SoCalHoops Recruiting News

SoCalHoops Class Of 2001:
Top Junior Combo/Shooting Guards--(Apr. 23, 2000)

Now that we've posted the seniors, it's time to start with the underclassmen, which means we'll list the top juniors we've seen since last fall.   We've selected the top players that we've seen throughout the year, during the season, at tournaments, spring leagues, and everywhere else we've seen guys play.   As we did in the fall, we've divided them into three groups:  The "Top 20," the "Next Top 20," and "Best of the Rest".

Most people say that the junior class is the deepest they've seen in almost 20 years,  we would agree.  The junior class has some unbelievably talented players, and the shooting guard/combo guard spot is perhaps the most crowded of any in this class.  We've tried not to include guys who are really more wing/small forwards in the "combo/shooting guard" list, but there's bound to be some crossover.  Check both lists, because there are several guys (notably Josh Childress, or the Cravens) who many people would describe as "off guards" or "wing guards".    We weren't exactly sure where to list some players, so we made a choice and put them in one list or another.   This list is really for guys who are a) pure shooters, or b) guys who can and may often play both the point and the off-guard spot.  A few combo shooters/small forwards may have snuck in, but it was not our intention to include them here.  Which is not to say that some of the shooters aren't also wings, just that this is where we see them as being most effective.

Aside from the broad categorizations like "Top 20"   "Next 20" and so on, we don't use strict numerical rankings. College coaches make their own evaluations, and the point is not to "rank" players, but to get the word out about who is talented and who might be a potentially recruited player.    Everyone's got an opinion of who is "best" or "better" than the next guy, but from our perspective, there's really not much point in saying that a high school player, whose game is a work in progress,  is the #1 player, or #10, or even #30.  What we think is important is to say that every one of the players we've listed has excellent skills, has excelled throughout the year and has college-level talent.  Some have more than others. 

Of our Top 20 selections, we have little doubt that virtually every one of them has D-I potential, and some have the potential to be stars at high-major D-I programs.  Even though we dislike strict numerical rankings, if we had to pick the guys who are atop the class, it wouldn't be too hard because several names in our Top 20 stand out clearly:  Errick Craven, Derrick Craven,  Josh Childress,   Anthony Davis, Dommanic Ingerson and Floyd North are among the best not only in SoCal, but also the West Coast;  the Cravens and Childress are National Top 50 players.  No question about it.

At the risk of being repetitive,  it's worth saying again that we don't claim to have seen every player in SoCal in the junior class, but we've seen most of the top players.  We've gone to more games since last September than we care to think about, virtually one or two games a day during the high school season, and we've seen a lot of these guys.  But that doesn't mean that we've seen everyone there is to see.   We can't be everywhere, and obviously we will miss some guys.

Our lists include players from Fresno in the North, to San Diego in the South, i.e., the entire SoCal region.  We've shown players at their primary position. If you don't see a player on one list, look on another, because we may have listed someone at a position other than where you might expect.

Lastly, if we've left a player off the list, it may or may not be an oversight, but if you think someone deserves to be on our lists let us know.  

SoCalHoops Class of 2001 Top 20 Junior Combo/Shooting Guards

SoCalHoops Class of 2001 Next Top 20 Junior Combo/Shooting

SoCalHoops Class of 2001 Best of the Rest Junior Combo/Shooting Guards

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