By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Is there a superstar in your area this year? MaxPreps.com’s Dave Krider runs down 25 of the best, most exciting players in the country;
25 Players to Watch (Regardless of Classification)
Harrison Barnes, 6-7, 210, Junior, Ames, Iowa
Barnes is on track to be one of the best players ever produced in Iowa. As a sophomore he averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds for a 20-3 team and shot 44.9 percent from 3-point range. Coach Vance Downs says, “He can play or guard any position. He is so versatile and a terrific athlete with a wing span of almost seven feet.”
Kenny Boynton, 6-2, 190, Senior, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
Boynton is instant offense as evidenced by his record 61-point explosion during last year’s City of the Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. He has led the state in scoring as a sophomore (31.7) and junior (34.2). In fact, last year’s average ranked No. 4 in the nation. “He’s the most aggressive player in high school today,” declares coach Danny Herz. “He attacks and there is a fire in him to win.”
College choice: Florida
Avery Bradley, 6-3, 180, Senior, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)
A tremendous shooter, Bradley averaged 24.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting .508 from the field last year for Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.). As a sophomore, he averaged 26.4 points and shot .507. Coach Mike Peck says Bradley “is an extremely quick athlete. He’s very explosive in finishing and is really good defensively.”
College choice: Texas.
Dominic Cheek, 6-6, 185, Senior, St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.)
Cheek was the No. 2 scorer on last year’s senior-dominated national championship team (32-0) with a 15.1 average. He also averaged 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.5 assists, but he is the lone returning starter and will be expected to carry a much bigger load. Veteran coach Bob Hurley calls him “a great all-around player. He has great shooting range. He can play the 1-2-3-4 offensively and all five positions defensively.”
DeMarcus Cousins, 6-10, 270, Senior, LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.)
“He can be a finesse and a dominant player,” coach Otis Hughley says. “He does everything well. One of his biggest attributes is that he really can pass the ball and he can take it coast to coast.” Cousins averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3.6 blocks for a 30-3 team as a junior. As a sophomore he averaged 17.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
Derrick Favors, 6-9, 234, Senior, South Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.)
Favors enters the season as the No. 1-ranked player in the country. He earned that honor with these dominant junior averages: 23.7 points, 17.1 rebounds and 9.1 blocks. He had an amazing 19 triple doubles and shot .650 from the field. He also set single-game school records with 32 rebounds and 17 blocks. Coach Michael Reddick says, “I’ve never seen a high school player with so many skills. He can dominate a game in so many ways.”
Abdul Gaddy, 6-3, 175, Senior, Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.)
Gaddy is one of the nation’s premier point guards and also is a good offensive player as evidenced by last year’s 23.0 scoring average. In addition, he averaged 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and shot .466 from the field. As a sophomore, he averaged 21.0 points and shot .467 from the field. Coach Bernie Salazar calls him “a great player who has a real future in the game. He is an outstanding young man who has been a pleasure to coach these past four years.”
College choice: Washington
Michael Gilchrist, 6-6, 175, Sophomore, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.)
Gilchrist averaged 9.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks after cracking the starting lineup as a freshman. He helped the powerful Celtics post a 25-5 record. “He has the potential to be the top kid in his class (nationally),” coach Kevin Boyle predicts. “He’s very versatile and fills the stat sheet up in every possible category.”
Xavier Henry, 6-6, 227, Senior, Putnam City (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
A car accident, resulting in surgery for a fractured cheek, has set the Oklahoma star back about a month. He is coming off an outstanding junior year in which he averaged 25.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot .500 from the field for a 25-2 team. As a sophomore, he averaged 23.0 points and 7.8 rebounds.
College choice: Memphis
John Henson, 6-10, 200, Senior, Sickles (Tampa, Fla.)
Last year at Round Rock (Texas), Henson averaged 21.5 points and 10.7 rebounds with a high game of 40 points. He also had an impressive 175 blocks for a 5.6 average. Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia points out that his new star “does some things that will amaze you. He’s super long and able to play like a guard. He’s extremely versatile.”
College choice: North Carolina.
Tyler Honeycutt, 6-8, 185, Senior, Sylmar, Calif.
“In 23 years of high school ball, I’ve seen Garnett (Kevin) and Kobe (Bryant), but I’ve never seen a kid rebound like Tyler,” coach Bort Escoto says emphatically. “His shot blocking and rebounding are off the charts. He’s going to win a few games by himself.” Last year Honeycutt averaged 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds, but he showed his true potential with back-to-back games of 25 and 28 rebounds and he once blocked nine shots in a single game.
College choice: UCLA.
Milton Jennings, 6-9, 210, Senior, Pinewood Prep (Summerville, S.C.)
“He has the ability to play inside and outside and is a tremendous long-range shooter,” says coach Pat Eidson. “He’s really improved his passing and ball handling.” As a junior, Jennings averaged 18.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and shot .510 from the field. He drilled 59 shots from 3-point range.
College choice: Clemson
Wally Judge, 6-10, 235, Senior, Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Judge averaged 16.7 points and 12.2 rebounds as a junior and helped the Apaches win the Class 2A state title with a 26-6 record. Their record was 20-1 after he became eligible following a transfer. Last summer he exploded for 51 points and 16 rebounds in the All-Star game at Five-Star Camp. Coach Rex Morgan says, “He’s the best skilled big man I’ve ever had. He really can run the floor. He has really good hands and a 7-3 wing span. He worked out last summer with Michael Beasley and it really helped his confidence.”
