In this two-part series, I’m comparing high school recruit rankings and NBA selections for basketball players across the SEC in recent years. This first part highlights the hidden gems and development success stories where unranked or low ranked high school players used their college years to end up getting drafted or signed to an NBA roster at a much higher position than their high school ranking.

In part two, I will take a look at the opposite situation, where highly ranked recruits fell in the draft or ended up not making it to the NBA at all.

For both of the posts, I am using the 247 Sports Composite ranking for high school prospects since 2003 and then comparing it to a player’s draft position or them signing an undrafted free agent deal and playing in at least one NBA game. I am also only considering players that were signed by an SEC school and then went to the NBA from that same SEC school. Transfers to or from other NCAA schools are not considered.

2003 Recruiting Class

The 2003 recruiting class had five different guys get drafted higher than their high school ranking with three of the guys going from outside of the top-60 in their class to being drafted in the NBA Draft.

Acie Law - Texas A&M

The best riser in the 2003 class and highest-ever draft pick out of Texas A&M was Acie Law. Law was a 3-star recruit and 216th ranked player in the 2003 high school class who then used four seasons at Texas A&M, including three as a starter, to eventually become the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Renaldo Balkman - South Carolina

Renaldo Balkman was a 4-star recruit and 83rd overall recruit in the 2003 high school class but only needed three years at South Carolina to become the 20th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Jermareo Davidson - Alabama

Jermareo Davidson was ranked just outside the top-60 in his high school class as the 67th overall recruit. He ended up making the SEC All-Freshman team and twice made the All-SEC team in his four years at Alabama. After a productive career in college, he ended up improving his class position by 31 places when he was drafted 36th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft.

All basketball prospects from the 2003 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2004 Recruiting Class

The 2004 recruiting class had eight different guys improve from their high school ranking to NBA selection with six going from ranked outside of the top-60 in their high school class to being selected in the NBA Draft or signing as an undrafted free agent and playing in the NBA.

Tyrus Thomas - LSU

Tyrus Thomas had quite the impressive and unique path from high school basketball to the NBA. Thomas only played organized basketball in his last two years of high school which led to him being just a 3-star recruit and 216th ranked player in his class. He only got a spot on LSU’s roster because another player was kicked off the team. Then, after redshirting his first year on campus, he wound up being the SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year before getting selected 4th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Garrett Temple - LSU

Also in the 2004 recruiting class for LSU, Garrett Temple used all four years in Baton Rouge to go from a 3-star recruit ranked 181st in his class to an undrafted free agent NBA deal in 2009 where he would go on to play 10 seasons, 576 games, and counting.

Joakim Noah - Florida

Jaokim Noah used three years at Florida to win two National Championships and improve from the 73rd ranked recruit in a loaded 2004 class to the 9th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Taurean Green - Florida

Also from Florida’s 2004 recruiting class, Taurean Green was initially a 4-star prospect ranked 105th overall but went on to be the 52nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft along with Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer.

Sundiata Gaines - Georgia

Sundiata Gaines was the 88th ranked player and 4-star recruit in the 2004 high school class. After four seasons at Georgia, Gaines signed as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and played 113 games for various NBA teams between 2009 and 2012.

Shan Foster - Vanderbilt

While he never made it to playing in an NBA game, Shan Foster still improved from the 67th overall recruit in the 2004 high school class to a 51st overall draft pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after four years at Vanderbilt.

All basketball prospects from the 2004 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2005 Recruiting Class

The 2005 high school recruiting class had just one player make it to the NBA after being ranked outside of the top-60.

Chris Johnson - LSU

His NBA career was pretty minor at just 71 total games from 2011 to 2013, but Chris Johnson went from the 275th ranked player and a 3-star recruit to signing as an undrafted free agent in the NBA after four years at LSU including one on the SEC All-Defensive team.

All basketball prospects from the 2005 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2006 Recruiting Class

The 2006 high school recruiting class had four different players improve their position from high school to the NBA but just one player went from outside the top-60 to playing in an NBA game.

Donald Sloan - Texas A&M

Donald Sloan was a 4-star recruit and ranked 77th overall in his high school class. After four years at Texas A&M, he signed an undrafted free agent deal and went on to play 218 games in the NBA from 2012 to 2016.

All basketball prospects from the 2006 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2007 Recruiting Class

The 2007 high school recruiting class had just two players improve their draft stock with Anthony Randolph of LSU only going from the 15th ranked prospect to the 14th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Festus Ezeli - Vanderbilt

As the only player in the 2007 recruiting class in the SEC to improve from outside of the top-60 to an NBA Draft pick, Festus Ezeli spent five seasons at Vanderbilt and went from the 116th ranked prospect in the 2007 high school class to the 30th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

All basketball prospects from the 2007 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2008 Recruiting Class

The 2008 recruiting class had nine different players improve their position from high school rankings to their NBA future with eight of the players going from outside the top-60 to being drafted or signed to play in the NBA.

