2017 Rankings Announced

New England Recruiting Report | Thursday, October 2nd, 2014

With the Elite 75 Frosh/Soph and many of our fall open gym visits now in the past, today debuts the updated New England rankings in the class of 2017.

Rankings have been expanded to include the top 20 prospects in the sophomore class and there is a new number one as Jermaine Samuels has taken the top spot for the first time.

Read about Samuels’ rise on CoxHub.com.

Samuels and Tomas Murphy continue to set the tone for the class, not just as the top two ranked prospects, but also both among the top 25 in the country according to the ESPN 25. Third ranked Tremont Waters isn’t far behind as a guy who has already proven himself at the highest level of prep school competition.  That trio is really just the tip of the iceberg in what is an extremely deep and talented 2017 class.

Read about what why 2017 has a chance to be New England’s best class in a long time on CoxHub.com.

There is a cluster of highly talented forwards in the class including the likes of Jerome Desrosiers, Kimani Lawrence, Hassahn French, Jarrod Simmons, and Jordan Hardwick.

While most of the individual prospects in this group are linked by their tools and potential upside, Desrosiers solidified himself as a stock-riser by virtue of his production.  He followed up a big freshman season with a huge summer with the Canadian national team and has continued to impress this fall.  

French is another prospect who has made strides to his game in recent months, not imposing his will on the interior with his power and athleticism, but also expanding his game away from the paint with more consistency.  

His high school teammate, Hardwick, is the longest and most athletic of the bunch as his physical tools give him a ton of upside still yet to discover.

Lawrence and Simmons are two guys who might literally be able to challenge for the top spot in the class before it’s all said and done. Of all the forwards in this group, Lawrence is the most naturally suited to develop into a big wing.  Conversely, Simmons best potential lies on the interior given his young age and rapidly expanding physical tools.

Sunday Okeke distinguishes himself not just with his tools and talent, but also as a big man who actually embraces playing inside, and consequently has a chance to prove himself among the very best in the class.

Makai Ashton-Langford, who was once young for his grade, has returned to his rightful class in 2017 and emerged as the most physically talented guard of the group.

Recent Providence pledge Javon Taylor is perhaps the most unique guard in the class with his combination of size, ball-handling skill, and court vision.  

Hamidou Diallo is another physically gifted guard who debuts in the top ten after making an emphatic debut in New England in recent months.

Other players new to the rankings include: Aaron Wheeler, who is coming off a breakout spring and summer; Justin Mazzulla, who made a big name for himself during the last week of July’s evaluation period; Marcus Zegarowski, a skilled true point guard; Garrett Stephenson, an ultra-efficient power forward; Ryan Murphy, a shot-maker trying to transition to the point; Jakigh Dottin, a powerful playmaking guard; and a long and skilled forward in Nate Laszewski. Greg Kuakuemsah, an athletic and active forward, makes his return to the rankings.