The (Updated) SLAM Fresh 50 — 2008

• Add a Comment
• x

  Invite a Friend

  Your name:
  Your email:
  Friend name:
  Friend email:
  
  Invite a friend
• Share
• RSS

• James Stewert Posted: Sep.1 at 12:20 am
  Aggrey Sam, your bias to “Up-North” players are disgusting.How can you justify ranking Tyreke Evans #1. You are the only writer in the world to rank Devin Ebanks “top 10″.
  It’s obvious you didn’t travel much, do to your lack of cover through out the summer on this site. :^[

• hoblin22 Posted: Sep.1 at 2:41 pm
  Hey what happened to Kris Joseph…And What do you think about Devoe Joseph from Pickering ontario?

• yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Posted: Sep.2 at 1:53 am
  Eloy Vargas is from the Dominican Republic

• Bruno Chu Posted: Sep.2 at 7:30 pm
  Sam, I have to mostly agree with JS on this one. Not only is your top 10 slanted, but your whole list is east coast slanted. You don’t have Drew Gordon or Jeff Whithey anywhere in your top 50? Really? I’m a writer for Rivals so I have my own biases but IMO you should rethink the list Sam… Same goes for 09.

• MOMONEY Posted: Sep.2 at 8:50 pm
  Where is Drew Gordon… I played against dude and he is a monster

• Kimmie Posted: Sep.2 at 11:31 pm
  You’ve got to checkout Elston Turner Jr.!! He was awesome in Vegas and LA and he’s a great kid!!

• a. sam Posted: Sep.3 at 3:34 pm
  James: I counted 10 “Up North” kids that are ranked in the top 50. If you call that disgusting bias, then so be it. I’m guessing you’d take Monroe, Jennings or Holiday as your No. 1 player over Reke. While all three of them are the best at something in the class (Monroe-most versatile, Jennings-best playmaker, Holiday-best defender/most complete guard), Reke is the best scorer, has improved his overall game, has gotten better at getting his teammates involved and hasn’t been stopped all summer. In my opinion, he has the best takeover ability in the class. As far as Ebanks, I wasn’t a real big fan of his earlier in his career (and he still doesn’t rebound or play tough D all the time), but I think his skills and production warrant his ranking–for now. Oh yeah, I don’t care where other writers, but I know for a fact I’m not the only one to have him in the top 10. hoblin: I like Kris’ game, but he wasn’t at a lot of events this summer. I actually took him out of the top 50 because I thought it would be unfair to include him when so many yeah…: Good catch. Fixed. Bruno: Thanks for the feedback, but see my above to James. Obviously I don’t see Gordon as much as you do on the West Coast, but while the kid is clearly very athletic and plays hard, I just don’t think he’s real skilled. Does he have more potential than Kevin Jones or do more than Yancy Gates? Maybe, but I think Kevin is more skilled and versatile (though not as athletic) and I think Yancy can dominate more (at least for stretches) and has a higher ceiling. As for Withey, I haven’t seen him live and from what I’ve seen on video, I’d prefer to err on the side of caution. Regarding 09, I just don’t like that many kids in the class as of right now. I’d rather go with a kid who’s shown me something than a kid everyone just talks about. If I’m wrong, time will tell. By the way, this is only an update. Take a look at my first installment to see who’s gone up and who’s gone down, then look out for my next update. MOMONEY: See my response to Bruno. Kimmie: Elston is nice (check out Matt Stroup’s story on him in the current issue of the mag) and it was tough for me to not include him in the bottom part of the top 50.

• a. sam Posted: Sep.3 at 4:11 pm
  I hate when that happens. I should stop commenting on my Blackberry. hoblin: I like Devoe Joseph’s J and basketball IQ, but he’s a bit small for a 2 and not a freak athlete or a legit combo to me. Still, I think he’ll be a very good college player in the right program.

• Arek Posted: Sep.3 at 9:41 pm
  how you guys gonna put demar at #9 man. He’s top 5 material atleast, how you gon have willie warren ahead of demar? you guys sure havent seen him play all that much apparently, dudes a beast, at worst he should be at #2.