Josh Harrellson - Kentucky

As a rare underrated Kentucky player, Josh Harrellson was a 3-star recruit and 270th overall player in the 2008 recruiting class. However, after just three years at Kentucky, Harrellson wound up getting selected as the 45th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Terrico White - Ole Miss

It only took two seasons in Oxford for Terrico White to go from the 123rd overall prospect in the 2008 recruiting class to the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.

Kim English - Missouri

Kim English was the 127th ranked prospect in the 2008 recruiting class and then used four years at Missouri to become the 44th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. However, his NBA career only lasted one season where he played in 41 games.

Courtney Fortson - Arkansas

Courtney Fortson spent stayed in Fayettville for just two years before signing an undrafted free agent deal and playing one season in the NBA after bing the 122nd overall player in the 2008 high school class.

Marcus Denmon - Missouri

He never ended up playing in an NBA game, but Marcus Denmon still went from the 119th overall player in the 2008 recruiting class to the second to last pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after spending four seasons at Missouri.

Travis Leslie - Georgia

Despite just a 10 game NBA career, Travis Leslie still used his three years at Georgia to go from the 105th ranked player out of high school to the 47th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Trey Thompkins - Georgia

Trey Thompkins joined his college teammate Travis Leslie in improving on his high school ranking when he went from the 76th overall player in the 2008 recruiting class to the 37th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Darius Miller - Kentucky

While not as impressive as Josh Harrellson, Darius Miller went from the 82nd best player in the 2008 high school class to the 46th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after four seasons in Lexington, including a National Championship in his senior season.

All basketball prospects from the 2008 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2009 Recruiting Class

The 2009 high school recruiting class technically had four different players improve from their high school ranking to their NBA draft selection, but only two went from outside the top-60 to getting drafted.

Khris Middleton - Texas A&M

Khris Middleton was originally the 102nd ranked player in the 2009 high school class, but played his way to becoming the 39th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after just three years at Texas A&M. Middleton has had a long NBA career and is still contributing on a championship contender.

Eric Bledsoe - Kentucky

Eric Bledsoe was the 68th ranked player in the 2009 high school recruiting class but spent just one year at Kentucky and ended up as the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.

All basketball prospects from the 2009 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2010 Recruiting Class

The 2010 high school recruiting class had just one player improve their draft stock with Erik Murphy going from the 55th ranked prospect to the 49th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

All basketball prospects from the 2010 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2011 Recruiting Class

The 2011 high school recruiting class had five different players technically improve their ranking from high school to the NBA draft, but just one player made a big jump from way outside of the top-60 to getting selected in the NBA Draft. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Johnny O’Bryant, Bradley Beal, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist all improved their position by four spots or less.

Josh Richardson - Tennessee

Josh Richardson went from a 3-star recruit that was ranked all the way down as the 246th overall player in the 2011 high school class to the 40th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft after spending four seasons at Tennessee.

All basketball prospects from the 2011 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2012 Recruiting Class

The 2012 high school recruiting class had four different players improve their position from their recruiting ranking to the NBA with two guys going from outside the top-60 in the recruiting rankings to signing as undrafted free agents and playing in the NBA.

Michael Frazier II - Florida

After just three seasons at Florida from 2012 to 2015, Michael Frazier made his NBA debut this year after beginning as the 94th ranked prospect in the 2012 high school class.

Alex Caruso - Texas A&M

Alex Caruso was originally the 85th ranked prospect in the 2012 high school class but wound up signing as an undrafted free agent in 2017 after playing all four seasons at Texas A&M. Caruso is currently contributing to the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Championship goals.

All basketball prospects from the 2012 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2013 Recruiting Class

The 2013 high school recruiting class had four different players improve their position in from high school to the NBA with three of them going from outside the top-60 to getting drafted or signing as an undrafted free agent.

Luke Kornet - Vanderbilt

Luke Kornet was only a 2-star recruit out of high school and was ranked 364th overall in the 2013 class. After four years contributing at Vanderbilt, Kornet managed to sign as an undrafted free agent in the NBA in 2017 and has played three seasons and 102 games so far.

Damian Jones - Vanderbilt

Also from the 2013 recruiting class and also from Vanderbilt, Damian Jones went from the 87th ranked prospect to the 30th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft after just three seasons in college.

Tim Quarterman - LSU

Tim Quarterman was originally the 71st ranked recruit in the 2013 high school class but was able to sign as an undrafted free agent in 2016 after just three seasons of playing at LSU.

All basketball prospects from the 2013 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2014 Recruiting Class

The 2014 high school recruiting class had four different players improve from high school to their NBA position with two guys going from outside of the top-60 to the NBA.

