High school recruiting rankings, college development and NBA lottery picks

[cliftonparksufan]

No, this is not an open invitation for some posters to spout off about Syracuse. If you scroll through the rankings for the last few years (high school classes of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) you will see a lot of top guys who have never made it "big". Some guys hold their ranking while others really shoot up the chart. Last night I heard a stat about two NBA rookie guards that were "barely" recruited out of high school and turned into lottery picks and are having pretty good rookie seasons. Trey Burke was rated 142nd in the class of 2011 and Victor Oladipo was rated 144th in the class of 2010. It doesn't really mean anything but some of you might find some of these names pretty interesting to see how they progressed through college.

http://sports.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-rivals150/2011

 

[tee1222]

No, this is not an open invitation for some posters to spout off about Syracuse. If you scroll through the rankings for the last few years (high school classes of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) you will see a lot of top guys who have never made it "big". Some guys hold their ranking while others really shoot up the chart. Last night I heard a stat about two NBA rookie guards that were "barely" recruited out of high school and turned into lottery picks and are having pretty good rookie seasons. Trey Burke was rated 142nd in the class of 2011 and Victor Oladipo was rated 144th in the class of 2010. It doesn't really mean anything but some of you might find some of these names pretty interesting to see how they progressed through college.

http://sports.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-rivals150/2011

But I want to spout

 

[Trueblue25]

cough bj johnson cough

 

[stuckinbig11]

From long ago, I remember Bret Bearup.

 

[strumpfasaurus]

Andy Rautins one star not rated to getting drafted, didn't do anything but to get drafted as a one star recruit impressive.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I think that high school rankings tend to lean heavily on physical tools (e.g., height, speed, agility, etc.) and in college game where the gap in physical abilities tends to narrow significantly (there's a lot more 6'8" who can actually play) and the mental part of basketball really separate out the top 200 or so players. Some guys might be exceptional high school players with huge verts and quick first steps, but can't think themselves out of a paperbag when they're faced with an opponent who has similar physical skills.

Also work ethic comes to play. Take Fab Melo for example. He thought he could show up to fall practice and just dominate games like he could in high school. Turns out he could barely make it up and down the court more than a half-dozen times. A 4* physical talent with a 1* head and a 2* work ethic might be ranked as a top-25 recruit, but a 2* physical talent with a 4* head and a 5* work ethic can make it to the pros.

The college game is very different from the high school game. And in the end, all of these guys are exceptional athletes. The devil is in the details, I guess.

 

[Dave85]

No, this is not an open invitation for some posters to spout off about Syracuse. If you scroll through the rankings for the last few years (high school classes of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) you will see a lot of top guys who have never made it "big". Some guys hold their ranking while others really shoot up the chart. Last night I heard a stat about two NBA rookie guards that were "barely" recruited out of high school and turned into lottery picks and are having pretty good rookie seasons. Trey Burke was rated 142nd in the class of 2011 and Victor Oladipo was rated 144th in the class of 2010. It doesn't really mean anything but some of you might find some of these names pretty interesting to see how they progressed through college.

http://sports.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-rivals150/2011

Great topic. Another topic that has always interest me is how players from mid-majors compare to player's from elite programs. Take the Sixers payroll:

50Lavoy AllenPF246-9255Temple$3,060,000
9James AndersonSG246-6210Oklahoma State$916,099
7Lorenzo BrownPG236-5186North Carolina State$426,745
1Michael Carter-WilliamsPG226-6185Syracuse$2,200,920
20Brandon DaviesPF226-10240Brigham Young$490,180
00Spencer HawesC257-1245Washington$6,500,000
5Arnett MoultriePF236-10240Mississippi State$1,089,240
4Nerlens NoelC196-11228Kentucky$3,172,320
33Daniel OrtonC236-10275Kentucky$916,099
23Jason RichardsonSG326-6225Michigan State$6,204,250
31Hollis ThompsonSF226-8206Georgetown$473,604
12Evan TurnerSF256-7216Ohio State$6,679,867
25Elliot WilliamsSG246-5180Memphis$797,545
8Tony WrotenSG206-6205Washington$1,160,040
21Thaddeus YoungPF256-8230Georgia Tech$8,850,000

I think it would be an interesting study to follow players from High School rating through the NBA. And also, how mid-major players do. I bet the NBA team managers pay lots of money for this type of data analysis and data mining.