Five-star Tracker: Nine seniors making their mark
For much of the season, Rivals.com has been keeping tabs on the top freshmen in college basketball. We’ve also checked in on the most improved sophomores. This week, we turn our attention the senior class. Currently, there are nine seniors -- eight from the class of 2012 and one from 2011 -- playing college ball who arrived as five-star prospects. How have they done?
Alex Poythress, PF, Kentucky (No. 8)
This season: 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 blocks per game
How he got here: The highest ranked player from the class of 2012 who remains in college, Poythress took official visits to UK, Florida, Memphis and Vanderbilt. The race for his services was a tight one and Kentucky was able to beat out home state Memphis and Vanderbilt in the end.
Analysis: Poythress moved from fringe five-star to upper end five-star thanks to his above average athleticism and impressive showings during post season All-American games as a senior. His first year at Kentucky, he looked like he might be ready to be a one-and-done guy but decided to stick around after being the team’s second-leading scorer and making All-Freshman SEC. After fighting through injuries (missed 29 games due to a torn ACL as a junior) he has become a valuable veteran. A three-time Academic All-SEC, Poythress graduated in three years. In retrospect, top 10 may have been a bit ambitious but he’s likely going to end up in the NBA and has a good chance to rack up over 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in just three full seasons.
Kaleb Tarczewski, C, Arizona (No. 9 in 2012)
This season: 10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
How he got here: A product of New Hampshire who played his high school ball in Massachusetts, Tarczewski selected Arizona over Kansas in what was one of the most heated recruiting battles of 2012.
Analysis: Coming out of high school, most figured that Tarczewski would have made his way to the NBA by now. While he isn’t yet playing in the Association, Tarczewski is on track to score over 1,200 career points and at his current pace he is likely to finish as one of the top five rebounders in Wildcats history. Top 10 might have been a little high, but he’s going to end up with respectable career production for a five-star prospect.
Rasheed Sulaimon, SG, Maryland (No. 18 in 2012)
This season: 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
How he got here: While others like Kansas and Texas were in the mix, Sulaimon committed to Duke during February of his junior season. During his junior season at Duke, he became the first player to ever be dismissed from the program by Mike Krzyzewski. Because he graduated in three years, he was able to enroll at Maryland (Mark Turgeon had recruited him during high school while at Texas A&M) as a senior transfer with immediate eligibility.
Analysis: Sulaimon had a huge freshman season at Duke while making the All-ACC Freshman team. However, his production dipped in each of the next two season before his junior season dismissal from Duke. At Maryland he’s been a reliable three-point shooter (46.3 percent) and provided experience but looking back, he would have been more appropriately ranked in the upper echelon of four-star prospects.
Kevin Ferrell, PG, Indiana (No. 19 in 2012)
This season: 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
How he got here: Nobody else ever had much of a chance to recruit Ferrell. He committed to Indiana during November of his junior year.
Analysis: The second-ranked point guard in the class -- behind only Kris Dunn who is tearing it up as a redshirt junior at Providence -- “Yogi’s” body of work at Indiana is as strong as anybody from the class of 2012’s. With 559 assists, he’s already the Hoosiers' career leader in that category and with 1,720 career points he has a chance at reaching 2,000. At a minimum, he will finish as one of the top seven scorers in school history.
Danuel House, SF, Texas A&M (No. 20 in 2012)
This season: 15.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
How he got here: As a high schooler, House considered Georgetown, Kansas, Baylor and Texas, but chose Houston as part of a package deal with four-star power forward Chicken Knowles. Transferred to Texas A&M after his sophomore season.
Analysis: It’s hard to knock the career production of House. The 6-foot-7 wing was Conference USA’s freshman of the year and is well on his way to earning All-SEC honors for the second year in a row. He’s led Texas A&M into the national top 10 and will end up scoring over 1,500 points in his college career. He was right on the fringe of the four/five star cutoff out of high school and an argument can be made that he could have been on either side.
Winston Shepard, SF, San Diego State (No. 21 in 2012)
This season: 10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
How he got here: Shepard stated early in the process that he wanted to look outside of the traditional powers and select a winning program where he could make an instant impact. That led him to San Diego State who he ultimately picked over New Mexico.
Analysis: Because of his size, versatility and ability to handle the ball, Rivals.com was the only national service to tab Shepard as a five-star prospect out of high school. In particular, we thought he could be an elite level defender. While Shepard has had a good career and is on pace to score over 1,300 points and grab over 650 rebounds , it looks like the decision to make him a five-star prospect may have been the wrong one. Because he is a utility athlete with size, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Shepard eventually found his way into the NBA and if that happens, we will look like geniuses for having had him as a five-star prospect.
Devonta Pollard, SF, Houston (No. 22 in 2012)
This season: 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds per game 1.2 assists per game.
How he got here: The last five-star prospect in the class of 2012 to decide, Pollard didn’t pickl Alabama until June of his senior year. He chose Bama over Texas, LSU, Georgetown and Missouri. After a quiet freshman season, Pollard was dragged into a criminal trial when his mother was arrested for kidnapping a child in April of 2013. To avoid prosecution as an accomplice, Pollard eventually had to testify against his mother. He ended up spending his sophomore year at a junior college before selecting Houston.
Analysis: Though Pollard fit the athletic profile of a five-star prospect, his lack of ball-handling skills and a dominant personality on the floor have limited his development. There’s no doubt that the off-the-floor turmoil has prevented him from reaching his potential as well. At the end of the day, though, Pollard was a clear miss as a five-star prospect and probably ended up ranked at least 30-40 spots too high. Unless he picks things up over the last few months of his senior year, Pollard could be the only five-star senior that fails to score 1,000 career points -- though Poythress will be a close call as well -- because he only played three seasons on the Division I level.
Kyle Wiltjer, PF, Gonzaga (No. 22 in 2011)
This season: 21.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game
How he got here: The only five-star prospect from the class of 2011 who remains in college (17 of the other 26 have made the NBA), Wiltjer initially selected Kentucky over Kansas and Gonzaga coming out of high school. After two seasons at UK, he transferred to Gonzaga.
Analysis: Wiltjer has scored just over 1,600 points thus far and while he won’t likely reach 2,000 career points, he should finish just behind Ferrell as the top career scorer of the five-star seniors. A likely NBA Draft pick after this season, Wiltjer is a borderline All-American and is a good bet to be the WCC Player of the Year. Because of the transfer, he’s spent a year longer than expected in school, but he’s backed up his five-star billing.
Perry Ellis, PF, Kansas (No. 24 in 2012)
This season: 16.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
How he got here: A four-time state champion in high school, the native Kansan waited until the beginning of his senior year before selecting KU over Kentucky and hometown Wichita State.
Analysis: A bit of a tweener from an NBA standpoint, Ellis has had an outstanding college career. A two-time third-team All-Big 12 pick, Ellis is tracking as a first-teamer during his senior season. Barring injury, Ellis is going to score over 1,600 points and grab more than 800 rebounds, which will rank him among the top 15 (and perhaps as high as top 12 depending on how many games he has left) Jayhawks of all time in both categories. He was the second lowest ranked five-star in 2012 -- current Denver Nugget Gary Harris was a spot below him -- but he’s had a solid career in comparison to his high school ranking.