Updated 2022 Rankings: Top 10 Breakdown

<p>Our <a href="https://prephoops.com/maryland/rankings/2022-rankings/">updated 2022 players rankings</a> are officially live, which means a slew of content breaking down different aspects will be coming your way here on Prep Hoops Maryland. I'll start with taking a look at the top 10 prospects. There wasn't much change except for No. 10, but all of these prospects have given reason for their place. </p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>1. [player_tooltip player_id="837927" first="Cameron" last="Whitmore"] | 6'7 | Archbishop Spalding (Villanova)</strong></span></p> <p>Whitmore has yet to take his foot off the gas. In fact, he continues to supply reminders with every game that his athleticism and ability are at elite levels. You'd be hard pressed to find another player around the country who plays above the rim on both ends as regularly as Whitmore. He has the Cavs rolling and will be the critical piece in helping his team to a BCL/MIAA title this February. As time passes, the excitement from the Villanova fan base builds for Whitmore to arrive on campus under head coach Jay Wright, where he could have a real chance of developing into an NBA Draft prospect.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/SLAM_HS/status/1475643374094929923?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Ward-Tyrell-DeMatha.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1342716" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Ward-Tyrell-DeMatha-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2. [player_tooltip player_id="777065" first="Tyrell" last="Ward"] | 6'7 | DeMatha (Xavier)</strong></span></p> <p>Ward has always been on the coattail of Whitmore in regards to rankings. His pro-style scoring prowess and tough shot-making ability make it extremely difficult to choose between the two. Ward has the Stags off to a 6-1 start and remain the favorites to win the WCAC. Ward continues to supply reason that he is an absolute steal for head coach Travis Steele and Xavier.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/theCBGLive/status/1409196256799477764?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Favour-Aire.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1224117" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Favour-Aire-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>3. [player_tooltip player_id="777061" first="Favour" last="Aire"] | 6'10 | Bishop McNamara (Miami)</strong></span></p> <p>There's no guaranteed double-double threat in the area quite like Aire. His activity and dominant paint presence is why he's cemented his spot since the beginning as the best big in this class. He's a routine bucket around the rim, a dependable free-throw shooter and continues to work on the development of a mid-range shot. Defensively is where his impact can be felt most with his shot-blocking presence, elite rebounding ability and versatility to guard out on the perimeter for stretches. Aire isn't a prospect that received a ton of spotlight, but should turn out to be a productive player for head coach Jim Larranaga. </p> <p>https://twitter.com/AdamFinkelstein/status/1458499443175608327?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Rodney-Rice.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1200684" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Rodney-Rice-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>4. [player_tooltip player_id="904621" first="Rodney" last="Rice"] | 6'4 | DeMatha (Virginia Tech)</strong></span></p> <p>Rice is a natural scorer who has shown continued growth as a point guard this season for the Stags. He's deadly in ball-screen scenarios thanks to his three-level scoring threat and seems to be more comfortable making reads off the dribble as the defense rotates to defend the action. Rice will head to Virginia Tech and play for head coach Mike Young and former DeMatha head coach Mike Jones, who is the associate head coach of the Hokies. </p> <p>https://twitter.com/CapitolHoops/status/1468976039690919937?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/0-15.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1280204" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/0-15-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>5. Darren Buchanan Jr. | 6'7 | Woodrow Wilson</strong></span></p> <p>Buchanan is the best available prospect in MD/DC and could realistically be considered as high as No. 3 on this list. Based off of numbers, Buchanan has not only collected double-doubles on the regular, but flirts with triple-double numbers more than any other prospect in the region. Buchanan is a junkyard dog who can play multiple positions, finish ridiculous dunks in space or traffic and is willing to do all of the little things that go into winning. His recruitment has been interesting. George Washington has and continues to put the most time into Buchanan, but as high major programs have inquired, it seems that he wants to take his time and evaluate all options once the water levels. Virginia Tech is a program to keep an eye on.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/dbuchananjr2/status/1470957120568934404?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Christian-Winborne-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1214241" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/06/Christian-Winborne-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>6. [player_tooltip player_id="777071" first="Christian" last="Winborne"] | 6'2 | Gilman (St. Joseph's)</strong></span></p> <p>Winborne announced his commitment back in the summer where after going on a tear in the month of July for Team Thrill. Since then, he's been polishing his overall skill set and trying to prepare to be an impact player immediately at the point guard position. Winborne is a three-level scoring talent who takes great pride in his individual defense. He has the mentality and work ethic to be a productive player for head coach Billy Lange in the A-10.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/PointGuardEyes/status/1383521301424349191?s=20</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Watson-Christian.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1185269" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Watson-Christian-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>7. [player_tooltip player_id="904624" first="Christian" last="Watson"] | 6'7 | St. John's DC (Miami)</strong></span></p> <p>Watson will join Aire in Miami next fall as freshmen. The 6-foot-7 wing supplies more versatility on the wing and at times could possibly be used as an undersized four in smaller lineups. Watson had a nice summer for [program_tooltip program_id='2078456' first='DC' last='Premier'] and was relied on heavily as a primary offensive option both as a scorer and playmaker. His size, length and athleticism should bode well in the ACC. If he continues to polish his ball handling and feel off the bounce, his stock will rise.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Deon-Perry.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1253902" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/07/Deon-Perry-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>8. [player_tooltip player_id="904628" first="Deon" last="Perry"] | 5'9 | Mt. Carmel (Loyola MD)</strong></span></p> <p>Perry has defended our high ranking of him after he absolutely dominated the DMV Live weekends back in June. At 5-foot-9, Perry's elite outside shooting ability off the bounce, high-level feel for the game as a passer and accurate, pesky hands defensively allows him to impact the game at both ends. He has Mt. Carmel in a position to make a push in 2022 in the BCL/MIAA and should play a load of minutes as a freshman in college under head coach Tavaras Hardy. </p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Tyson-Commander.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1340310" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Tyson-Commander-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>9. [player_tooltip player_id="837919" first="Tyson" last="Commander"] | 6'4 | John Carroll</strong></span></p> <p>It's been made public that Commander plans to do a post-grad prep year at Mt. Zion Prep and reclass to 2023, but as always, we wait until the season is officially over and all paperwork is official before making those changes to our rankings. John Carroll has faced quite a difficult schedule to start this season and has took its punches, but Commander has been the consistent scoring presence throughout. The 6-foot-4 lefty has always been able to fill it up from beyond the arc, but is having just as much of an impact as a scorer off the bounce in the mid-range and paint area on drives.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/DeoGee410/status/1476018300052283392?s=20</p> <div class="mceTemp"> </div> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Johnson-Cortez.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1342668" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/12/Johnson-Cortez-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>10. [player_tooltip player_id="1110545" first="Cortez" last="Johnson"] | 6'7 | St. Frances</strong></span></p> <p>Johnson was underrecruited coming into this season and all it took was a big showing at National Hoop Fest to create a spark. In a dominant win over DeMatha, the 6-foot-7 do-it-all forward recorded 16 points and 20 rebounds, a perfect stat line to represent what he does best. On top of score and collect rebounds, Johnson uses his plus length to disturb shots around the rim. His size and versatility make for a perfect candidate to fill roles at multiple positions at the next level. Morgan State has made Johnson a major priority, while UNC-Greensboro and Siena are two recent offers.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/PointGuardEyes/status/1434201854364225542?s=20</p>