The Unranked (Summer 2019)
For the most part, Rankings are a headache. We’re constantly tinkering and looking for assurance from sources. And people don’t see eye to eye for the most part. We always look stupid a few months removed from an update. Comes…
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Continue ReadingFor the most part, Rankings are a headache. We’re constantly tinkering and looking for assurance from sources. And people don’t see eye to eye for the most part. We always look stupid a few months removed from an update. Comes with the territory, though. Plus, it’s all worth it because of the most satisfying part of updating Rankings — adding new players.
We’re a month away from overhauling our current lists. But that doesn’t mean we’re not shading up and down and making a list of new prospects on the back-end. And we can’t think of a better time than right now to show these soon-to-be ranked prospects some love!
Note: This is not a list of every unranked player set to appear for the first time. More so, some that we haven’t written about enough over the last few months.
Manny Hill (2020) | 5-10 PG | Cleveland Heights
Notre Dame (OH) recently offered this shifty shot-creating point guard. Handles the ball with pace. Dynamic with a live dribble as he can shoot it or score around the rim creatively.
Caleb Piks (2020) | 6-4 SG | Mentor
As it stands now, Piks will vault into the top ten shooting guards in 2020, squarely in the Division II tier.¹
Knockdown catch-and-shoot weapon who combines skilled footwork with physicality at the rim to finish in traffic. Aggressive scorer. Provides secondary ball-handling, too. Holds a Notre Dame (OH) offer.
Kaden Fuhrmann (2020) | 6-4 SF | Lakota East
Division II and NAIA programs interested in adding an outside shooter from a disciplined high school program should be all over Fuhrmann. Hillsdale already offered. He can hit without much space because of his quick release and good positional size. Occasionally attacks the closeout to score at the basket.
Adam Chaney (2020) | 6-4 SG | Carrollton
Chaney caught our eye at the OHSBCA Showcase with his size on the wing and outside shooting ability. At the event, he aggressively sought 3-pointers while also finishing in traffic here and there. Averaged 19.8 points at Carrollton last season.
Davion Mace (2020) | 6-7 C | Cincinnati Woodward
Mace provides athleticism, physicality, and vertical spacing. A chiseled floor-running post who can finish oops and turn shots away at the rim. Raw prospect. Mace will have opportunity to shine in the winter playing with 2021 superstar Paul McMillan and a reenergized Woodward crew.
Patrick Ivory (2021) | 6-5 SF | Northmont / Team Flyght
Ivory is an intriguing wing prospect athletic enough to defend multiple positions and score when the pace picks up. Excited to see him add more ball skills to go with his physical tools.
Magnus Entennman (2021) | 6-8 C | Upper Arlington / Nova (Lemon)
Entennman has as much or more upside than any prospect on the list. Natural scoring touch for a 6-foot-8 post who has room to grow is a rare combination. Entennman also plays with that patented UA toughness, something that shows itself when setting screens or crashing the glass. Flashes perimeter skill.
Damontay Raglin (2021) | 6-5 PF | Trotwood / Team Flyght
Hard-nose kid with a strong body that wants to play in the paint and rebound. Raglin possesses the mobility to play more on the wing. Yet, his finishing ability, strong frame, and quickness in short spaces creates more mismatches when he lines up at the 4 or 5.
Logan Smith (2021) | 6-6 PF/C | Martins Ferry
At the OHSBCA Showcase, Smith made the right basketball play consistently and flashed scoring ability from inside and out. Active screener. 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game as a sophomore.
Derrick James (2022) | 5-7 PG | St. Charles / JH1 Elite
James has the ball skills, defensive intensity, and creative scoring package that a kid of his size needs to possess. He’s crafty in the mid-range with short pull-ups and other floaters. James gets to his spots with the ball on a string. Hits open shots from outside. Most importantly, he makes opposing guards uncomfortable with his lateral quickness and aggressive on-ball defense.
Jalen Wenger (2022) | 6-4 SG | Dalton
Rising sophomore guards with Wenger’s size, efficient scoring package, and athleticism don’t grow on trees. They tend to be Division I prospects and Wenger has the looks of one.
Scored better than 15 points a night as a freshman, adding 6.7 rebounds, too. In the one 5-on-5 game we saw of his at the OHSBCA Showcase, Wenger hit a turn-around jumper and banged another contested mid-range shot after a behind-the-back size-up dribble. He also stayed in front defensively. Watch out.
Cameron Smith (2022) | 6-2 SG | Centerville / Team Flyght
Smith is a fundamentally sound wing whose outside shooting threat sets up the rest of his game. Possesses a shot-fake-and-attack game from the perimeter. Looks for floaters around the basket. Solid athlete.
Dylan Thompson (2022) | 6-2 SG | Buckeye Valley / JH1 Elite
Impacts the game on both ends of the floor. Thompson combines defensive instincts with lateral quickness to contest shots and cut off drives after a dribble, maybe two. Effective and efficient mid-range pull-up.
Ben Morrison (2022) | 6-2 SG | Rossford / All Ohio Turf
Morrison provides secondary ball-handling ability and scoring on the wing. Efficient shot-creator who uses jab steps and rip-throughs to get to his spots in few dribbles. Quick and light on his feet. Knows how to play.
Evan Mahaffey (2022) | 6-4 SF | Moeller / Apex Gold
The Cincinnati Northwest transfer is yet another 6-foot-4-plus swing man with Division I potential in the Moeller rotation. Mahaffey is wiry and will immediately provide energy when inserted into the game. Chases down rebounds and defends like he has something to prove. Flashes drive-and-kick prowess and gets to the rack with long strides.
Justin Perry (2022) | 6-5 SF | New Albany / Nova (Reese)
The intrigue for Perry is his size combined with shooting ability and a capable handle. Knows how to use his body to protect his dribble and get inside against mismatches. Occasionally flashes a mid-post move, which would ideally become part of the arsenal for a young 6-foot-5 wing/forward.
¹ Quick behind the curtain peak into our rankings process. We split our vast number of college prospects into tiers that are based on which level of college ball they will play. For example, Piks looks to be a Division II recruit. More specifically, he’s a very solid D-II recruit — a micro-tier within the D-II tier (although we don’t really have a name for these subgroups, I just like the sound of “micro-tier”). Typically in Ohio, the D-II tier almost always begins around prospect no. 26. Where it ends depends on the class. For 2019, it nearly ranged to no. 100. For 2020, it looks like somewhere in the sixties.