2024 Rankings: Top Five Spotlight

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Monday, our ranking updates continued with the 2024 class. You can check out the <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/02/updated-2024-oklahoma-rankings-4/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Top 75 juniors in Oklahoma RIGHT HERE</a></strong>. Throughout the week, we're taking more of a look at the 2024 class with breakdowns on various prospects throughout the rankings. In this post, it's all about the best of the best. This is our Top Five Spotlight and we have a new number one overall prospect in Edmond North's [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett']. These five have taken their games to new levels this winter and we're looking forward to seeing more of them moving forward. But for now, we put a spotlight on each and discuss what makes them special. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1367221"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Edmond North guard [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett'] has taken over the top spot in the Oklahoma 2024 rankings and that's been a move that was pretty firmly cemented back in December. Coming into this season, Barrett was known as a top five overall prospect and an outstanding defensive guard. He's arguably one of the best, if not the best defensive guard in the state. But Barrett made it pretty obvious early on that he's more than a defensive stopper. He got his junior season off to a great start on the offensive end of the floor. His offensive game has made a massive jump from last season and he's turned into the complete package as a prospect. The defense speaks for itself and he has shut down some of the best prospects in the state. But what has helped him take the next step and into the number one spot is his offensive playmaking. He isn't just scoring, he's getting his teammates involved and the Edmond North offense has turned into a well oiled machine with Barrett running it. Barrett has the Huskies ready to defend their Class 6A state championship over the next few weeks. Barrett's progression over the last 12 months has been one of the bigger stories in Oklahoma basketball.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1367217"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Dale guard [player_tooltip player_id='1367217' first='Dayton' last='Forsythe'] has the Pirates looking like one of the best teams in the state, regardless of class. Forsythe got everyone's attention in December when he helped lead the Pirates to the Tournament Of Champions title. He has taken another step as a prospect and when it comes to best overall players in the state, it's hard to argue that anyone is more important to their team than Forsythe is to the unbeaten Pirates. If we had to make a pick one player as the favorite for Player Of The Year in Oklahoma this season, Forsythe might be the answer and top the list. Forsythe is an absolute surgeon on the court and is so incredibly efficient with everything he does. And we've mentioned this a few times but his athleticism and leaping ability is criminally underrated across the state. He definitely opened up a lot of eyes when they made their run in Tulsa back in December. We're looking forward to seeing what's next for him this spring and summer as he faces tougher competition on the travel basketball scene. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Forsythe and the Pirates are going to run away with another state championship and complete the perfect season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1367213"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Bartlesville junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1367213' first='David' last='Castillo'] continues to be one of the more natural scorers in the state's 2024 class. He was certainly one of the very first prospects on the radar for this class and nothing has changed as he winds down his junior season with the Bruins. We've witnessed multiple 30+ point scoring performances from Castillo this season and the thing that we always keep coming back to with him is how effortless it looks. It doesn't feel like a 30+ point performance in a lot of ways. He always seems to be in the flow of the offense and then you look up in the fourth quarter and he has at least 30 and looking for more. Castillo simply makes it look easy even though he's consistently going against some of the toughest competition in Class 6A. Castillo and the Bruins haven't had much success in the win-loss column but Castillo has still had some memorable performances against top competition. As one of the few true national prospects coming out of Oklahoma in this 2024 class, this spring and summer will be big for the Bartlesville star. He already has interest and offers from all over the country. Will he take that next step and become an All American like many predicted early on in his career?","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1332074"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Edmond North forward [player_tooltip player_id='1332074' first='Dylan' last='Warlick'] was one of the breakout stars of the 2021-2022 season as the Huskies captured the state championship a year ago. He turned into an absolute monster as just a sophomore, making 20 and 10 look normal on a nightly basis. Warlick continued that momentum into the offseason and had an outstanding spring and summer. This season, Warlick is right back to where we saw him last year with his incredible production at a very consistent level. We're really impressed with Warlick because as mentioned earlier, his teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1367221' first='TO' last='Barrett'] has risen to the top spot in the rankings but that hasn't changed Warlick's production and that consistency that has become a benchmark for his game. The Huskies have had all eyes on them from the end of last season considering they brought everyone back from a championship team. Warlick hasn't flinched and neither have the Huskies. He continues to put up big numbers and has the chance to once again have a very memorable March. As a prospect, his recruitment should see things take off this spring and summer. He continues to be a consistent top five overall prospect in the 2024 class.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1367214"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Oklahoma Christian School standout [player_tooltip player_id='1367214' first='Luke' last='Gray'] rounds out the top five and he's one of the more intriguing prospects to watch moving forward. Last week, we wrote about the 2025 class and there's two prospects in the top three that are also emerging as true national prospects in football. Gray could be that guy for the 2024 class. It sounds like he's still on the fence about going all in on football but he's a special athlete and there's clearly a high ceiling with him on the gridiron. Gray has OCS as one of the main contenders in Class 4A this season. We've watched Gray a few times this season and it's really hard not to be blown away and sucked in by his raw athleticism. But he's not just a freak athlete playing basketball. There is serious skill to his game and he's continuing to develop everything else to make himself a truly special basketball prospect. When Gray gets the ball in the paint, it's over, he's scoring. But Gray continues to show that he has a smooth jumper when he steps out and launches from beyond the arc. While we're keeping an eye on the football developments, Gray has firmly established himself as one of the top basketball prospects in the state.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f67ffdb9f11"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->