Achiuwa joins the No. 1 player in the country, James Wiseman (Memphis East), and four-star recruits Boogie Ellis (San Diego Mission Bay), D.J. Jeffries (Olive Branch, MS), Lester Quinones (IMG Academy, FL), Malcolm Dandridge (Memphis East) and Damion Baugh (Tennessee Prep).

Penny Hardaway’s squad will perform on the court, so we can't yet say if it's an all-time recruiting job, but his efforts got myself and my colleague Ronnie Flores on the discussion of the greatest recruiting classes of all time. So we started to dig, and dig, and dig some more.

Some 36 hours later, we had a list of 35 of the all-time great recruiting classes dating back to 1965 for your enjoyment, beginning with UCLA’s class of 1965.

*The list takes into consideration not only the player rankings in those respective classes (listed by number) by the most credible?recruiting lists we?could find, but also what immediate impact the class had during its time in college hoops.?College freshman were first eligible for varsity competition in the 1972-73 season. Classes are listed in chronological order.

1965 UCLA Bruins

Class: Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Lucius Allen, Lynn Shackelford, Kenny Heitz

Impact:?The freshman team, led by these four first-year guys, blew out the varsity team, 75-60, in the inaugural game inside of Pauley Pavilion. Alcindor, Allen, Shackelford and Heitz spent their first season competing against other freshman teams and junior college programs, winning those games by an average of 57 points in front of massive crowds. All four moved into the starting lineup as sophomores and ran off three straight national championships led by Alcindor, arguably the greatest college player ever.

1970 UCLA Bruins

Class: Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Greg Lee, Tommy Curtis, Vince Carson

Impact: The eventual best player in college basketball, Walton, and the rest of this class had to play freshman ball in 1971 and showed just how good they were as sophomores by going 30-0 and winning the ’72 title over Florida State. UCLA won it again in ’73 over Memphis, but fell to NC State in the ’74 Final Four in the last season of this storied class.

1972 Indiana Hoosiers

Class: Quinn Buckner, Scott May, Tom Abernethy, Jim Crews

Impact: This wasn’t an immediate satisfaction class, but it produced long-term success. May was academically ineligible in the 1972-73 season, but his ability was on full display during his sophomore year.?Bucker actually was an immediate impact freshman (10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) on a team that advanced?the the NCAA Final Four.?The Hoosiers went 31-1 in 1974-75 and lost to Kentucky in the regional finals, before going 32-0 in 1975-76, winning the national title over Michigan, 86-68. The ’75-76 Indiana squad is the last team in college basketball to finish a season undefeated.

1978 Louisville Cardinals

Class: Jerry Eaves, Scooter McCray, Wiley Brown, Derek Smith, Poncho Wright

Impact: After recruiting National Player of the Year Darrell Griffith and?Bobby Turner out of Louisville's Male High School in 1976, coach Denny?Crum missed out on big targets like Albert King and Magic Johnson in 1977?and didn’t bring in much of note that fall.?He needed to hit big going into?the 1979 season to surround Griffith with enough talent to make a run at?the program’s third Final Four in the Crum era. Although he didn’t land a?superstar, he brought in excellent depth and a gem in McRay, who was?joined a year later by his younger brother Rodney out of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.?Scooter and Smith were impact players and Eaves and Brown were good role?players as freshman. Even without Turner and an injured Scooter, who was?never the same after his freshman year, Smith and Brown stepped up around?Griffith to develop the program its first NCAA title in 1980. This deep?class made up the core of the team that made another NCAA Final Four?appearance in 1982.

1979 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Sam Bowie (3), Derrick Hord (5), Dirk Minniefield (20), Charles Hurt (36)

Impact: Bowie and Hord came in as top five recruits and the 7-foot-1 Bowie averaged 12.9 points and eight rebounds per game as a freshman, but battled injuries throughout his career. Hord, Minniefield and Hurt were all solid pieces during their four year careers, but weren’t apart of the 1984 team which lost in the National Semifinals to Georgetown in Bowie’s fifth year.

1979 UCLA Bruins

Class: Darren Daye (9), Rod Foster (28), Michael Holton (43), Cliff Pruitt (95)

Impact: These four UCLA freshmen teamed with senior Kiki Vandeweghe to advance all the way to the NCAA title game, where it lost to Louisville led by Darrell Griffith. Larry Brown left for the NBA and left the program on probation in his wake and this group never achieved the projections set for it.

