Dan McDonald
1. Malcolm Brogdon (Greater Atlanta Christian 2011)
2. Jeremy Lamb (Norcross 2010)
3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Greenville 2011)
4. Jordan Adams (Central Gwinnett/Oak Hill 2012)
5. Jaron Blossomgame (Chattahoochee 2012)
6. Brandon Goodwin (Norcross 2013)
7. Ryan Harrow (Walton 2010)
8. J.J. Frazier (Faith Baptist 2013)
9. Isaiah Wilkins (Greater Atlanta Christian 2014)
10. Tony Parker (Miller Grove 2012)
The Breakdown:
Malcolm Brogdon was a pretty easy choice to top this list. He was a state champion in high who had a terrific career at Virginia and is now a star in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers. Brogdon’s teammate with the Pacers, Jeremy Lamb, won a national championship at UConn before becoming a lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is currently playing alongside LeBron James for the Lakers, but on his way up he was the only consensus five-star prospect on this list, won SEC Player of the Year at Georgia, and was the No. 8 pick by the Detroit Pistons in 2013. Jordan Adams scored 1,131 points in his two seasons at UCLA before getting picked in the first round by the Memphis Grizzlies. A serious leg injury caused Jaron Blossomgame to redshirt his first year at Clemson, he became an All-ACC player for the Tigers and was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
After the top five is where this list gets tough. Brandon Goodwin was an absolute warrior for Norcross during his high school career helping the Blue Devils win the 2013 state championship. He had a great college career and worked his way into multi-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks this year. Ryan Harrow and J.J. Frazier despite standing around 5-foot-10 both had great college careers here in Georgia. Harrow, who had stints at NC State and Kentucky before finishing at Georgia State, helped Ron Hunter’s Panthers pull off a huge upset over Baylor in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Frazier was an All-SEC player for Georgia and helped the Dawgs reach the 2015 NCAA Tournament as well. To finish off the list, Isaiah Wilkins was a state champion in high school and an ACC champion in college at Virginia. His stats won’t blow you away, but it’s no coincidence that he was always on winning teams. And lastly, Tony Parker won four state championships at Miller Grove. Enough said.
Carter Wilson
1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Greenville 2011)
2. Malcolm Brogdon (GAC 2012)
3. Jordan Adams (Central Gwinnett/Oak Hill, 2012)
4. Ryan Harrow (Walton 2010)
5. Tony Parker (Miller Grove 2012)
6. Shannon Scott (Milton 2011)
7. Jeremy Lamb (Norcross 2010)
8. Jelan Kendrick (Wheeler 2010)
9. Isaiah Wilkins (GAC 2014)
10. Dai-Jon Parker (Milton 2011)
The Breakdown:
There's no secret formula to these lists. The difference here is that I'm clearly putting more emphasis on the prep careers here. If there's anything that this span of years proves, it's that sometimes the next group of guys through the recruiting rankings can make some serious noise after high school. Guys like Jeremy Lamb, Brandon Goodwin, Marcus Georges-Hunt, and Jaron Blossomgame enjoyed some of the best collegiate careers out of these classes, which turned them into pros. That makes the 2010-2014 classes particularly difficult.
KCP & Malcolm Brogdon are the no-brainers here to me. Kentavious Caldwell was a spectacular talent at Greenville and UGA and is still enjoying a pro career with the Lakers. Malcolm Brogdon has always been a winning machine at every level of his career and has gathered a great collection of personal awards as well. Despite leaving the Peach for Oak Hill, Jordan Adams was always a staple here with the Atlanta Celtics and was a first round pick of the Grizzlies after a good career on the west coast at UCLA. Ryan Harrow might be my most memorable high school player. He was must-see entertainment and had huge game after huge game at Walton, and was one of the most skilled high school players that I've ever seen. Tony Parker was the best winner of the bunch, winning four state titles during Miller Grove's six-peat. Shannon Scott was so sound as a lead guard: great leader, great scorer, and did it all from the point guard spot. Jeremy Lamb blew up his senior year at Norcross followed by an even bigger blow-up en-route to an NCAA title at UConn. Jelan Kendrick always had a Carmelo-like ability to score and had a spectacular prep career. The last two guys on this list, Wilkins and Parker, were fantastic competitors and big time winners.
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