• Arek Posted: Sep.3 at 9:43 pm
  btw, good to see courtney fortson getting a little more love from you guys then other scout sources, ive seen him play 5-6 times and dudes a reall baller and a true PG. he can score WHENEVER he wants to, and is a pass 1st poing guard, but will score when he has to.

• Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.4 at 2:04 pm
  Wasn’t Tyreke the best player at the Elite 24 game? And wasn’t that game played by the best players in the country? So doesn’t that make calling Tyreke #1 VERY logical?

• a. sam Posted: Sep.4 at 10:24 pm
  Arek: I ranked Demar ninth because for all of his talent, I haven’t personally witnessed him have one of those games just made me say damn and even though he’s a crazy athlete, I’m not in love with his handle. Does Demar have a better chance into developing into a Pierce-type wing scorer down the road than Willie has at becoming an Arenas-type scoring point? This man says no, and that’s why I’m rocking with Willie–for now. I honestly don’t see him being ranked second in the nation in my next update (Let me ask you this: is Demar’s skill set a whole lot better than Memphis frosh Jeff Robinson out of Jersey, who was ranked in the 50-100 range in 07? Don’t hit me with that East Coast bias, either), but you never know where I’ll have him ranked next time. Ben: Makes sense to me, but I’m not every other writer and definitely not one from Rivals. So I must be wrong. I will say that both Brandon Jennings (who is a close second) and Lance Stephenson (who I foolishly have #1 in 09) both turned it out, too. To me, it all gets figured out when these kids get to college.

• cwhite Posted: Sep.5 at 1:13 pm
  You changed your 2010 list. Go to caainsider.com and read about Daryl Traynham at a recent tournament. You took the wrong player off you list.

• yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Posted: Sep.5 at 1:17 pm
  Sam, Eloy Vargas has played well the whole summer. Leading his team to a 2nd place finish in vegas. He also help Team Breakdown win AAU Nationals. He average 18 points and 14 rebounds and 4 blks playing with Super Freshman Brandon “BK” Knight and Super Soph Kenny “KB” Boynton. He out played 4 guys currently ranked ahead of him on National Television (did you see the game). He holds offered from Pitt, UF, Louisville and Ohio State. Lastly, he may have the best upside in the c/o 2008 (6’10 equally skilled from the post and the wing) My question to you, why is Vargas ranked #39 Before you answer that question, think about this. A great scout once said “I’d rather go with a kid who’s shown me something than a kid everyone just talks about”

• Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.5 at 2:22 pm
  Yeahhhhhhhh: Aggrey has said much the same thing as this “great scout” you quote. Of course, Aggrey is on his way to being a great scout too, so I guess that makes sense.

• yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Posted: Sep.5 at 10:00 pm
  Ben, The great scout i was refering I was quoting was Aggrey, It’s called sarcasm

• Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.7 at 9:52 am
  I’m an idiot.

• Domo Posted: Sep.8 at 7:32 pm
  KL..?

• Jlew Posted: Sep.9 at 12:58 pm
  The 1st top 50 list I’ve seen without Jerime Anderson & Drew Gordon. You must have been hibernating this summer.

• d Posted: Sep.10 at 3:51 pm
  Sam I think you did a great job in your rankings.Don’t agree with John Riek because I believe he is a grown man at least 21 or 22 years old. i have seen a lot of the players on the list and i am here to tell you that Romero Osby and Scotty Hopson will form the best 1-2 punch in the country when they arrive together at Mississippi State in 2008.

• a. sam Posted: Sep.10 at 4:02 pm
  cwhite, why didn’t you post your comment on the 2010 list? Regarding Daryl, I like his game (or he wouldn’t have been on the first list), but at 5-10 (probably closer to 5-8), it’s gonna be hard to stay in anyone’s top 10 nationally. He has three years to prove me wrong.
  yeah…, Vargas has the ability to take over games, but he only does it in stretches. I think he’ll be a great college player in the right program (I’d like to see him at Pitt with my man Brad Wanamaker), but for right now, he needs to gain consistency.
  Domo, your boy Korie can definitely play, but being a smaller scoring guard (if Kalin Lucas does well this year at the 1, look for Korie to play the 2 for a while at Michigan State), I’d like to see him become better at setting up his teammates. If this was a top 75, he’d be in there. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the McDonald’s game, since I believe it’s in Milwaukee this year.
  Jlew, I don’t mind being the first. Anderson played very well this summer, but he was on a loaded AAU team. While that doesn’t mean he’s overrated or anything, I got to see him do drills, etc., with a much smaller group of elite players than you see at a tourney or bigger camp. Very solid, should be an impact guy in college (maybe not right away), but not one of my top 50 players. As for Gordon, he’s got a lot of tools, a great motor and is a freak athlete, but he’s not very polished. I’m not saying he can’t play, but he hasn’t developed as much as many would have projected earlier in his career. I think he’s somewhat similar to Yancy Gates, but I think Yancy is more dominant when the light goes on.

