Inside the rankings: Top 75 in 2018

Compared to some recent classes, the class of 2018 has been a bit slow to establish an identity. Will the class be heavy on bigs? Will it be deep with point guards or will versatile, wing athletes rule the day? For now, the only thing that looks clear in 2018 is that power forward Marvin Bagley remains the best prospect as the rankings expand from a top 25 to a top 75.

Rankings: Top 75 of 2018

Because of a transfer from Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest -- where he was playing with 2017’s No. 1 player DeAndre Ayton -- to Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon, 6-foot-10 power forward Marvin Bagley has been forced to miss the bulk of his sophomore season.

Despite the layoff, the athletic and skilled four man still has an absolute stranglehold on the top spot and appears to be a clear cut above the competition.

With offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Oregon and UCLA to name a few, Bagley will have his pick of the best programs once he decides to narrow down his focus.

This spring, Bagley will be back in action on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League circuit where he will play for his father’s Phoenix Phamily program.

After Bagley, there is little shakeup in the national Top 10. The only player to move in from outside of that range is 6-foot-8 small forward Khavon Moore of Macon (Ga.) Westside, who was already highly ranked at No. 11.

There is only one school in America that has multiple players included in the top 75 and that’s Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Kevin Boyle’s program has put multiple players on the list in style, as their impressive trio of big men, Silvio De Sousa, Simisola Shittu and E.J. Montgomery, are all ranked among the top 10 prospects in the land.

Ranked No. 2 overall, the 6-foot-9 De Sousa is a native of Angola and a true power broker. Built like a college junior, De Sousa is quick off the floor and tries to tear the rim down each and every chance he gets. He has not yet started to develop a school list, but Florida, LSU and Florida State are among those to toss out early offers.

Sticking with the International theme, Shittu checks in at No. 6 overall and comes to Montverde from Canada, where he has backed up a big reputation he established playing for their junior national team. Standing 6-foot-8 with a developed body, Shittu isn’t quite the same explosive athlete that De Sousa is, but he’s not too far behind and he has long arms and a crafty low post game that is advanced beyond his years. Marquette and Alabama have made early offers, with interest pouring in from Kentucky, LSU, Florida, Syracuse and many others.

Finally there’s the 6-foot-9 Montgomery, who checks in at No. 9 overall. A slim forward who prefers to face the basket and shoot jumpers, he’s a skilled guy who fits the new age stretch four mold. Previously ranked No. 5 overall, Montgomery has huge upside but lacks some for consistency and needs to get a bit more physical around the rim. Montgomery has much of the same interest as his teammates along with offers from others like Auburn, Baylor, UCLA and N.C. State.

Based on where players attend high school, a total of 28 states plus Washington D.C. are represented in the 2018 top 75. Leading the way with the most players is California, where the previously discussed Bagley, power forward Jordan Brown (No. 4) and power forward Miles Norris (No. 12) are all five-star prospects. Brown is already a regular on the California campus and Norris is also major target for the Golden Bears.

While California has eight players in the top 75, Florida and Texas are next in line with six players each.

The overall feel on the class of 2018 is that it could be a slightly below-to-average class nationally, at this point, when compared against previous classes. However, the class is looking like it will be strong between Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City. There are already 11 players from that area -- headlined by No. 5 overall Nazreon Reid -- included in the rankings and another handful that just missed making the list.

It is also a good year in the DMV. The area in and around Baltimore and Washington, D.C. has already placed six players on the list. Baltimore player of the year Immanuel Quickley is the highest ranked for now at No. 22. The point guard already holds offers from Cincinnati, Southern California and Washington among others. Keep an eye on powerful shooting guard Kiyon Boyd at No. 26. He's helped lead his Washington (D.C.) H.D. Woodson squad to a 32-0 record and has come on strong over the past few months.

Only three of the top 75 players have made early commitments. No. 13 Rechon Black, a 6-foot-6 do-it-all wing from Concord (N.C.) High, has committed to North Carolina. No. 43 Joe Wieskamp, a 6-foot-4 scorer, has committed to home-state Iowa, while No. 45 Jontay Porter has committed to Washington. A 6-foot-9 power forward, Porter is the younger brother of 2017’s No. 2 overall player, Michael Porter.

International players are always intriguing and 6-foot-8 forward Valdir Manuel is definitely in that category. A native of Angola, he first popped onto the radar while playing in the 2014 FIBA 17U world championships for his country. Now, he’s landed at Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Christian and there’s a good chance that he makes some big noise this spring. He enters the rankings conservatively at No. 47 because of relatively limited exposure at this point, but reports from those who have seen him at events like Basketball without Borders suggest that he could end up being much better than his initial ranking.