In looking carefully at the high school senior class (2014), one conclusion we currently draw is that the weakest position talent-wise is big forward. At that position, we see no potential superstars or near-supers, as there is no Julius Randle or Aaron Gordon, both near-supers from the class of 2013, much less a clear-cut super such as LeBron James or Kevin Durant.
Below we’ve listed, in rank order, the “sweet 16” senior big forwards, nine of whom have already made and announced their college decisions. Our choice as the premier class of 2014 prospect at that position is 6-9 Syracuse commitment Chris McCullough, an elite run/jump athlete from New York who is prepping in New Hampshire. His shooting and ball-handling skills, as well as his physical strength, have improved significantly over the past year and a half but still need to get better for him to rise into the near-super category.
After McCullough, there is a drop-off, with the next best senior big forwards being strong 6-10, 240-pound Trey Lyles from Indiana and versatile, hard-working 6-8 Kevon Looney from Milwaukee. Then there is another drop to the next echelon of senior big forwards.
From our “sweet 16,” bound for ACC schools, besides McCullough (who should fit in very well for the Orange) are 6-8, 230-pound Abdul-Malik Abu (committed to North Carolina State) from New Hampshire and 6-9, 225-pound Martin Geben (Notre Dame), a Lithuanian playing in Maryland.
Note that one of our “sweet 16” senior big forwards, 6-8 Georgetown commitment Paul White from Chicago, broke his arm in at the Peach Jam in July and missed the rest of the summer showcase tournaments. He should be back on the court soon, though. We’ve included him because we’ve seen him in action several times and consider him a big-time talent.