• a. sam Posted: Sep.10 at 5:18 pm
  d, thanks for the love. I’m not sure how old Riek is, but you’d be surprised at how many kids are older these days. At least in Riek’s case, he came from another country, so it might be harder to put him at the correct grade level or just send him to college here without him being fully prepared to meet the NCAA’s standards. I agree with you about Hopson and Osby. I’m very high on both of them and think their games compliment each other well.

• rodney Posted: Sep.10 at 10:16 pm
  kemba walker will be a star mark my words. he’s a humble silent kid who lets his game do all the talking. uconn will love him

• rodney Posted: Sep.10 at 10:37 pm
  I hope the mcdonald’s all america selection team are paying close attention to kemba walker the sky is the limit for this kids game. unlike some of the other pg’s around the country he gets it done on both ends.

• Zachary Armstrong Posted: Sep.11 at 5:18 pm
  Renaldo Wooldrige please come to Illinois, please!

• KING Posted: Sep.12 at 2:25 pm
  Are u guys crazy. Dequan Jones is not the top 48 in the country. He killed at every camp he attended this summer!!!!!

• justin Posted: Sep.12 at 11:24 pm
  You really messed up leaving Drew Gordon off your list…he killed at USA then broke his hand and you just leave him off???? thats sorry

• bobbins Posted: Sep.13 at 8:03 pm
  WHERES LIL’ ROMEO????

• Domo Posted: Sep.13 at 10:22 pm
  YEA IF THIS WAS TOP 75 IM PRETTY SURE HE WOULD BE IN THERE (ESPN HAS HIM RANKED NO.60) DID BOBBINS REALLY ASK WHERE IS LIL ROMEO ? HE’S NOT EVEN TOP 150..!! NO OFFENSE BUT..YOU LOSING REAL BAD ON THAT 1.

• sam Posted: Sep.22 at 6:45 pm
  you are dumb. you are dumb. you are dumb. drew gordon is top 20. you are dumb. you are dumb. you are dumb.

• a. sam Posted: Sep.24 at 1:23 pm
  KING: Dequan is nice, but I’d like to see how he does with creating his own shot in the halfcourt. Definitely a very good transition player, active and a strong finisher when he has someone setting him up. If that J keeps getting better, his ranking will go up, too. justin and sam: I’m not a huge Drew Gordon fan and you’re making me like him even less. How about you explain why he’s so good?

• brad Posted: Sep.24 at 4:47 pm
  this high school (luther burbank) in sacramento has some AMAZING basketball players. i havge never seen these kids before. all i can say is WOW

• justin Posted: Sep.26 at 1:43 pm
  gordon broke his hand at USA baskeball (he as in the top statistics categories until that)and didn’t get to play until vegas. he ran simpkins into the floor every practice, and did the little things simpkins wouldn’t. play defense, rebound both ends, run, pass. he scored 27 on morgan and had morgan puffing on the sidlines. he is team first, but took his team to state finals, losing in OT. he is a beast on boards. coaches at USA bball love him!

• a. sam Posted: Sep.26 at 6:00 pm
  justin, thanks for the intelligent response. I don’t have anything against Gordon. He was a kid whose size, effort, physical gifts and potential is what made him a household name earlier in his career. While it’s still very early to say he’s topped off, nothing he’s shown me recently (I was at NBPA when he was at USA) has shown he’ll be a dominant post scorer, extend his range or greatly expand his skillset. Terrific athlete with a great motor, but I’d take Simpkins over him because of his versatility, as well as the fact that I think a somewhat lazy high school kid can be motivated if he has the right attitude. I’d take Morgan over him for his size (obviously), great hands and feet, soft touch and the fact that while he needs to lose weight, he knows it and has already made good progress. If I have to win one game, I’d take Gordon over them–if I have the right players around him. If I have to take a player for four years, regardless of who’s around him, I’ll take the others. He’ll be great at UCLA for his hustle, effort and winning mentality, but do you think he’ll be a better player than a role player like Lorenzo Mata, for example?

