Closing Arguments: Final 2018 Prospect Rankings
The class of 2018 put their final touches on Ohio high school basketball this weekend, wrapping up with a compelling weekend at The Schott. In turn, it’s time to put a bow on our big picture coverage of this senior class.
Today, it begins with our final . As always, you can find those in the Rankings tab on the homepage. In a couple months, they’ll join the classes of 2017, 2016, 2015, in the archives.
Throughout the week, we’ll publish several articles explaining why players moved and also analyzing the class based on college commitment, city, and more.
We’ll take a minute now to address the movement in the top five.
For this class in Ohio, the top two have been rather set for at least a year. Darius Bazley and Jerome Hunter have established themselves as top 50 recruits nationally. Both are premiere recruits at blue blood programs — Bazley is the highest rated recruit Syracuse has landed in a several years while Hunter is Archie Miller’s top Hoosier commit at the moment.
Meanwhle, the following six players in the 2018 class have shuffled around. Justin Ahrens, Dwayne Cohill, Dane Goodwin, Jaxson Hayes, Pete Nance, and Vincent Williams, have all spent time in that top five throughout their career.
However, over the last five months, Nance (#3), Goodwin (#4), and Hayes (#5) secured those final spots.
Nance, a forward heading to Northwestern, led Revere in a deep tournament run, often playing as their primary ball-handler and playmaker. His defense and mobility have also improved.
Goodwin remains the purest scorer in the class with his ability to create shots from all three levels of the floor. His prep legacy was heightened with the reception of the 2017-18 Mr. Basketball award just this last week.
Today, Hayes cracks the top five for the first time in his career. The late-bloomer from Moeller has the tools to be an impact rim-protector at the next level for the University of Texas. At 6’10”, Hayes is a game-changer at the basket on both ends and runs the floor with grace.
As we said, there’s plenty more content on the way to explain the movement. For now, take a day to yourself to pore over the list of 251 Ohio prospects we’ve ranked. Tomorrow through Friday, we’ll be back with plenty of follow-up content as we say farewell to the 2018 graduates.