Lubick Remains Head of the Class in Mass

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Despite the influx of talent to prep schools like Winchendon, Notre Dame Prep, Northfield Mount Hermon, Worcester Academy, and others, the top three prospects in the state of Massachusetts have not changed as Nate Lubick, Carson Desrosiers, and Rod Odom retain those positions. 

Georgetown bound forward Nate Lubick remains in the top spot.  While St. Mark’s hasn’t necessarily had the start to the season that they hoped for, Lubick proved all he needed to this past summer.  Each and every step along the way, the six-foot-eight forward showed himself to be among the top frontcourt players in the nation’s class of 2010, playing to rave reviews at the NBA Players Association Camp, the Adidas it Takes 5ive Classic, leading his team to the finals of the Adidas Super 64 Tournament, and at many other stops along the way. 

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – what makes Lubick so good is not necessarily his scoring, but the various ways in which he impacts a game.  That’s the very same reason why we expect him to see immediate minutes in the Georgetown rotation next year.  First and foremost, the kid has the killer instinct that no great player lacks…bottom line he’ll rip your head off to win a game.  Beyond that he’s a great rebounder, phenomenal passer for a big man, big time athlete, runner and finisher in transition, capable shot maker to the three-point line, and incredibly intelligent player.  Will he lead the Big East in scoring one day?  Probably not.  Will he play immediate minutes as a freshman and grow into a 13/8/5 guy in the Big East?  Our guess is yes. 

Central Catholic’s Carson Desrosiers remains the second ranked player in the state of Massachusetts, as well as the top ranked player in the MIAA.  While we are less confident about Desrosiers’ ability to make an immediate impact at Wake Forest as we are Lubick’s at Georgetown, what we are very confident in is Desrosiers’ long term potential.  There simply aren’t many players his size, anywhere in the country, who can match his mobility and perimeter skill set.  His first order of business will undoubtedly be to add muscle to his currently lean frame so that he can withstand the physicality of a conference like the ACC.  But Desrosiers has a great foundation to the game and once he gets to Wake Forest and starts competing against high-major players on a daily basis we expect he will blossom. 

Middlesex’ Rod Odom is in at number three.  Although Odom isn’t a native New Englander, most people don’t even realize that because he has spent the last several years at the Middlesex School where he developed into one of the country’s most coveted swingmen.  After receiving scholarship offers from perennial powerhouse programs like UConn, Louisville, West Virginia, Boston College and others, Odom committed to Arizona earlier this fall, but did an about face shortly afterwards and flipped to Vanderbilt.  He is the headliner of Vandy’s class right now and will have every opportunity to make an immediate splash in the SEC. 

Winchendon’s Markus Kennedy is the only newly arrived prep product to crack the state’s top five.  The big man was already committed to Villanova when he arrived and has been one of the pieces behind Winchendon’s strong start to the season. 

Longtime Massachusetts product and current Notre Dame Prep forward Ron Giplaye checks in at number five on his way to the Big East and Providence College.

Worcester Academy’s Billy Baron and Winchendon’s Eric Ferguson are two players who have sent their stock soaring upwards in the last sixth months and they check in at seven and eight respectively behind Notre Dame Prep’s UConn commit, Cleveland Melvin, at six.  The Northfield Mount Hermon tandem of Hector Harold and Majok Majok round out the top ten. 

New to the rankings is Braintree guard P.J. Douglas who has picked up right where he left off in his junior season and is consequently making his debut at number 36. 

With the mass exodus of local talent to the prep school ranks only ten of the top 50 ranked players in the state currently compete in the MIAA:  Desrosiers, Central Catholic (2nd overall); Greg Kelley, Newton North (26th); Mario Monroe, Brockton (31st); Marco Banegas, O’Bryant (32nd); Ryan Romich, Groton Dunstable (34th); Douglas, Braintree (36th); Jarell Byrd, Lynn English (40th); Jasper Grassa, Lynn Classical (45th); Ryan Woumn, Lynn English (46th); Rodney Beldo, Scituate (47th); and Marquis Berry, Worcester North (49th).

To view the Massachusetts 2010 Rankings in their entirety click here.