DMV Roundtable: Recent commitments, 2022 and 2023 takeaways

<p>Another week is in the books as we continue to figure out a landscape for how basketball will progress in the near future. Will there actually be a live period in the summer? Will the high school season begin with his originally scheduled date? These are all questions we wish we had the answers to. Fortunately at Prep Hoops, the content will continue to flow. As we do every week, the gang got together and tackled some questions pertaining to the DMV area. Let's dive in.</p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>1. It's been a few weeks since we've taken a look at recent commitments. Give one or two that have stuck out to you and why you believe it's a good fit for both the player and program.</strong></span></p> <p><em>Giacubeno: </em><span style="font-weight: 400">I'll go with 2021 St. Frances forward [player_tooltip player_id="712747" first="Julian" last="Reese"] committing to Maryland. Not only is it a great story with his sister Angel, one of the best high school seniors in the country, headed to college park next year, but also the fact that the Terps helped Jalen Smith develop into a draft pick. I've been critical of the Terps in the past, but there's no denying that they gave Smith the freedom to showcase his versatility. Reese offers a completely different skill set and in no way am I comparing the two players' games, but his length and elite shot-blocking ability will bolster their defense in the Big 10. If Reese can be efficient in his looks offensively, he could put together a long and successful college career at Maryland.</span></p> <p><em>Ayalew: </em>[player_tooltip player_id="832833" first="Dwayne" last="Koroma"] committing to Iona intrigued me. Koroma was being actively recruited by a few high majors, including Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino. Ironically, he chose to play at Iona, where Rick Pitino recently took over. Koroma, a versatile defender and solid athlete with high upside, should fit in nicely along with the influx of talent coming into the Gaels program.</p> <p><em>Wilson: </em><span style="font-weight: 400">I think Rick Pitino and Iona got a steal in [player_tooltip player_id="832833" first="Dwayne" last="Koroma"]. The German native should contribute right away for Iona due to the productivity he brings while on the court. He is tenacious on the boards and can get a team a lot of second chance points. Defensively, Pitino will be able to plug him in right away as he has shown how capable of a defender he can be. Pitino continues to reel in underrated talent from the MD/VA area as he already has a pair of 2021 commits from Virginia in [player_tooltip player_id="687573" first="Kenard" last="Richardson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="793098" first="Ikechi" last="Chantilou"].</span></p> <p><em>Herron: </em>[player_tooltip player_id="798693" first="Jaden" last="House"] reclassifying back to the 2020 class and committing to High Point seems like a great fit for both moving forward. House is a guy I had watched plenty at Henrico before he transferred and reclassified to the 2021 class at Middleburg where he really started to blow up from a recruitment standpoint, but even when he was in the '20 class I saw him as a bonafide scorer at the division one level. He likely could have gone higher had he stayed in the '21 class but he'll be a guy I believe has the frame, athleticism and natural scoring ability to be one of the top scorers in the Big South if everything goes correctly.</p> <div>One of the most recent commits I think is a good fit is [player_tooltip player_id="687571" first="Ismael" last="Plet"] of VES announcing he will head to Oral Roberts on Sunday. Plet is a guy who is chock full of potential and still has room to grow on both ends of the floor, but he was still very productive throughout his high school career with his athleticism, high motor and physicality in the paint. The 6'7" power forward is a guy who can switch defensively, is comfortable in the paint and on the perimeter and is a guy in great physical shape with good strength as well.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>2. Provide more intel on the 2022 class as a whole from your takeaways/evaluations from this season.</strong></span></p> <p><em>Giacubeno: </em><span style="font-weight: 400">The 2022 class offers a pool of prospects who have a higher ceiling, in my opinion, than the 2021 class. Names such as Darren Buchannan Jr. (Wilson), [player_tooltip player_id="777061" first="Favour" last="Aire"] (Bishop McNamara), [player_tooltip player_id="904621" first="Rodney" last="Rice"] (Bullis), [player_tooltip player_id="837927" first="Cameron" last="Whitmore"] (Archbishop Spalding) and [player_tooltip player_id="777065" first="Tyrell" last="Ward"] (DeMatha) round out our top five and all have a chance to play at a high-level. As you go down the list there are plenty of more names that have potential to exceed expectations. This class should be able to compare to the 2020 class in regards to high end talent dispersed evenly in the DMV area.</span></p> <p><em>Ayalew: </em>The local 2022 class is as deep as any, and we continue to learn a lot about this group. <b>[player_tooltip player_id="837938" first="Yann" last="Farrell"]</b> is a player who's generated a lot of buzz this offseason and is trending up massively right now. The power forward position is particularly impressive, with the likes of Cam Whitmore and <b>[player_tooltip player_id="777077" first="Stephaun" last="Walker"]</b> leading the way as a couple of prospects to watch at that position</p> <p><em>Wilson: </em><span style="font-weight: 400">So far the 2022 class from the MD/DC area seems really top heavy at the top of the rankings. There is a solid balance of different positions in the top 20 and good balance of different skill sets. I don't think it will be as deep as the 2021 class but this spring and summer was supposed to be a telling time in their basketball career and all of that is on hold right now because of the Covid 19 pandemic. </span></p> <p><em>Herron: </em>The 2022 class in the state of Virginia is as talented at the top that I've seen at this point in their careers since maybe the 2016 or 2017 class.