Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 10:35 am  |  36 responses

SLAM Fresh 50 – 2011

A new No. 1?

by Rodger Bohn / @rodgerbohn

While this class doesn’t have the number of sure fire “one and dones” that we’ve been fortunate enough to see as of late, they’ve got some pretty sick talent across the board. Quincy Miller and Michael Gilchrist are waging war against each other gunnin’ for that top spot, with cats like Marquis Teague and Austin Rivers not too far behind. A few new names exploded on the circuit this spring, showing that even in today’s crazed world of ranking middle schoolers, a few diamonds in the rough will always sneak through the cracks.

Rank Name Height Position School College Why?
1 Quincy Miller 6-9 SF/PF Westchester Country Day (NC) Undecided Smaller Kevin Durant clone can do it all.
2 Michael Gilchrist 6-7 SF St. Patricks’s (NJ) Kentucky Skilled wing who is as tough as they get.
3 Marquis Teague 6-2 PG Pike (IN) Kentucky Jeff’s baby bro has a legit chance to earn family bragging rights.
4 Austin Rivers 6-3 PG/SG Winter Park (FL) Undecided Polished scorer with great court vision.
5 Rakeem Christmas 6-9 PF/C Academy of The New Church (PA) Undecided Intriguing post with ideal size and athleticism.
6 James McAdoo 6-9 PF Norfolk Christian (VA) North Carolina Athletic big man who can hit the faceup jumper.
7 LeBryan Nash 6-7 SF Lincoln (TX) Undecided Can kill you inside and out while going hard every second.
8 Johnny O’Bryant 6-9 PF East Side (MS) Undecided Skilled forward who has major NBA potential.
9 Wayne Blackshear 6-5 SG Morgan Park (IL) Louisville Silky smooth guard who can score in every way imaginable.
10 Anthony Davis 6-10 PF Perspectives Charter (IL) Undecided Shot up 5 inches in the last year while maintaining his guard skills.
11 Bradley Beal 6-4 SG Chaminade (MO) Florida Lights out shooter with some bounce.
12 Adonis Thomas 6-6 SF Melrose (TN) Undecided Freak athlete who will put the clamps on you.
13 Myck Kabongo 6-2 PG Findlay Prep (NV) Texas Canadian playmaker is a blur in the open floor.
14 Tony Wroten 6-5 PG Garfield (WA) Undecided Coming off of an injury, the electric guard is looking to regain his old form.
15 Kentavious Caldwell 6-6 SG Greenville (GA) Undecided Fearless shooter with NBA size for his position.
16 Michael Chandler 6-10 C Lawrence North (IN) Undecided Ex-Louisville commit combines skill and athleticism.
17 Dorian Finney-Smith 6-7 SF Norcom (VA) Undecided Exploded on the scene this spring with his inside/out play.
18 Quinn Cook 6-1 PG DeMatha (MD) Undecided Beast on inside.
19 Josiah Turner 6-3 PG Sacramento (CA) Undecided Canadian is relentless scorer.
20 Michael Carter-Williams 6-4 PG St Andrews (RI) Syracuse Big point guard with NBA 3 point range.
21 Jabari Brown 6-4 SG Oakland Senior (CA) Undecided Shut down defender with a silky smooth J.
22 Ben McLemore 6-5 SG Eskridge (MO) Undecided Athletic wing is a buzzing name amongst college coaches.
23 Mickael Hopkins 6-8 PF DeMatha (MD) Undecided Impressive forward who comes from a basketball family.
24 LaQuinton Ross 6-8 SG/SF Life Center Academy (NJ) Undecided Skilled wing with NBA size and three point range.
25 Michael Gbinije 6-6 SG/SF Benedictine (VA) Duke Productive wing with a high basketball IQ.
26 Branden Dawson 6-6 SF Lew Wallace (IN) Undecided Polished wing with legit athleticism.
27 Kyle Wiltjer 6-9 PF Jesuit (OR) Undecided Smooth perimeter skills to go along with body of a big man.
28 Shannon Scott 6-2 PG Milton (GA) Ohio State True definition of a pure point guard.
29 Angelo Chol 6-9 C Hoover (CA) Undecided Tough defender whose offensive game is coming along.
30 Nick Johnson 6-3 SG/PG Findlay Prep (NV) Undecided Athletic combo guard who can stroke it from deep.
31 PJ Hairston 6-6 SG/SF Dudley (NC) North Carolina Powerfully built wing can drill the NBA 3.
32 Dai-Jon Parker 6-3 SG Milton (GA) Undecided Explosive wing can finish with the best of them.
33 Amir Williams 6-9 C Detroit Country Day (MI) Undecided Defensive presence with a high ceiling.
34 Jamal Branch 6-3 PG Grace Prep (TX) Texas A&M Point guard with size and amazing passing ability.
35 Marshall Plumlee 6-11 C Christ School (NC) Undecided Athletic big man who has 2 brothers playing for Duke.
36 Ky Madden 6-4 PG/SG East Pointsett County (AR) Undecided Natural scorer who can play a number of positions.
37 DeAndre Daniels 6-8 SF Taft (CA) Texas Legit wing, despite having size of a power forward.
38 Sam Thompson 6-6 SF Whitney Young (IL) Undecided Lanky wing may have the most bounce of anyone in the class.
39 Mike Shaw 6-8 PF De La Salle (IL) Undecided Skilled, athletic forward who de-committed from Louisville.
40 Norvel Pelle 6-9 PF/C Price (Ca) Undecided Skinny shot blocker with an emerging offensive game.
41 Cody Zeller 6-11 C Washington (IN) Undecided Baby bro of two former McDonald’s All-Americans.
42 Chasson Randle 6-1 PG Rock Island (IL) Undecided Super smooth guard with a great feel for the game.
43 Levi Randolph 6-5 SG Bob Jones (AL) Alabama Polished wing can be a nightmare to defend.
44 Sheldon McClellan 6-5 SG Bellaire (TX) Texas Super athlete who plays above the rim.
45 Trevor Lacey 6-3 SG Butler (AL) Undecided Strong guard who can really stroke it.
46 Kevin Ware 6-5 SF/SG Rockdale County (GA) Tennessee Elite run/jump athlete will fit in perfectly in Knoxville.
47 Dezmine Wells 6-4 SF Word of God (NC) Xavier Power wing who is an outstanding finisher.
48 BJ Young 6-4 PG/SG Mccluer North (MO) Undecided Lanky scorer can play either guard spot.
49 Chris Jones 5-10 PG Melrose (TN) Tennessee Diminutive guard is absolute scoring machine.
50 Chane Behanan 6-7 PF Bowling Green (KY) Undecided Punishing post is incredibly productive.

