Louisiana 2018 Rankings: Top 5 Update
1) Javonte Smart 6’4 G Scotlandville (LSU Commit)
Javonte Smart continues to do Javonte Smart things. Despite having pretty incredible averages in the past, Smart continues to build on his incredibly impressive high school resume, posting career highs in both points and rebounds. He is also doing it at an incredibly efficient rate, shooting 48% from the field, 38% from 3 and a career high 89% from the free throw line. The most impressive game of his career came earlier this season in a matchup against Little Elm (TX) in which he scored 59 ponts, grabbed 10 boards and still had 7 assists. That’s a 2k type statline that he put up!
2) Jared Butler 6’3 G Riverside (Alabama Commit)
For years, Javonte has been heralded as the undisputed top player of the 2018 class, but Jared Butler is doing a hell of a job making a case for why it should at least be considered a two man race. He has been the undisputed top dawg on the best team in the state, and has lead Riverside to an undefeated season so far this year. He has also lead Riverside over Scotlandville twice, giving Jared Butler a 2-0 record on the year over Javonte Smart. Butler is an absolute scoring machine, and has been using his deadeye badge to slay teams all season. (That’s multiple 2k references so far)
3) Josh LeBlanc 6’7 F Madison Prep (Georgetown Commit)
This season hasn’t gone quite the way that Josh LeBlanc was hoping that his senior season would go. After committing to Coach Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, LeBlanc broke his foot and has been sideline for most of the season. Madison Prep is hoping to get LeBlanc back in early February, and I know that Josh is itching to get back on the court, but foot injuries on bigger players are always dangerous, so it’s best to use precaution.
4) Greg Williams 6’3 G Lafayette Christian (St. John’s Commit)
So far this season, Williams has been exceeding for the LCA Knights, and he has been able to lead them to some big wins already. Williams is the biggest player on the team for LCA, so his diverse skillset has been on full display, as he has played 1-5 so far this year. LCA is coming off of the first state championship in school history, and Williams has them right on pace to be adding to that total.
5)Kobe Julien 6’5 F Madison Prep (Louisiana Commit)
With Josh LeBlanc going down, that has opened the door for someone from Madison Prep to step up, and Kobe Julien has done just that, in a big way. Julien has been leading the team in scoring, and has had a couple of 30 point games along the way. After LeBlanc went down, I was expecting Madison Prep to struggle a bit more than they have, and Julien has been able to lead Madison Prep to some big wins over tough teams so far this season. I think that looking bad, as bad as it was at the time, Madison Prep is going to be better at the end of the season because of the way that Julien has been able to step up in the mean time.