</p> [caption id="attachment_912911" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="787667" first="Jayden" last="Epps"] King's Fork '22[/caption] <p>It has been the hardest class to rank since I have done this, and one of the reasons is that there have been so many players who have been go-to guys early in their career. In the VHSL All State teams this year, teams that are usually reserved for upperclassmen, there were two sophomores ([player_tooltip player_id="787667" first="Jayden" last="Epps"] Class 4 and [player_tooltip player_id="815616" first="Ethan" last="Millirons"] Class 1) that won Player of the Year, and there were quite a few that were named to the All State teams.</p> <div>Since the end of the season, there have been at least nine players to my count who have picked up division one offers. [player_tooltip player_id="787667" first="Jayden" last="Epps"], [player_tooltip player_id="962785" first="Justin" last="Taylor"] and Dug McDaniel are already guys who are ranked nationally, and guys like [player_tooltip player_id="815579" first="Tyler" last="Nickel"], [player_tooltip player_id="815577" first="Maliq" last="Brown"], [player_tooltip player_id="815588" first="Alphonzo" last="Billups"] and DJ Hand are on the verge of being in that talk as well. </div> <div> </div> <div>The depth is also very impressive, especially at the guard position, and with guys who we haven't seen also on the come up this 2022 class has the potential to be very good.</div> <div> </div> <div>SN: [player_tooltip player_id="954219" first="Dior" last="Johnson"], MJ Rice and [player_tooltip player_id="787610" first="Zion" last="Cruz"] have all announced that they will be transferring to powerhouse Oak Hill, and all are nationally ranked kids who will go to the top of my rankings as well.</div> <div></div> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>3. Provide more intel on the 2023 class as a whole from your takeaways/evaluations from this season.</strong></span></p> <p><em>Giacubeno: </em>Obviously it's too early to really label this class, but one thing I learned from scouting the freshmen from this season was that most who played a big role on their respective teams were prepared. [player_tooltip player_id="957019" first="Kwame" last="Evans"] Jr. was a vital shooting presence and provided more length to an already long roster for Poly, [player_tooltip player_id="957020" first="Mike" last="Williams"] was the cowbell for a young and developing Calvert Hall team and [player_tooltip player_id="957023" first="Mathani" last="Paul-Swinson"] confidently took over lead guard responsibilities for McDonogh. There were plenty of other new faces in the D.C. area who also made their imprints at the varsity level quickly. St. John's [player_tooltip player_id="957018" first="Amani" last="Hansberry"], Sidwell's [player_tooltip player_id="957022" first="Cam" last="Gillus"] and Maret's [player_tooltip player_id="957028" first="Bryson" last="Wilson"] are just a few that come to mind. This is a class who has potential to be pretty special. The fact that they didn't have a spring travel season and may not have a summer one either may play a role in their carry over into their sophomore seasons. But again, it's still a wait and see approach with this class.</p> <p><em>Ayalew: </em>The local 2023 class has shown signs of promise so far, and there's no reason to think that won't continue. One kid I'll be keeping a close eye on during these next few months is <b>[player_tooltip player_id="957033" first="Malik" last="Bowman"]</b>. He has great physical tools and saw an uptick in production toward the end of last season. Is Bowman set for a breakout?</p> <p><em>Wilson: </em><span style="font-weight: 400">Right now in my eyes the 2023 class from the MD/DC area does not seem as talented as the 2022 class. Now obviously that can change and I think we were all hoping to get eyes on a few more prospects from the 2023 class this spring and summer but with the Covid 19 pandemic, that might not happen. Prospects from the 2023 class have not had the opportunity to be seen like previous classes during this time in the calendar year so right now it is hard to say where this 2023 class will line up. The good thing is that they have plenty of time down the road to be evaluated. </span></p> <p><em>Herron: </em>The 2023 class is still somewhat of an enigma to me, because unlike the 2022 class there weren't a ton of guys in the major metropolitan areas that played major roles as a freshman. The only thing we know about the class is who's going to be the #1 ranked player in VA, which is Dennis Parker Jr. of John Marshall. Parker is a 6'6" wing with great physical and athletic tools for his age, and he has great guard skills as a guy who can handle it, shoot it and makes great decisions with the ball in his hands as well.</p> <div>Some other guys from major metropolitan areas that should be at the top will include DeShawn Harris-Smith of PVI, Kaleb Brown of Nansemond-Suffolk, Steven Stinson of Trinity Episcopal, Curtis Blair III of Steward School and Yuri Manns of LC Bird.</div> <div> </div> <div>What's different about this class has to be that many of the most productive guys and impressive prospects come from some of the smaller areas. Guys like John St. Germain and Carter Lang of STAB in Charlottesville, Brock Vice of Blacksburg, Ryan Steger of James River in Buchanan, Isaiah Coleman of Chancellor and Chance Briggs of Chatham all had very impressive years.</div> <div> </div> <div>While things are likely to change with reclassifications and growth of players throughout the years, I think that the increased amount of training and skill development at a young age will lead to a continued leveling of the playing field across the state to smaller markets where you'll see more and more guys from smaller markets who can play with the best of the best in the bigger markets as well.</div>