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Class of 2010

We have been following the class of 2010 closely since the summer of 2005, when we covered the 13U AAU Nationals (KC Ross-Miller’s TG Adidas team won it that year).  Two years have gone by since we traveled to Memphis for that event, and while a handful of the kids that were the best 13 year olds in the country at that time are still considered elite players, there are a lot of prospects that have burst on the scene over the last year to takeover top spots in the rankings.

Cream of the Crop

6’9 Cali-product Jeremy Tyler was a player that caught our eye that summer in 2005, and he has only gotten bigger and better over the last couple of years and he is now the best prospect in the country in the rising-sophomore class.  He has tremendous post-skills for a player his size and has the ability to step out and play away from the basket.  In July, at the Lebron James US Skills Academy, Tyler was one of the best big men in the camp (and he was playing against the likes of Samardo Samuels and Greg Monroe).  There isn’t a player in this class that has more college and pro potential than Tyler and we expect him to be the most heavily recruited big man in this class.

6’7 DeShaun Thomas popped up on our radar during the high school season when he routinely had 40-point and 15-rebound efforts while leading Bishop Luers (IN) to their first ever Sectional Championship.  Thomas drops from the top spot in the rankings to number two, because he played in the 15U division of AAU for most of the summer, but we’ve seen enough of him to know that he has the potential to be the best when it‘s all said-and-done.

This class is loaded with outstanding point guards and two that separated themselves from their peers this summer were 6’3 Brandon Knight and 6’2 Kendall Marshall.  Knight can play either guard position and spent most of the summer running the point for Team Breakdown’s 17U team (AAU National Champs).  Marshall also played 17U ball, running the point for the powerhouse program Boo Williams.  6’1 KC Ross-Miller (pictured) made headlines this summer by accepting a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky and he is the top challenger to Knight and Marshall’s spots in the rankings.

6’7 Jared Sullinger has proved himself as one of the top power forwards in the ‘10 class and he has already verbally committed to Ohio State. 

6’2 Trae Golden gave us Eric Gordon flashbacks with his scoring ability and he is certainly one of the elite guards in this class.

Other players that had terrific summers were 6’4 Trey Zeigler (who has long been considered an elite player in this class), 6’6 Jereme Richmond (a player that some believe is a top three player in this class), 6’10 Josh Smith (who has tremendous size and upside),  6’8 Tristan Thompson (who Grassroots Canada coach Ro Russell said is “the best player I’ve ever had in my program”), and 5’11 Joe Jackson (who some believe is the best point guard in the class).

North Carolina is a 2010 Hotbed

Something that really caught our attention when we were compiling this list was the amount of North Carolina prospects that have already made a splash nationally:  CJ Leslie (#14), Jarrell Eddie (#16), Jay Canty (#17), Melvin Tabb (#45), Reggie Bullock (#46), Jonathan Frye (#49), James Terrell (#51), Tayshawn Mabry (#84), and Robert Crisp (#85) make nine Carolina prospects in the top 100.  It will be interesting to see which players live up to the early hype.

Early (early, early) Commitments

Twelve players on this list have already made verbal pledges and are off-the-board (did we mention they are only rising-sophomores?). 

Ohio State continued it’s recruiting domination with Indian/Ohio kids when the Buckeyes secured commitments from DeShaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger- both top five players.

Billy Gillispie isn’t shy about recruiting young and it has paid off as KC Ross-Miller (#9) and Dakota Euton (#31) have already verballed to Kentucky.

Baylor locked down a pair of in-state (and top-60) prospects when they received verbals from Jamison Sterns and Perry Jones.

Other players that have already made their college decisions: Jereme Richmond, Illinois (#8), CJ Leslie, NC State (#14), Dwayne Pollee, USC (#18), Dion Waiters, Syracuse (#20), Noah Cottrell, West Virginia (#28), and Jordan Dykstra, Iowa State (#54).

We Know it’s Early

This list won’t go without it’s critics, and we know that.  There are going to be those that say it is too early to start ranking players that won’t graduate for another three years. 

We admit that this will probably be the least accurate 2010 list that we will publish between now and when the players go to college, and that the rankings are inevitably going to change a bit over the next few years (too much can happen between a prospect's sophomore and senior seasons to accurately project the best 100 kids in a class three years in advance). 

