scored double figures in all five of his games and averaged 17.6 points throughout the tournament. Prince showed off an improved jump shot during the week, but still utilized his strength to attack the basket. In his fourth game, Prince attacked Alabama’s zone defense and got to the free throw line 25 times. Prince struggled a little bit against Jabari Parker and Sterling Brown of Mac Irvin, but still managed to produce 14 points and 6 rebounds in a game that was a back and forth battle until the final minutes. Prince will be a solid commit for any of the major schools on the west coast and one of the most enjoyable players to watch over the weekend.

Roschon - An underrated player and an underrated name

 Malik Newman (Jackson – 2015) – Newman was one of the few 2015 players in attendance over the weekend and didn’t waste much time in showing why he was recently named the top freshman in the country. Newman scored 26 points against Baltimore in his second game of the weekend on 8-12 shooting, including 4-6 from the three point line. Newman showed a nice shooting touch along with the ability to quickly get the defender on his heels. Newman played with the poise of a senior and will be a consistent scorer in the EYBL circuit for the next few years.

Thon Maker (Jackson – 2016) – This 7 foot 8^th GRADER was the talk of the tournament with little kids pointing across the court towards him and even Penny Hardaway watching from afar and all of them muttering, “that kid is in 8^th grade?” The Manute Bol look alike, ran the court with ease, blocked shots, and was even hitting outside jump shots regularly. Maker competed with kids 3-4 years older than him without a problem and will definitely be a story to follow over the years. 

8th grade?

Quick Hitters:

Duane Wilson Jr. from Wisconsin was a strong performer all weekend. Wilson hit jump shots with ease and also was one of the quickest guards around. Add Wilson with Deonte Burton, and Buzz Williams has locked up a solid combination from the class of 2013.

Kendrick Nunn plays in the shadows of Jabari Parker during the high school season and plays on a well-balanced Mean Streets AAU team. Nunn can shoot the 3 and also throw down a vicious dunk when he wants. Mean Streets is quietly one of the top Nike AAU teams, and the steady play of Nunn is a big reason why.

Nike EYBL Dallas Review:

In last week’s preview there were 5 games listed to look out for. The top two games lived up to their match-up, while the other three came up short. Here is a quick recap of last week’s predicted top games of the week along with answer’s to the “Will……?” section.

The #1 game in the preview featured California Supreme vs. E1T1. E1T1 won the game 69-66 thanks to the 2014 duo of point guard Joel Berry and center Dakari Johnson. Berry finished the game with 23 points and used his size and strength advantage over Parker Jackson-Cartwright to get to the basket and free throw line. Johnson finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and the highly anticipated match-up with Marcus Lee never materialized due to two quick fouls. Lee only played 11 minutes and scored 2 points. Despite losing the game and giving up a significant size advantage, Parker Jackson-Cartwright went 6-9 and helped give Cal Supreme a chance to win at the end of the game. E1T1 won the game in part due to their pg/center combo winning the individual battle with their Cal Supreme counterparts. While this game was well played and tight to the end, the top game of the tournament goes to CIA Bounce vs. Indy Spiece Heat.

CIA Bounce came into Dallas at 9-0 in the EYBL. Based on their schedule over the weekend, the Indy Spiece game looked like the one potential road bump to a 14-0 record. Indy did not disappoint and behind the play of Trey Lyles and the shooting of Trevon Blueitt, Indy Spiece led throughout the game. CIA started to make their comeback late in the second half and eventually tied the game with 2 minutes left. Despite 3 other top notch games going on at this time, the crowd was gathered around Court #3 to see what the top player in the country, Andrew Wiggins, could do. He did not disappoint with two jaw dropping drives to the basket that resulted in powerful two hand finishes at the rim. Wiggins wowed the crowd with his drives to the basket and offensive rebounding abilities while finishing with 31 points and 15 rebounds. 

Highlights 

CIA stayed undefeated and Wiggins laid claim to being the top player in the country.