1982 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Johnny Dawkins (11), Mark Alarie (43), Weldon Williams (62), Jay Bilas?(74), David Henderson, Bill Jackman

Impact: After a rough second year in Durham 10-17, many fans were calling?for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s head, but this is the class that turned things?around. Sure, Duke went 11-17 in 1982-83, but it also saw Dawkins (18.1?ppg) develop into arguably the most important recruit in school history?and the player that started a Duke dynasty that won five NCAA?championships in the Coach K era. Alarie (10 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Henderson (9.1?ppg) and Bilas (8.8 rpg) were also impact freshmen and this group made up?the core of the team that advanced to the first Final Four in the?Krzyzewski era, losing to Louisville in the 1986 NCAA title game.

1985 Louisville Cardinals

Class: Tony Kimbro (4), Pervis Ellison (17), Kenny Payne (22), Keith Williams, Avery Marshall

Impact: After winning the 1980 NCAA title and advancing to the 1982 and?1983 NCAA Final Four, it looked like Denny Crum’s proud program wasn’t on?that level anymore after going 19-18 in 1985. A big reason for that was?senior guard Wilt Wagner had to take a red-shirt for an injury. Similar to?Scooter McCray in ’78 and Lancaster Gordon and Charles Jones in '80, Crum?found another Southern gem in Ellison. "Never Nervous” Pervis teamed up?with Wagner to lead the Cardinals to their second NCAA title in seven?seasons in 1986 and the Savannah, Ga. product was the first freshman ever?named MOP of the NCAA Tournament. Kimbro was a three-year starer and Payne?scored nearly 15 ppg as a senior.

1986 Syracuse Orange

Class: Derrick Coleman (6), Earl Duncan (15), Stephen Thompson (36), Keith Hughes, Matt Roe

Impact: Pearl Washington, a New York City playground legend, and cable?television, made Syracuse a household name in the mid 1980s and coach Jim?Boeheim used that to bring in some excellent recruiting classes around?that time. Although Washington left a season early for the NBA in 1986,?Syracuse’s recruiting class that season help the program get over the hump?and advance to its first NCAA Final Four, where it lost to Indiana in the?title game. Coleman (11.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg) starred immediately, Thompson was?a terrific four-year standout and Duncan (after sitting out as a Prop 48)?and Roe became valuable contributors on NCAA tournament teams after their?freshman seasons.

1988 Georgetown Hoyas

Class: Alonzo Mourning (1), Milton Bell (28), Ronny Thompson, Dikembe?Mutombo, John Turner (JUCO)

Impact: We were tempted to place the 1981 Georgetown class with No.?1 player Patrick Ewing, but we decided to place another John Thompson haul?with a No. 1 national player, Mourning (13.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg). What makes?this class unique is the emergence of Mutombo, a Congo native who attended?Georgetown on a USAID scholarship and spoke basically no English when he?arrived. Although Bell eventually transferred and Turner dropped out,?Mourning made the Hoyas a forced to be reckoned with right away as they?advanced to the Elite Eight and they were quite competitive with the Twin?Towers underneath for the next two seasons after that.

1989 Indiana Hoosiers

Class: Lawrence Funderburke (7), Pat Graham (15), Calbert Cheaney (31), Greg Graham (36), Chris Lawson (76)

Impact: This class was met with a lot of fanfare, especially with thoughts of pairing Funderburke with Bobby Knight, but the fun didn’t last long. Funderburke only lasted six games before transferring to Ohio State after he butted heads with coach Knight. Pat and Greg Graham were solid pieces, but Calbert Cheaney ended up being the gem of that Hoosiers’ class. Cheaney led Indiana to the 1992 Final Four and was the 1993 NCAA Player of the Year as a senior.

1990 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Eric Montross (2), Clifford Rozier (5), Derrick Phelps (12), Brian Reese (13)

Impact: All four played roles in their first seasons in Chapel Hill as UNC went to the Final Four in 1991, falling to Kansas, 79-73. Montross ended up leading the Tar Heels in scoring during their run to the 1993 NCAA national title where they defeated the next recruiting class on our list. Rozier ended up transferring to Louisville where he became an All-American, while Reese (11.3 points per game) and Phelps (8.1 ppg) started and played major roles in the title run.

1991 Michigan Wolverines

Class: Chris Webber (1), Juwan Howard (3), Jalen Rose (6), Jimmy King (9), Ray Jackson (76)

Impact: There is no class more highly publicized and analyzed than the famed Fab Five. Webber, Howard, Rose and King were McDonald’s All-Americans, and in fact, played on the same Mickey D’s team. The Wolverines reached back-to-back National Championship games in 1992 and 1993, but fell to Duke and North Carolina, respectively. One of the more interesting facts about this team is it never won a Big Ten championship.

