Updated 2018 Basketball Rivals 150: Big jumps for Castleton and DeJulius
Yesterday Rivals put out their updated Top 150 list for basketball. It was a good day for Michigan recruits as 3 saw upward movement and 2 with big jumps.
- #57 Brandon Johns, up 8 spots from #65
- #85 Colin Castleton, up 42 spots from #127
- #93 David DeJulius, up 36 spots from #129
The last two Michigan recruits aren't on the list. Adrien Nunez didn't make the cut while Ignas Brazdeikis is a 5 star recruit who went to HS in Canada and thus is not on the Top 150 list. If he were on the list, as a 5 star he'd be somewhere in the top 30 as the lowest 5 star currently is #29.
247 I think still has an update to do but when the new composite comes out expect this to be Michigan's highest rated recruiting class under Beilein, and probably since the Fab 5.
Other top 150 B1G recruits:
- #22 Jalen Smith (Maryland), 5 star, highest rated B1G recruit without knowing Iggy's ranking
- #28 Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), 5 star
- #38 Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
- #41 Joe Wieskamp (Iowa)
- #49 Jerome Hunter (Indiana), former Michigan target
- #56 Daniel Oturu (Minnesota)
- #58 Marcus Bingham (MSU), highest rated MSU recruit 1 spot behind Michigan's second highest rated recruit
- #62 Foster Loyer (MSU)
- #63 Miller Kopp (NW)
- #64 Pete Nance (NW), former Michigan target
- #67 Luther Muhammad (OSU)
- #72 Eric Ayala (Maryland)
- #75 Jaedon LeDee (OSU)
- #82 Tevian Jones (Illinois)
- #97 Gabe Brown (MSU)
- #99 Robert Phinisee (Indiana)
- #104 Montez Mathis (Rutgers)
- #109 Thomas Kithier (MSU)
- #111 Aaron Henry (MSU)
- #114 Damezi Anderson (Indiana)
- #117 Eric Hunter (Purdue)
- #124 Trevion Williams (Purdue)
- #127 Jake Forrester (Indiana)
- #128 Serrel Smith (Maryland)
- #132 Ron Hunter Jr (Rutgers)
- #133 Jordan Lathon (NW)
- #140 Myles Dread (PSU), 3 star
- #142 Duane Washington Jr (OSU)
- #149 Alan Griffin (Illinois)
Wisconsin and Nebraska are the only two B1G schools missing from the list
April 17th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
and thanks for the post!
April 17th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
Plus Rivals considers Iggy to be top 30 since he is a 5 star but they don't rank him because he's Canadian which hurts his ranking in the 247 composite. This class is stacked.
Edit: Oops you said it in the OP, mea culpa
April 17th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^
I don't really follow basketball recruiting, but how can a kid be a 5 star if they don't rank him? Where does the 5 star ranking come from?
April 17th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
They still scout him and judge his talent level the same way the would with any other recruit. Just as a rule on Rivals if you go to school in Canada they don't give you a ranking within the class. They can still judge whether you're a 5 star/4 star/whatever talent level the same they would any other recruit.
In 2016 they gave out 26 5 star rankings compared the the 29 on the list this year. They hae some cutoff of what's a 5 star vs a 4 star player beyond rank in the class, and Iggy was judged to be a 5 star.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
Our staff can develop talent and recruits heavily based on a player's integrity and their fit in the UM system.
With that said, I'll take any and all 4 and 5 star kids who meet the aforementioned criteria.
I know getting lower rated 3* recruits and turning them into All-Americans is just so Wisconsin-y but this is a team only a few years removed from playing in the championship with a history of making deep runs in the tourney every couple of years.
Losing a lot of their roster hurts a lot but not making the tournament in 2017 and now not having 1 recruit in the top 150 might signal a rebuild in Madison.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
Dejulius #90 and Johns #57. Guessing Iggy isn't ranked because of the whole prep school/Canada thing. No Castleton or Nunez.
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings
April 17th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^
IGGY GETS BUCKETS
April 17th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
Which is better coming in depends on how you want to measure them. The 2012 class was higher 1-3, lower 4-5. This one is more balanced. I could see reasons to prefer either one based on that alone.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
I guess it depends on how define best ranked. Looking at 247 Composite 2012 was 8th nationally, 2nd in the B1G. This one is currently 16th nationally, 3rd in the B1G. However this doesn't include any updates from recent reranks (including this Rivals one) so the 2018 class will move upward. It also doesn't include the fact that Iggy is a consensus top 40 player being rated in the 70's in the composite.
If you look at the average class rating, this class has an average rating of 93.98 while 2012 was 93.73. After reranks are accounted for the 2018 class should jump well north of 94 despite Iggy not being properly rated. That puts the 2018 class in a better light.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:51 AM ^
Iggy is about as highly regarded as GRIII was at this point in the recruiting cycle. At this point McGary had dropped but was still slightly ahead of where they have John's ranked. Stauskas was in about the same range as Dejulius and Castleton. Nunez is more highly regarded than Spike or Caris were. It seems like if you go down the line, the top 3 were ranked just slightly higher in 2012 but the 4th and 5th players are ranked much higher this year (including a 4th top 100 player). I'd say the classes are pretty comparable but I'd give the edge to this class.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:38 AM ^
How are the MSU boosters going to be able to afford all of those players?
