Chiney Ogwumike jumps to the top of the rankings, while former No. 1 Kaneisha Horn drops to No. 5 in the latest HoopGurlz Hundred.
It's usually in the fall when things begin to change -- the leaves turn, gas prices roll back -- but for college basketball prospects the change began in July.Things changed this summer for ESPN HoopGurlz as well and it started with the schedule. The quest started again this summer on June 30, in Beaverton, Ore., at the Nike National Skills Academy where it has the past four years.
The staff would take on more than just Beaverton in search of talented prospects and intriguing matchups the rest of the summer -- Cincinnati, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, Elgin, Ill., Franklin, Tenn., Greenville, S.C., Hampton, Va., Lexington, Ky., Los Angeles, Calif., Louisville, Ky., Murfreesboro, Tenn., New Orleans, La., North Augusta, S.C., Oregon City, Ore., Schaumburg, Ill., State College, Pa., Suwanee, Ga., and Washington, D.C., all were on the docket in July.
With so many cities, tournaments, teams and players, change to the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred for the class of 2010 was inevitable. Some prospects surprised with tremendous growth in their games, such as Suriya McGuire of Minneapolis, Minn. Previously ranked No. 83, the cat-quick combo guard showed total control at the point guard spot while remaining a scoring threat at all times. Her development catapulted herself to No. 16 in the class.
The stage for McGuire's rise may have been set a year ago when she took over fulltime point guard duties, moving over from the off-guard, for injured Shakila Boler. The summer of 2008 was a bit rough after the change in position, but it was obvious this summer that the experience was paramount to her success in 2009.
Also moving up in the rankings is College Station's own Karla Gilbert. She has already committed to Texas A&M and her consistent improvement over the past two years along with her physical gifts has elevated her to the top ranked post in the class and No. 9 overall.
Natasha Howard already was in the pre-summer top 10, but was unknown to some outside of Ohio because she wasn't out on the main travel team circuit. Starting at Nike's National Skills Academy and then racing into Lexington for the Run for the Roses tournament, she proved that her abilities and game could stand up with any of the elite players in the class. The 6-foot-3 wing moved up to No. 2 overall, from the No. 8 spot.
The highest ranked player not previously ranked in the top 25 is Alyssa Thomas, up to No. 7 from No. 42. The Maryland commit made a case on multiple occasions to be considered one of the most versatile and complete players in the class. She does a little bit of everything and all of it pretty well. She has the size, strength and athleticism to play as many as four positions on the floor and should be a legitimate threat in the ACC to play at least two of them. She has long been considered a top prospect with a ton of upside, but what lifted her into the top 10 was her ability to take games over and carry a team.
The top of the class was not immune to the summer of change and there is even a new top ranked prospect in the class -- Chiney Ogwumike.
In all, 51 players previously ranked in the pre-summer top 100 have moved up. But covering more than 20 tournaments didn't just provide the platform for the already ranked to move around, it also brought 22 previously unranked players into the fold, including one new addition cracking the top 20.
Sara James of El Dorado Hills, Calif., wasn't an unknown, but the Northern Californian just never seemed to cross our paths. With her exciting JBS Purple club team in tow, the Stanford commit got to show a lot of people what she was made of. Her competitiveness was among her best characteristics, which coupled with a nice shooting stroke and natural feel for clutch moments and you have the No. 18 prospect in the class.
This class has a very different feel from last year. The class of 2009 was all about the bigs with a host of potentially-dominant post players in every corner of the country. The class of 2010 brings a different flavor at arguably the most important position on the floor -- point guard.
For the second year in a row and just the second time since 2005, a point guard is ranked No. 3 in the country, one of the few things that isn't a change from last year. In the 2009 class it was Skylar Diggins and this year the fierce and focused play of Irving, Texas, native Odyssey Sims was enough to move her up one spot from No. 4 to join Diggins as the highest ranked point guard ever by ESPN HoopGurlz.
Right behind Sims at No. 4 overall was one of the best performers of the summer, Chelsea Gray, who will be changing coasts next year for college. The native of Manteca, Calif., and recent Duke commit, led her team to a championship in the Summer Showcase and a final four run at Nike Nationals.
This year's point guard crop has a great mix sure to fit the many styles of play from across the country. From the pint size and explosive to the tall and long, from the drive-and-dishers to the needle-threading dimers, the point guard crop is fantastic. Of the players making the top 30, nine were point guards where as last year just four were ranked that high.
The 2010 point guard collection accounts for 20 of the top 100 and 11 of those players remain undecided for college. Comparing the post class to last year the difference is also apparent. Just 12 post players made the top 100 this year. The 2009 class by contrast has nine posts ranked in the top 30 and 23 of the top 100.
With a lack of depth at the post position this class isn't as highly regarded as the past few classes but with a special group of point guards in the mix, this class could surprise us over the next five years.
