2019 Rankings Breakdown: Best Shooters
There are a variety of ways in which a prospect earns the “shooter” monicker.
There are some who are of the “catch-and-shoot” variety, where a good pass and time and space result in the ball hitting nothing but net.
There are those who need a couple of rhythm dribbles or “dance moves” to get into the groove from any distance.
And then there are those who are straight shot-fake, one or two dribble pull-up guys and others who like to get to the 15-17 feet mark and knock shots down from mid-range.
Some, like the class of 2019 sharpshooters listed below, can hit jumpers in just about every way imaginable.
5. Bryce Pope (Torrey Pines/California Bearcats)
Pope is the lowest-ranked prospect to appear on this list, but is, perhaps, the most consistent catch-and-shoot guy of the bunch. The 6-2 shooting guard is in no way a streaky shooter and needs little time and space to let it fly. Pope has deep range on his three-ball and can also lose a defender with a shot fake a drain a pull-up at the mid-range level.
4. LaMelo Ball (Chino Hills/Big Ballers)
Ball might be a controversial name on this list due to his erratic shot selection and games with low percentage outputs, but Melo’s ability to hit tough shots in a variety of ways cannot be denied. Ball made waves in Rancho Mirage in December when he pointed to half-court and drained a 3-pointer from that very spot and his shooting ability goes far beyond that. Melo can hit the set 3-pointer, a one footed running 3-pointer, a Steph Curry-esque step-back 3-pointer, basically, you name it and he can do it.
3. Jake Kyman (Santa Margarita/Dream Vision)
Jake Kyman connected on 58 of his 127 3-point attempts during his sophomore campaign at Santa Margarita.Kyman is one of those guys that has the rare combination of size and shooting ability at the high school level. At 6-7 with a high release point, the Santa Margarita forward lit up the Trinity League last season, knocking down 58 3-pointers on just 127 attempts which comes out to a 46 percent clip from behind-the-arc.
2. Jarod Lucas (Los Altos/Compton Magic)
Lucas has one of the prettiest shooting forms around. He’s always square to the basket, on balance, gets great lift, releases at the peak of his elevation and has tight rotation on his ball. Those fundamental attributes resulted in him nailing 71 3-pointers during his sophomore year at Los Altos. In total, Lucas has drilled 159 triples through his first two high school seasons.
1. Ryan Langborg (La Jolla Country Day/Gamepoint Pump-N-Run)
Langborg is a prospect who you want your kid to model his shot after. He repeats his mechanics no matter if he’s shooting off the catch or off the dribble and the ball looks like it’s drop every time it leaves his fingertips. The 6-4 shooting guard hits 3-pointers with range and is deadly from mid-range, as well. One of the best parts of Langborg’s shooting ability is his knack for taking and making them with the game on the line.