Jason Pratt:
Future150 Senior Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
Nashville, TN (Future150) -- With the class of 2017 getting ready to wrap up their middle school careers and begin their high school journey, Future150 decided it was time to update our class rankings.
We took our initial list of 25 and are now extending it to include the top 50 prospects in the class nationally. While it is important to note how hard it is to project where these kids will be in the next two to three years, one thing is certain, and that is DeAndre Ayton.
The new #1 prospect in the class of 2017 is San Diego big man DeAndre Ayton, who is looking like he will be the crown jewel of the class.
The 6'10" power forward not only has great size that projects to the college level and beyond, but his skill set for a prospect his age is incredible. He runs the floor, has great versatility, and can score any way you need him to.
Rising to #2 in the rankings is Houston native Jarred Vanderbilt. The 6'6" wing is extremely smooth with the ball in his hands and can play the shooting guard or small forward spot.
Checking in at #3 Wendell Carter Jr. The 6'8" power forward is still growing, and so is his game. He has great hands as well as a soft touch around the rim.
Coming in at #4 is Miami guard Jeffrey Prophete, whose calling card is his ability to score the basketball. He gets baskets in a hurry, and loves to attack at all times.
Rounding out the top five is power forward Cody Riley. The 6'7" manchild dominates the paint at the middle school level, and it will be interesting to see where his game is two years from now.
Alabama point guard D.J. Heath is #6, wing prospect Chris Giles is #7 nationally, Texas power forward P.J. Washington checks in at #8, and D.J. Harvey and Blake Williams round out the top 10.
Some prospects new to the rankings include California's Alfred Hollins (#15), Phoenix prospect Caleb Simmons (#29), and Georgia's DeAndre Ballard (#50).
To see the complete rankings of the top 50 prospects in the 2017 class, Click Here....
Comments:
This rankinks is ridiculous. You do a great article on Justin Roberts and don’t even rank the kid. Hes by far the best PG In this class. Cody Riley is the best big man in this class. No way hes ranked 5th overall. Wow! Who is watching these kids play, other kids? Jason Pratt you have to get to more tournaments to watch kids play. Dont just wait for a kid to get to your camp to see them. This is funny and has no validity at all.
I have been following this age groups for years and my personal opinion is that Cody Riley is still king.I havent seen enough of Deandre to form a good enough opinion but I have seen the other kids in front of him and while they are good players I wouldnt put them in front of Cody just yet.
While I agree with the previous comment on Cody I have to disagree on the Justin Roberts comment. While I really like Justin game and agree to he is definitelty one of the top PG in this class and probably should have made this list, there is no way you can say he is the best by far! I think Remy from Cali, Blake & Chase from Memphis,and Aaron Thompson from Maryland will all have something to say about that.
I liked the rankings overall, I thought you included most of the kids who have been doing it for awhile and do it for teams that are actually winning.
Thanks for the input guys! First off, Justin Roberts not being ranked was an error on our part. He was supposed to be included in the rankings, but he slipped through the cracks when we published the article. That being said, he is #44 in the country. As we see more of him this AAU season, his ranking may go up, but we are waiting to see how he performs. In regard to DeAndre, he has burst onto the scene pretty quickly, and the upside factor is incredible for the kid. Cody has been putting in the work for a while now, which is why we still have him top 5. We want to see more perimeter skills from him going forward though for him to move back up, or for him to grow a few more inches where he could continue to play the post.
Serious I love to see kids get exposure but how can u not have Paul Scruggs from Indy on this list. How about Thompson from primetime! 2 top kids in the class for sure.
when will the 2018 spring edition rankings be released?
Jason Pratt when will updated 2018 rankings be released
another ranking system that is way off.
Dc Assault has probably the top backcourt in the nation, with Chris Lykes and Jamir, and have a great forward in Darryl Morsell
*Jamir Moultrie
It’s hard to leave Aaron Thompson off the list… He’s lead His team to 4 top 5 finishes at nationals in the last 6 yrs…. Not many kids have done that… Not taking anything away from the others but he deserves to be on the list.
I agree with the Cody Comments if he just grows a little more he will keep being able to be in the post and his mid-range game. But as far as the guards set go, Blake from Memphis, and Justin Roberts from Indiana are probably the top guards right now. But Trae Young from Oklahoma is sneaking in the picture because of his performances in New Orleans against supposably two of the top 15 teams in the Nation such as Atlanta Celtics, and Lauderhill Lions. But the List looks good but I think Justin and Trae should be high on this list.
Michigan has 2 of the top guards who would probably destroy every guard on here , 6’1 Amari Hardy and 6’0 Alante Warren
Jatrious jj smith is easily in the top 3 if not number one. Get it rite fellas !
6-5/190 lbs of athletic freak down here in north Carolina. Jj will have my phone jumping off the hook sooner than later. But thanks for the hate guys! Motivation. #coming for that number one spot# jatrious jj smith north carolinas finest!
Malik Zachery from Syracuse, NY is a guard with a tremendously high basketball IQ who always seems to make the right reads. He currently plays with the Albany City Rocks and just played Team Takeover at Team Final’s tournament in New Jersey. Overall It looked like Malik outplayed all the guards on the floor. Team Takeover has a really good PG as well in Aaron Thompson. He is another player with a very high basketball IQ.