But… as we touched on earlier in the article, kids are committing at younger ages than they ever have before, so we believe it is important (if not necessary) for college coaches to have a guide to go by when scouting this class. 

This is that guide.  These are 100 players that we know about that have made noise at national events.  Is this list perfect?  Probably not.  But it’s a great place to start if your trying to get a handle on the 2010 class.

Class of 2010 Top 100

1.  Jeremy Tyler 6’9 C San Diego (CA) Senior
2.  DeShaun Thomas 6’7 F Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers OHIO STATE
3.  Brandon Knight 6’3 G Coral Springs (FL) Pine Crest
4.  Kendall Marshall 6’2 PG Arlington (VA) Bishop O’Connell
5.  Jared Sullinger 6’7 PF Columbus (OH) Northland OHIO STATE
6.  Trae Golden 6’2 SG Powder Springs (GA) McEachern
7.  Trey Zeigler 6’4 W Mount Pleasant (MI) High
8.  Jereme Richmond 6’6 SF Waukegan (IL) High ILLINOIS
9.  KC Ross-Miller 6’1 PG Irving (TX) God’s Academy KENTUCKY
10. Josh Smith 6’9 C Kent (WA) Kentwood
11. Jayvaughn Pinkston 6’6 PF Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin
12. Tristan Thompson 6’8 PF Newark (NJ) St. Benedict Prep
13. Joe Jackson 5’11 PG Memphis (TN) White Station
14. CJ Leslie 6’8 SF Holly Springs (NC) High NC STATE
15. Ralston Turner 6’4 SG Muscle Shoals (AL) High
16. Jarrell Eddie 6’6 PF Concord (NC) Cannon School
17. Jay Canty 6’4 SG Jamestown (NC) Ragsdale
18. Dwayne Pollee 6’7 F Los Angeles (CA) Westchester USC
19. Josh Selby 6’1 PG Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha
20. Dion Waiters 6’2 G Philadelphia (PA) Southern SYRACUSE
21. Tony Chenault 6’2 SG Philadelphia (PA) Neumann-Goretti
22. Doron Lamb 6’3 G New York (NY) Bishop Loughlin
23. Gary Franklin 6’2 PG Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
24. Fuquan Edwin 6’5 SF Paterson (NJ) Catholic
25. Nick Kellogg 6’2 SG Columbus (OH) DeSales
26. Matthew Brabham 5’9 PG Macon (GA) Central
27. Trevor Clemmings 6’6 C Paterson (NJ) Catholic
28. Noah Cottrell 6’2 PG Poca (WV) High WEST VIRGINIA
29. Myron Respress 6’6 PF Niagara Falls (NY) High
30. Darryl Trayham 5’9 PG Washington (DC) Archbishop Carroll
31. Dakota Euton 6’8 PF Ashland (KY) Rose Hill Academy KENTUCKY
32. Tyler Lamb 6’3 SG Chino (CA) Colony
33. Ray McCollum 6’1 PG Bloomington (IN) North
34. Julian Washburn 6’6 SF Dallas (TX) Kimball 
35. Phil Pressey 5’7 PG Waltham (CT) Cushing Academy
36. Pe’Shon Howard 6’2 PG Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
37. Evan Anderson 6’11 C Stanley (WI) EAU Claire North
38. Kony Ealy 6’5 PF Portageville (MO) High
39. Tyler Thornton 6’1 SG Washington (DC) Gonzaga
40. Travis Robinson 6’3 SF Philadelphia (PA) Penn Charter
41. Levonte Dority 5’10 PG Chicago (IL) Foreman
42. Stacey Poole 6’3 SG Jacksonville (FL) Raines
43. Neiko Hunter 6’4 SF Greene County (AL) Eutaw
44. Jackson Jeffcoat 6’5 PF Plano (TX) West
45. Melvin Tabb 6’8 PF Raleigh (NC) Enloe
46. Reggie Bullock 6’5 SG Kinston (NC) High
47. Anthony Johnson 6’2 CG Chicago (IL) Whitney Young
