The 10 best high school basketball mixtapes of all-time

The July evaluation period isn’t just the most important stretch on the calendar for college basketball recruiting, it’s also the perfect time for the top high school basketball players in the country to show off for the mixtape makers. The cameras are always rolling inside high-profile grassroots events, and the players know college coaches aren’t the only ones watching.

Malik Monk made headlines earlier this week when HoopMixtape released a compilation of his best highlights in 2014. Monk was already one of the top players in the class of 2016, but you can bet a lot more people know about the super athletic 6’3 guard now than a week ago.

With Monk’s tape in mind, we decided to compile the 10 best high school mixtapes of all-time.

Johnson is one of the best dunkers to hit the college ranks in years. He’s at Longwood now after being booted from Auburn for pot possession in 2013.

Big men typically don’t make the best mixtapes, but Andre Drummond isn’t a typical big man. Under the leg dunks and tomahawk slams are impressive from anyone, but it counts for double from a dude who checks in at 270 pounds.

LoVett isn’t in ESPN’s top 100 in the class of 2015, but the 6-foot point guard has some of the best handles you’ll ever see. On YouTube, at least.

Maker’s mixtape was so jaw-dropping that it immediately spawned Internet arguments over whether he’s the next Kevin Durant or the next Kevin Garnett when it dropped in February. A 7-footer who can handle and shoot the ball this well seems like a created player in a video game. It’s way too early to start placing Hall of Fame comparisons on Maker, but he is one of the most highly sought after players in the class of 2016.

“The Crime Stopper” just went undrafted after a brief stint with the Philadelphia 76ers’ D-League team, but he’ll always be a legend in Baltimore for treating high school courts like his own personal playground.

It’s been over a year since the 6-foot guard from South Carolina blew up the Internet with a mixtape of his freshman season highlights. Woods is rated No. 20 overall in the class of 2016 and is considered one of the most athletic players in the country. He has offers from North Carolina, Clemson and the Gamecocks.

Here’s how good Ronnie Fields was: Kevin Garnett transferred from South Carolina to Farragut Academy in Chicago to spend his last year of high school with the explosive guard. Fields was on pace to go to DePaul before breaking his neck in a car crash in February of 1996. Fields never reached the NBA, but he played professionally for 16 years overseas or in leagues like the CBA. He remains a legend in Chicago for his incredible hops.

The “next LeBron” hype was never fair to Wiggins, but after watching his mixtape it’s easy to see how people got so carried away. When the game is played in transition, as AAU ball often is, Wiggins is basically unstoppable. He might have a long way to go before becoming a complete NBA player, but this mixtape will always serve as his introduction to the world.

It’s all there. The athleticism, the swagger, the mid-air spin moves, the chase down blocks, the no-look passes. Wall has developed into an All-Star in his first four seasons in the NBA, but this mixtape still stands as the most stunning thing he’s ever been a part of.