With travel ball now in the rear-view mirror and my evaluations complete, I've finalized my rankings for 2022 prospects. It's time to over-analyze the quantification of over 200 kids that I viewed this spring/summer, so let's get right to it. 

We'll start with the commits, move on to likely additions and finish with offers/targets. We'll go a bit deeper with the commits and likely additions for obvious reasons. 

 

Tarris Reed

EM Ranking: #38 Overall/#8 Center

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #69 Overall

Conventional Assessment Prior to Travel-Ball: Wide-bodied bruiser with budding skill as a shooter/face-up option that might not big enough or athletic enough to warrant a top-50ish profile. 

Travel-Ball Performance/Ranking Logic: 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and nearly a block per game on 70% from the field during eight games in Peach Jam. One of the biggest stockrisers of the summer for me based on ability to be a bully-ball scorer with his back-to-the-basket while really impressing as a face-up option on the perimeter. Reed projects as a versatile mismatch problem at the college level that has the strength/mass to overpower smaller bigs in the B10, while having just enough handle/agility to blow-by more traditional centers. The jumpshot mechanics look good and there is some promise there despite only 4 attempts from distance during EYBL play. Doesn't have the combination of size (closer to 6'9 that 7'0) or athleticism (not a quick-twitch athlete by any means) to rise much higher than top-40 going forward. 

 

Dug McDaniel

EM Ranking: #106 Overall/#22 PG

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #59 Overall

Conventional Assessment Prior to Travel-Ball: Small PG with outstanding playmaking ability/vision, good acceleration + straight line speed and a questionable jumper. 

Travel-Ball Performance/Ranking Logic: 12.1 points, 3.4 assists per game on 40% from the field overall and 31% from three (42 attempts) during eight games at Peach Jam. The spring/summer functionally confirmed the accepted assessment heading into travel-ball. McDaniel is a small guard at a legit 5'8 - 5'9, that is electric as a playmaker while being a bit below average as a shooter. My 106 ranking of Dug doesn't really speak to him having a sub-par spring/summer (he is what I thought he was), but more a result of relative unknowns at his position outplaying him. Guys like Collin Chandler, Rowan Brumbaugh, Riley Kugel, Koren Johnson and Zakai Zeigler were basically unheard of prior to April based on the pandemic, but that is no longer the case. A lot to like about McDaniel as pass-first playmaker for others that is a supplemental piece as a scorer, particularly on a team that projects to have great bigs + wings.

[After THE JUMP: a VERY likely addition and offers/targets]

Jett Howard

EM Ranking: #34 Overall/#10 SF

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #39 Overall

Conventional Assessment Prior to Travel-Ball: Just shooter type with good size that can attack closeouts in a straight line while being an average athlete. 

Travel-Ball Performance/Ranking Logic: 9.2 points, 2.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds on 46% FG and 25% from beyond the arch in six games at Peach Jam. The Peach Jam numbers simply don't do justice for the summer Jett had. I watched him on multiple occasions starting in April and came away thinking he was a better prospect than I witnessed with IMG. The noticeable difference? Unquestionably, it was the playmaking ability for others that popped. Contrary to the pre-summer assessment, Howard can do some things as a shot-creator for himself and others that raised his profile for me. While he doesn't project as a primary on-ball type at Michigan, he certainly looks capable as a secondary playmaker. The flip side is that Jett isn't the elite shooter that most have projected. I've watched him no less than 10 times since last October and never came away with the impression that he'll be a 38%-40% shooter from distance. That said, he is a kid that connects on difficult pull-ups, so the shotmaking ability is definitely formidable, if not elite. I get Franz vibes here in that both were projected as elite shooters during their pre-Michigan days, but the other elements of their game/versatility is what really makes them productive. Much like Reed, Jett's lack of quick-twitch athleticism means he's unlikely to rise much in the rankings absent being a 40% shooter beyond the arch. 

 

Ernest Udeh

EM Ranking: #79 Overall/#17 Center

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #56 Overall

Brief Explanation: Huge stockriser to mainstreams during the spring. Went from generic 3-star to top 20 on 247. While Udeh was undervalued to me, 5-star status was a bit too much. He's a very limited offensive player that is generally restricted to finishing as a roll-man and with putbacks on the offensive glass. Ernest is a good rim-protector, but isn't a game-changing defender in the mold of a Dereck Lively. He's only a legit 6'9 and won't have one-and-done type impact. Can't justify 5-star status here in my opinion. 

 

 

Yohan Traore

EM Ranking: #16 Overall/#3 PF

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #67 Overall

Brief Explanation: Biggest stockriser of the summer. Elite versatility with a nice face-up game off the bounce, punishes smaller defenders as a back-to-the-basket scorer and is a capable shooter that spaces the floor. Defensively, Yohan is a plus rim-protector that may prove to be switchable at the college level. Lacks the size (legit 6'9) and elite shooting ability to be a legit top-5 prospect/no-brainer NBA player, but this is about as good as it gets for a college prospect in this class. Will likely be a 5-star to every site by the end of August. Have heard rumors that he may reclass to 2021, but nothing I'm comfortable reporting as verified. 

 

Gregg Glenn

EM Ranking: #115 Overall/#18 PF

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #93 Overall

Brief Explanation: Didn't play more than a few weeks of travel-ball based on injury. I've viewed Gregg live twice since November and both times came away with the same evaluation. Good playmaker for others as a face-up forward, below-average shooter, a tad undersized for a PF and perhaps lacking the agility to defend the perimeter. He's still a high-major prospect, but I suspect he's a Plan B for most programs based on some of the same things I reference above. 

 

AJ Casey

EM Ranking: #88 Overall/#13 PF

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #33 Overall

Brief Explanation: Really no way around it, Casey had a disappointing summer relative to expectations. He was a kid on the cusp of 5-star status in March and proceeded to put up 7.5 points and 5.1 rebounds on 41.4% from the field and 6% from three in fourteen Peach Jam contests. Casey should've been much more productive given his combination of size/athleticism/skill. His motor wasn't where it needed to be at times. He has talent and is a high-major level prospect, but several schools have cooled on him and you can expect a big drop in his ranking from other services as well.

 

Ty Rodgers

EM Ranking: #80 Overall/#12 PF

Current 247 Composite Ranking: #57 Overall

Brief Explanation: 8.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists while shooting nearly 54% from the field in fourteen games at Peach Jam. Pre-summer evaluations were almost perfect here. Widely considered a good (not great) athlete that checks multiple positions with some playmaking chops and a college ready frame, he lived up to that billing. The downer? He's the definition of a non-shooter that only attempted 3 shots beyond the arch in those 14 games. Ty is a prospect that will likely be stuck in that 50-100 range absent a serious uptick in shooting prowess.