• justin Posted: Sep.27 at 1:41 pm
  honestly..how many times have you actually seen him play lately?
  gordon got shifted this summer. He is a two sport athlete. State ranked thrower. His parents want balance. He spent two weeks of the summer doing community service in S. Africa. Then he broke his hand. here’s all I will say. I’ve coached and watched him for years. he has speed. fastest on his team, including guards. He has bounce. 40+ vertical.
  He has athleticism. Can guard on the perimeter with his speed. Size. Close to 240 lbs. He has excellent defensive skills, timing, good passing skill, soft touch and is in great shape. team first mentality. his PF game is coming on strong. his issue is that he was largely off the “scout” scene this summer, and came back the day his hand was out of the cast, and still went to work in Vegas. he will be much much more than a role player for UCLA.

• a. sam Posted: Oct.2 at 4:15 am
  Lately, I’ve only seen Drew at the Elite 24, which I admit wasn’t the best place to evaluate a player. However, for an athlete like him, I was somewhat disappointed in his performance. I’m glad he’s such a well-rounded kid and my people in Cali say great things about his character. I agree that injury held him back this summer, but outside of myself, most people have him in the top 20-30 range (even with him out of action for a while) , so I definitely don’t think people are underrating him. He’s definitely a freak athlete with a lot of power and because he has such a great motor, he’s a force on the boards and on D. But while his current game make him a terrific high school player, to be honest, his footwork and range need work for him to have close to a similar impact in college, especially with his future teammates at UCLA. Who knows if Love will even be there when Gordon arrives, but if you can’t tell by the guards they’ve brought in, UCLA will probably be more guard-oriented than in recent years. And don’t forget, they’re reportedly pretty strong with Renardo Sidney, not to mention they’re still recruiting more offensively skilled posts in the 08 class, like Jamison Morgan and even your man Matt Simpkins. I think Gordon will get burn from Day 1 at UCLA, but my Mata comment wasn’t an insult–I think he’ll be an enforcer, rebounder, defensive presence and someone who gets buckets in transition, off putbacks and easy finishes off spoon-fed dimes from the cast of guards he’ll have on his team. I just don’t think he’ll be a guy Howland will clear out a side for and dump it into the post repeatedly because he’s too skilled for other elite Pac-10 bigs to stop. I think Gordon is good, but he’s just not in my top 50 right now, which could change–or not. I understand where you’re coming from, as you’ve coached and watched him develop over the years, but I haven’t had your experience and can only go off what I see.

• Domo Posted: Oct.2 at 6:58 pm
  Aggrey KL has Videos on you tube u should check it out. He’s showing off his smooth jumper and setting his teamates up for good looks. Some of the dimes he threw were to future Michigan State Spartan Delvon Roe IM GHOST…!!

• jumpman91023 Posted: Oct.11 at 10:32 am
  Ty walker should be ranked higher hes the truth hands down

• axel foley Posted: Oct.11 at 1:32 pm
  Have you ever seen paul mccoy out of portland, oregon? If you did, you know he’d be on this list..he is probably the best pure athlete in the class..and he tore up the curcuit this summer with team jones..

• Plahn Posted: Oct.14 at 4:37 am
  Have yall not heard about Jeff Taylor in Hobbs, New Mexico ?
  This kid has too be on your list… Last I heard he’s goin to Texas Tech or Gonzaga next year

• a. sam Posted: Oct.15 at 11:28 pm
  Domo, for the last time–I know Korie is nice! I actually like his game, just not a fan of small guards who like shooting more than passing (except A.I.), but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes McDonald’s. jumpman, Ty is good, but he had a disappointing summer. However, you might be seeing more of him from SLAM soon. axel, I’ve heard great things about Paul, but I’ve never seen him play. I hear he’s a monster athlete and might actually be better in football. Where is he going to school? Somewhere in the WCC, right? Plahn, I’ve heard of Taylor, but I’d be lying if I said I had the chance to get out to New Mexico to see him. Who, if anybody, did he play AAU with? I know Hobbs HS has a pretty strong tradition. Also, don’t be surprised if he ends up at Texas.

