Drummond #1 in 2012 by Scout.com

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Last week we analyzed updated rankings by both ESPN.com and the Rivals Network.  This week, Scout.com is publishing their updated rankings, beginning with the class of 2012 

Middletown, Connecticut’s Andre Drummond again took top billing in the country.  Drummond, who was first labeled as the nation’s best by ESPN, once again edged out Dajuan Coleman from New York. 

"Young for his age, Drummond will repeat his sophomore season and talented enough that he’s already being billed as a pillar in the USA Basketball program," wrote Scout.com's National Recruiting Director Dave Telep.  "If you missed him at the AAU Nationals you missed a mix of Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard. As it stands now, there’s little debate about the top spot."

Those are some high words of praise from one of the most widely respected recruiting analysts in the country. 

Scout.com only ranked the top ten players in the class of 2012 and Drummond was the lone New England product to make the cut.  But Telep also listed an additional 25 players to keep an eye on and Ricardo Ledo, Alex Murphy, Nerlens Noel, and Khem Birch were all listed. 

We also like Telep’s style when it comes to talking about the youngsters.  Scout.com only ranks ten players in the sophomore class because everyone still has so much to prove.  They also prefaced their rankings with some very important words of wisdom on the importance of keeping everything in perspective when it comes to the youngsters. 

But we found the following paragraph particularly insightful, and crucial for young players, especially given how talented New England’s class of 2012 is:  

"Too often, a prospect will read his name on a list and complacency sets in. We’d like to be the first to caution against that. You should play this game because you love it not because of a desire to see a certain number next to your name. Compete each time, work on your game and offer up honest assessments of where you stand. Seek advice from the guys who came before you and help the ones behind you. That’s how you become a great player and ascend up this list."