2018 Class vs 2019 Class
PrepHoopsIllinois recently unveiled the latest 2018 and 2019 rankings in the state of Illinois. We thought it would be interesting to compare the two classes in a number of areas to see which has the edge.
High-Major Prospects
By the Numbers:
2018: 5
2019: 3
There aren’t a ton of high-major prospects in either class compared to what we are used to in the state of Illinois. From a numbers perspective the 2018 group gets the edge. A big part of this was the emergence of George Conditt and Zion Griffin this summer into the HM category. The #1 player in each class Ayo Dosunmu and Francis Okoro are about a draw.
Advantage: Class of 2018
Mid-Major Prospects
By the Numbers:
2018: 10
2019: 8
The number of mid-major prospects in both of these classes are smaller than we usually see. In a good Illinois class you will typically have 15-18 players in this category. Neither class comes close. The top and bottom players for each category are in 2018 Drew Peterson and Raekwon Drake. For 2019 you are looking at Perry Cowan and Martin Macenis. The numbers edge once again slightly goes to 2018 from a depth standpoint.
Advantage: Class of 2018
Low-Major Prospects
By the Numbers:
2018: 18
2019: 28
The low-major advantage definitely goes to the 2019 class here! By the numbers above they have an advantage of over 10 prospects in the category. The depth is definitely there in this class and is the advantage of this group at this stage in the process. The group goes from #12 to #39. Several of the players on the top end are close to earning mid-major grades like Anthony Farilee and Ethan Helwig.
Advantage: Class of 2019
D2 Prospects
By the Numbers:
2018: 31
2019: 34
This is a close race between the classes. Solid group for both classes with a large number of players in each category. From an overall numbers standpoint the 2019 class gets the slight advantage 34 to 31. There are 6 D2+ prospects in 2018 and the exact same number in 2019. This one is very close, but the numbers don’t lie.
Advantage: Class of 2019
D3 Prospects
By the Numbers
2018 D3+: 17
2019 D3+: 9
2018 D3: 66
2019 D3: 35
It isn’t necessarily surprising that that 2018 class would get the edge here as we have had more time to focus on small college prospects in the 2018 class this spring and summer. They win in both the D3+ and solid D3 categories by about a 2:1 margin.
Advantage: Class of 2018
Point Guards
2018 HM: 1
2019 HM: 0
2018 MM: 3
2019 MM: 1
2018 LM: 5
2019 LM: 8
2018 D2: 6
2019 D2: 7
The categories break this as a tie, but we are going to give the edge to 2018 as the lead guard position is its strength with 4 prospects in the top 10 overall led by #1 Ayo Dosunmu.
Advantage: Class of 2018
Wings
2018 HM: 3
2019 HM: 1
2018 MM: 3
2019 MM: 3
2018 LM: 11
2019 LM: 13
2018 D2: 13
2019 D2: 18
The only area that the 2018 group takes in this area is the HM tier. With the depth at the LM and D2 levels we are going to give the edge here to 2019.
Advantage: Class of 2019
Posts
2018 HM: 1
2019 HM: 2
2018 MM: 4
2019 MM: 2
2018 LM: 2
2019 LM: 7
2018 D2: 10
2019 D2: 9
This one is pretty tough by splitting the categories. For me the tie breaker is the dominance at the top with Francis Okoro and EJ Liddell at #1 and #2 overall and the LM depth in 2019.
Advantage: Class of 2019
Tie Breaker
So after eight categories it is a tie at 4:4. Our tie breaker is a five on five game between the top prospect at each position making up the roster.
2018
PG Ayo Dosunmu (Morgan Park)
SG Tim Finke (Champaign Central)
SF Talen Horton-Tucker (Simeon)
PF Tamell Pearson (Morgan Park)
C George Conditt (Corliss)
2019
PG Kejuan Clements (Simeon)
SG Perry Cowan (DePaul Prep)
SF Terrence Hargrove (East St. Louis)
PF EJ Liddell (Belleville West)
C Francis Okoro (Normal West)
If these two teams played and we projected them long term we would take the 2018 group as a whole.
Advantage: Class of 2018
Thoughts on Debate
First of all it is pretty clear that neither of these classes are very good compared to what we have become accustomed too in the state of Illinois. They are about even overall as you can see with the breakdown in all these categories. The slight edge goes to the 2018 class.