With the summer over, here's our 2018 Georgia rankings
With the travel season now behind us, it is time to reshuffle the rankings deck for the class of 2018 here in Georgia.
UPDATED GEORGIA 2018 RANKINGS
STORYLINES
With the three weeks of evaluations in the books and the last games have been played on the travel circuit for the class of 2018, we have a better view of the group. After digging through our notes, we’ve re-done the top 40 rankings for the Peach State.
There isn’t a big shake up in the list. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise. We’ve watched this class closely for some time now and have a good feel for the group. However, there was a mass exodus of point guards from the state of Georgia and that impacted the top 40 rankings quite a bit.
Gone are Will Richardson, Trey Doomes, Drue Drinnon and Trevin Wade. That means four spots opened up in the top 40.
But that doesn’t mean the top of the list makes a lot of changes. With Richardson gone, there is a space for someone new to crack into the fab five. We’ll talk about that more in the next section.
Richardson left Liberty County for Oak Hill Academy would have been our No. 2 overall player in Georgia had he stayed. When we update our national 2018 rankings, he could be a five-star player in that list.
Speaking of that Top Five…Some things remain the same.
Reggie Perry remains at the top of the list. The Thomasville power forward dominated the adidas circuit with his grown man game in the paint. He’s the ideal college big man. Perry did make some noise this summer by switching his commitment from Arkansas to Mississippi State.
EJ Montgomery is the most consistent of all of the Georgia 2018 prospects. The future Auburn big man was a constant 20-10 player and should be one of the best big men in the SEC when he gets to college. No change here for the Wheeler post.
Khavon Moore (pictured above) looked as good as he ever has when he played with Nike Team Florida in July. The Westside Macon wing moves up a spot to No. 3 overall. He did everything for NTF and did it oh so well.
Landers Nolley checks in at No. 4 overall and the super scorer from Langston Hughes remains one of the best scorers in the South. He can pump in points better than anyone in Georgia.
Nelson Phillips moves into the top 5 after his continued dominant showing on the travel circuit with the Warner Robins All-Stars. The Middle Georgia wing is as competitive as any player in the South. He’s Josh Okogie competitive.
BIG RISERS
Phillips continues to be the big climber of the class. He has made a jump every time we’ve done a ranking for the class of 2018. It has been a fun rise to watch at our events.
Making the biggest climb in the rankings is Savannah Johnson big man Amanze Nguzemi. The 6-foot-9 big man played very well for 1 Family on the travel circuit and has been the target for a number of high-major programs. He checks in at No. 9 in the latest rankings.
The big man theme continues with Mohammed Abdulsalem. The Greenforest post player shined with the Georgia Stars and was consistently strong for the Nike team at our Best of the South tournament. He checks in at No. 12 overall.
Meadowcreek forward Amari Kelly finished the summer very strong. He just keeps getting better and better. He’s a face-up four man that can pose match-up problems. The Stackhouse Elite big man checks in at No. 13 overall.
NEW FACES
We’ve added a couple of new names to the rankings for the class of 2018 here in Georgia. McEachern wing Brandon Suggs comes in at No. 19 overall in the class. The long and athletic wing had a good summer with the A.O.T. program.
Stockbridge wing Kavonte Ivery debuts at No. 20 overall. The 6-foot-6 wing can score from the perimeter and challenge defenders at the rim with his athleticism.
As usual, this is a subjective list. We’d love to hear what you think! Share your top 5, top 10, top 50 on Twitter or Facebook. Let us know what you think on social media. Everyone has an opinion. Why not share your’s?