Rankings Rewind: 2015 Class
The 2015 class was likely the most loaded that Kentucky has seen in the last decade or so. Over 20 prospects wound up signing D1 scholarships and several have been impact players at the collegiate level over the last 3 seasons. Here’s a look at how the top players in the class have performed since they left the high school ranks.
- Raymond Spalding, Trinity – Ray stayed home and attended the University of Louisville for 3 years. He averaged 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds this season and declared for the NBA draft at the end of the year. Spalding has signed with an agent and will stay in the draft. As of last Friday’s mock draft, Draft Express has Ray going 55th in the draft, barely hanging in the end of the second round.
- Camron Justice, Knott County Central – Justice has had a rockier career than Spalding has enjoyed. As a freshman at Vanderbilt, Justice averaged 3.4 points per game. As a sophomore, that number was cut in half to only 1.7 points per game. That prompted a transfer to IUPUI at Christmas. Justice should see a much bigger role next season with the Jaguars.
- Aric Holman, Owensboro – Aric signed with Mississippi State and saw significant playing time right away for Coach Ben Howland. He averaged 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds as a Junior this year. Holman declared for the draft but has since withdrawn his name and will play his senior season at Miss State next season.
- James “Beetle” Bolden, Holmes – Beetle’s college career got off to a slow start as he tore his ACL before his freshman year at West Virginia. This past year he averaged 8.7 points and 1.9 rebounds as a redshirt sophomore for the Mountaineers. Bolden should see a major role increase in his last two seasons in Morgantown.
- Dwayne Sutton, Manual – Sutton started his career at UNC-Asheville where he was the conference Player of the Year. After a successful first year, he transferred back home to Louisville where he played this season as a redshirt sophomore. This year Sutton averaged 4.3 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.
- David Simmons, Henderson – Simmons went the Junior College route out of high school and spent two seasons at Tallahassee Community College. This past season he enrolled at Middle Tennessee State where he averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a Junior.
- Jalen Perry, Ballard – Perry has had an interesting college path so far. Signed with Middle Tennessee State out of high school, Perry was kicked off the team before the academic year started and relocated to John A. Logan Community College for two seasons. This year, Jalen enrolled at UAB and averaged 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a Junior for the Blazers.
- Hagen Tyler, Boyle County – Originally committed to Northern Kentucky, Tyler ended up at Campbellsville after Dave Bezold was fired at NKU. As a Junior, Hagen averaged 13.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Tigers. Tyler has already eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career and should finish a strong career with over 1,500 points.
- Drew McDonald, Newport Central Catholic – McDonald has had a great career as a member of the NKU Norse. Drew scored 17 points and grabbed 9.6 rebounds per game for NKU this season and was the Player of the Year for the Horizon League.
- Matt Rose, Lexington Christian – Another member of the 2015 class who has made multiple college stops, Rose started his career at Samford where he averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. Rose sat a year before getting to play this past season at Lipscomb. Matt averaged 8 points and 3 rebounds per game for the Bison this season.
Other Notable Members of the Class:
11. Evan Hall, Knott County Central – Hall has had a strong career at IUPUI where he has started the majority of his college career. This past year Evan averaged 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Jaguars.
12. Trey Moses, Eastern – Moses has had an impressive college career for Ball State. As a sophomore Trey made First Team All Defense in the MAC conference. This past season, Moses averaged 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while being named to 3rd team All Conference for the MAC.
14. Eli Pepper, Caldwell County – Pepper has had a solid career at Lipscomb. As a freshman, Eli was named Newcomer of the Year in the Atlantic Sun. This past season, Pepper helped lead Lipscomb to their first NCAA Tournament birth while averaging 7 points and 8 rebounds per game.
23. Tanner Johnson, Lexington Catholic – Johnson did a prep year in Massachusetts before enrolling at Bryant. As a freshman, Tanner only played 23 minutes for Bryant. This past season, Johnson increased to 16 minutes per game while averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds per game.
30. Kobe Caldwell, Warren Central – Caldwell went to Lewis & Clark Community College before enrolling at Utah last season where he played 11 minutes per game for the Utes. Caldwell is currently looking to transfer to a new school.
33. Jeremiah Bell, Boyle County – Bell is well traveled. He played 3 years of high school at Butler before moving to Boyle for his senior year. He enrolled at Vincennes Community College. Then went to Milwaukee for two seasons where he averaged 14 points and 3 rebounds per game this season. Bell is currently looking for a new school as he was granted his release from Milwaukee.
34. Justin Miller, Owensboro – Miller was the MVP of the state tournament and went on an interesting odyssey after graduation. Justin enrolled at Kentucky Wesleyan then left for 22 Foot Prep in South Carolina, lost a bunch of weight and ended up at Louisiana-Lafayette. Miller averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore this season.
54. Trenton Thompson, Harrison County – Thompson was named an NAIA D-II All American at Asbury this season. Thompson averaged 26.8 points per game and scored double figures in every single Asbury game of the year. He also averaged 8.1 rebounds per game on his way to being named an All-American.