Rhode Island Rankings Published in 2011

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

It should come as no surprise that Michael Carter-Williams is the top ranked player in Rhode Island’s senior class.  The St. Andrew’s guard is about to put the finishing touches on what has been a brilliant high school career when he stars in Wednesday night’s McDonald’s All-American Game in Chicago. 

Carter-Williams has earned virtually every accolade possible during his career on both the prep and AAU circuits and is now off to the Big East where he brings his long frame and slippery smooth skill set to Syracuse next year. 

Teammate Aboubacar Casse is the state’s second ranked player.  He arrived at St. Andrew’s last year as a junior with a plethora of raw tools and has gradually worked his way into a consistent contributor over the last 18 months.  Still looking for a home for next year, Casse projects as a skilled perimeter forward who can play either position at the next level and has his best basketball still a few years in front of him. 

Tiverton’s Gunnar Bjornson is the RIIL’s top ranked player and third overall in the state.  The six-foot-three swingman was one of the top scorers in the state this year while leading his team to a state championship.  He can make shots in bunches from behind the three-point arc, has developed a productive mid-range game, and can also surprise an unsuspecting defender getting to the basket. 

We return to St. Andrew’s for our fourth spot which goes to point guard Myles Brilhante who is headed to Brandeis next year.  A pure point guard with a scrappy two-way game and high basketball I.Q., Brilhante has a long resume of productivity against the highest levels of competition that New England has to offer.  That experience should be incredibly valuable as he looks to make an impact on a perennial division III powerhouse next year. 

Rounding out the top five is Central swingman Robert Lewis, who has seen his stock rise considerably in the last twelve months.  An athletic six-foot-three swingman who knows how to get to the cup and finish, Lewis is a consistent jump shot away from being a dominant offensive player at the next level. 

Cranston West’s Bryan Yarce is our sixth ranked player in the state and the RIIL’s premier pure point guard.  A stat stuffer who piles up assists and steals as easily as he does points, Yarce is the rare floor general who knows what it means to distribute the ball and run a team. 

Johnston’s Isaac Medeiros is the seventh ranked player in the state and quite possibly the premier big man in the RIIL.  Simply a man among boys inside the paint in division III, Medeiros scored and rebounded the ball at will this season and has a game that translates well to the next level with his size, power, and post play. 

Coventry High School’s Nate Stitchell finishes his high school career as the eighth ranked player in Rhode Island.  The undersized point guard has one of the fastest set of wheels in the state and consequently a niche at the next level thanks to his ability to create tempo on both sides of the ball. 

Prout’s John King is the ninth ranked player in the state but has the potential to eclipse players higher on this list if he can continue to develop his game at the next level.  With good size and a polished perimeter skill set, King has the tools to be a diamond in the rough type talent if he can put it all together in the coming years. 

We return to Cranston West to complete our top ten as Andrew Levy gets the final spot by virtue of his versatility.  At six-foot-three, Levy is the type of guy who can play multiple positions and put his finger prints on the game in a variety of different ways over the course of 32 minutes. 

Honorable mention for the state’s top ten include North Kingston’s Derryck Kilgore, Westerly’s Zach Wells, Hendricken’s Steven Bevilacqua, Central’s Ben Nunez, Ponaganset’s John Peterson.