BY: Tony LiebertAs a basketball fan, watching the highlights of all the top high school players is something that has been very popular in the internet era. This ranking will obviously not include LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant. Every player on this list will be from what I call the "mixtape" era. The oldest player I have on this list is from 2009. I also decided not to include any player that has not yet graduated from high school. I could really make this list a top 50, but I decided to narrow it down to my top 10. Honorable Mentions
10. Mac McClung, G, Gate City High School, Virginia Where is Mac McClung Now? Mac McClung was unranked in the class of 2018 by ESPN, and was ranked 245th by 247sports.com. Mac later decided to commit to the University of Georgetown. He is currently a freshman at Georgetown and this season he has averaged 13.5 points per game and has started every game this season. Mac is currently 19 years old and clearly has a long career in basketball ahead of himself. 9. Brandon Jennings, PG, Oak Hill Academy, California Where is Brandon Jennings Now? Brandon Jennings was the first ranked player in the 2008 class, by ESPN in the inaugural top 100 rankings. Jennings then decided to forgo college and play overseas for Italian club Lottomatica Roma. He left Italy after one season and then entered the NBA Draft, and was selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Jennings then bounced around the league while being wildly inconsistent, being the youngest player ever to score 50+ points, getting getting multiple triple doubles, but he struggled to find consistency. Jennings played with the Bucks, Pistons, Magic, Knicks, and then Wizards. Jennings then went back overseas to play for Chinese club Shanxi Brave Dragons where he played very well, averaging 27.8 points per game. He then returned to the NBA playing the Bucks G-League team, the Wisconsin Herd. He eventually made it back the NBA and signed a multi-year contract all the way back to where he started with the Bucks. He was later waived. Brandon Jennings is now 29 years old and most recently played for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Jennings is currently unemployed. 8. Austin Rivers, G, Winter Park High School, Florida Where is Austin Rivers now? Austin Rivers was the third ranked player in the class of 2011 by ESPN. Rivers decided to commit to Duke University. He only played at Duke for one season where he averaged 15.5 points per game, and hit one of the most memorable game winning shots in recent memory against UNC in Chapel Hill. Rivers was later selected 10th overall by the New Orleans Hornets in 2012 NBA Draft. Rivers was incredibly average, eventually being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers where his father Doc Rivers was the head coach and still is. He had his best season in 2017-18 where he averaged 15.1 points per game. Rivers was traded to the Wizards the following season, and then was traded to the Houston Rockets where he is currently playing this season averaging 10.5 points per game and is still only 26 years old. 7. Marcus LoVett Jr, PG, Morgan Park High School, Chicago Where is Marcus LoVett Jr now? Marcus LoVett was unranked by ESPN in the class of 2015 and ranked 97th by 247Sports.com. LoVett had plenty of top offers including, Kansas, UCLA, and Michigan State. LoVett eventually decided to sign with Saint Johns. In his freshman season LoVett average 15.9 points per game and was an unanimous all-freshman Big East team member. In his Sophomore season LoVett was averaging 14.9 points per game until he suffered a season ending knee injury. LoVett then decided to leave Saint Johns and pursue a professional career overseas. Where he is currently playing for Italian club Dinamo Sassari. LoVett Jr is currently 22 years old. 6. Aaron Gordon, F, Archbishop Mitty High School, California Where is Aaron Gordon now? Aaron Gordon was the fourth ranked prospect in the class of 2013 by ESPN. He later decided to commit to the University of Arizona. Gordon was another "one and done" player in college and, in one season for U of A Gordon averaged 12.4 points per game. Gordon was later the fourth pick overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, and was selected by the Orlando Magic. Gordon has been a relatively average NBA starting caliber player in his five year career with the Magic he has averaged 12.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. The highlight of his Gordon's career has been his ridiculous dunk contest against Zach Lavine. Gordon is still only 24 years old and has a long NBA career ahead of him. 5. Aquille Carr, PG, Patterson High School, Maryland Where is Aquille Carr now? Aquille car was not ranked in the ESPN top 100 for the class of 2013, but he was ranked 125th in the country by 247sports.com. Aquille had offers from UConn, Texas, and Seton Hall to name a few. Aquille originally decided to commit to Seton Hall. Going into Carr's senior year he was arrested in his hometown of Baltimore on charges of assaulting the mother of his child. In 2013 Carr was drafted by the Delaware 87ers in the third round of the NBA Development League Draft. He was shortly released, per his request after not receiving much playing time. In 2014, Carr signed with the Saint John Mill Rats of the Canadian National Basketball League, and was later released after averaging 12.9 points in 9 games. In 2016, Carr signed with the Baltimore Hawks of the American Basketball Association, it is not publicized how well Carr played during his time with the Hawks but he left the team after one season. In 2017 Carr signed with Girne Universitesi Sk of the Cypriot North League. It is now said that Carr is playing the 2018-19 season in Mexico. Aquille Carr is still ONLY 25 years old. 4. Seventh Woods, G/F, Hammond School, South Carolina Where is Seventh Woods now? Seventh went incredibly viral after this mixtape from his freshman year. Woods was ranked as the 58th player in the country by ESPN. He then later decided to attend the University of North Carolina. Woods has only averaged 1.9 points in a small role of 8.9 minutes per game in his three years at UNC. Seventh Woods is only 20 years old and I expect him to have a long basketball career ahead of him. 3. Thon Maker, C, Carlisle School, Virginia Where is Thon Maker now? Thon Maker was ranked as the number one player in the country in the class 2016, as a Sophomore by ESPN. Thon had offers from Kansas, Kentucky, and Indiana just to name a few. Thon decided to forgo college and enter the NBA Draft. Although it was discussed how old Thon really is/was, but at the time of the 2016 NBA Draft Thon was said to be 19 and therefore he was allowed to enter the NBA. Thon was then selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Thon has struggled to find a role in the NBA only averaging 4.5 points in 13.7 minutes per game in his four seasons. This season Thon was recently traded from the Bucks to the Detroit Pistons, and hopefully Thon is able to find a role with Detroit and turn around his NBA career. Thon Maker is still only 21 years old, and still has immense potential. 2. John Wall, PG, Word of God Christian Academy, North Carolina Where is John Wall? John Wall was the third ranked player in the class of 2009 by ESPN. John chose to attend the University of Kentucky, instead of other schools like Kansas and Duke. John only played one season at Kentucky and averaged at 16.6 points, and 6.5 assist per game, while being awarded SEC player of the year. He was then selected first overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2010 NBA Draft. John has been a boarderline all-star his entire career, where in his best season he averaged 23.1 points and 10.7 assists per game. About a month ago John tore his achilles while returning from heel surgery. Wall is expected to miss at least twelve months, and I expect him to come back stronger than ever. John is currently 28 years old, and hopefully still has good years to play in the NBA. 1. Zion Williamson, F, Spartanburg Day School, South Carolina Where is Zion Williamson is now?
Zion was the second overall ranked player in the class of 2018 by ESPN. Zion chose to attend Duke, instead of other big schools such as Kentucky, Kansas, and UCLA. Zion has 100% lived up to all of the hype that he had he has put together just as good highlights at Duke, compared to high school. He has averaged 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, while shooting a ridiculous 66.9 percent from the field. Zion is almost a guarantee to be the number one pick in the NBA's upcoming draft, and has one of the most talked about basketball careers ahead of himself.
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May 2020
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