Class of 2026: Top 5, June 2023
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With a full season of high school basketball under their belts, along with a few months of grassroots basketball, the top rising sophomores of Oklahoma are starting to take shape. Here’s a rundown of the current top 5, with familiar…
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Continue ReadingWith a full season of high school basketball under their belts, along with a few months of grassroots basketball, the top rising sophomores of Oklahoma are starting to take shape. Here’s a rundown of the current top 5, with familiar names at the top.
The current headliner of the class. In the last month, Montonati has added to his offer list with Arkansas, Michigan, Kansas and others. And just last night, he won Gold as a key member of the USA U16 Squad at the FIBA Americas championship in Mexico.
There are a lot of great traits and aspects to Montonati’s game, pedigree and aggressiveness standout from an intangibles point of view. Those aspects along with his elite shooting ability really separate him. The Owasso Ram is not only the premier shooter in the state of Oklahoma, he’s proven this spring that he’s in conversation for being one of the best shooters in the nation. It’s not just burying open threes, he moves well off the ball, and is smooth in the mid-range. From off the dribble deep pull ups, to catch and shoot opportunities, he’s starting to already look like collegiate ready as a three point shooter.
After a strong freshman season, Woodson has continued his stellar play on the UA Next circuit with KC Run GMC. Right now he’s at his best when posting up, or facing up from 10-15 feet in. He’s already developing quality footwork on those post ups or when attacking off spins and one-two dribbles. At the rim, he has a great blend of power and touch to finish through contact.
Young for his grade, Woodson is clearly still scratching the surface of his immense upside. As he continues to mature, the 405 forward has a chance to be one of the premier athletic disruptors in this class nationally, which should pair well with the high skill level he’s developing as well.
A quick and compact guard, Wilks is always up tempo and aggressive. His quickness serves him well in getting down hill and also hounding ball handlers. The Deer Creek Antler had a quality spring for the Peach Jam bound MoKan 15U squad, with double figures in scoring, while also handing out a team high 3.6 assists per game. Even against the national competition, he made a living of getting downhill and scoring himself or finding open teammates.
The poise and athleticism are there for Wilks to be a big time guard, even at his current size. A crucial next step in his development will be continuing to improve his jumper, especially from distance. On the plus side for projecting that improvement, he did shoot 87.9% from the line during E15 play this spring.
Continuing the theme of gifted hybrid forwards, Flemons is more of a throwback, low post scorer than the other two on this list. But he still has some positional versatilely traits that modern basketball coverts. Currently he does a wonderful job of embracing his strengths by being a bully around the rim. He’s an outstanding rebounder and has soft touch in the paint. At first glance, he’s surprising nimble for a player of his size. He’s shown promise with his ability to attack on face ups, and moving his feet on defense to stay in front of defenders.
If Flemons continues to grow a couple more inches, he’s a no brainer as a destructive force around the rim. Even at his current height, with his ability as a passer out of the high post along with an improved jumper the Union Redhawk could be a match up nightmare as a small ball 4/5.
The small school wildcard on the list, Shelton passes the initial eye test with effortless movements that blend his good athleticism with handles and shooting ability. He’s fluid while pulling up off the dribble, while also a natural at getting downhill and finishing in traffic. There’s even flashes of good creative upside with some of the vision he shows when passing.
Shelton is also a top football prospect. Recently in Oklahoma, football has often won out as the career path for elite prospects. But the upside is there for the southern Oklahoma standout to also blossom on the basketball court.