Reason for the Ranking (Top 5)
This month we introduce our updated Class of 2023 rankings!! Rankings are subjective and PrepHoops.com ranks purely upon potential and where the player will be at their basketball peak. Production factors in only when helping prove the potential is greater or lesser. Why did we rank these guys? Why are they at this spot? Take a look at five Class of 2023 prospects and learn a little about their reputation.
Peruse the complete 2023 rankings.
#1 Isaiah West Isaiah West 6'3" | SG Goodpasture | 2023 State #216 Nation TN (Goodpasture)
Physical specimen and volume scorer, Isaiah West Isaiah West 6'3" | SG Goodpasture | 2023 State #216 Nation TN is an explosive, calculating State Champion. Look for West to continue to improve at a steady pace. This ranking update witnesses the ascendance of Isaiah to the #1 position, overtaking former #1 Jaylen Jones Jaylen Jones 6'0" | PG East Nashville | 2023 State #178 Nation TN .
#2 Blue Cain Blue Cain 6'4" | SG IMG Academy | 2023 State #102 Nation FL (Knoxville Catholic)
Even though he was not close to the wildly dominant scorer he is now, Blue Cain Blue Cain 6'4" | SG IMG Academy | 2023 State #102 Nation FL did start for a State Championship Team as a freshman (Knoxville Catholic 2020). Consider his team defeated defending champions Briarcrest Christian, a team then-loaded with Kennedy Chandler and Marcellus Brigham Marcellus Brigham 6'5" | SF Briarcrest Christian | 2020 State #442 Nation TN .
Blue can score from any point on the floor and rarely makes bad choices offensively. His patience with the ball in his hands is expert. Cain will drive the offense for any team he joins and D1 programs are clamoring to get him on campus and in their uniforms.
#3 Jaylen Jones Jaylen Jones 6'0" | PG East Nashville | 2023 State #178 Nation TN (East Nashville)
Blisteringly fast. Jaylen Jones Jaylen Jones 6'0" | PG East Nashville | 2023 State #178 Nation TN ‘ greatest intangible is “feel.” He plays with tremendous sense of his passing options and handles as well as anybody in Tennessee, regardless of class. Jones falls from the #1 spot through no real fault of his own. In the last year Isaiah West Isaiah West 6'3" | SG Goodpasture | 2023 State #216 Nation TN took a couple more steps forward and Blue Cain Blue Cain 6'4" | SG IMG Academy | 2023 State #102 Nation FL also made a case for #1 overall. If you could have just 1 of these 3 on your team in 2 years…who would you pick?
#4 Eddie Ricks III Eddie Ricks III 6'9" | SF Clarksville Academy | 2023 State #152 Nation TN (Clarksville Academy)
Eddie Ricks III Eddie Ricks III 6'9" | SF Clarksville Academy | 2023 State #152 Nation TN is making his ’23 debut after avoiding our watchful eyes all winter. The May-July portion of his 2021 was absolutely spectacular. Competing with PSB-Nashville on the UA-Rise Circuit, Ricks III showed off a fantastic game with a tantalizingly high ceiling.
Eddie Ricks III Eddie Ricks III 6'9" | SF Clarksville Academy | 2023 State #152 Nation TN , PSB-Nashville 16u: The wonderful agility of Eddie Ricks III Eddie Ricks III 6'9" | SF Clarksville Academy | 2023 State #152 Nation TN certainly helped him. The height was a benefit on defense. Most of Ricks III did was simply shoot with a beautiful softness. Ricks III proved much too difficult to defend. Closing out with a fury didn’t work (Root fouled him as a shooter) and closing out casually didn’t work (Ricks III hit 3’s). Fouling him didn’t work (Ricks III made the free throws).
#5 E.J. Smith E.J. Smith 6'3" | PG Memphis East | 2024 TN (Memphis East)
Memphis East did not get to play last season, so E.J. Smith E.J. Smith 6'3" | PG Memphis East | 2024 TN is dude a fresh evaluation. Is he the second best point guard prospect in the state? As of now he resides in that position, but sincerely his junior season will be full of fresh looks and hopefully production.
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