Sunday, February 5, 2006

We told you on Thursday, February 2nd, that, as things stand now, our Ranking of the Top 200 Players in the Class of 2011 (7th Graders) in order are 1) 6'2 7th Grader Davontay Grace from Brooklyn, NY, 2) 6'5 7th Grader LaQuinton Ross from Jackson, MS, 3) 6'1 7th Grader Matt Carlino from Tempe, AZ, 4) 6'5 7th Grader LaBryan Nash from Dallas, TX, 5) 6'0 7th Grader Tony Wroten from Renton, WA, 6) 6'5 7th Grader Chandler Thomas from Indianapolis, IN, 7) 5'7 7th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, 8) 6'3 7th Grader Damion Cain from Chino Hills, CA, 9) 6'1 7th Grader Austin Rivers from Winter Park, FL, 10) 6'4 7th Grader Corey Blackwell from Alpharetta, GA, 11) 5'4 7th Grader Tavon Sledge from Spring Valley, NY, and 12) 5'3 7th Grader Stevie Taylor from Gahanna, OH.  Well, since that time I've made several minor switches, which include moving 6'1 7th Grader Trevor Lacy from Huntsville, AL up to #8, Cain down to #9, Sledge up to #10, Rivers down to #11, and Blackwell down to #13.  We also think it is worth pointing out that New York is the only state that has more than one player ranked among the top 20 players in the class and, if you include 5'4 7th Grader Sterling Gibbs from Scotch Plains, NJ, who checks in at #16, with 6'2 7th Grader Davontay Grace from Brooklyn, NY, 5'7 7th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, and 5'4 7th Grader Tavon Sledge from Spring Valley, NY, all three of whom are ranked among the top 10 players in the class, then it's obvious just how strong this class is at the top in the New York Metropolitan area.   And, if we dig a little deeper, we find that the same thing can be said if we combine Washington, DC and Maryland, as there are a total of six players - 5'7 7th Grader Brandon Ford from Clinton, MD, 5'8 7th Grader Jerrell Briggs from Oxon Hill, MD, 5'9 7th Grader Christopher Martin from Upper Marlboro, MD, 6'0 7th Grader Vance Roberts from Washington, DC, 6'4 7th Grader Dwaine Brewer from Baltimore, MD - from this area who are ranked among the top 30 players in the class.  However, the state with the most depth is Texas, which has 16 players - 6'5 7th Grader LaBryan Nash from Dallas, TX, 6'2 7th Grader Zach Peters from Plano, TX, 5'5 7th Grader Keyan Anderson from Ft. Worth, TX, 6'2 7th Grader Marc Brown from Mansfield, TX, 5'5 7th Grader Shai Fields from Galveston, TX, 6'2 7th Grader Kevin Wagner from Lubbock, TX, 6'3 7th Grader Justin Brooks from Dallas, TX, 6'2 7th Grader Kaylan Hall from Cedar Hill, TX, 6'1 7th Grader Jordan Gray from Ft. Worth, TX, 6'1 7th Grader Kinzael Bolton from Houston, TX, 6'3 7th Grader Marcus Hutchinson from De Soto, TX, 5'4 7th Grader Charles Bennett from Houston, TX, 5'5 7th Grader Josh Brown from Galveston, TX, 5'5 7th Grader Oscar Lewis from De Soto, TX, 5'8 7th Grader Clyde Smith from Houston, TX, and 5'4 7th Grader Quintus Bratton from Houston, TX - who ranked among the top 100 players in the class.  And, if you want to see where each of these players are ranked, now is the perfect time to subscribe to the Members Section.  We also like this class a lot better than the Class of 2010, because we think the Class of 2011 has better players and more point guards and big men at the top, as well as better overall depth.  But part of this is due to the fact that there is a large number of players, including 6'2 7th Grader Davontay Grace from Brooklyn, NY, 2) 6'5 7th Grader LaQuinton Ross from Jackson, MS, 5'4 7th Grader Tavon Sledge from Spring Valley, NY, 5'8 7th Grader Marquis Rankins from Charlotte, NC, 7th Grader Marc Brown from Mansfield, TX, and 5'8 7th Grader Jacoby Davis from Charlotte, NC, who have reclassified and, as a result, are a year older than most of the other kids in their grade.  I also have been getting a number of inquiries regarding how we rank players and, first and foremost, somebody that we trust has seen anybody who makes our list play.  Especially noteworthy are the contributions in turned by our Middle School Editor Editor Patrick Stanwood, Texas Editor Tim Miller, New York City Middle School Editor Michael Moore, Washington, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall, Paul Gripper, who runs the RBK All-Stars in Philadelphia, PA, and Joe Keller, who runs the adidas Junior Phenom Camp.  Without the help of these people this list would not be nearly as accurate.  However, people also need to understand that there is a tremendous margin for error when ranking players this young, as so much can change between now and when a player is a junior or senior in high school and is getting recruited for college.  In other words, this is really just a starting point, as well as a reflection of what we know right now.  So, if we don't know about somebody yet or are missing on a player, because he's ranked too high or too low, we still have four or five years to get it right.  I also think it is important to point out that the more we see a player play, the more we're going to be familiar with his strengthes and weaknesses and where he belongs in the grand scheme of things.  So naturally we put a lot of emphasis on what we see anywhere there is a large collection of talent, including at events like the Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA; Midwest Elite Camp in Cleveland, OH; President's Day All American Tournament in Portland, OR; USA Elite Basketball Camp in Cedar Hill, TX; Elite 75 Prep Camp in Charlotte, NC.  And I tend not to rank players as high who have not been out on the circuit and we have not seen play against the top competition.  A great example is 6'1 7th Grader Trevor Lacy from Huntsville, AL, who our Alabama Editor Mark Komara thinks is the best player nationally in his class.  "Lacy plays up on our 15-Under Team and, if he continues to grow, he could be like Magic Johnson," says Komara.  "Lacy is long and athletic, sees the floor, makes phenomenal passes look effortless, has great court savvy and instincts, gets to the basket with ease, rebounds well for his size, and can shoot the three.  Not only do I think he's the best player in the class, but, from what I've seen, it's not even close.  Lacy is that good!"  And, if he turns out to be as good as Komara says he is, remember where you heard it first.