1993 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Jerry Stackhouse (2), Rasheed Wallace (3), Jeff McInnis (26)

Impact: Stackhouse and Wallace were considered two of the top three players in the country along with Randy Livingston (LSU), while McInnis rounded out the trio of McDonald's All-Americans. Stackhouse and Wallace took some time away from returning starters Phelps and Reese and UNC faltered in the 1994 NCAA Tournament, falling in the second round to ninth-seeded Boston College.

1994 Michigan Wolverines

Class: Jerod Ward (3), Willie Mitchell (16), Maceo Baston (17), Maurice Taylor?(18), Travis Conlan

Impact: After Michigan’s Fab Five took college basketball by storm in?1992-93, Coach Steve Fisher had the hottest program in the country in the?mid 1990s. He parlayed that info fine recruiting classes in ’94 and ’95.?The ’94 group was labeled Fab Five II, but because leading recruit Ward?never developed as advertised, the program never returned to the NCAA?Final Four before facing NCAA sanctions at the end of the Fisher era.?Still, the 1994 group was productive in Ann Arbor, especially Taylor (12.4?ppg) and Baston, bookend forwards who were more tough than flashy in comparison to?their predecessors on the frontline.

1997 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Chris Burgess (1), Elton Brand (6), Shane Battier (7), William Avery (51)

Impact: Brand, Battier and Burgess were all McDonald’s All-American’s in 1997. Brand came in as an immediate double-double threat, averaging 13.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a freshman. Avery (8.5 points), Battier (7.6) and Burgess (4.3) were strong supporting actors as freshmen. Duke lost to Kentucky in the Elite Eight in 1998, then fell to Connecticut in the 1999 National Championship game. Brand, a sophomore, led the team in scoring and rebounding that season and was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by Chicago, while Avery went No. 14 to Minnesota.

1998 UCLA Bruins

Class: Dan Gadzuric (5), JaRon Rush (10), Ray Young (16), Matt Barnes (39), Jerome Moiso

Impact: Rush (11.4 points), Moiso (10.8 points) and Gadzuric (8.6 points) all showed early promise as long-term prospects, but things just didn’t click. The team didn’t meet expectations under Steve Lavin and Ray Young’s career didn’t pan out as most expected. The Bruins made a couple of decent NCAA Tournament runs, but the payer rankings of this group didn’t meet the on-court production.

1999 Kansas Jayhawks

Class: Nick Collison (22), Drew Gooden (26), Kirk Hinrich (46)

Impact: This class wasn’t as highly-touted as many on this list, but it was extremely productive. All three were immediate impact players as freshmen, Collison and Gooden both averaging double-figure scoring in their first season. All three of these recruits were on the 2001-02 team which lost to Maryland in the national semifinals, while Collison and Hinrich were on the squad which lost to Syracuse in the 2003 National Championship game.

2002 Illinois Fightin’ Illini

Class: Dee Brown (19), Deron Williams (38), James Augustine (87)

Impact: Bill Self brought in this class before he left for the Kansas job and the rankings of Brown, Williams and Augustine wouldn’t lend one to believe that this class belongs on the list, but the long-term impact of this trio earned it a spot. All three started from nearly every game their inaugural year and the rapport they built helped them reach the 2005 National Championship game under Bruce Pearl. Illinois lost to North Carolina, 75-70. One honorable mention recruiting class was Lou Henson’s haul in 1986 of Nick Anderson, Steve Bardo, Kendall Gill, Ervin Small and Larry Smith, but because of Prop 48 restrictions, Anderson and Small didn’t play their freshman season.

2002 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Raymond Felton (3), Sean May (6), Rashad McCants (8), David Noel

Impact: This trio had a rough start as all were thrust into starting roles under coach Matt Doherty. The 2002-03 Tar Heels went 19-16 overall, 6-10 in the ACC, and missed the NCAA Tournament. Doherty was out after that season and Roy Williams took over and turned the ship around. UNC won the 2005 NCAA Title over Illinois behind the production of McCants, May and Felton.

2002 Syracuse Orange

Class: Carmelo Anthony (1), Gerry McNamara (21)

Impact: This class is important for obvious reasons. Anthony opted to go to college instead of the NBA and the rest is history. Melo immediately became the premier scorer in the country and led the Orange to the 2003 NCAA National Championship. McNamara may have been the overlooked piece to this puzzle, but his 13.3 points per game and consistent long-range shooting was instrumental in Syracuse’s success. Some include Billy Edelin in this class, but he was a 2001 high school graduate who missed his freshman season due to suspension.

2004 Florida Gators

Class: Corey Brewer (29), Al Horford (48), Joakim Noah (67), Taurean Green (70)

Impact: This group didn’t look as good on paper as many on this list, but winning followed wherever it went. They all bought in to each other and coach Billy Donovan’s system which led to it being the last group to win back-to-back NCAA titles. The Gators took down UCLA in 2006 and a great Ohio State team in 2007. Noah, Horford, Brewer and Green all shared the wealth, averaging between 12 and 13.3 points per game in their junior seasons.?

