Corey Evans has joined the HoopSeen.com team and we invited him to take a big picture look at the class of 2016. After bouncing around the country for the last three years and seeing this class from freshmen year to their final go round at the high school level, Evans has a great feel for the class. We invited him to share his five biggest takeaways for the class. He’ll continue this train of thought for all of the classes over the next week and a half. 

LEAD GUARDS LEAD THE WAY

There has been some conversation lately over the desperate need for a point guard and in what really is a point guard? Is his primary job to facilitate and run a team’s offense in the half-court setting, or primarily fend off the ball pressure and attempt to get the best chance for his squad in putting points on the board? That will be forever up for debate. 

In our Top 50 rankings on HoopSeen.com, I counted 15 prospects that can be labeled as ‘lead guards’. Shift your eyes to the top and you have ballplayers like Markelle Fultz, Kobi Simmons, De’Aaron Fox, Frank Jackson, and Lonzo Ball; all have the chance to hear their name called out by Adam Silver. After a dearth of elite guards in the 2015 class, the floor general and coveted lead guard position is back and better than ever in 2016. 

A MOTOR IS IN

You can teach someone how to shoot the ball, how to read a defense by watching game film, and how to guard the high ball screen, but one thing that you cannot teach is how to play hard. 

It might seem simple, but competing each and every possession can take a toll on someone, both physically and mentally. However, it seems that some of the more talented recruits in 2016 have made it a point to play hard each time out on the hardwood and because of it, are coveted that much further. 

Take for instance the likes of Bruce Brown, Thon Maker, Javin DeLaurier, Bam Adebayo, and Wenyen Gabriel. All five have become blueblood recruits and not just because of their ball skills in ability in scoring the basketball; hopefully that trends trickles down the younger classes in the coming years. 

WHO’S THAT GUY?

Every year, regardless of how well the high school basketball scene in scouted and recruited, there are always a few that might not have been highly touted, yet they pop out and become immediate producers at the college level. The 2016 class is loaded at the top, as we have already noted, which means that there may be some others that are ranked a bit lower than they might have been if they were placed in the 2015 class. 

This past year, it was such freshmen as Riley LaChance, Vince Edwards, and Marial Shayok that burst out on the scene and left heavy imprints on their squad during the more crucial moments during conference play. Who might fit that mold within the 2016 class? Guys like Rice commit and 6’6 wing Josh Hall, UConn commit and 6’8 big man Mamadou Diarra, and South Florida commit and 6’8 wing-forward Troy Baxter fit the mold.

ACC LEADS THE WAY

Within our top-50 rankings, there are 16 prospects already committed. Of the 16 off the board, seven of whom have committed to an ACC program. Throw in guys from the top with Bam Adebayo, Dennis Smith, Harry Giles, and Udoka Azubuike, all uncommitted but stand a good chance to play in the newly refurbished conference, and what you have is an escalating and improving gauntlet of games within conference play. We are always going to have UNC, Duke, Syracuse, and Louisville as some of the top dogs in any given year, but when you throw in NC State and Florida State, amongst others, to your usual top line, and what we have is battleground for competition and lacking for ‘easy games’ within the ACC.

SHOE BRAND DOMINANCE IS UPON US

Out of the top-50 rankings here at HoopSeen.com, 21 recruits played for a Nike program this summer, 17 competed on the Adidas side, and 11 laced up their Under Armour shoes. That leaves us to one member of our top-50 that didn’t play a lick on the shoe brand circuit this past summer. Lonzo Ball, a UCLA commit, decided to stick to his roots and play with his dad’s team in competing side by side with his younger brothers. This leads us all back to the fact that if you’re a top tier recruit and ballplayer, chances are that you might be swiped up by a shoe sponsored program. 

Gone are the days of the better team’s financing their own travels. With the desire to round up the best talent from across the land, one of the lead shoe making brands continue to diligently scout the nation in luring the elite talents under their umbrella for hopefully future endgame prizes seen on the NBA circuit where the likes of Dwight Howard signing with Adidas and LeBron James signing with Nike.