2013 New England Rankings Announced

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, October 25th, 2010

The New England Recruiting Report is stealing a page from ESPN’s book by releasing a “Terrific 25” list of the best college prospects in the sophomore class, and while the class of 2012 gets well deserved credit for being one of the best ever in this region you can’t get much better than the first three names in 2013. 

Nerlens Noel and Kuran Iverson are top five players in the country and Noah Vonleh has a similarly unlimited ceiling. 

Noel earns the distinction as the top prospect in New England after an absolutely dominant summer.  Not only did the six-foot-eleven center establish himself as arguably the best shot blocker in the entire country regardless of class, but he single handedly put on a defensive clinic to lead BABC to their national title.  While his offense remains behind his defense, his skills are definitely improving inside the lane. 

As for Iverson, he has the most unique combination of size and skill in the country in our opinion and at six-foot-eight can literally play any position on the floor.  Don’t confuse him with other big skilled forwards who like to call themselves guards, Iverson is a legitimate guard who can also play the frontcourt spots by virtue of his size and developing strength. 

Then there is Vonleh, whose rapid progress has been well documented as of late because of his dominance at the recent Elite 75 Showcase – Frosh/Soph Edition.  As dominant as Vonleh already is, what separates him is how much better he could still become.  While his body has developed as rapidly as his game over the last year, he is over a year younger than either Noel and Iverson and still growing into his body.

Things become much less clear after the first three as spots were decided by the smallest of factors.  Here’s a look at some of the other trends you can see in these rankings:

Best of the Rest – Ironically, Goodluck Okonoboh is a guy that seems to be flying a little low on the radar in recent months, but his steady progress is more than noteworthy in our book.  Not only as he grown another two inches to 6’9” but his skill set has progressed beautifully so that he shows flashes of being able to step to the perimeter, knock down jumpers, and even make back-door passes.  Rene Castro is another guy who continues to impress, showing what could very well be the most complete skill set of any guard in the region. 

Potential vs. Production – When attempting to measure a player’s prospectus at the next level you have to balance both their current level of production against their potential, the first being much easier to quantify than the second.  If we were picking a team based strictly on production guys like Andrew Chrabascz, Ramon Gibbons, Jaylen Brantley, Kamali Bey, Bernard Brantley, and Kahlil Dukes would be some of the top guys on our list.  If we were picking a team based on who could possibly rise to the highest levels in the next three years we would jump all over guys like Jared Terrell, Matt Cimino, Kaleb Joseph, Jake Fay, Nate Anderson, Ikemefuna Ngwudo, and Jacquil Taylor.  Of course the balance is somewhere between. 

New to the Region – The top 25 rankings feature four newly arrived players to our region.  Brewster Academy’s Deonte Burton is tops among them and ranked fourth overall.  Burton is as physically imposing of a swingman as you will find who combines tremendous power with explosive athleticism off of two feet and is already able to hold his own with players three years his senior.  Northfield Mount Hermon’s Dekeeba Battee, a transfer from Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, is next and seventh overall.  A six-foot-eight power forward with a complete package of physical tools, Battee is sure to be a target for a variety of programs in the very near future.  Kent’s Travis Berry and Winchendon’s Dennis Green are two big guards who both starred at the recent Elite 75.  If they prove themselves capable of consistently proving at that same level through the course of the upcoming season their status will only increase. 

To view the 2013 rankings in their entirety please click here.