ESPN Releases New Rankings

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Monday, January 12th, 2009

Alex Oriakhi (#20), Erik Murphy (#24), and Jamal Coombs (#38) are all among the top 50 seniors in America according to ESPN.com.  New England is further represented in the top 100 by Thomas Robinson (#55), Andrew Fitzgerald (#63) and Kevin Parrom (#83).

Our old friends Dion Waiters (formerly South Kent) and Phil Pressey (formerly Cushing Academy) cracked the top 20 in 2010 along with St. Mark’s Nate Lubick at 21 and Tilton’s Gerard Coleman at 23.  Hotchkiss’ Jason Morris also made the top 50 at #42.

Only 25 players are ranked in 2011 but Brewster Academy’s Naadir Tharpe made the cut picking up the 25th spot on the list. 

Ultimately, it’s quite a statement for New England Basketball that we hold 6 of the top 100 seniors, 3 of the top 60 juniors, and 1 of the top 25 sophomores. 

Notable omissions from the top 100 list in 2009 include Mike Marra, Jordan Williams, and Omari Lawrence.  We fully expect that when ESPN’s national list expands to include the top 100 in 2010 that guys like Carson Desrosiers, Maxie Esho, Melvin Ejim, and Rod Odom will all get serious consideration.  Similarly, Andre Drummond is sure to be included in an expanded 2011 list. 

It’s also worth noting that the ESPN’s rankings mirrored those of NERR in terms of New England’s first three in both 2009 (Oriakhi, Murphy, Coombs) and 2010 (Lubick, Coleman, Morris).