The BEAST

Friday night featured a Chicago / Detroit showdown. Mean Streets from Chicago delivered a beatdown to the Motor City boys 77-43. James Young had his first subpar game of the spring with 8 points and his cohorts E.C. Matthews and Wesley Clark did not break into double digits either. Kendrick Nunn led the way for a balanced Mean Streets attack with 22 points which consisted of three-pointers and strong drives to the basket. Mean Streets looks to be one of the best coached teams on the AAU circuit.

The highly anticipated point guard match-up between Tony Barber of Boo Williams and Tyus Jones of Howard Pulley never materialized on Sunday due to a sickness keeping Jones away from Dallas. In this Sunday game, Barber took advantage of Jones’ absence and had his top game of the weekend. Barber finished with 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

The CP3 vs. BABC wing match-up fizzled between Wayne Selden and Theo Pinson, both 2014 five star recruits. CP3 played primarily zone defense throughout the game and Selden was content to shoot jump shots. Selden went 1-10 for the game (1-5 from 3) and did not make it to the foul line. Known as an attacking wing, this was a very uncharacteristic game for Selden. Pinson played up to par in helping CP3 to the victory. Pinson had 16 points on 7-10 shooting. Due to the CP3 zone, BABC point guard Jaylen Brantley had ample room to fire up 3 pointers and connected on 7-12 on his way to a 28 point outing.

WILL………

CIA Bounce lose its first game…..Not this weekend. After Dallas, CIA sits 14-0 with a 2 game division lead. Indy put up a tough test, but at the end they had no answer for Andrew Wiggins.

All-Iowa win its first game….Not this weekend. Iowa sits at 0-14 and featured numerous double digit defeats.

Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins take control of the top spot in the country…..Jabari played well over the weekend, but I think it is safe to say that Wiggins might have taken control with his 31 point, 15 rebound performance. Wiggins showed off his elite athleticism that gives him the edge over Jabari.

Troy Williams break out of his slump….Yes, Williams put together several solid games including a 8-12 performance against James Young and The Family. Williams played well this weekend, but is definitely a top 30 player in his class compared to the top 10 ranking that most sites previously had him at.

Anyone catch fire like Jujuan Johnson did in Hampton….While there weren’t any players coming out of nowhere, there were several noteworthy performances. Malik Newman from the class of 2015 scored 26 points in a Saturday win over Baltimore, Roshcon Prince from ICP shot 25 free throws on Sunday (making 17), Sindarius Thornwell scored 35 points for Team United trying to make up for the absence of big man Kennedy Meeks on Saturday night, and the 7 foot, “8^th grader Thon Maker blocking shots, running the court, and shooting jumpers like it was nothing. 

Part II coming soon.

Nike EYBL Dallas Preview

The third installment of the Nike EYBL begins this weekend in Dallas, TX. Here is a preview of some of the top games to watch and individual match-ups:

#1) E1T1 (8-1) vs. California Supreme (8-1)

Time: Saturday – 6:30pm

Notes: There is currently a four way tie in Division C for first place and this game features two of these teams in a cross-country battle. Besides the fact that these are two of the top teams in the EYBL, there are two individual match-ups to keep an eye on. 

Both teams are led by their star point guards from the class of 2014. E1T1 is led by Joel Berry (#32) who is currently averaging 11.3 ppg and 4.3 apg. Berry has been getting a lot of interest from UNC and other top programs during the spring recruiting period. California Supreme is led by Parker Jackson-Cartwright (#25) who is currently averaging 10 ppg and 4.1 apg. Despite being listed at 5’9, Jackson-Cartwright has been receiving lots of attention from the premier programs on the west coast.

