The No. 1 prospect in high school basketball isn’t a senior star like LSU recruit Ben Simmons. It isn’t one of several highly touted players in the junior class, either, like big man Harry Giles or wing Jayson Tatum. At least according to Scout, the top long-term prospect in high school basketball is sophomore center DeAndre Ayton.
Sophomore center DeAndre Ayton rated as No. 1 prospect in high school basketball
Scout’s No. 1 prospect is a sophomore big man out of San Diego.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Scout released its annual list of the top 100 prospects in high school basketball on Monday, with Ayton, a 6’11 San Diego native, ranked as the best player. Ayton has been on the map for a while. When he was in eighth grade, some wondered if he was already good enough to play college basketball.
The rest of the Scout list might look more familiar to college basketball fans who casually follow recruiting. The next three players come out of the class of 2016 as current juniors, with Giles at No. 2, wing Josh Jackson at No. 3 and Tatum at No. 4. Jaylen Brown is the highest rated senior at No. 5 and Simmons checks in at No. 6. Marvin Bagley, a 6’10 power forward out of Arizona, is one of two freshmen on the list. He comes in at No. 8.
Below you can find highlights of Ayton at the City of Palms Classic earlier this season. It includes a matchup with Udoka Azubuike, a 6’10, 270-pound center in 2016. Ayton finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds against Azubuike’s team:
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