Saw some discussion of Shaun Williams dropping out of the Top 150 rankings and it got me thinking does it really matter if a player was ranked 146 or 172? Fans get so caught up in rankings and how many stars. Does it really matter?
There are many factors involved like what club the HS player is on, is that club on the shoe circuit, what recruiting service (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 24/7) has actually seen him play, how many evaluators does that service have in the player's area, etc..... I know guys like EBossi work tirelessly but he's only one guy. Since I'm from Arizona where there have been no shoe circuit teams and most club teams just play in LA or Vegas, many of the players there are rarely seen by the guys who determine the rankings. I've seen kids with over 10 D1 offers not even have their name included in the recruit database.
So I decided to look up the player rankings from the teams in the 2018 Final 4. Very interesting. Obviously Loyola is the "cinderella" this year so their player rankings may be expected. Did you know that Michigan doesn't have one 5 star kid in their rotation and almost no players in the Top 150 of their class? K-State fans post so much about wanting Top 150 kids but does it really matter in the big picture? I looked up the starters and key guys off the bench. Here they are.
MICHIGAN
Wagner - 2 star, NR
Abdur-Rahkman - 2 star, NR
Matthews - 4 star, #48
Simpson - 4 star, NR
Livers - 4 star, NR
Robinson - 2 star, NR
Teske - 4 star, 8 min last gm
Poole - 4 star, 2 min last gm
LOYOLA-CHICAGO
Custer - 4 star by only Rivals, #92
Richardson - 3 star, NR, 6 3's against us
Townes - 2 star, NR
Jackson - 2 star, NR, JUCO
Krutwig - 3 star, NR
Ingram - 2 star, NR
KANSAS
Graham - 4 star, #36
Newman - 5 star, #8
Vick - 3 star, NR
Azubuike - 5 star
Mukhailuik - 2 star, NR
Garrett - 4 star
Lightfoot - 3 star
Villanova
Brunson - 5 star, #20
Booth - 4 star, #85
Bridges - 4 star, #95
Spellman - 5 star
Paschall - 2 star, NR
DiVincenzo - 3 star, #120
There are many factors involved like what club the HS player is on, is that club on the shoe circuit, what recruiting service (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 24/7) has actually seen him play, how many evaluators does that service have in the player's area, etc..... I know guys like EBossi work tirelessly but he's only one guy. Since I'm from Arizona where there have been no shoe circuit teams and most club teams just play in LA or Vegas, many of the players there are rarely seen by the guys who determine the rankings. I've seen kids with over 10 D1 offers not even have their name included in the recruit database.
So I decided to look up the player rankings from the teams in the 2018 Final 4. Very interesting. Obviously Loyola is the "cinderella" this year so their player rankings may be expected. Did you know that Michigan doesn't have one 5 star kid in their rotation and almost no players in the Top 150 of their class? K-State fans post so much about wanting Top 150 kids but does it really matter in the big picture? I looked up the starters and key guys off the bench. Here they are.
MICHIGAN
Wagner - 2 star, NR
Abdur-Rahkman - 2 star, NR
Matthews - 4 star, #48
Simpson - 4 star, NR
Livers - 4 star, NR
Robinson - 2 star, NR
Teske - 4 star, 8 min last gm
Poole - 4 star, 2 min last gm
LOYOLA-CHICAGO
Custer - 4 star by only Rivals, #92
Richardson - 3 star, NR, 6 3's against us
Townes - 2 star, NR
Jackson - 2 star, NR, JUCO
Krutwig - 3 star, NR
Ingram - 2 star, NR
KANSAS
Graham - 4 star, #36
Newman - 5 star, #8
Vick - 3 star, NR
Azubuike - 5 star
Mukhailuik - 2 star, NR
Garrett - 4 star
Lightfoot - 3 star
Villanova
Brunson - 5 star, #20
Booth - 4 star, #85
Bridges - 4 star, #95
Spellman - 5 star
Paschall - 2 star, NR
DiVincenzo - 3 star, #120
