Class of 2019: Climbers Part I
Two months of high school basketball are behind us. It is a perfect time to revisit the Class of 2019 rankings and adjust to account for the player’s growth and stagnation.
If you want to look at the complete rankings, smash here.
Climbers are either players previously undervalued or possibly players that developed their game in the last few months.
These players represent the six highest landing climbers (upward movement listed next to arrow on right of name).
#3 Antavion Collum ⇑2
The last few months have been a veritable explosion for the recruitment of Antavion Collum. With Tennessee Prep Academy AC Dude gets the basketball in his hands and college coaches are responding. Over 20 schools have offered including: Maryland, Florida, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
#4 Wheza Panzo ⇑7
The 6-foot-6 Wheza Panzo always gave Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Head Coach Zach Ferrell strong efforts. And that is nice and all. But facing stiff competition this season Panzo began knocking down outside shots consistently. And then he kept doing it. By adding the range on his jumper to the versatile game, Panzo is an elite prospect. He can defend the 2-4 and operate the 2-4 capably at the college level.
#5 Malcolm Dandridge ⇑3
Memphis East earned two of the top five spots in the Class of 2018 (Lomax, Boyce) and Malcolm Dandridge gives them three of the top five spots in 2019. Dandridge needs better hands, but his frame and power indicate a promising future.
#8 Tre Edwards ⇑4
The improvement of Tre Edwards accounts for this precipitous climb. At 6-foot-6 Edwards always ran the floor like a gazelle. Until recently his production waned severely. With more responsibility on his shoulders this season, Edwards is scoring in chunks not blips. Truthfully Panzo and Edwards are interchangeable longterm and Edwards might be the most postionally obvious player on this list beneath Wiseman. He is a shooting guard all day every day.
#9 Keishawn Davison ⇑5
When evaluating Davison last spring, the point guard was handled easily by a feisty Blackman backcourt (Donovan Sims, Trenton Gibson). It is now clear that that unit made a lot of good players look bad. We undervalued Keishawn Davison initially and while #9 might be a touch high the PG deserves to be top 10 right now.
#10 Deovaunta Williams ⇑5
it is a real shame that Deovaunta’s Raleigh-Egypt team isn’t a winning team. Williams can play. In fact, Williams is absolutely a D1 player…that almost no college coach has watched. Blindingly quick Williams can handle and finish in tight. The promising guard might have to wait until April to blow up.