A look back at Prep Hoops Ohio’s 2021 rankings

In an era where freshmen are playing less than ever, many players from Prep Hoops Ohio’s 2021 rankings are already making an early impact with their college program.

The top ranked player in the state, Malaki Branham, is starting for the Ohio State Buckeyes and has been the only freshman from Ohio’s 2021 class to play significant minutes at a high major program.

The highest ranked player to commit to a mid-major program was Desmond Watson, the former Columbus DeSales standout has played over 10 minutes in all but two of the Wildcat’s games thus far.

Aj Braun, the second ranked center in the state (only behind Indiana commit Logan Duncomb) is currently scoring 8.6 PPG for Wright State and grabbing three rebounds a game.

Only two players appeared in the top 25 of the rankings and didn’t commit to Division I programs. Those players were George Mangas and Kobe Rodgers. Both players have already gotten their first career start and Rodgers is scoring 8.9 PPG on the fifth ranked team in the country.

Of the players ranked in the top 75, Camron McKenzie, Nash Hostetler, Davon Smith Johnson, Marcus Steele, Tyson Elwer, Casey George and Luke Rowlinson were the only players to commit to NAIA schools. Camron McKenzie is playing over 20 minutes in his team’s last four games. Nash Hostetler has started every game for Holy Cross (IN). Marcus Steele played FORTY minutes in his last game and has been in double-figures scoring in three of five career games. Tyson Elwer is playing over 10 minutes a game for the number one team in the nation. Casey George is scoring 7.3 PPG in 19 minutes of game action a night for Thomas Moore. Finally, Luke Rowlinson has already played over 10 minutes in 11 games for Cornerstone University this season.

Players in the top 100 that committed to Division III programs were Royal Sibley, Ricky Radtke, Henry Hinkle, Isaiah Young, Jamir Billings, Ashton Price and Trey Killens. Sibley and Killens have both only appeared in one game, but the rest have all been major contributors from day one. Ricky Radtke has started nine of 10 games, averaging 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds a contest. Henry Hinkle has started all eight games and is scoring 14.8 PPG for Ohio Wesleyan. Isaiah Young is second on Heidelberg in scoring at 12.7 PPG. Jamir Billings has started every game for Wooster and is scoring 9.1 PPG. Finally, Ashton Price is playing 18 minutes a game for Baldwin Wallace and scoring 5.4 PPG.

In an era where small college basketball teams are older than ever with players given free eligibility, Freshman are playing less minutes that previous seasons. Despite this, Prep Hoops Ohio was able to evaluate players that can make an impact right away at your program.