For the first time in the history of HoopSeen.com, we are excited to roll out our first attempt at a national ranking. Our staff has been all over the country and been to the best events on the grassroots - including our own at Suwanee Sports Academy - and wanted to gauge the talent on a national level. 

We are proud to introduce our top 50 players for the class of 2016. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE RANKINGS 

A COUPLE OF HOUSEKEEPING NOTES 

How do we rank? Our view has always been and always will be slanted towards the highest level of basketball. The rankings are projections. The here and the now matter, yes, but the list isn’t about what a player has done but more what the player will do. The rankings also look beyond the college game, too.

As the players make their collegiate decisions, we will take into consideration their fit. We believe fit matters and plays a huge role in development. If a player that may be ranked lower goes to a school where he can play right away and be a factor, we will more than likely lean to a higher spot for that player. For example, If a player goes to a school that relies heavily on three-point shooting and the player is a specialist he will have more value to us. This will play out more in the final rankings (June 2016) than now. 

We only went to 50 because that’s the number we were comfortable with. It is our view that the gap between a player listed as 51 or 91 is not that big and rather subjective. Truth be told, every ranking is subjective. 

THE SUPER SIX

This list has been a two-and-a-half years work in progress. We started our rankings behind the scenes after we covered Dave Telep’s Carolina Challenge in 2013. That’s the first time we saw Harry Giles in action. He was an easy choice then for No. 1 overall in the class of 2016 and two years later, he’s an easy choice now. 

Giles is the unique guy in the class. He was outstanding at the City of Palms tournament in December. The event was overflowing with elite level talent and the North Carolina native owned the stage. He didn’t disappoint on the Nike EYBL circuit and played a key role in the United State’s gold medal run in the U19 FIBA World Championships. 

Giles earned the number one spot and maintained a level of excellence along the way despite coming back from a knee injury that put him on the shelf for a year. 

Yes, there were a number of players that pushed for that number one spot. We’ve examined the composite lists and talked to opinion-makers in the business about other players. However, no one could change our opinion on Giles. He remained cemented at the top. 

When Josh Jackson came to Suwanee Sports Academy for the Under Armour Finals, we wanted to see him as much as possible up close and personal. He didn’t disappoint.  Jackson may just be the best overall defender in the amateur world of basketball. 

At No. 3, we bucked the national conversation a bit and have Houston point guard De’Aaron Fox. The 6-foot-4 athlete is as close to a point guard prospect we’ve seen since John Wall in high school. Like the current Washington Wizard, Fox has blazing speed with dynamic athleticism. He’s been on an upward trend all travel season and an easy selection for us at No. 3 overall. 

Consistently good. It is hard to argue against that at the prep level. Potential is important, yes, but producing is equal parts required for us when it comes to laying out the best of the best. Jayson Tatum is just that. The St. Louis native is as good of a midrange scorer there is in prep basketball and the Duke-bound wing showed off his versatility in Greece with the U19 USA team that won a FIBA World Championship gold medal. He helped his St. Louis Eagles team make it to the Peach Jam finals a week later.

With our rankings erring on the side of NBA potential, it makes perfect sense to slot Michigan native Miles Bridges at No. 5 overall. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound manchild from Huntington Prep (WV) was outstanding at the NBA Top 100 camp in June and proved himself to be one of the toughest physical scorers in the class. He’s a bully with the ball and a guy that NBA teams are already doing homework on. 

The Thon Maker story has a lot of chapters and he’s been around for a while on the prep scene. The 6-foot-10 forward was the MVP of the NBA Top 100 camp and dominated at the UA Finals. From a results perspective and viewing things on the here-and-now scale, you would have to make an argument that Maker was the best player on the prep scene in the summer. He was that good. So, why No. 6 and not higher? A couple of question marks still linger: age, quality of hands, overall strength for the next level and ability to add more bulk. Nonetheless, we’re nitpicking at this point. Maker was outstanding this summer. 

JUST A MINUTE…

This is the best class I’ve covered since the 2007 group. That class produced the likes of Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Kevin Love, DeAndre Jordan, James Harden, JJ Hickson, Chandler Parsons, Blake Griffin and others. 

When the top of the class is as good as it is in the class of 2016, the talent trickles down. Competition is set higher than usual. Players push harder and the game benefits because of it. 

What we’ve seen in the NBA over the last couple of years played out in places like Las Vegas, the Kingwood Classic, AAU Nationals and other major events of the mid-2000s. We experienced that same ride this travel season. 

Let’s hope the game as a whole wins because of that. 

BOLD PREDICTIONS 

• Markelle Fultz could move into the top three by the time it is all said and done. 
• Jonathan Isaac could move into the top six by the time it is all said and done. 
• Duke will have the most five-star players (players ranked 1 through 25) of any school in the country for the class of 2016.