We continue our new Post-Summer Player Rankings with our next release – the 2016 class post-summer player rankings for centers. This position among the 2016 class has rounded into shape nicely as well, and is very top-heavy with some very talented prospects at the top of the rankings.
Taking over the top spot at this position in the class is our top overall prospect in the class, Basha High School's rapidly developing, 6-foot-10 junior post Devin Kirby. Kirby is already 6-10 and is still growing, so he could grow to be 7-feet over time. He should also be able to play as a power forward in college, as a result of his tremendous versatility as a player. No player emerged more this club season than Kirby. The younger brother of current college post Maurice Kirby (Virginia Tech transfer), Devin Kirby has developed physically and mentally rather quickly and looks to now be an elite-high major division-I prospect.
Kirby is quickly beginning to realize much of his potential as a college prospect – blocking shots, rebounding, running the floor hard and finishing strong at the rim over defenders. Kirby’s recent performance has been a nice preview to just how good this young man will become over time. Unfortunately for his opponents, Kirby seems to be realizing his potential much sooner than expected. With continued hard work and development as a player, Kirby should develop nicely into an elite high-major prospect, as a result of his size, length and overall skill level as a college prospect. Look for Kirby to continue his development as a prospect over time, and become one of the more sought after recruiting targets in the country over the next two years. The future looks very bright for this younger Kirby.
Kirby has several offers for himself already, but is receiving strong division-I interest already from Arizona, Cincinnati, Virginia, Stanford and West Virginia, just to name a few.
Another prospect in the class that projects to be one of the top prospects in the group is Dysart High School’s 6-foot-10 junior post Malik Ondigo. While still developing a great deal, Ondigo has quickly emerged as one of the elite post prospects in the class – making him a nice recruiting target for the future. Ondigo had a terrific summer performance where he emerged a great deal - playing strong against tough competition and leading his club program to several strong tournament finishes. Post players often take a much longer time to develop as college prospects, and as a result, I always have to project where a student-athlete will land over time. A post talent such as Ondigo projects extremely well, since he has excellent length and is still growing. His length and athleticism are attractive and his work ethic is as well. Ondigo has the body and early skillset that suggests that he will only continue to develop a great deal in the future.
His best attributes currently are his length which allow him to block or alter shots consistently, while also being able to actively rebound outside of his area of the floor. He has good anticipation and lateral quickness, and is also able to run the floor and finish in transition. Ondigo has not been accustomed to receiving consistent high praise from teammates or competitors this early on in his playing career, so as he continues to mature physically and improves as a prospect, look for him to only relish in the excitement his development creates with basketball enthusiasts, scouts and media. Once Ondigo begins to really reach his potential over time, watch out. Ondigo has tremendous upside – the upside that many college programs look for.
Another top prospect in Arizona’s 2016 class that developed this club season and will now be consiered among the better prospects in Arizona’s 2016 class is Basha High School’s 6-foot-9 junior post Klay Stall. Stall utilized the club season in the correct manner – developing as a player and gaining good playing time throughout the sumnmer. Stall gained a lot of experience and saw valuable playing time, which has helped him to develop into an emerging prospect in the class. He is now generating division-I interest for himself as a result.
After playing well this summer on the club circuit, Stall received division-I interest from San Jose State, Eastern Washington and Hawaii-Hilo. Stall has grown a great deal as of late, and is now very large in size and is still growing a great deal. While he is still raw offensively, he is developing consierably and should become a very nice post prospect over time with continued hard work and skill development. He currently has a good jump hood and solid low-post footwork, and is a solid finisher inside. He is an active rebounder for his size and a solid finisher inside. As a he continues to get phsyically stronger and more explosive, he should become a force.
Stall is a capable shotblocker and runs the floor well for his size as well. He should do very well next season in a state that lacks much true post talent. The combination of Stall and Devin Kirby next season should be tremendous for Basha head coach Matt Grothaus, as both players stand close to 6-10 in heigth.
Here are our Post-Summer Player Rankings for the center position in Arizona’s 2016 class. While we have not seen everyone at the position in the state, these individuals have proven to be the best at the position at this point in time.
Arizona Preps 2016 Class Post-Summer Player Rankings – Centers (In Ranking Order)
1. Devin Kirby 6-10 JR PF/C Basha HS (Chandler, AZ)
2. Malik Ondigo 6-10 JR C Dysart HS (Glendale, AZ)
3. Klay Stall 6-9 JR C Basha HS (Chandler, AZ)
4. Sayvon Abdur-Rahman 6-7 JR C Tolleon HS (Glendale, AZ)
5. Frankie Trujillo 6-6 JR PF/C Cienega HS (Flagstaff, AZ)
6. Jymil Toney 6-6 JR PF/C Desert Vista HS (Phoenix, AZ)
7. Brad Swetonic 6-7 JR C Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, AZ)
8. Matt Burdick 6-7 JR C Horizon HS (Scottsdale, AZ)
9. Shane Birch 6-6 JR PF/C Mesa HS (Mesa, AZ)
10. John Trendler 6-6 JR C Mountain View HS (Mesa, AZ)
11. Connor Murphy 6-7 JR C Brophy Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)
Post-Summer Player Ranking Notes: Our player rankings have been determined by a body of work from each student-athlete. Each player’s body of work consisted of performances throughout the high school season, and also performances throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons. A top performance throughout the high school season impacts a player’s ranking a great deal. A student-athlete’s performance throughout the fall, spring and summer will have an even bigger impact, since our staff is able to observe Arizona players in competition against much better local, regional and national competition. The complete body of work has been taken into consideration for each of our player rankings. Player rankings are based on a particular student-athlete’s ability to play the game of basketball – not academic performance, although a player can help him or herself if he/she is an excellent student. Rankings are done to help aid college coaches in their ability to identify the top student-athletes by position and class in the state. These rankings are forwarded to college coaches at every level throughout the country. Rankings will be updated throughout the year.
