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Ten undervalued: College seniors who outperformed rankings

Ten former undervalued high school prospects, who did not rank in the top 50, are now excelling as college seniors. Rivals.com basketball analyst Eric Bossi takes a look at them and how they got here.

Josh Scott
Josh Scott (USA TODAY Sports Images)
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Josh Scott, PF/C, Colorado (No. 61)

This season: 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

How he got here: A native of Colorado, Scott committed to the Buffaloes early in his senior season.

Analysis: The highest-ranked player to commit to CU during the Rivals era, Scott has certainly lived up to his advance billing. Scott has been an All-Pac-12 level player and at his current season averages he’s on pace to finish as a top six scorer, top three rebounder and the No. 2 shot blocker in Buffs’ history.


Georges Niang
Georges Niang (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Georges Niang, PF/SF, Iowa State (No. 69)

This season: 19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

How he got here: Had offers from Iowa, Providence and Texas A&M, but Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State made him an early priority while many others were chasing after his five-star teammates Nerlens Noel and Wayne Selden.

Analysis: While we certainly liked Niang coming out of high school and thought his skill level would help him overcome being a bit of a tweener from a position standpoint, nobody could have predicted the type of career he would have. Niang is probably going to end up scoring more than 2,000 points and leave Iowa State as a top three scorer, top 10 assist man and possibly top 10 rebounder. He’s been an all-conference player and is a potential All-American who has clearly outplayed his ranking.


A.J. Hammons
A.J. Hammons (USA TODAY Sports Images)

A.J. Hammons, C, Purdue (No. 77)

This season: 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

How he got here: Hammons was an interesting prep recruit in that he didn’t touch off the feeding frenzy that many 7-footers do. Make no mistake, he was highly recruited but once Purdue really turned things on it was able to beat the likes of Cincinnati, Dayton and Minnesota.

Analysis: During high school, Hammons battled weight and intensity issues so there were questions about how seriously he would take college. Well, he’s taken it serious enough that he’s going to leave Purdue as its second-leading shot blocker, a top three rebounder and he’s got a shot at scoring 1,500 points. The rare, high-level four-year big man, Hammons has turned himself into a legitimate NBA prospect.


Denzel Valentine
Denzel Valentine (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Denzel Valentine, PG/SG, Michigan State (No. 81)

This season: 18.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.

How he got here: A two-time state title winner at Lansing (Mich.) Sexton where he played for his father Carlton (a former Spartan player), Valentine was pretty much a lock for the Spartans once he received scholarship offers.

Analysis: For his first two years of school, Valentine’s latter part of the top 100 ranking out of high school was looking pretty good. Over the last two years he’s blown that out of the water and proven to be one of the biggest value recruits from the class of 2012. A candidate for Big Ten player of the year and All-America honors, Valentine is on pace to leave Michigan State a top 10 rebounder, top five assist man and quite possibly a top 10 scorer all-time.


Buddy Hield
Buddy Hield (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Buddy Hield, SG, Oklahoma (No. 86)

This season: 25.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

How he got here: A native of the Bahamas who moved to Kansas as a high schooler, Hield saw his reputation grow the summer before his senior year while playing alongside five-star Perry Ellis in grassroots ball. He visited Colorado and ended up canceling a set trip to Kansas when he chose Oklahoma.

Analysis: Likely the leading candidate for National Player of the Year, Hield is the reigning Big 12 POY and one of the better stories in college basketball. Formerly a poor jump shooter, he’s developed into an over 50-percent shooter from beyond the three-point line and is sure to be a first-round draft pick in June’s NBA Draft. Depending on how many games he has left in his career he could finish as high as No. 2 on OU’s all-time scoring list. He’s top 10 in school history for steals and with 281 makes he has already crushed the previous Oklahoma record (259) for career three-pointers.


Fred VanVleet
Fred VanVleet (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Fred Van Vleet, PG, Wichita State (No. 138)

This season: 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

How he got here: While Big Ten and Big 12 programs were starting to dip their toes in the water, Wichita State locked up VanVleet the July before his senior season of high school.

Analysis: Others on this list have more eye-popping stats, but the major role VanVleet has played in building Wichita State into a nationally relevant program is undeniable. He’s played in a Final Four, has been the Missouri Valley’s player of the year and holds Wichita State’s career record for assists.


Jarrod Uthoff
Jarrod Uthoff (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Jarrod Uthoff, PF, Iowa (No. 149 in 2011)

This season: 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.

How he got here: A fifth-year senior, Uthoff red-shirted his freshman season at Wisconsin before asking for a transfer. Iowa was one of the schools that Wisconsin blocked and Uthoff had to sit out the 2012-13 season and pay his own way to Iowa for a year to get around the lack of release. As a result, he only had three years of eligibility.

Analysis: Iowa has been one of the biggest surprises of the college season and the outstanding play of Uthoff is a big part of it. A third-team All-Big Ten player as a junior, Uthoff looks to be a lock for first team this season and is likely competing with Valentine to win conference player of the year. Despite only playing three seasons he is on pace to be the fourth-best shot blocker in school history while scoring nearly 1,300 points.


Andrew Andrews
Andrew Andrews (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Andrew Andrews, PG, Washington (NR 3-star 2011)

This season: 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

How he got here: Andrews committed to Washington as a high school senior in October of 2010 and was going to spend a year at prep school. Instead, Washington brought him in with his natural class and redshirted him once he started making national noise on the summer circuit after his senior season.

Analysis: Had Andrews gone to prep school as initially planned, he was on his way to being a top 100 type and at least a four-star prospect. Even so, he likely would have been under-ranked. One of the favorites for Pac-12 player of the year, Andrews has a chance to finish among the Huskies' top three scorers of all-time, will be top five all-time in steals and three-pointers and has a chance to finish as a top five assist man.


Gary Payton II
Gary Payton II (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Gary Payton II, PG, Oregon State (JC 3-star)

This season: 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

How he got here: The son of Oregon State’s best ever player, GP II was lightly recruited out of high school in Nevada and prep school in Arizona. Oregon State fell in love with him as a junior college player.

Analysis: It can’t have been easy following in the footsteps of his legendary father, but Payton II has had a great two-year run. As a junior he was a first-team all-conference guy as well as the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year. He has a chance to crack 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists in just two seasons, and has the Beavers in legitimate contention for their first NCAA appearance since his father was a senior in 1990.


Stefan Moody
Stefan Moody (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Stefan Moody, PG, Ole Miss (NR 2-star)

This season: 24.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

How he got here: A big-time athlete, Moody wasn’t recruited heavily out of high school because of worries about his lack of size and whether he could play in structure. He had a huge freshman year at Florida Atlantic before spending a year in junior college and then moving on to Ole Miss.

Analysis: Pound for pound one of the toughest and most athletic players in America, Moody is a guy that we have missed on twice. First by ranking him a two-star out of high school and a second time only elevating him to three-star out of junior college. Moody was freshman of the year in the Sun Belt, a junior college All-American and is an All-SEC performer who is going to push 1,800 points scored on the Division I level in just three seasons.

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