On3's Jamie Shaw has an article out ranking the best HS prospects in the nation, including all classes. He gives Cooper Flagg the top spot, followed by rising senior GG Jackson and then Cameron Boozer.
I am a little surprised that Koa Peet, another Class of 2025 player that was on the same U17 team with Flagg, wasn't listed.
https://www.on3.com/news/ranking-the...ol-basketball/
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Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
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They also want these guys to be pro-ready and minimize the risks when they're drafting them, which means having them play enough somewhere else where they can be meaningfully evaluated as pro prospects before spending a high first round draft pick on them. Of course there are some who are exceptions and it's obvious right out of HS that they're ready. But not many.
And while some in the front office may want these guys to come in as early as possible, the current players and their union don't. That is the real obstacle. This as always will have to be bargained.
The last part is true - the players union wants OAD. The other problem here is that it is all being discussed among NBA circles with little to no input from the NCAA or colleges. The best time to have a dialogue between the NBA and college was a couple decades ago. The second best time to do that is now.
I think the NBA would lower the age limit but still require the "one year removed from high school." So it incentivizes finishing HS early/reclassifying and then pursuing college/G league/whatever.
So, still no straight from HS to NBA. NBA still wants to scout players in more competitive environments rather than HS gyms but are okay with younger guys. I could be misinterpreting though.
In my view, lowering the age limit would result in more players going to prep schools and finding "creative" ways of going pro right away a la Shaedon Sharpe. I just think you'd see a ton of the top players graduating high school in December and bypassing college altogether. Granted, this would only affect like the top 15-20 kids every year. Some of the best of the best, like Paolo, don't need to go to college. There are far more borderline guys that might get exposed by a year in college and see their draft stock plummet. This is obviously why NBA front offices want to see them in college because it's a much better scouting environment for them. The problem is that some players will want to stay more of a mystery if it means they can secure a lottery pick. Just look at what happened to Emoni Bates. Had his father kept him in high school last year, you'd see Bates in every 2023 mock draft out there. He's a late 1st/2nd rounder right now due to the circus that went on with Memphis. That decision has cost Bates millions of dollars. Hopefully, he can regain some of that during a year at EMU.
currently the rule is 1 year removed from HS graduation and turn 19 during calendar year of draft. The only thing that will change is the 19 part. They'll draft players who only have to turn 18 during the calendar year of the draft. This will encourage stars to reclass up a year to get to the draft early. By the end of their HS Jr years it is pretty obvious who can quickly transition to the pros. This lets those very few guys move up a year and go pro without having to be 19 in the draft year. But not to bypass college or one of the other pro options. Some will try the Shaedon Sharpe play but I'm not sure that will work out.
The owners are adamant about the OAD rule. The players union (aka the agents who run that union) are desperate to return to a time when they could run a shell game on owners and monetize players who would otherwise not get guaranteed contracts. Never going to happen. The owners will never move off of that demand unless the players drastically lower the salary cap. Never going to happen.
We as fans have to accept that the NBA views college hoops as at worst a competitor and at best as a free developmental system. One that will take whatever their "betters" deign to sling at them. And be glad for the privilege of doing so.
I have doubts that Silver sees it that way, but he is the owners' lapdog. Which he should be given his job. The NBA isn't going to work with college ball. They don't GAF and that isn't going to change.
The very top kids a la LeBron or Kobe could pull that off. Probably. But other kids couldn't. Guys like Dariq or Flip or DL would probably see their draft positioning slide closer to the 20s than top 5 by ducking college like that. NIL will steer most of them to college where they'll make far more than they'd make in the G league or OTE or other similar pro league.
It is easy to forget now but there were serious questions about KD or Tatum prior to their college runs. They'd have been first round picks sure. But lower picks with lower endorsement deals for sure. College will be a lure for all but a few kids. The NBA just wants the younger.
See, the thing is, I don't have to see things how you see things. I find your approach where you speak universally - "we as fans have to accept" - to be presumptuous. I am not you and you are wasting your time telling me how to feel or think.
One of the huge issues over the last couple of decades is that Mark Emmert and the NCAA have made zero attempts to establish a relationship with the NBA. Well, the NCAA is about to change its organizational structure and Emmert is retiring. He's been a stick in the mud. Perhaps someone will finally step up and take on the mantle of "basketball czar," a role that Coach K advocated for many times over the years. The NCAA should listen to that idea. It would be nice to have a dialogue across levels of basketball.
Cameron Boozer: "I'm all in on going to college right now"
https://www.on3.com/news/cameron-boo...ege-right-now/
Cameron Boozer is On3’s No. 3 player…in high school basketball. Not in his 2025 class but over the totality of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes. Cameron Boozer also just turned 15 yesterday.
“I bring a lot of energy,” Boozer told On3. “I’ll talk a lot, rebound, pass the ball, make plays for other players, and make everyone around me better. I try to take some from everyone. Like Paolo (Banchero), his jab step. A guy like Giannis, how he pushes in transition. I just try to watch the game and add things to my game.”...
Things are certainly lining up such that the Class of 2024 includes a couple of 'plug the holes' kind of recruits. It could be Duke worst (just in terms of rating and volume of recruits) classes in a long time. My guess is that the coaching staff targets 1 or maybe 2 top recruits. Naas Cunningham appears to be the primary target for now, if he indeed remains in the Class of 2024 and decides to go to college. After that, a couple of borderline 5-star or even 4-star recruits that will stay a few years could be the rest of the recruiting class. Those players would have to know that Duke has already offer Flagg and the Boozer twins in the Class of 2025.
Anyway, there is a lot of time left to go and things can and will change.
I think it’s way too early to say that given how Scheyer recruits and how much time there is until the 2024 class would step on campus. We’ve seen how quickly The Terminator can turn interest into commitment. If he thinks that guys like Foster, (possibly) Estrella, McCain, Schutt, and Reeves will be around in 2024, then I agree with you… those five would be a heck of a core of vets to build around that year, and perhaps we just need one OAD level recruit and/or big time transfer to round that out. But we know how much roster turnover happens in today’s game, so it’s way too early in my view to ignore the 2024 class in favor of the tantalizing potential of 2025.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
You are probably right. On the other hand, the staff has already offered Flagg and the Boozers (decent band name?) in the c/o 2025.
My guess is that the staff is watching the Class of 2023 recruits at Peach Jam this summer but will have a much better sense of how things look when that class steps on campus next summer. If we see a bunch of new offers go out in July 2023, that will be a tell that they think more than Mgbako is destined to be a OAD.