2005 Kansas Jayhawks

Class: Julian Wright (7), Brandon Rush (13), Mario Chalmers (14), Micah Downs (33)

Impact: Rush started every game his freshman year, while Chalmers and Wright eventually played their way into starting roles. The Jayhawks fell to UCLA in the 2007 Elite Eight in this group’s sophomore year, but after Wright left for the NBA and Downs transferred to Gonzaga, Chalmers and Rush helped Kansas win a National Championship in 2008 over Memphis. Chalmers famously hit the game-winning shot.

2006 Ohio State Buckeyes

Class: Greg Oden (1), Daequan Cook (21), Mike Conley (28), David Lighty (41), Othello Hunter (JUCO)

Impact: This class was truly considered one of the best ever led by generational center, Greg Oden, who developed into the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Oden averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds in his freshman campaign, while Conley (11.3, 6.1 assists) and Cook (9.8) took on big time roles as well. Ohio State made a run to the 2007 National Championship game where it fell to Florida.

2006 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Ty Lawson (3), Wayne Ellington (4), Brandan Wright (5), Alex Stepheson (62), Deon Thompson (80)

Impact: This class was top heavy for Roy Williams with Lawson, Ellington and Wright floating around the top 10 among the various rankings. Those three stepped in and contributed immediately, while Thompson and Stepheson played more complimentary roles. Wright went one-and-done, but the other four remained to help the Tar Heels made a Final Four run in 2008. Stepheson then transferred to USC and Ellington, Lawson and Thompson won a National Championship in 2009 over Michigan State.

2006 Texas Longhorns

Class: Kevin Durant (2), D.J. Augustin (17), Damion James (23), Dexter Pittman?(68)

Impact: Coach Rick Barnes used his connections with Montrose Christian?(Rockville, Md.) coach Stu Vetter to secure the services of Durant, the?nation’s No. 2 recruit behind Greg Oden who turned in one of the greatest?freshman seasons in NCAA history (25.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg) before being the No.?2 pick of the 2007 NBA Draft behind the same player. Barnes' haul also?included D.J. Augustin (14.4 ppg, 6.7 apg), the underrated James (7.6 ppg,?7. 2 rpg) and a fourth eventual NBA player and four-year contributor in?Pittman.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: John Wall (1), DeMarcus Cousins (3), Daniel Orton (15), Eric Bledsoe (23), Jon Hood (40), Darnell Dodson (JUCO)

Impact: John Calipari wasted no time bringing in big-time talent at Kentucky. Cal snagged five players in the top 40 and a four-star junior college transfer in Dodson. The Wildcats lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight, then lost Wall, Cousins, Orton and Bledsoe to the NBA. It was considered a big disappointment.?

2010 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Enes Kanter (3), Brandon Knight (6), Terrence Jones (13), Doron Lamb (21)

Impact: Kanter didn’t end up playing in his short stay at Kentucky and the Wildcats still managed to make a Final Four run. Knight (17.3 points), Jones (15.7) and Lamb (12.3) were the catalysts on that 2010-11 team which fell to UCONN, 56-55, in the national semifinals.

2011 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Anthony Davis (1), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2), Marquis Teague (4), Kyle Wiltjer (22)

Impact: A recruiting class can’t get much better when three of the four guys you bring in start basically every game en route to a National Championship. Davis scooped up every award you can imagine, including Wooden Award and AP Player of the Year, as he averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game, while Kidd-Gilchrist put up 11.9 points and 7.4 boards a contest. Davis and MKG were the top two picks in the 2012 NBA Draft and Teague went 29th to Chicago. Wiltjer played two solid seasons, but transferred to Gonzaga after his sophomore year in Lexington.

2013 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Julius Randle (3), Andrew Harrison (5), James Young (6), Aaron Harrison (7), Dakari Johnson (9), Marcus Lee (19), Derek Willis (115)

Impact: Randle, Young and the Harrison twins started from the get-go, as the Wildcats had to make up for the departures of Davis, MKG, Teague, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb whom all ended up being first round picks in the 2012 NBA Draft. Those four, along with sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein, led Kentucky to another National Championship appearance where it fell to Connecticut, 60-54. Randle and Young opted for the one-and-done route with Julius going to the Lakers at No. 7 and James to the Celtics at No. 17. The Harrison twins and Johnson stayed another year before making the jump to the pros. Lee had three average seasons before transferring back home to Cal.

