Malik Newman earned National Freshman of the Year honors from MaxPreps last season after pumping in 22.9 points per game and leading Callaway to Mississippi's Class 5A state title.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
MaxPreps.com's initial Class of 2015 rankings won't be released until next August, but a number of rising sophomores have already made serious headway toward securing a spot on that list.
Here's a look at some of the early contenders for elite status and a deeper look at 60 prospects we expect to make a strong push for inclusion in the initial Class of 2015 Top 100 in 12 months:
*
Karl Towns is the early leader in the clubhouse for No. 1 player honors in the rising sophomore class. The 6-foot-9 big man was part of the Dominican Republic's unsuccessful bid to reach the Olympics over the summer, but saw action against the eventual gold medal United States in tune-up play and didn't look out of place.
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Malik Newman earned National Freshman of the Year honors from MaxPreps last winter after putting up 22.9 points per game and leading
Callaway (Jackson) to Mississippi's Class 5A state title. He did nothing to hurt his status as a potential star in the 2015 class over the summer with the Jackson Tigers club team.
* Towns isn't the only post showing early signs of elite promise.
Ivan Rabb of
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and
Diamond Stone of
Dominican (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) have some big-time offers already and showed they are capable of battling with talented upperclassmen at the LeBron James Skills Academy in July.
*
Mickey Mitchell had a breakout performance last December at the City of Palms Classic with
Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) and enhanced his reputation as a budding star over the summer with the Texas Titans. At 6-7, Mitchell has some point-forward in him and also is on the college football radar as a quarterback.
* Southern California is loaded with 2015 guards.
Sedrick Barefield of
Centennial (Corona),
Tyler Dorsey of
St. John Bosco (Bellflower),
Aaron Holiday of
Campbell Hall (North Hollywood) and
Marcus LoVett Jr. of
Providence (Burbank) all make the list below. Dorsey, Holiday and LoVett all averaged over 20 points per game as freshmen at their respective schools
* Perennial Georgia power has a cast of young guns that will be tough to beat in the coming years. Wheeler's young guns.
Daniel Giddens (6-9, 215, C),
Jaylen Brown (6-4, 180, SG/SF) and
Kejuan Johnson (6-5, 210, SF) are all included on our watch list and will apparently be joined by fellow 2015
Jerron Love, a highly-touted point guard, in the fall.
Class of 2015 Players to Watch
| Name | College |
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| Jalen Adams, PGCushing Academy (Ashburnham, MA)6-1/165 |
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| KeVaughn Allen, SGNorth Little Rock (AR)6-3/170 |
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| Malik Anderson, PFAlemany (Mission Hills, CA)6-7/200 |
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| Sedrick Barefield, PG/SGCentennial (Corona, CA)6-0/165 |
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| Ravion Bell, PFSouthwest DeKalb (Decatur, GA)6-8/185 |
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| Isaiah Briscoe, SGSt. Benedicts Prep (Newark, NJ)6-3/190 |
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| Jaylen Brown, SG/SFWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-4/180 |
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| Rob Brown, PF/CMillbrook (Raleigh, NC)6-8/220 |
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| Tookie Brown, PGMorgan County (Madison, GA)5-10/170 |
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| Thomas Bryant, PFBishop Kearney (Rochester, NY)6-8/195 |
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| Jalen Coleman, SGIndianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis, IN)6-3/165 |
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| Levi Cook, CLiberty (Glen Daniel, WV)6-10/300 |
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| Bryant Crawford, PGGonzaga (Washington, DC)6-2/165 |
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| Tyler Davis, CLiberty (Frisco, TX)6-8/300 |
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| Marcus Derrickson, PFPaul VI (Fairfax, VA)6-6/225 |
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| Cheick Diallo, COur Savior New American (Centereach, NY)6-9/200 |
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| Noah Dickerson, C/PFLovett (Atlanta, GA)6-7/235 |
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| Tyler Dorsey, SG/PGSt. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA)6-4/175 |
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| Perry Dozier Jr., PG/SGSpring Valley (Columbia, SC)6-2/160 |
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| Hyron Edwards, PGEast Chicago Central (East Chicago, IN)6-0/160 |
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| Henry Ellenson, PF/CRice Lake (WI)6-7/220 |
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| Donte Fitzpatrick, SGWhite Station (Memphis, TN)6-4/175 |
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| Andrew Fleming, SG/PGEnsworth (Nashville, TN)6-4/175 |
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| Daniel Giddens, CWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-9/215 |
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| Montague Gill Caesar, SFHuntington Prep (Huntington, WV)6-5/185 |
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| Jessie Govan, C/PFSt. Marys (Manhasset, NY)6-9/215 |
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| Austin Grandstaff, SGRockwall (TX)6-3/170 |
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| A.J. Harris, PGDunbar (Dayton, OH)5-9/145 |
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| Aaron Holiday, PGCampbell Hall (North Hollywood, CA)5-10/165 |
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| Franklin Howard, SG/SFPaul VI (Fairfax, VA)6-4/170 |
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| Brandon Ingram, SG/SFKinston (NC)6-4/165 |
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| Tyler Jackson, CNazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, IL)7-0/260 |
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| Will Jackson, PGAthens Christian (Athens, GA)6-4/175 |
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| Chase Jeter, PFBishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)6-7/195 |
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| D-Jery Jean-Baptiste, CWilbraham & Monson Academy (Wilbraham, MA)6-9/210 |
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| Kejuan Johnson, SFWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-5/210 |
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| Brodricks Jones, PF/CView Park (Los Angeles, CA)6-9/190 |
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| Luke Kennard, SG/SFFranklin (OH)6-4/170 |
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| Skal Labissierre, PF/CEvangelical Christian (Cordova, TN)6-9/190 |
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| Keelan Lawson, SFMemphis East (Memphis, TN)6-5/185 |
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| Marcus LoVett Jr., PGProvidence (Burbank, CA)5-11/155 |
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| Charles Matthews, SGSt. Rita (Chicago, IL)6-3/170 |
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| King McClure, PG/SGTriple A Academy (Dallas, TX)6-3/180 |
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| Jeremy Miller, PFNew Hampton School (New Hampton, NH)6-9/200 |
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| Mickey Mitchell, SF/PGPrestonwood Christian (Plano, TX)6-7/210 |
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| Malik Newman, PG/SGCallaway (Jackson, MS)6-2/175 |
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| Prentiss Nixon, PGBolingbrook (IL)6-0/160 |
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| Ivan Rabb, PFBishop ODowd (Oakland, CA)6-8/205 |
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| Malachi Richardson, SF/PFTrenton Catholic Academy (Trenton, NJ)6-6/195 |
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| Samir Sehic, PF/CCy-Woods (Cypress, TX)6-8/235 |
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| Horace Spencer, PF/CWilliam Tennent (Warminster, PA)6-8/190 |
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| Diamond Stone, CDominican (Whitefish Bay, WI)6-9/245 |
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| Elijah Thomas, PF/CRockwall (TX)6-8/250 |
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| Karl Towns, CSt. Joseph (Metuchen, NJ)6-9/220 |
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| Allonzo Trier, PG/SGOklahoma City Storm (Oklahoma City, OK)6-1/155 |
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| Chandler White, SGCarroll (Fort Wayne, IN)6-2/170 |
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| D.J. Williams, SFSimeon (Chicago, IL)6-6/185 |
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| Jared Wilson-Frame, SG/SFWindsor (CT)6-4/200 |
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| Stephen Zimmerman, CBishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)6-10/205 |
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Click here for a complete look at MaxPreps.com's Class of 2015 database.
