Basketball Premise
As you can imagine, it is not easy writing about basketball every week. I constantly ask myself what would be a good and interesting topic. I reach out to other podcasts and writers, and occasionally, I accidentally stumble on an idea. For this week’s piece, my inspiration came from Wyatt Williams, co-host of the Man Hour Radio show.
Based on my public debate history, I would not call Wyatt a basketball expert by any means. He can act as my muse though because nothing gets me motivated to write quite like an incorrect statement. It was actually Man Hour host Michael Buchheister who suggested I write about Indiana high school basketball, and how it was the best. I explained (logically as always) that while Indiana fans may be the most passionate, the state does not produce the best players. Wyatt disagreed, and a blog was born.
For this article, I looked back on the top 25 high school prospects each year, for the past decade. That’s a total of 250 prospects. I logged what state each prospect was from and tallied up which states produce the best players. Below is what I was able to learn.
Basketball States Not Considered
A few states had less than ten high school basketball players in the last decade that made ESPN’s top 25. Among those states that failed to qualify for even an honorable mention were Maine, Vermont, New Mexico, Alaska, and Indiana.
Honorable Mentions
Three states barely missed the top five. Each had ten prospects that made the top 25 since 2013. They were Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Top 5 States for High School Basketball
Florida (27)
Since 2013, the state of Florida has produced more top 25 prospects than any other state in the nation. That’s almost three players per year over a ten-year span. Per capita, it means that 1.25 players per million citizens will make the list.
The most notable player from Florida is Joel Embiid, who was ranked #6 by ESPN in the class of 2013. Embiid emerged as an MVP candidate in the 2020-21 NBA season, averaging 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the 76rs.
Vernon Carey Jr was the states’ Mr. Basketball in 2018 and 2019. He too was the sixth-best high school basketball prospect in the country (2019). He played one season at Duke, and last season played for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA.
Other Floridians to make the list were Anfernee Simmons (#9 in 2018), Scotty Barnes (#5 in 2020), and Kevin Knox (#10 in 2017).
Texas (26)
The state of Texas just missed the top spot, coming up one prospect shy. They did however still average nearly three high school basketball prospects in the top 25 every season for the last ten years. The per capita is much lower than Florida, thanks to Texas’ large population, and they averaged a little less than a player per citizen on the list.
The most notable player from the lone star state over that duration would be the Sacramento Kings’ guard, and emerging NBA superstar, De’Aaron Fox. He was ranked sixth overall by ESPN for the class of 2016. After one season at Kentucky, Fox was taken fifth overall in the NBA Draft. He finished the 2020-21 season averaging 25.2 points and 7.2 assists per game.
2021 first overall pick Cade Cunningham was ranked #2 for the class of 2020. Also appearing on the list was RJ Hampton (#5 in 2019), Tyrese Maxey (#13 in 2019), Quentin Grimes (#8 in 2018), and Jarrett Allen (#15 in 2016).
California (24)
The sunshine state comes in third, with 24 prospects since 2013 ending up in the ESPN top 25. Their per capita is almost 0.5, thanks to a population of nearly 40 million people. 14 of those 24 players were on the list in the last five years.
Notable high school players from California over the last decade have included Onyeka Okongwu, the states’ Mr. Basketball in 2018 and 2019 (#20 overall in 2019). Lamelo Ball (#21 in 2019) was the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and the league’s Rookie of the Year. He finished his rookie season averaging 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game.
Other players to make the list from California were Aaron Gordon (#3 in 2013), Stanley Johnson (#7 in 2014), Ivan Rabb (#8 in 2015), Lonzo Ball (#4 in 2016), and TJ Leaf (#16 in 2016).
New York (14)
Surprisingly low numbers from the state of New York, despite coming in fourth. Home, of course, to the city so nice they named it twice. Harlem’s Rucker Park is considered by hoops enthusiasts to be the mecca of the sport. Not the birthplace, but a holy ground for the game.
Fourteen players in the last ten years have made ESPN’s top 25 prospects. That equates to roughly 0.75 players per capita, and 1.4 players per year. Dakari Johnson was the seventh-ranked player in the nation back in 2013, and he was followed by Isiah Whitehead (#14 in 2014), Cheick Diallo (#7 in 2015), Rawle Alkins (#21 in 2016), and Mohamed Bamba (#4 in 2017).
The most notable players are Cole Anthony (#2 in 2019), who averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists for the Orlando Magic last season, and Precious Achiuwa (#19 in 2019) who was a first-round pick in 2020. Achiuwa averaged a little over five points a game for the Miami Heat last season.
North Carolina (13)
North Carolina rounds out the top five, with 13 players in the last ten years, or at least one player per year on average. They average 1.24 top 25 players for every million citizens. Some of these players have gone on to become NBA superstars, such as Bam Adebayo (#5 in 2016). Adebayo played one season at Kentucky, before being selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft. Last season he averaged 18.7 points and 9 rebounds a game for the Miami Heat. He then won a gold medal as a member of Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics.
Before he was the Chicago Bulls starting point guard, Coby White was the 23rd ranked player in the class of 2018. Last season he averaged 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
Brandon Ingram (#3 in 2015) was the second overall pick for the Lakers in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was an All-Star last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 23.8 points per game.
Other notable players from North Carolina are Isaiah Hicks (#18 in 2013), Theo Pinson (#10 in 2014), Day’Ron Sharpe (#12 in 2020), and Jaden Springer (#17 in 2020).
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