2014 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Jahlil Okafor (1), Tyus Jones (4), Justise Winslow (12), Grayson Allen (17)

Impact: Okafor was an absolute beast at the college level, putting up 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds a night in leading Duke to the 2015 NCAA National Title. Winslow (12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Jones (11.8 points, 5.6 assists) flourished in their starting roles. Okafor (No. 3) and Winslow (No. 10) went in the Lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft and Jones was taken 24th overall.

2014 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Karl-Anthony Towns (5), Trey Lyles (13), Tyler Ulis (21), Devin Booker (27)

Impact: If you look at the stat sheet for the 2014-15 Wildcats none of the numbers will blow you away. No player averaged more than 11 points per game, but the balance was clear as six Kentucky players scored between 6.4 and 11 points per night. Towns started every game, while Lyles made his way into 21 first five appearances. Booker and Ulis played key bench roles as Kentucky won its first 38 games of that season. The Wildcats run to a perfect season was halted by Wisconsin in the 2015 NCAA national semifinals. Towns was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Lyles went No. 12 and Booker No. 13.

2017 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Marvin Bagley III (2), Trevon Duval (4), Wendell Carter (7), Gary Trent Jr. (18), Alex O’Connell (58)

Impact: This was a much-heralded coup for Coach K. He grabbed three of the top seven players in the country, including Bagley who reclassified up a class to head to Durham. The lanky lefty was as good as advertised, dropping 20 points and 11 rebounds a night for the Blue Devils, while Trent, Carter and Duval all joined him in the starting five and averaged double-figure scoring. Duke won 29 games in 2017-18, but fell to Kansas, 85-81, in the Elite Eight. Bagley (No. 2) and Carter (No. 7) were selected early in the 2018 NBA Draft, but Trent fell to the second round and Duval went undrafted.

2017 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Hamidou Diallo (10), Kevin Knox (11), Jarred Vanderbilt (12), P.J. Washington (15), Nick Richards (17), Quade Green (22), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34)

Impact: Kentucky didn’t land any of the top five players in 2017 as it’s accustomed to doing basically every year, but this seven player haul was absolutely ridiculous for Calipari. All seven contributed in a big way before Vanderbilt lost his season early to injury. The Wildcats ended up struggling in SEC play, finishing fourth in the conference with a 10-8 record before falling to Kansas State in the 2018 Sweet 16.

2018 Duke Blue Devils

Class: R.J. Barrett (1), Cam Reddish (3), Zion Williamson (5), Tre Jones (14), Joey Baker (48)

Impact: Duke needed to reload in 2018 after losing its top five scorers to the NBA Draft and Coach K did so by bringing in three of the top five players in the country. Williamson’s impact was not only felt on the floor from the jump, but also on the airwaves and on social media as the viral dunking sensation was plastered all over every sports morning show you can think of. Barrett lived up to his lofty expectations, Reddish showed flashes of why many considered him one of the more versatile scorers in the country and Jones made sure the team was running like a well-oiled machine. The Blue Devils won 32 games before losing to Michigan State, 69-68, in the 2019 Elite Eight.

The post 35 Greatest Recruiting Classes Of All Time appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Every season there are prospects that quickly rise in mainstream national player rankings, but it's not often a somewhat unheralded player can rise to the top five and into the conversation of best overall long-term prospect in his class.

That is the current scenario of 6-foot-10 Jaden McDaniels, who went from a solid Top 100 prospect after a productive junior campaign at Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.), to the talk of the summer recruiting scene and exploding into a top five prospect after starring for Seattle Rotary on the EYBL circuit.

It's easy to see why national scouts like his long-term potential: a sinewy frame with a quick second jump to alter shots, soft hands, good ball-handling ability at his size that he uses for dribble pull-ups and the ability to post up and create space near the elbows.

That ability was on full display during the first round of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, as the Eagles opened the Platinum Division with a hard-fought 54-45 victory over Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.). Federal Way, currently No. 24 in the FAB 50 National Rankings, remained unbeaten despite McDaniels' major foul trouble.

It's just another learning experience for a young man with a quiet demeanor who has been thrust into the national spotlight in the past six months. He's also still undecided for college, with Kentucky, San Diego St., Texas,?UCLA, Washington as his finalists, and that can easily add to the constant questions and distractions during the high school season.

"I'm just worried about getting better and not focused on recruiting...just focusing on us playing well as a team," said McDaniels following Federal Way's first round victory. "All my official visits went well, it was a good experience."

The road to the top is bound to have some bumps, and McDaniels is far from a finished product, but that's what national scouts are most excited about. With hard work, his best days are ahead of him.