Rodger is the former Director of Prep Scouting at DraftExpress.com. He can be reached via Twitter @rodgerbohn.

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  • http://www.slamonline.com/ niQ

    LeBryan Nash. His name already sounds like a star in the making. (Lebron, Bryant, Nash…LOL)

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Anthony Davis is my lil’ homie. Be on the lookout for him. He actually grew 8 inches in a year. He went from a 6-2 soph to a 6-10 junior in HS. He’s gonna make some noise in the future.

  • http://slamonline.com/ Ryne Nelson

    Davis killed in Fort Wayne last month. Definitely one of the hottest prospects right now.

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    Great stuff, Rodger. Thanks

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/category/blogs/farmer-jones/ Ryan Jones

    Excellent work man. Looking forward to seeing a lot of these kids this summer… and talking to one of them in-depth very soon.

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  • http://SLAMonline.com GotHandles?

    NO NYC. Times have changed…

  • http://slamonline.com JL

    @niQ, seriously that’s what I was thinking too and couldn’t keep reading because it was just too funny.

  • http://slamonline.com TNT Tucker

    I’m sorry but you can’t have Austin Rivers over Brad Beal, He torched Rivers at Boo Williams plus better shooter and athlete!

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Yo Anthony Davis, Mike Shaw – go to DePaul! Start the revival! Blue Demons! OK, now that I got that out the way, gotta say I’m hella surprised Gilchrist is not number 1.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Jake Appleman

    Rodger, I’m no HS hoops expert, but I’m pretty sure Chi’s Ryan Boatright is a glaring omission. While quick, smaller pgs that can score the ball aren’t exactly a rarity, the kid was the undeniable alpha dog on an international All-Star team with 3 guys featured on it from this list, and he handled the pressure and performed as well–if not better–than any of them. I’d also argue that going up against structured defenses and teams that had been together for years, as Boat did with aplomb in the AST tourney, is a better indicator than playing on the less structured summer circuit or against mediocre HS comp.

  • Wat Misaka

    Funny how recruiting goes. Laquinton Ross goes from top ten to #24 in 1 year.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Oh yeah, I forgot about Ryan Boatright – he needs to go to DePaul too! Seriously though, dude should be on this list.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    While I appreciate Boatright’s game (he’s a very good player), he’s not even in Rival’s top 50.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Jake Appleman

    Well then they’re wrong, too, Bryan.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Well, as you know Jake, rankings aren’t a science, just someone’s personal opinion on who belongs where.

  • JoeMaMa

    Rakeem Christmas – A dope rapper singing carols.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ Moose

    Where’s Naadir Tharpe??

  • http://slamonline.com UK All Day

    #8 Johnny O’Bryant is confused with Memphis’ 2010 commit Joe Jackson. Johnny O’Bryant is 6-9ish, plays the post, and is from the delta region in MS.

  • http://www.dimemag.com Lucas Shapiro

    Michael J. Carter Williams is the REAL DEAL!

  • http://slamonline.com Rodger Bohn

    @UK All Day- Thanks for the heads up. Got that switched. No clue how I made such an error giving he’s from Cleveland (albeit MS, not OH) just like me.

    @Jake- I’ve never really been blown away by Boatright. Perhaps I’m a little biased since I saw him at such a young age when he committed to USC, but everyone else caught up to him bigtime the last time I saw him. Perhaps it was a bad outing. I’ll def peep him in July.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    There are no New York ball players on this list. Why.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    As usual, Illinois is well represented! People just don’t know bout Illinois high school hoops. Where the hell y’all think the phrase “March Madness” comes from?!

  • deano

    Austin Rivers = Deron Williams

  • http://slamonline.com/ Ryne Nelson

    @deano: No… @Enigmatic: Yeah, man!

  • Jim

    HOW IS IT NO ONE FROM THE #1 17U TEAM PLAYAZ BASKETBALL CLUB IS NOT ON YOUR 2011 OR 2012 LIST. NO ONE! MYLES MACK, MYLES DAVIS, DESMONT HUBERT?

  • http://CH Cody haywood

    yall need to check this kid out he is completly of the national radar but he can ball

    http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/dhjUlRvKY0mQIUdAKF2SeQ/basketball-winter-09-10/profile-corey-asberry.htm

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  • http://slamonline.com Rodger Bohn

    @Jim- Kyle Anderson (for 2012) and Desmond Hubert (for 2011) were just outside. If I had 10 more spots, both of those cats definitely would’ve been in there…

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  • Bo

    no way teague should be top 5 especially in front of rivers, i think austin should be one or two overall.

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  • http://www.slamonline.com Chino Angeles

    Michael Gilchrist should have been number 1 he was already ranked number 1 in highschool on his junior year

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