Joel Berry

There is also the big man match-up to watch down low which features one of the top players in the class of 2014, Dakari Johnson (#6) for E1T1 and one of the fastest rising players in the class of 2013, Marcus Lee. Johnson sat out his sophomore year at Montverde after transferring; however he has been dominant throughout the first two sessions of the EYBL and is currently averaging 16.7 ppg and 8.6 rpg. While Johnson was well known before the spring AAU circuit started, Marcus Lee (#54) was an unknown commodity nationally. After his play in the first two tournaments he has shot up the recruiting ranks and received offers and interest from schools such as Duke, Kansas, and Indiana.

Also, keep an eye on Cal Supreme guard Jordan Matthews who is averaging 17.2 ppg. Matthews has been receiving interest from some Pac-12 schools along with various schools from the MWC. His father is an assistant coach at UCLA.

#2) Indy Spiece (6-3) vs. CIA Bounce (9-0)

Time: Saturday-12:30pm

Notes: CIA Bounce is currently undefeated in the EYBL and the only game they lost was in the Milwaukee Swish N Dish without Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins is the top ranked player in the class of 2014 and is in discussion as the top ranked player in the country. CIA Bounce is also led by one of the top point guards in the country, Tyler Ennis (#21) and one of the top shooters in the country, Xavier Rathan-Mayes (#66). Despite all this talent, CIA Bounce could receive a challenge on Saturday when they face Indy Spiece. Spiece is led by a trio of 2014 standouts from Indiana: Trey Lyles (#9), Jayquan Lyle (#15), and Trevon Blueitt (#47). CIA Bounce could be on upset alert in this game. 
Andrew Wiggins - EYBL Minny 

#3) Mean Streets (8-1) vs. The Family (7-2)

Time: Friday – 9pm

Notes: A Midwest match-up between teams from Chicago and Detroit. Mean Streets is led by the Simeon High guard combo of Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate. Nunn is currently averaging 13.4 ppg and is ranked #22 in the class of 2013. Mean Streets also features a top 30 player in the class of 2013 in Paul White. White is a talented forward that has nice ball handling skills for a player his size. The Family is led by the hottest player in the class of 2013, James Young. Young was ranked in the 20-30 range before the spring season started, but has vaulted up the ranks due to his dominant performances in Minnesota, Hampton, and Forty Wayne. Young is currently ranked 9^th in his class, but might be climbing higher by the time the AAU season is over. He is currently seventh in scoring at 18.7 per game and fourth in rebounds with 8 per game. The Family also features E.C. Matthews and Wes Clark. This could be the most entertaining game of the day. The Family is the highest scoring team in the EYBL with 74.7 ppg and Mean Streets averages 65.7 ppg.

#4) Howard Pulley (5-4) vs. Boo Williams (4-5)

Time: Sunday – 11am

Notes: These two teams are currently sitting around .500, however this game should provide the top point guard match-up of the weekend. Howard Pulley is led by Tyus Jones (#4-2014) who was one of the top performers during the Minnesota and Hampton tournaments. Jones, who some consider to be the top point guard in the country is currently 4^th in the EYBL in scoring at 20.7 ppg and 1^st in assists with 6.7 apg. Boo Williams is led by the ultra-athletic Anthony Barber (#13-2013). Barber currently leads Boo with 12.3 ppg. It will be interesting to see how Jones deals with the length and quickness of Barber during this game.   

#5) CP3 (5-4) vs. BABC (5-4)

Time: Saturday-11am

Notes: Another game that will be fun to watch based on the individual match-up involved. CP3 is led by 6’5 wing, Theo Pinson (#14-2014) and BABC is led by 6’4 wing, Wayne Selden (#13-2014). While both are wings ranked in the top 15 of their class, Pinson and Selden are very different players. While Selden relies on his brute strength to get to the basket, Pinson relies more on his elite athleticism and solid mid-range game. Both players have the top schools in the country coming after them.

WILL…..

CIA Bounce lose its first game?

All-Iowa win its first game?

Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins take control of the top spot in the country?

Troy Williams break out of his slump?

Anyone catch fire like Jujuan Johnson did in Hampton?