McDaniels' foul trouble versus Bishop O'Dowd meant two long spells on the bench. He did block a couple of shots, but when he re-entered the game with 7:46 remaining and his team leading 46-38 he didn't score again, finishing with six points and four rebounds, as he fouled out with 3:01 remaining on a bang-bang charge-block call in the backcourt.

McDaniels' teammates, particularly senior guard Jishai Miller and athletic junior forward Tari Eason, picked up the slack as the Eagles advanced to play Chino Hills (Calif.) and highly-regarded USC commit Onyeka Okongwu. And that's what matters most to McDaniels right now, his team advancing and getting another opportunity.

The No. 4 prospect in the 247Sports.com rankings does get knocked off his desired spot by smaller defenders that can get under him and he could attack the glass with more fervor, but there is plenty a veteran evaluator can point out about a majority of the top prospects. It's about recognizing any shortcomings and addressing them, and McDaniels has a solid idea of how to keep things in perspective and where to go from here.

"I feel I'm more assertive of defense and I'm just trying to be a better teammate all-around," McDaniels said about what he's worked on to improve the most.

McDaniels was ranked No. 89 by 247Sports.com following his junior season then moved up to No. 10 in mid-May. He then went to?No. 4 in August following the July live evaluation period. Was it a case of increased exposure or an improvement in overall game when it came to McDaniels?

"It wasn't a case of exposure...everything improved, from his body, athleticism and skill," said Evan Daniels, 247Sports.com Director of Scouting.

It's not as if a meteoric rise is unprecedented in grassroots basketball or if McDaniels came out of nowhere, as he averaged 21.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 3.3 bpg for a Class 4A state-runner up team in 2017-18. Ironically, McDaniels doesn't really know the history of the fast-rising prospects in grassroots history, but if his career comes even close to following the trajectory of the terrific players chronicled below, he'll be just fine.

"No, I don't know the history of guys like Tracy McGrady, but the exposure (as a highly-regarded prospect) has been really fun," McDaniels said. "Just playing against the top players, getting that opportunity, is what it was all about."

Below are five terrific players who "blew up" at various times in their high school careers. All five went on to great success at the next levels of the game:

Anthony Davis (Perspectives Charter, Chicago) 6-9 PF '11

Prior to the spring of 2010, no one outside of Chicago really knew about this budding prospect, as Davis did not play in the traditional grassroots system until he was a rising junior. He was a thin 6-foot-4 prospect as a sophomore and grew three inches going into his junior year. It wasn't until the spring of 2010 that the 6-foot-9 Davis showed the country glimpses of what he is today: one of the NBA's best players with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Before a spurt that saw him grow 7-8 inches over two years, Davis was toiling at a small charter school in the Chicago Public League. By the first session of Nike EYBL for Meanstreets at Boo Williams, Davis' name was quickly spreading across the country as a franchise-type talent. He went from national obscurity in March 2010 to "he's a Top 5 national prospect" at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-n-Slam All-Star Classic in Indiana in early May.

Davis was ranked by HOOP SCOOP as the top performer at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in June, and a top three player at both the LeBron James King City Classic and NIKE Peach Jam. He was the player of the summer in 2010, but by the end of it, it wasn't hard to see Davis was the best player in the country.

Larry Johnson (Skyline, Dallas) 6-5 PF '87

Thirty years ago club and high school basketball in Texas just didn't have a tremendous reputation as a talent-laden region that it does today. Football was (and still is) king, but even spring football rated above hoops in the eyes of many Texans back then.

Johnson was a man child at Skyline, but the rest of the country simply hadn't seen him. Legendary Skyline head coach J.D. Mayo started the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder on the freshman team for the first game, but that same day he decided to insert him into the varsity lineup and immediately knew he had something special on his hands. Johnson started every game of his four-year career and Mayo desperately wanted the nation's most respected talent scouts to come check out Johnson.

Longtime talent scout?Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports had Johnson at No. 49 in the country based on his reputation. Guard LaBradford Smith of Bay City had the big reputation in Texas' 1987 class and forward Marcus Liberty of King (Chicago) had the biggest reputation nationally and big guard Eric Manual of Southwest (Macon, Ga.) was also in the discussion as the top prospect. Johnson's rep, however, was spreading like wildfire in the spring and summer of 1986.

In a poll of top evaluators that summer, Rick Bolus of High Potential Recruiting Service had Johnson No. 19, Chris Wallace of The Blue Ribbon Yearbook had him No. 6, Brick Oettinger of ACC Poop Sheet and Clark Francis of the Hoop Scoop pegged him at No. 7. The Hoop Scoop later named him its "Sleeper of the Summer" but it's kind of comical to label a top 10 prospect a sleeper. Gibbons' logic seemed to permeate Johnson's meteoric rise; he later confided to Johnson and others the powerful kid from South Dallas was probably the best player in the country, but how good could any recruiting list be if a player went up 50 spots to No. 1 in one single glimpse?

