CBB Recruiting Notebook: How the Race for Class of 2017's No. 1 Spot Will Be Won

WESTFIELD, Ind. — The class of 2017 took center stage in front of college basketball coaches over the last two weekends, and the two April live evaluation periods are now in the books. 

Nationwide events featuring top high school prospects were very important for earning scholarship offers and getting on coaches' radars, but they were also huge showcase events for national rankings.

The coaches coming out gives these spring live-period events some unique credibility. It truly shows who they want the most during any given time period. If you consider yourself a big-time prospect and coaches aren't watching your games in droves, are you really in the running for a spot in the national rankings?

After two April live-period weekends, most of the national recruiting analysts and college coaches who spoke to Bleacher Report believe 7'0" center DeAndre Ayton is the No. 1 player in the class of 2017, but he has some stiff competition coming from multiple positions.

A native of the Bahamas, Ayton has put up very good numbers during the first two sessions of the Nike EYBL, and he's put himself in position as the leader in the clubhouse for the top spot entering the final stretch of spring grassroots ball. Over seven games this spring, Ayton is averaging 19.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game while shooting 65 percent from the field. Showing off his touch and skill level, Ayton is also shooting 80 percent from the charity stripe and 35 percent from three-point range.

"Ayton is still the No. 1 prospect. Now I don't think there is an enormous gap, and I'm not even positive that I'm in the majority, but in my opinion he is the top prospect in the 2017 class," Scout.com national recruiting analyst Brian Snow said to Bleacher Report.

Ayton might be a No. 1 player in the eyes of many right now, but he will face tough competition if he wants to stay on top. Sitting in Ayton's rearview mirror are fellow 5-star big men like Mohamed Bamba and Wendell Carter, while wing Michael Porter Jr. and point guard Trevon Duval are also in the discussion for the top spot.

Bamba, a Harlem native, is getting the most buzz to push for No. 1 because of his freakish measurables and rapidly improving skill level. Standing 6'11" with a 7'8" wingspan and 9'5" standing reach, Bamba has the kind of frame that is seldom seen at any level of basketball. When you add in his improving skill level, Bamba is becoming a fixture in the conversation for No. 1.

"Mohamed Bamba has taken the necessary steps to be in the conversation for the No. 1 spot," Scout.com's Evan Daniels told Bleacher Report. "He's added 10 pounds since the middle of the high school season and he's added to his game in the ways that you wanted to see him improve. He's leading the EYBL in rebounding, he has great hands and he measures so well that you project him to have a bright future. He's learned how to play hard most of the time."

After two strong opening sessions of his own in the Nike EYBL, Bamba is mentally preparing himself to go for the top spot in the class of 2017. His demeanor has changed over the course of the last year, and he is taking fewer plays off while becoming more of an active force around the rim on every possession. Bamba is a student of the game who is a self-proclaimed "thief," constantly studying the others' games to learn how to mix moves in with his unique frame.

"It's something I've been shooting for for awhile. If I were to tell somebody that I wanted to be the No. 1 player in the country last year, they would have been like, 'ehh, I think there's a couple of guys [ahead of you].' But if I tell them now, they'll take that into serious consideration," Bamba said. "That's just a goal that I set for myself; just to be the best. I'm not playing basketball just to be one of those guys that's just hanging around. I want to be the best."

Being productive at the high school level is certainly an important factor for the No. 1 spot in any given class, but it takes more than that to secure a top spot. Playing at a high intensity all the time is a major factor, and it's one that might lead some to reconsider Ayton at the top spot if he continues to not play with a high motor all the time.

For as good as Ayton was in Indianapolis over the weekend—and he was ridiculously good at times—he's also had some mediocre showings in big events the last six months. At events with NBA personnel in attendance like Basketball Without Borders and the Nike Hoop Summit, Ayton wasn't always focused, and he was also sluggish at times during the EYBL's first stop in New York.

"For me, I'm not 100 percent sold on DeAndre Ayton being the No. 1 player in this class," Daniels said. "For one, there is a lot of great competition, and the large gap has closed quite a bit over the last few months. But Ayton hasn't been at his best in some recent events. 

