The HoopHall West was, well, West-centric. And that’s the point of the whole thing. The top teams and players are from the West Coast. So when Hamilton Heights comes out from Chattanooga, TN and has the game after Sierra Canyon (and tips off after 9:30 p.m.), there aren’t too many people who stick around and take notice. 

They should have. 

Samson Ruzhentsev is the best player in the class of 2020 that we don’t talk enough about. The future Florida Gator showed why Mike White and staff worked hard to lock him up early in the recruiting process. The native of Russia is a long 6-foot-8 wing with a gorgeous shooting stroke, high levels of confidence and athleticism that should translate well to the SEC and beyond. 

Ruzhentsev will be inside our top 30 national rankings that we update at the New Year break. He missed a good part of the travel season with a broken wrist but looks like a guy ready to continue his uptick in skill development. Another good view of him at the City of Palms is next and we’re excited to see what he does in Florida, the state of his next basketball home.