Johnson lived up to his tremendous billing, averaging 29 points and 19 rebounds as a Skyline senior after signing with SMU during the early period. He was later named Mr. Basketball USA over Liberty and Manual before being a two-time National JUCO Player of the Year after fallout of his SAT score in light of SMU's Death Penalty ruling in football.

He was being touted as a sure-fire NBA prospect as a junior college player, led UNLV to the NCAA title in 1989-90 and was the NCAA Player of the Year the following season. He was also NBA Rookie of the Year in 1991-92 after being selected No. 1 overall by the Charlotte Hornets before back injuries slowed his pro career.

Tracy McGrady (Mt. Zion Christian, Durham, N.C.) 6-7 SF '97

T-Mac is the poster child for using a grassroots game or event to springboard from unknown to top of the class. In the case of McGrady, he truly wasn't on anyone radar during his junior season at Auburndale High in Florida. Forget Top 100, he wasn't in anyone's Top 500 prior to getting an invite to attend Sonny Vaccaro's?adidas ABCD Camp in July 1996. Vacarro, the camp founder and director, was pestered by Florida talent scout Alvis Smith to take a chance on the unknown talent by extending him an invite to the prestigious camp. Vaccaro was a bit leery, but the rest, as they say, is history.

No. 175 was the talk of the camp. Veteran talent scouts couldn't believe their eyes. The myth lives on that McGrady was the No. 175 ranked player in camp and the last player to get a jersey, but the reality is he wasn't even in the Top 500. Five days later, he was the No. 1 overall prospect in the country.

McGrady was No. 5 in the camp in scoring (16.5 ppg), tied with Lamar Odom at No. 3 in rebounding (7.8 rpg), No. 2 in steals (2.1) and No. 1 in blocked shots (2.1). He simply was the best player in a talented camp from start to finish. For his senior season, he transferred to Mt. Zion and continued the dominance in a major high school basketball setting.

Odom, who was rated the No. 1 player in the country before ABCD and the other player nationally who could match McGrady talent-wise, was the only other serious National Player of the Year candidate as Mt. Zion won a major tourney title (Las Vegas Holiday Prep Invitational) in which Odom’s team also was involved and lost to T-Mac's team.

McGrady finished his senior season with numbers of 22.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game for a team that finished 26-2 and No. 4 in the National Prep Poll (FAB 50 precursor). McGrady was the No. 9 pick of the 1997 NBA Draft and during his NBA Hall of Fame speech 20 years later talked about his No. 175 at ABCD and personally singled out and thanked Vaccaro for the opportunity.

Shaquille O'Neal (Cole, San Antonio, Texas) 6-11 C '89

Similar to Larry Johnson, O'Neal was unknown nationally prior to the Houston Shootout following his junior season. Talent scouts had a chance to see O'Neal the summer prior at the BCI Tournament in Tempe, Ariz., and if they happened to take a look what they saw was a 6-foot-7 nondescript power forward. Nobody paid attention, but all that quickly changed.

"Shaq was 6-foot-7 as a rising junior going into BCI, but he grew four inches and all of a sudden you had something, and he kept growing," said veteran scout Van Coleman at Tarkanian Classic, who attended BCI in the summer of 1988 as the recruiting world awaited O'Neal's games.

By all accounts, O'Neal was terrific at the Houston Shootout and had heavyweight college coaches such as Eddie Sutton (Kentucky), Joey Meyer (DePaul), Dean Smith (North Carolina) and Digger Phelps (Notre Dame) following his every move at BCI. Nobody was disappointed who saw him as the skinny 6-foot-11 prospect who wore a size 18 shoe and was still 16 until January 1989 quickly ascended to No. 2 in the national class, behind New York City point guard legend Kenny Anderson, in a matter of two events.

In reality, all the college coaches that clamored for O'Neal services were late to the ball game. LSU's Dale Brown first saw him two years earlier at a coaching clinic and mistook the 14-year old for an active serviceman. The relationship Brown forged with the youngster paid off, as O'Neal went to LSU and was a two-time All-American and the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft after being named MVP of both the McDonald's All-American Game and Dapper Dan Roundball Classic following his senior season. He realistically could have been the No. 1 pick in both 1990 and 1991 and went on to become the most dominant center of the "modern" NBA.

