High school success is often overlooked in the NBA Draft process, leaving productive players to fall through the cracks like recent NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, who dropped to the second round in 2018 despite an elite amateur resume.
There is no guarantee that high school success will translate to the highest level but we are sizing up the one-and-done draft prospects based on their prep resumes.
High school path: Had a successful four-year run at Columbus, helping the Explorers go 114-14 with four consecutive MaxPreps Top 25 finishes while twice being honored as the MaxPreps National Player of the Year twice. He led the Explorers to the No. 2 spot in the national rankings as a junior before winning the national title as a senior.
High school path: Led
the Pumas to four straight state championships in the highest
classification of Arizona. Averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4.9
assists per contest as a senior to earn first team MaxPreps All-America
honors.
High school path: Put together a memorable senior season at Prolific Prep, leading the Crew to the No. 3 spot in the final National Top 10 with a record of 35-6. He averaged 30.5 points, 7.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per outing to earn first team MaxPreps All-America honors.
High school path: Acuff
rose into the national spotlight during his sophomore season when he
guided Cass Tech to its first state championship with a record of
27-1 while earning MaxPreps Michigan Player of the Year honors. He
averaged more than 20 points and five assists per game three straight
seasons and earned Nike EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year honors as a
senior.
High
school path: Spent his freshman year at Poly before transferring to
Roosevelt where he was ruled ineglible for his sophomore season due to
transfer rules. He led Roosevelt to back-to-back top five finishes in
the MaxPreps Top 25 and a record of 66-6 during that span. Burries
averaged 29.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game
as a senior.
High school path: Spent three seasons in high school after reclassifying to skip his sophomore season. He averaged 28.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest during his senior campaign with Utah Prep. He earned second team MaxPreps All-America honors as a junior and senior. Dybantsa’s individual success was among the top in his class but his teams struggled outside of Prolific Prep during his junior year.
High school path:
Guided the Bears to their first state championship in program history
during his senior campaign, averaging 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0
assists and 3.6 blocked shots per contest. During his junior season,
Wilson had a game in which he tallied 23 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocks
and nine assists.
High school path: A four-year starter for Brennan, Flemings led the program to a record of 127-25. Flemings was a consistent performer throughout his career and raised his averages to 20.4 points, 6.8 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game as a senior to earn third team MaxPreps All-America honors and guide the Bears to the No. 15 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25.
High school path: After spending his first two seasons at Colgan, Ament transferred to Highland for his junior campaign. Averaged 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per outing as a senior to guide Highland to the No. 14 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 after capturing the VISAA Division I state crown.
High school path: After bouncing around for the first three seasons of his high school career, including spending time in Overtime Elite, Brown landed at DME Academy for his senior campaign. He averaged 27.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals per contest during his final season to earn third team MaxPreps All-America honors.
