Alright! This has been an article that I've personally been looking forward to for a long time. The reason I waited so long to do this is a simple one. Zion. Williamson. Easily the most famous high school basketball player since Lebron James finally made his commitment on January 20th. He chose Duke. Stunning, I know. Nonetheless, this decision by Williamson set up Duke to be the biggest college basketball powerhouse since Anthony Davis' Kentucky team. With that, let's get into some quick recruiting updates.
- Along with Zion Williamson, Duke has commitments from the number 1 and number 3 recruits in the ESPN 100 ranking.
- Bol Bol, son of Manute Bol, is a 5-star recruit and has signed with the Oregon Ducks. This decision evens up the Pac-12 nicely and will make things much more competitive as the Arizona schools try to run the show again.
- Kentucky has the 7th and 12th ranked recruits coming in next year. Calipari does what he does best.
- Vanderbilt, a traditionally weak basketball school, has the 6th ranked recruit, Simisola Shittu, signed up and ready to go.
- Along with that, the crystal ball from 247 Sports has Vanderbilt as the favorite to sign 5th ranked recruit Romeo Langford.
- Bobby Hurley is pretty close to bringing a top-10 recruiting class to Arizona State. Hurley has two 4-stars and a 5-star coming in next season.
Top 5 Recruits:
*These rankings are based off of the ESPN 100 player rankings that are released every year.
1. RJ Barrett
I have a serious man crush on RJ Barrett. He's a 6'7", 200-pound small forward from Canada and he. Is. Insane. One of the youngest recruits out there, he still has plenty of room to grow and could definitely hit at least a height of 6'9". He's versatile, athletic and can be a fiend defensively when he tries. He definitely has the length to get it done on both ends of the floor. He can pass well and is can shoot well enough to keep defenses honest. There is plenty more to say about RJ Barrett, but the only important story is his legendary international game. In the 2016 U17 FIBA World Championships, the Canadian team took on the boys representing the United States. Of course, the U.S team was loaded with front end talented and was significantly favored. Barrett went out there and put up 38 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. He also led Canada to the victory and the eventual championship. This game was the stuff of legends, and Barrett is definitely capable of pulling off performances like this in college. Look out world.
College: DUKE, COMMITTED
2. Zion Williamson
You know who Zion Williamson is. His mixtape has over a million views on youtube and he has become a national sensation. His dunks are ridiculous. His blocks are insane. And nobody can stop him when he gets a head of steam. Zion is supremely athletic, clearly, but it really shows in his play. The rest of his offensive game is kind of spotty, but there are glimpses to be found. He can knock down the occasional jump shot, but most of his scoring comes from inside the paint. That will have to change once he gets to college, but he definitely has the ability to get it done. And with all that, there's going to be a game next year where RJ Barrett throws a crazy lob to Zion Williamson and twitter will explode.
College: DUKE, COMMITTED
3. Cam Reddish
Out of the top 5 recruits, Cam Reddish is by far the rawest basketball player. But, he could easily be the most talented. Built like Harrison Barnes, he could play either forward position in college but is almost definitely going to be a 3 in the NBA. He can do everything you want from a player of his caliber, but nothing he does is super impressive. One of the bigger issues with Reddish is mental. He can tend to be passive and that could really hurt him while playing with Barrett and Williamson. Even with that, his potential will have NBA teams drooling. Look out for some Brandom Ingram comparisons if he gets a little taller in the coming years.
College: DUKE, COMMITTED
4. Bol Bol
Manute Bol is the one basketball player that was 7'7", in case you forgot. Bol Bol is his son. Bol stands at 7'3" in shoes and has the wingspan to go with it. Much like Cam Reddish, Bol is highly regarded for his potential while still having a lot of areas to improve in. He does a great job scoring inside the paint but how could he not with that size? He's capable of putting moves on that can get him good looks, but other than that he relies on his height and length for most of his contributions. Bol has been solid defensively in high school but will need to stop relying on his length in order to become an elite rim protector. Plenty of teams believe he is capable of that and thinks he can add a jump shot to his repertoire. If he pulls that off, he'll be a problem.
College: OREGON, COMMITTED
5. Romeo Langford
Langford in the first guard to make an appearance in the ESPN 100 rankings. A 6'6" shooting guard, he is known to be one of the best pure scorers in the class. He's a capable off-ball scorer, something rare for a kid his age. Once he gets the ball though, you're probably not going to stop him. He can hit shots from anywhere on the court and has a killer three point shot. Unlike the other guys, Langford hasn't chosen his college yet.
Colleges: Vanderbilt, Indiana, Kansas
BONUS:
Taeshon Cherry
There is only one real reason why I want to talk about Taeshon Cherry. He's a Sun Devil. Cherry is the gem of Bobby Hurley's newest recruiting class and is one of the highest ranked players to come to ASU in a long time. A school that has been dominated by guard play, ASU needs size and will have that next year with Cherry. He is a 6'8" power forward that will form a stellar pick and roll combo with guard Remy Martin. ASU is going to have some growing pains next year with the loss of their seniors, but Cherry's size and scoring ability will help ease the pain.
College: ARIZONA STATE, COMMITTED