48. James Bell 6’4 SG Jacksonville (FL) Arlington Country Day
49. Jonathan Frye 6’2 PG Jamestown, NC
50. AJ Derby 6’4 SF Iowa City (IA) High
51. James Terrell 6’4 SG Cummings (NC) High
52. Shane Southwell 6’5 SF New York (NY) All Hallows
53. Brandon Peters 6’1 PG Houston (TX) Yates
54. Jordan Dykstra 6’8 PF Rock Valley (IA) High IOWA STATE
55. DeAndre McCamey 6’1 PG Chicago (IL) St. Joseph’s
56. Dondrecous Nelson 5’11 PG Jackson (MS) Siwell
57. George Harper 6’6 PF Aston (PA) American Christian
58. Jamison Sterns 5’11 PG Dallas (TX) Waxahachie BAYLOR
59. Chad Jackson 6’3 SG Ashland (KY) Rose Hill 
60. Perry Jones 6’8 PF Dallas (TX) Woodrow Wilson BAYLOR
61. Jan Maehlen 6’10 C Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence North
62. Andre Dawkins 6’4 SG Chesapeake (VA) Atlantic Shores
63. Jelani Hewitt 6’2 SG Miramar (FL) High
64. Deonte Burton 6’0 PG Long Beach (CA) Cabrillo
65. Byron Allen 6’4 SG Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha Catholic
66. Zaahir Allen 6’2 SG Philadelphia (PA) Cardinal Dougherty
67. Flavien Davis 6’5 SF Milwaukee (WI) Lutheran
68. Jason Morris 6’5 SG Lakeville (CT) Hotchkiss School
69. Nate Lubick 6’6 SF Southborough (MA) St. Mark’s
70. Josh Hairston 6’7 PF Fredericksburg (VA) Courtland
71. Trevor Releford 5’8 PG Overland Park (KS) Shawnee Park
72. Charles Hankerson 6’3 SF Miami (FL) Plamer-Trinity
73. Eric Smith 5’11 PG Mullins (SC) High
74. Dominique Ferguson 6’8 PF Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence North
75. Jalen Courtney 6’8 C Jackson (MS) Provine
76. Brian Holmes 6’1 PG Winter Springs (FL) High
77. Julian Johnson 6’4 SF St. Louis (MO) Whitfield Academy
78. Mohammed Lee 6’1 PG Bronx (NY) All Hallows
79. Sam Ryan 6’10 C Woodlands (TX) High
80. Cody Larson  6’7 SF Sioux Falls (SD) Roosevelt
81. Adam Jones 6’6 PF West Orange (FL) Winter Garden
82. Storm Sanders 6’0 PG Canton (OH) Glen Oak
83. Taran Buie 6’2 G Albany (NY) Bishop Maginn
84. Tayshawn Mabry 6’5 SF Rocky Mount (NC) High
85. Robert Crisp 6’8 C Chapel Hill (NC) High
86. Kyle Kelm 6’8 PF Milwaukee (WI) Randolph
87. Travis McKie 6’5 SF Richmond (VA) Community
88. Kendall Williams 6’2 PG Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Los Osos
89. Randy Collins 6’5 C La Porte (TX High
90. DeCarlos Frank 6’1 PG Beaumont (TX) Ozen
91. Phil Taylor 5’7 PG Marietta (GA) Wheeler
92. TJ Kadima 6’5 SF Milwaukee (WI) Lutheran
93. Stephen Baird 6’7 SF San Antonio (TX) Feast
94. Mike Poole 6’4 SF Blairstown (NJ) Blair Academy
95. Lenzelle Smith, Jr. 6’3 SG Zion (IL) Benton
96. Kevin Gray 6’0 SG Reynoldsburg (OH) High
97. Reggie Smith 6’0 PG Harvey (IL) Thornton Township
98. Malcolm Gilbert 6’8 PF Wilmington (DE) St. Elizabeth
99. Jordan Harmon 6’8 PF Prosperity (SC) Mid-Carolina
100. Eric Swoope 6’4 SF North Hollywood (CA) Westlake

Special thanks to Sean McGinley, Jordan Sorensen, and all the AAU coaches that helped with the rankings! \

Updated rankings for the classes of 2008 and 2009 are coming soon.  Also, stay tuned for our first ever class of 2011 rankings!