Easy. It only takes $40 to secure a talent like Bridges.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
am i the only one who watches him and think he is over ranked relative to our other guys? obviously he is a sniper and a hunter, but his athleticism gives me pause. when i see dejulius or johns play i cant help but think these guys are just as talented.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^
Iggy is a better shooter than those two, I think that makes the difference.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
unlikely that Iggy is a better shooter than Dejulius. DDJ, in particular, is very good off the dribble and off the dribble shooting is what drags Iggy's numbers down a lot according to UMHoops.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:55 AM ^
The recent scouting report on Iggy is a great catch and shoot guy but too many pull up, off the dribble threes which he doesn't shoot well on. DeJulius is great at both, at least in HS. Whether he can be like DWalt and do that in college remains to be seen, but shooting is not a knock on him at all.
April 17th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
Fair enough, I'm no basketball scout but there's something about Iggy's game that strikes me as a complete basketball player out of high school, whereas with DDJ and Johns, it seems like maybe they're not quite complete in all aspects yet, thus the 4-stars. Of course, we've seen beilein turn 3-stars into bona fide superstars!
Iggy has more polished and advanced offensive moves at this point. Hard to compare with DeJulieus since, you know, he's a PG, but relative to Johns he has handle, footwork and an array of moves from anywhere on the floor, plus he's a good set shooter. He already has a beefy, college ready frame.
Johns is gonna be great too but his game right now, IMO, is more reliant on being bigger, stronger and leapy-er than everyone else, though he's very skilled. If he went to MSU, you could see him becoming a limited Kenny Goins or Gavin Schilling style dunk machine. Beilein will turn him into an NBA small forward or wing depending on his handle and shot development. Future is bright.
April 17th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
Athleticism is obviously an important/desireable trait to have but non-elite athleticism isn't a huge deal in college. You look at the best player on various teams in recent Michigan memory and you have guys like Moe, Walton, Nik and Burke. None of those guys were top tier athletes yet all were outstanding college players. Look at Nova's teams in recent years, they've won 2 titles without a single lottery pick/elite athlete up until Bridges this year.
Being a top tier athlete is important in the NBA, which is why you see 5 star guys at Duke/Kentucky who are mediocre to bad college players get drafted in the first round. If you're trying to project Iggy out to the NBA, I agree his lack of athleticism is limiting. In college it probably won't matter. He's still a better athlete than most guys he'll face, and a better basketball player than 95% of them. In college that's all that matters.
April 17th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
Isn't Eric Hunter the Purdue QB in the mid-90s who had a mental break down? He played at the same time as Antwan Randel-El and we played both IU and Purdue back to back. I remember thinking the kid was going to be huge star. Weird that they are getting a basketball recruit with the same name.
Looks like the QB was shot and kiled this last summer. Sad.
April 17th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
carlton
girard
brooks
wilson
weems
watts
maxey
we recruiting for 2 or 3 spots?
April 17th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
April 17th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Here is the list sorted by school
#22 Jalen Smith | Maryland |
#82 Tevian Jones | Illinois |
#149 Alan Griffin | Illinois |
#28 Ayo Dosunmu | Illinois |
#99 Robert Phinisee | Indiana |
#114 Damezi Anderson | Indiana |
#127 Jake Forrester | Indiana |
#49 Jerome Hunter | Indiana |
#41 Joe Wieskamp | Iowa |
#38 Aaron Wiggins | Maryland |
#72 Eric Ayala | Maryland |
#128 Serrel Smith | Maryland |
#56 Daniel Oturu | Minnesota |
#62 Foster Loyer | MSU |
#97 Gabe Brown | MSU |
#109 Thomas Kithier | MSU |
#111 Aaron Henry | MSU |
#58 Marcus Bingham | MSU |
#63 Miller Kopp | NW |
#133 Jordan Lathon | NW |
#64 Pete Nance | NW |
#67 Luther Muhammad | OSU |
#75 Jaedon LeDee | OSU |
#142 Duane Washington Jr | OSU |
#140 Myles Dread | PSU |
#117 Eric Hunter | Purdue |
#124 Trevion Williams | Purdue |
#104 Montez Mathis | Rutgers |
#132 Ron Hunter Jr | Rutgers |
#57 Brandon Johns | Michigan |
#85 Colin Castleton | Michigan |
#93 David DeJulius | Michigan |
April 17th, 2018 at 12:39 PM ^
Doesn't appear they have updated their rankings to take into account the changes on rivals and espn.
April 17th, 2018 at 12:52 PM ^
I still think David DeJulius was robbed of the Mr. Basketball award by Loyer. Nothing against Foster Loyer, he's a great player but DeJulius straight balled out last year. Oh well, MBB loking real good for the next few seasons!!
Go Blue!!
No worries. In 4 years DeJulius will likely be a better and more developed player than Loyer. The crazy guy with subs will see to that.
I found a Spartan!