College choice: Kansas State
Ryan Kelly, 6-10, 214, Senior, Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.)
Kelly has great range and shot an outstanding .620 from the field as a junior. He averaged 23.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.7 blocks for a 24-6 team. He already holds school records for career rebounds and blocks and will break the scoring record this year. He also carries a 4.2 GPA and plays in the school orchestra. “He can relocate with his dribble to get shots for himself and his teammates,” coach Kevin Billerman, a former Duke standout, points out. “This year we’re moving him to the perimeter.”
College choice: Duke
Brandon Knight, 6-3, 180, Junior, Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Knight averaged 22.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a sophomore while sparking the Panthers to a 28-4 record and the Class 3A state title. He also has paired with Kenny Boynton to lead Florida powerhouse Team Breakdown to two national AAU championships in the summer. Coach Dave Beckerman calls him “a very good defensive player. He does so many things and most of them he does very well.”
Renardo Sidney, 6-11, 256, Senior, Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.)
“He has a great feel for the game,” coach Harvey Kitani points out. “He can shoot from 3-point range or drive to the basket. He’s very athletic; then you realize that’s he’s 6-11 and you want more from him.” Sidney averaged an impressive 24.0 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.7 blocks while shooting .590 from the field last year. As a sophomore he averaged 18.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while helping Lakewood Artesia win the Division II state title.
Josh Smith, 6-10, 250, Junior, Kentwood (Covington, Wash.)
Smith had an outstanding sophomore campaign, averaging 21.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks. “He’s a powerful kid, very athletic and has very good hands,” says coach Michael Angelidis. “He has a soft touch which he is developing every year. He also has very good feet. He had a really spectacular summer and is getting a lot of national attention.”
Lance Stephenson, 6-6, 225, Senior, Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Stephenson is New York’s latest superstar, following in a long line of Lincoln greats. As a junior, he led the Railsplitters to a 30-4 record and their second consecutive Federation state title by averaging 23.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. His sophomore averages included 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5.2 assists. “The physical part of his game definitely is on a high level,” says coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton. “He knows how to beat his defender and he definitely is a prime time player.”
Dexter Strickland, 6-3, 180, Senior, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.)
Coach Kevin Boyle calls him “a tremendous athlete with great start-stop speed. He’s one of the quicker jumpers from the floor to the rim. I’ve even seen him look like he was shot out of a cannon.” He averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals for last year’s 25-5 team. As a sophomore he averaged 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists. College choice: North Carolina.
Jared Sullinger, 6-9, 270, Junior, Northland (Columbus, Ohio).
Sullinger looks like the proverbial “man among boys.” He averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds last year as the Vikings posted a 20-1 record. As a freshman, he averaged 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds. He is coached by his father, James “Satch” Sullinger, who points out, “He can see one pass ahead on offense and defense. He’s a banger and rebounds like a man. He’s working on his perimeter game. He is going to be a tremendous match-up problem (for opponents).”
College verbal: Ohio State.
DeShaun Thomas, 6-7, 217, Junior, Bishop Luers (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Indiana’s premier player averaged 29.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and shot .500 from the field while sparking the Knights to a 25-3 record and the Class 2A state title as a sophomore. He had a high game of 48 points. As a freshman he averaged 29 points and 13.3 rebounds. “He’s definitely a threat every time he steps on the floor,” says coach James Blackmon. “He draws so much attention. When a team over-commits, it makes him really dangerous.”
Tristan Thompson, 6-9, 210, Junior, St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.)
A native of Canada, Thompson is ready to explode following heavy graduation losses from a 24-1 team. He started only five games last year while averaging a modest 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and shooting .591 from the field. “He has the ability to impact big games offensively, defensively and on the backboards,” coach Dan Hurley says. “He is very versatile and athletic. He can guard players one through five and is very competitive.”
College choice: Texas
Christian Watford, 6-9, 215, Senior, Shades Valley (Birmingham, Ala.)
Coach Mike Burrus points out, “He has the ability to play any of the five positions. He can handle point guard and is big enough to play the post. He’s really a true guard. Watford, an excellent outside shooter, averaged 20.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and shot .552 from the field as a junior. He added 15 pounds of muscle over the summer.
College choice: Indiana.
Maalik Wayns, 6-2, 185, Senior, Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.)
“He reminds me of an old-time point guard,” says Dennis Seddon, who recently retired as head coach. “He makes sure the right guy gets the ball at the right time. He combines old school with new school in that he is capable of scoring 20 points at any time.” Wayns averaged 22.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals while shooting .810 from the free throw line as a junior. College choice: Villanova.
Tony Wroten, 6-5, 190, Sophomore, Garfield (Seattle, Wash.)
Wroten may be the quickest, most athletic sophomore in the country. Coach Ed Haskins points first to his “competitiveness – his determination and will to win. His best attribute is his vision and he plays the game at a high level. He’s extremely athletic and there’s not much physically that he can’t do.” Wroten had an outstanding freshman year, averaging 20.8 points, 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds.
* Fifth-year players not considered