• Domo Posted: Oct.16 at 11:16 pm
  I WASNT TRYING 2 RIDE YO TIP SO U CAN PUT HIM IN YO TOP 50 I WAS JUST SAYING…IM GHOST!!

• d Posted: Oct.17 at 4:02 pm
  By the way sam r u all going to do any stories on Scotty Hopson and Romero Osby before this season is over?

• TK Posted: Oct.22 at 11:38 am
  Hey sam…my first time lookin in to these forums and I gotta say, you seem like you know what you’re doin. I was wonderin if you happened to hear about some guys on our team here in Arizona The school is Millennium and we’re in Goodyear. We have a couple great kids out here like Tyler Cargil and Carrick Felix have fun

• Tion Posted: Oct.22 at 3:02 pm
  whre is my boy Korie yall know he need to be on here at least in the top 50

• Rellevance Posted: Oct.26 at 1:57 am
  How come Romeo Miller isn’t in your rankings?

• KLANG Posted: Oct.31 at 2:03 am
  Sam I’m not sayin Nick Williams out of LeFlore ought to be n your top ten I just wanna know your evaluation on him.He’s very skilled and can shoot but doesn’t show off his athleticism which I think held him back from being a top player and the fact that he doesn’t really take over games.

• KlickKlackKaos Posted: Nov.1 at 5:58 pm
  Ed Davis at number 14 makes me want to punch a baby…at worst number 10

• matt (ballislife) Posted: Nov.5 at 1:53 am
  demar at no9??? come on now, you can’t honestly tell me willie warren and delvon roe are better than demar? wake up slam!!

• matt (ballislife) Posted: Nov.5 at 2:03 am
  sam, demar killed jrue at the arizona cactus classic. In the state playoff game against Mater Dei, Demar and his compton tarbabes team shoulda beat the monarchs. The cif clearly wanted a rematch of mater dei and artesia in the southern state sections, casue kamyron brown was raping demar, and demar still put up over 20 ppg, and stole the ball from tayking and dunked it all over mater dei. Demar also had some 40 point outbursts at the main event tournament this year in which he was the human highlight reel. Demars athleticsm overshadows his all around game, shooting off the dribble to the right and the left is his specialty, and being able to finish strong inside. I can see your skepticism, but I’ll keep you updated this season, as I’ll be filming all of Demar’s games out here in Cali. Just a couple of weeks ago, he almost dunked it from the freethrow line in a game against mayfair. Also, compton killed dominguez in fall play, from what i hear, by over 20 points. Also, watch our for our dvd coming out this December, I’ll make sure to get you a copy. Matt
  http://www.ballislife.com

• reddevil32 Posted: Nov.6 at 1:39 pm
  where is Korie Lucious????

• reddevil32 Posted: Nov.6 at 1:42 pm
  where is Kwamaine Mitchell????

• KLANG Posted: Nov.8 at 5:59 pm
  Matt make sure I get a copy to I enjoy watching your highlight reels.I got the hoopmixtape also.

• Erik Posted: Apr.15 at 11:50 pm
  Tyler Zeller at 11?! Yes, I realize he won Mr. Basketball and won a state title, but he has not played against anybody his size and talent level. His high school is the only place in the state with 7 footers at its disposal. His teammate was the only person in southern Indiana his height. I think Dunnigan and Mullens at least are better than Zeller. He is good for NC’s system, but won’t be good enough for the ACC. Look what his brother has done, who has the exact same credentials as Tyler.

• David Posted: Sep.1 at 7:00 pm
  i play with ty walker every once in a while at the local ymca in wilmington

• KK Posted: Sep.10 at 10:13 am
  Ranking Nate Miles #37 as a token because he hasnt been on the circuit is not accurate. You should of put him n/a or not ranked because he is a top 5 player in this class. Mark my words he will be a lottery pick. Either wayhe is nowhere near as low as 37 in 2008.