Bill Walton (Helix, San Diego, Calif.) 6-11 C '70

There wasn't a complex grassroots system in place in the summer of 1969 or Walton might have blown up in similar fashion to T-Mac or Anthony Davis. He had a good junior season for Helix, but Reseda (Calif.) guard Greg Lee, who was the big name in California at that time and on the cover of Cal Prep Basketball Magazine, and forward Keith Wilkes of Santa Barbara (Calif.),who was the 1969 State Player of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports as a junior, also received a good amount of hype. That all changed early in Walton's senior year when Helix went to challenge some of Southern California's best teams in the Covina Tournament of Champions.

Against a very good Pasadena (Calif.) team in the title game, Walton had tournament single-game records of 50 points and 34 rebounds in a 110-68 rout. Walton made 18-of-24 shots from the field, 14-of-16 free throws and added nine blocked shots. Nobody in attendance could believe how good the tall kid from San Diego was. One of the coaches in attendance was UCLA assistant Denny Crum, John Wooden's chief recruiter who later led Louisville to two NCAA titles. What transpired was one of the most famous conversations in grassroots history.

“I just saw the greatest high school player I’ve ever seen,” Crum told Wooden.

“Better than Lewis (Alcindor)?” Wooden asked.

“Yeah,” Crum said.

“Keep your voice down and close the door,” Wooden snickered.

Crum's evaluation turned out to be not far from the truth, as Walton had a senior season for the ages. He averaged 29 points, grabbed 825 rebounds (still a state record), good for a 25.0 average, as Helix finished 33-0 and extended its winning streak to 49 consecutive games with Walton in the lineup. Tom McMillen of Mansfield (Pa.) garnered most of the national headlines and was the Sports Illustrated cover boy as a high school player, but it wasn't a secret among college coaches that Walton was the real deal. He went on to immortality at UCLA, leading the Bruins to two NCAA titles before going on to win NBA Championships with Portland in 1977 and Boston in 1986.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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Donte DiVincenzo made redheads and "reddish heads" like Blake Griffin proud last night. In the NCAA championship game, the Villanova sophomore guard scored 31 points (10-15 FG) off the bench and was named Most Outstanding Player! The 31 was a national title record for most points off the bench.

The performance also earns him a spot in the Basketball Redhead Hall of Fame, along with legends like Bill Walton and Dennis Johnson (yes, he was a redhead).

The following are some of the best moments in basketball history by redheads and clips from young redheads that's ready to carry the torch from GOATS like The Red & White Mamba.

BILL WALTON

Bill Walton is by far the greatest ginger to ever touch a basketball and his performance in the 1973 NCAA championship game is arguably the greatest title game performance ever: 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting!

Walton also picked up two NBA championships and a NBA Finals MVP award before becoming one of the most polarizing sports commentators of all-time.

DENNIS JOHNSON

DJ went from getting kicked off a college team (twice) to 2nd round NBA draft pick to a 5 x All-Star, 3 x NBA champion and 1 x NBA Finals MVP. He's also one of the greatest defenders the league has ever seen. And at 6'4" he's unofficially the shortest player to ever want to get into a scuffle with Charles Oakley. Every time I see this clip, I wish the ball would have hit Oakley in the back.

BLAKE GRIFFIN

The future stand-up comedian is responsible for a lot of the best dunks over the past decade but only one of them spawned a phrase in basketball.

On November 20th of 2010, Griffin posterized Timofey Mozgov and the phrase "Mozgoved" was born.

DELONTE WEST

I thought about showing West giving Gordon Hayward a "Wet Willie" but the highlight of his troubled NBA career is easily this game-winner from 2008. Why? Because LeBron James made the assist (I'll let you provide the jokes).

MATT BONNER

Believe it or not, the Red Mamba does have a dunk contest title. It was in high school but Matt Bonner can say he won a dunk contest. He can also say he almost got into a fight with Kevin Garnett and once put Mark Madsen on skates. And he can say he once took the ball from Tony Parker and called an isolation play for himself.

BRIAN SCALABRINE

Buzzer beaters, dunks, fancy assists, win a championship, the White Mamba has done everything the Black Mamba has done...just not as many times.

DENNIS RODMAN

Yes, I'm counting The Worm. At one point or another during Dennis Rodman's Hall of Fame career, he sported every color in the rainbow on his head. And as a redhead, the 2 x NBA DPOY once held Shaq scoreless for a half.

Shaq wants you to know Rodman was BBQ chicken on most nights...

NICO MANNION

Besides Donte DiVincenzo, the young redhead I think will continue the legacy started by Bill Walton will be high-flying Nico Mannion.

Since Bonner has the nickname 'The Red Mamba,' here's some options for Nico:

• Agent Orange
• Code Red
• Ginger Fireball
• Gingerbread Man
• The Torch

HONORABLE MENTION: ROBERT SWIFT

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