2029 Rankings Update: Storylines and trends to follow

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The month of August will see an update to all of our class rankings, starting with the rollout of our updated 2029 ranking last week. See below for a handful of trends and storylines to follow from our look at the rising sophomore class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brown establishing some separation at #1</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a class that's lacking for star power overall, incoming Neumann-Goretti transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2507489' first='Ahmir' last='Brown'] has shown to have the best chance of breaking through on a national level toward four or five-star status. A lanky wing with a developing on-ball presence, he has a blend of physical tools and feel for the game with a growing track record of production that when put together is unrivaled by any sophomore in the state. The combination of what Brown has already done, as a freshman for Father Judge and on the 15U EYBL circuit for [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final'], with the glaring potential still left to tap into make him an easy choice for the top spot at this stage when evaluating long-term outlooks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Proliferation of guards at the top</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following the spirit of both the NBA Draft and the college NIL market, our rankings tend to place extra value on bigs and wings, given their relative scarcity relative to their counterparts in the backcourt. That being said, with Brown being the exception, the top portion of this class is mostly dominated by guards at this point. Even when factoring in the well-known scouting philosophy that bigs tend to develop later, the next several prospects after Brown are all backcourt prospects who play a good deal with the ball in their hands.<br><br>The two prospects with the best chance to challenge Brown in time for the next update look to be a pair of physical downhill guards in [player_tooltip player_id='2919221' first='Khory' last='Copeland Jr'] and Barakel "Bekay" Koffi. Copeland was arguably the most consistently productive freshman in the PCL last year alongside Brown at Judge and also put together a standout summer in his own right for [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final'], while Koffi mostly bided his time as a freshman at Phelps but showed flashes of brilliance both on the UAA circuit with Canada Elite West and in FIBA competition for the Ivory Coast. Rounding out the top five is another pair of guards in returnign state champion [player_tooltip player_id='2868579' first='Shyheim' last='Starling'] and incoming Perkiomen transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2873649' first='BJ' last='Williams'], followed by a backcourt duo from the Pittsburgh area in the explosive Julius Page Jr and dual-sport star [player_tooltip player_id='2905382' first='Marino' last='Graham'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">High level of representation from central and western parts of the state</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The highest-level team and prospect debates throughout the state are typically dominated by representation from the greater Philadelphia area, but this class is looking to be an exception thus far. Even with the move of Central PA's previous top 2029, [player_tooltip player_id='2954685' first='Joven' last='Strine'], into the 2030 class, more than half of the top 15 prospects in this update are from well outside of Philly and its surrounding suburbs.<br><br>The aforementioned Starling leads the way with Page Jr and Graham carrying the torch for a talented crop of Pittsburgh-area guards that also includes [player_tooltip player_id='3266193' first='Brooklyn' last='Becker'], [player_tooltip player_id='3035875' first='Amaizen' last='Straughters'], [player_tooltip player_id='3033942' first='Brandon' last='Pickett'], and [player_tooltip player_id='3443741' first='Ahsan' last='Harrison']. The Steel City region is further represented within the top 25 by the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='3231680' first='Owen' last='Hodge'], [player_tooltip player_id='3643632' first='Eric' last='Craciun'], and [player_tooltip player_id='3598566' first='Greyson' last='Sayler']. High-octane scoring guard [player_tooltip player_id='3660702' first='Jaden' last='Truss'] joins Starling out of the Mid-Penn with versatile wing [player_tooltip player_id='3448042' first='Kymani' last='Vine'] looking like a potential hidden gem from the Erie area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Which of the bigs will start to emerge?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roman's [player_tooltip player_id='2919981' first='Shayne' last='Jackson'] is currently the highest-ranked frontcourt prospect, slotting just inside the top 10 after a standout summer showcasing his high-level feel and skillset while still being in the early stages of refining his body. He's the best bet of any to rise further toward the top group, but there's a significant dropoff from that point on until the next true big being found at #25 with [player_tooltip player_id='3189209' first='Charles' last='Quackenbush'], who's still very much a long-term bet at this stage. As mentioned earlier, bigs tend to develop later than their smaller counterparts, so it will be interesting to track who starts to emerge over the course of the upcoming season and beyond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->