South Dakota Rankings Process: Deep Dive

Strap in folks, you have yourself a doozy here. In this article, I will detail what is going on inside my head and my process for ranking South Dakota prospects.

As you may be familiar with, I was once a scout for Prep Girls Hoops Dakotas. I essentially got the opportunity with Prep Girls Hoops Dakotas because of my background recruiting for the Presentation College Women's Basketball program. I did this for about three years. I got a first-hand lesson on recruiting for an NAIA school and everything that pertains to it. From scholarships to academics, and the financial side of things.

Making the transition from girls to boys talent evaluation and projecting them going forward is a process, I will say. Though the AAU phenomenon is completely different than when I was in high school, I have experience playing for ECI based out of North Dakota. I was the worst player on the team, surrounded by a few DI talents. Let's just say I just got them the ball and watched. Being lightly, if barely recruited at the DII and NAIA level, I chose playing DIII basketball for Presentation College in my hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota. They then moved to the NAIA level. My college basketball experience taught me the grind of college basketball and the balance between academics and sport. It's truly only for the committed.

Enough about me.

The boys and girls games are completely different games and recruiting processes. So I had to understand and learn the differences and nuances of how college coaches think and recruit prospects.

On the girls side of things, you'll see prospects getting offers very early in their unproven careers. Some even before they get into high school. In boys basketball, college coaches play the wait-and-see game, especially at the DII and DI levels. If you're offering a limited roster spot and a full scholarship to a prospect, you have to hit a majority of the time, and if you miss too much you then lose games and your job. I'm a firm believer that players and having a talented roster that can build together is more important than who is coaching the team. The players are on the court, affecting the game much more than a coach ever could. Especially the top players on a team.

Also noted, NAIA schools can essentially offer a prospect whenever they'd like, but they also like to see how a prospect grows physically and develops as they get closer to their Senior seasons, especially if it's a full scholarship scenario. Dakota Wesleyan University, NAIA school out of Mitchell, SD, has offered Sophomore (2027) point guard Connor Mebius Connor Mebius 5'9" | PG West Central | 2027 State SD of West Central. He's rare and just seems like a safe bet for an NAIA school, with his established success, work ethic, and passion for the game.

When I come up with my personal rankings, let me reiterate that they are my own rankings, and from person to person a prospect could vary drastically on the rankings board. Fans, scouts, or whomever have their own approach to ranking a prospect and sizing them up and comparing them to fellow prospects on the board.

First of all, I like to trust my gut and form my own opinion on prospects. That comes with watching them live and seeing film. I'm definitely a proponent for seeing a prospect in-person to see how they look physically and how well, quick, and explosive they move. They say the film tells the story, but I believe it's missing a factor.

The advantage of watching film from home or wherever, is that I can see more prospects than if I were to go to and travel to an individual game. I normally don't do the multiple screens operation unless it's for the state tournaments. I like to focus on one game and actually pay close attention to what's going on and how the notable prospects are performing. I'll have my eyes on a few prospects per game and follow them closely. The amount of prospects I watch in a game is determined by team and the team's depth of notable prospects. For instance, watching Sioux Falls Christian, Hamlin, and the top AA teams, I have to watch and pay attention to nearly the entire court and essentially I'll be following the ball, unless there's something specific I'm trying to look for.

Are character, personality, or intangibles factored into the rankings? The short answer is no, but if I hear numerous positive reports on a player's work ethic and/or educational accomplishments and commitment, that will only help them in determining their ranking and they may get a bump of up to five spots or so. And at Prep Hoops events, I do sometimes naturally interact with the prospects to get a feel of how they are and how they operate as people, so I form my own opinion there as well.

I wanted to mention and give a bit of advice to current prospects. If you have an outstanding GPA, test scores, and academic accomplishments, I would make it known on your social media profiles. It could make the difference in your being recruited or not.

Do I factor in a college coach's opinion on prospects? Somewhat.

I do realize that college coaches are more advanced than me in X's and O's (something I'm currently developing), but college coaches don't have the time to sit down and watch high school basketball and the prospects they are recruiting on a daily basis with their insanely busy team, practice and travel schedules. So I have a leg up because I'm exposed to these prospects much more than them. They do take in a lot of input from trusted sources on prospects to watch to narrow down the time searching for target guys. And I also hope they take a quick glance at our Prep Hoops Dakotas rankings as well.

I do try to catch some college basketball action, especially the NSIC bacasue they are located in my region and considered one of the top DII conferences in the nation. For instance, NSIC school Minnesota State won the DII National Championship last year. So DII hoops in the region is high-level.

If I'm a DII coach, I'm basically searching for the next batch of All-Conference players in the conference. If you have a couple or a few of those on your roster, then you definitely have a chance.

Size and length at the DII and DI level matters more than the average person realizes. Let's look at the NSIC All-Conference teams for expample.

https://northernsun.org/news/2025/2/26/2024-25-nsic-mens-basketball-all-conference-teams-announced.aspx

Out of the 24 all-conference players, only two of them are under 6'0, with the two being at exactly 5'11.

If you're a prospect under 6'3”-6'2”, you have to be advanced in your skill, elite athleticism and quickness, or both. If you're a point guard that doesn't meet that threshold, you need to be able to control and dictate a game at a high level. Being able to handle the ball when pressured is key. A controlled style of play and sturdy build for shorter point guards seems to be a recent exception.

For example, 2023 prospect, Taylen Ashley, formerly of Sioux Falls Jefferson, is a 5'11'” point guard that has the characteristics of a controlled style and he's built with a strong and muscular frame to absorb contact. He's the starting point guard for University of Sioux Falls, and he's had early career success.

In the current 2025 class you have Augustana University signee, Markus Talley Markus Talley 6'1" | PG Mitchell | 2025 State SD . He's around the 6'1” range and he also can control a game at an elite level and dictate pace. He's probably the top player in the state in terms of handling defensive ball pressure. I think he could compete at the DI level in a complementary role, and he'll have an outstanding career at Augustana.

Through looking at NSIC rosters, you see a majority of the players are in the 6'3”-6'8” range with interior players being on average probably 6'8”-6'10”.

To sum it all up, size matters a great deal to college coaches, so it then matters a lot to me and how I rank.

There are more factors in determining rankings, but we'll hold off on that for a later time.