"Ayton's issue is he doesn't always play hard, and he plays on the perimeter way too much. But if he learns to play the right way and play on the block and play hard, we're talking multiple max contracts in his future."

Being a No. 1 player in any given class takes a special blend of talent, intensity and upside. The top spot in any class is often seen as a future perennial NBA All-Star, so it takes a rare talent to be considered the best, especially in a class with so many contenders like the class of 2017.

"In general, to be a No. 1 prospect, you have to be someone we think will be an NBA All-Star-caliber player," Snow said. "Sometimes, like 2015 for example, that doesn't exist in the class, but in general, you have to have NBA-prototype size, length and athleticism and a defined skill set to be the No. 1 player in the class."

Led by Ayton and Bamba, the class of 2017 has multiple players battling for the No. 1 spot, and that race will only heat up over the course of the next 12 months before final rankings are eventually released. A lot can change when you're dealing with teenagers over a year-long span, but there will be plenty of chances for these elite players to prove they're the best.

Malik Williams Proves You Don't Need a Shoe Company to Thrive

Most of the grassroots basketball circuit centers around shoe-company events that are littered with high-major prospects. The Nike EYBL, Adidas Gauntlet and Under Armour Association all draw a lot of headlines for the talent they have at their events. Nearly every top-100 player plays on a team in these three leagues.

This makes Fort Wayne, Indiana, native Malik Williams one of the country's most unique players. The 6'11" Williams is the only top-40 player in the class of 2017 who is running with an independent grassroots team this spring. He plays with a local team called "Legit Basketball."

Most top-tier players are attracted to playing for shoe-company teams because of the high level of play, the number of college coaches in attendance and the organized way the leagues are run. The cool shoe-company gear doesn't hurt either. Despite the allure of the shoe-company leagues, Williams is content doing his own thing and making the college coaches come to him.

"In the fifth grade, they brought me aboard to their team, and we've been playing together ever since," Williams said of Legit Basketball. "We're like a family. I don't want to play with anybody else.

"It's definitely better playing with people that you've known than playing with strangers."

Playing in the independently run "Terrific 24"—located less than two miles from the EYBL's weekend headquarters in Westfield—Williams drew head coaches like Tom Izzo and Fran McCaffery and a host of high-major assistant coaches to a Saturday afternoon game. The "Terrific 24" is run and operated by Elevate Hoops instead of a shoe company, drawing independent grassroots teams from all over the country.

Williams said Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue have been the four schools on him the hardest, and he's content with staying with the guys he grew up with.

"If you look at where I'm at now, I would say I'm doing pretty good," Williams said. "Just playing with this AAU team, I feel like I wouldn't do any better playing with anybody else."

Will Shaka Smarts Unique Recruiting Style Pay Off?

Texas head coach Shaka Smart is a unique personality when it comes to recruiting. Not only is the second-year Longhorn coach more personally active in recruiting than most head coaches—often initiating contact with recruits instead of assistant coaches—but he's also relied on a recruiting style that doesn't focus heavily on talking basketball during in-home visits.

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Multiple players who spoke with Bleacher Report expressed how Smart uses in-home visits to get to know players as people rather than talking about basketball and the prospective player's potential role with the program. It's led to a lot of players glowing about the personal relationship they have with Smart.

"Shaka just asked me a lot of questions about me. He wanted to get to know me better and just stuff like that," 5-star recruit P.J. Washington said of his recent Texas in-home visit. 

"I mean it's different because all of the college coaches talk about basketball."

"Coach Smart is a great guy. A really chill coach. He's a guy that you want to recruit you," 4-star recruit Charles O'Bannon Jr. said.

"With me and Coach Smart, we've been talking for a long time now. We have more of a relationship, and he knows basically everything about me, so that's what makes us closer."

It's hard to say if this approach will lead to Texas annually ranking among the country's top 10 recruiting classes, but Smart built a positive first class at Texas in his first full year and has a lot of class of 2017 players very interested in coming to Austin.

 

Recruiting ratings via 247Sports.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information were obtained firsthand.