Yante Maten - Georgia

Yante Maten was ranked as the 225th player in the 2014 high school recruiting class but signed a deal as an undrafted free agent in 2018 after playing four solid seasons at Georgia. Despite having an impressive college career, Maten has played just two games in the NBA and is not currently signed to an NBA team.

Wade Baldwin - Vanderbilt

Wade Baldwin was just a 3-star recruit and ranked 131st in the 2014 high school class but he ended up as the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft after just two seasons at Vanderbilt.

All basketball prospects from the 2014 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2015 Recruiting Class

The 2015 high school recruiting class had seven different players improve their position from high school to the NBA with six guys going from outside the top-100 of their recruiting class to getting drafted or signing as undrafted free agents.

Kyle Alexander - Tennessee

Kyle Alexander was the 362nd ranked recruit in the 2015 class but ended up signing as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after four seasons at Tennessee. He is currently the second-lowest ranked recruit to play in the NBA from the SEC since 2003.

Admiral Schofield - Tennessee

Continuing the trend of Tennessee’s 2015 recruiting class, Admiral Schofield went fro the 251st ranked player in the 2015 recruiting class to getting drafted 42nd overall in the 2019 NBA Draft after four seasons at Tennessee.

Terence Davis - Ole Miss

Terence Davis was another 3-star recruit and ranked 171st overall in the 2015 class but signed an undrafted free agent deal in 2019 and has made significant contributions for the Toronto Raptors early in his NBA career.

Donata Hall - Alabama

Donta Hall was yet another 3-star recruit and 151st ranked player in the 2015 high school class but managed to also sign an undrafted free agent deal in 2019 and has managed to already play for two different NBA teams in his first professional season.

Chris Silva - South Carolina

As the fifth and final 3-star recruit in the 2015 class to reach the NBA, Chris Silva went from the 141st ranked player out of high school to signing as an undrafted free agent after four years at South Carolina, including a trip to the Final Four in 2017.

Quinndary Weatherspoon - Mississippi State

Quinndary Weatherspoon was originally the 102nd ranked recruit in the 2015 high school class, but used his four years at Mississippi State to become the 49th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played 11 games in his first NBA season.

All basketball prospects from the 2015 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2016 Recruiting Class

The 2016 high school recruiting class saw five different players improve their position from high school to the NBA with four players going from outside the top-60 to being selected in the NBA Draft of signing undrafted free agent deals and playing in the NBA.

Grant Williams - Tennessee

Grant Williams was only the 191st ranked player in the 2016 high school class, but after three years at Tennessee, including being SEC PLayer of the Year twice, Williams wound up being the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Jordan Bone - Tennessee

Jordan Bone was ranked just 20 spots ahead of Tennessee teammate, Grant Williams, at 171st in the 2016 high school class. Bone then used his three years at Tennessee to eventually become the 57th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Bone played just 10 games with the Detroit Pistons in his first NBA season after being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Robert Williams - Texas A&M

Robert Williams was barely out of the top-60 as the 61st ranked recruit in the 2016 high school class. After just two years at Texas A&M, Williams went 27th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Jared Harper - Auburn

Jared Harper was the 90th ranked player in the 2016 high school class, and after just three years at Auburn, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Phoenix Suns and played in three NBA games.

All basketball prospects from the 2016 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2017 Recruiting Class

The 2017 high school recruiting class had six different players improve from their high school ranking to NBA Draft selection, but just one player went from outside the top-60 to the NBA Draft.

Nicolas Claxton - Georgia

Nicholas Claxton was originally the 231st ranked recruit in the 2017 high school class but just needed two years at Georgia to become the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

All basketball prospects from the 2017 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2018 Recruiting Class

The 2018 recruiting class has already had two players improve their position from high school ranking to NBA draft selection and with Kira Lewis projected to go higher than 39th in the 2020 NBA Draft, that will likely expand to at least three different players.

All basketball prospects from the 2018 recruiting class that improved their NBA draft position

2019 Recruiting Class

With the 2020 NBA Draft being the first opportunity for players from the 2019 high school class, it seems that Isaac Okoro and Anthony Edwards are the only recruits with the chance to improve their standing after just one season in the SEC.

Isaac Okoro was the 45th overall recruit and is currently projected to go in the top 12 picks while Anthony Edwards was the 2nd overall prospect and will need to go number one overall to technically improve on his high school ranking.

I now have a mostly complete spreadsheet covering SEC basketball recruits and paired with my spreadsheet on NBA Draft picks out of the SEC, this was the first series that I wanted to write on. I plan to have some other fun posts based on the information I’ve collected and will continue to collect, but I hope this was a nice look at players that have outperformed their high school recruiting ranking.

If there are other things that you would like to see based on SEC recruiting over time, please let me know on Twitter and I might answer your quick questions or make a series or post based on what you want to see.

Thanks for reading.