Take your pick: Greg Monroe or Tyreke Evans. Either one would can stake a strong claim, at this point, to being the top prospect in the class. Monroe is the future, the guy who has the talent, ability and upside with room to grow. He went from prospect to player this past summer and enjoyed every minute of it.
Evans is the now. He’s the kid capable of the huge scoring number who can go out there and torch a defender for 40 points in the blink of an eye. He was banged up this summer and we didn’t get to see him on top of his game. There’s absolutely no shame in being No. 2 and like we said, a case could still be made for his candidacy at the top. He probably feels like there’s some unfinished business coming out of the summer so expect a monster junior season.
Scout.com’s No. 3 spot goes to the top west coast prospect, Jrue Holiday. Talk about a major league scoring threat, Holiday didn’t take a single vacation all summer long. He was consistently good, clearly talented and the game can come very easy to him.
Ed Davis and Delvon Roe round out our Top 5. Davis’ summer was slow to develop and we think long term he’s a major stud. His daddy played in the NBA and he’s coming on as a prospect. Roe simply had the best summer of anyone and his status as a prospect, kid and player has and maybe never will be higher. He earned his place among the stars.
Brandon Jennings could easily be higher on this list, and frankly we’d be surprised if he didn’t finish the race closer to the top. Playing point guard at Oak Hill is almost the basketball equivalent to manning the QB slot at Notre Dame and Jennings should be up to the task.
Some will tell you Samardo Samuels didn’t have a good summer. That’s not accurate. He remains a big timer and an excellent prospect. The guy is efficient and at times what he does is underappreciated.
The final 3 spots in our Top 10 went to power forwards. Al-Farouq Aminu, Howard Thompkins and Drew Gordon slid into the mix and represent the entire Class of 2008. What do we mean by that?
Well, as a group, this class has yet to define itself. There are a lot of big guys whom we project to be outstanding players. Having said that, few have made their move to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. We really like Aminu, Thompkins and Gordon but resting on their laurels wouldn’t be wise. Kids are going to emerge and separate themselves from their peers. This class, as much as any we can remember coming out of their sophomore years, has room at the top for change.
Frankly, ranking the Top 50 players in this class at this particular stage in the process was an aggressive move. Do not be surprised to see this group of kids change dramatically. Right now there are far more “prospects” than “players” in the class. There should be a healthy competition and jockeying for position.
No. 8 Al-Farouq Aminu |
Be on the lookout for guys like James Tyler, a developing post player. Kenny Kadji is another name to watch along with Jeff Withey, Beas Hagma and J’Mison Morgan on the center list. We like a ton of prospects from the power forward list that didn’t make the cut for our Top 50 and that’s another example of how there is room for kids to leave their mark on the class!
Though he didn’t make the list this time around, Rotnei Clarke deserves to be recognized as the most prolific shooter in the group. His position fate is yet to be determined but we know one thing: he’s a major weapon from downtown on the college level.
As a group, the Class of 2008 is immature and we don’t mean that in a negative way by any means. As this crop matures it should round into a fine class that has the potential to be deep along the frontline. Hopefully it’ll be a fun class to cover because of the expected competition for high profile slots as we anticipate guys moving in and out of the Top 25 on a regular basis.