We have seen many great recruits out of high school in the last decade or so, whether it was LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, or more recently Harry Giles and Lonzo Ball, we have seen real talent. Here's a compiled list of the Number One Recruit from each high school senior class, and where are they now.
2001- Dajuan Wagner
Dajuan Wagner was believed to be the greatest high school basketball player in New Jersey history. He once scored 100 points in a high school game. He was the Naismith Prep Player of The Year for 2001 and committed to the University of Memphis. Strangely enough, his college coach John Calipari revoked Wagner's scholarship after his freshman year to force him to enter the NBA, because Calipari believed that Wagner should not avoid the money he would receive as a first-round draft pick. He was drafted 6th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2002 NBA draft but left the NBA because of debilitating health problems early in his career.
2002- Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is one of the most well-known NBA players currently. He has led Syracuse University to their first and only championship in 2003 as a freshman. The Denver Nuggets selected him 3rd-overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He is a nine-time All-Star. Two Time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2006, 2016), NBA scoring champion (2013). He currently plays for the New York Knicks.
2003- LeBron James
LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. 3× NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016)
4× NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), 12× NBA All-Star (2005–2016), NBA Rookie of the Year (2004), NBA scoring champion (2008), 2× AP Athlete of the Year (2013, 2016). Basically, he did well. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2004- Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA draft, and was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic. An eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA team selection, five-time All-Defensive member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard has been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throw attempts, and has set numerous franchise and league records. He led the Magic to three division titles and one conference title, and he was the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the 2008 Olympics, he was the starting center for Team USA, which went on to win the gold medal.
2005- Gerald Green
Gerald Green is well known
for his dunking skill, and he has performed well in many slam dunk competitions, having won the 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest and the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, while finishing as the runner-up in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Green drew comparisons to former Houston Rockets teammate and star Tracy McGrady in the period leading up to the 2005 NBA draft. Green was also one of the last players to enter the NBA directly from high school. Gerald Green currently plays for the Boston Celtics.
2006- Greg Oden
Oden was selected first overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Due to knee injuries, he missed his entire rookie season and although he made his debut the next season, injuries forever hampered his career and he will forever be known as one of the biggest busts in NBA history. On October 28, 2016, Oden stated that he was done with basketball and will not be returning as a player. He currently serves as a student manager for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
2007- Eric Gordon
In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a major recruiting battle between the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of a great deal of media coverage. Gordon played one season of college basketball at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. He finished his freshman season leading the Big Ten in scoring. Gordon entered the 2008 NBA draft and was selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. He currently plays for the Houston Rockets.
2008- Brandon Jennings
After graduating from Oak Hill Academy, he decided to play professional basketball with Italian club Lottomatica Roma instead of playing collegiately for the University of Arizona, leading to controversy and debate on the NBA's "prep-to-pro" policy adopted in 2006. After a year in Italy, Jennings declared for the 2009 NBA draft and was selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. He played his first four seasons in Milwaukee before being traded to the Detroit Pistons in 2013. He currently plays for the New York Knicks
2009- Derrick Favors
Favors played high school basketball at South Atlanta High School, where he was ranked as one of the best high school basketball players in the class of 2009. Favors committed to Georgia Tech in January 2009, which he chose over Georgia, Memphis and North Carolina State.
Favors played both power forward and center for the Yellow Jackets. In ACC games, he averaged 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and shot 62.5% from the field. He also helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the ACC tournament finals against Duke. During the tournament, he posted 17 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Favors was named ACC Rookie of the Year and to the ACC All-Freshman Team. He currently plays for the Utah Jazz.
2010- Harrison Barnes
Harrison Barnes was rated as the number 1 player in the class of 2010. In his junior year, Barnes and teammate Doug McDermott led Ames High School to an Iowa 4A state championship where he had 24 points and 8 rebounds in the final, capping off a 26-0 season. In his senior year, Barnes and McDermott led Ames to a 27-0 season and a second straight Iowa 4A state championship becoming Iowa's big-school class's first team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons. In the finals, he scored 19 points against Southeast Polk. He averaged 27.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 4.0 assists during his senior year and was selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team. Barnes capped off his Ames High School career as their all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2015. He currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
2011- Anthony Davis
Davis played one season of college basketball at the University of Kentucky where he was first-team All-American and the Consensus National Player of the Year. He also won the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Pete Newell Big Man Award. Davis led the NCAA in blocks and set Southeastern Conference and NCAA Division I freshman single-season blocked shots records. Davis led Kentucky to a National Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament. Davis was selected first overall in the 2012 NBA draft by New Orleans and is a four-time NBA All-Star.
2012- Nerlens Noel
His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his ACL at the University of Kentucky. Noel was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. His rights were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He plays center and power forward and was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2012. He currently plays for the Philidelphia 76'ers
2013- Andrew Wiggins
He played college basketball at the University of Kansas before being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making him just the second Canadian to be taken number one overall in the NBA draft. He went on to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2014–15 season. Wiggins is also a member of the Canadian national team. He currently plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves
2014- Jahlil Okafor
Okafor was heavily recruited since before high school and had been at the top of the recruiting rankings for several years. He played high school basketball in Chicago, Illinois for Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, where he earned high school national player of the year awards from McDonald's, USA Today and Parade. At the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, he earned the Tournament MVP for the gold-medal winning USA team. In 2013, Okafor led Whitney Young to the 2013 Chicago Public High School League (CPL) city championship. He was an All-American as a junior in 2013. The following summer, he was an All-Tournament team selection at the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for the gold-medal Team USA. Following his senior season, he earned broad All-American recognition and was named the national player of the year by Parade, USA Today and McDonald's among other players. He signed with Duke as a package with Tyus Jones, with widespread recognition as the preseason Collegiate National Player of the Year. He was selected with the third overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015
2015- Ben Simmons
A versatile forward from Melbourne, Simmons attended Box Hill Senior Secondary College before moving to the United States to attend Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He played one season of college basketball for Louisiana State University (LSU), where he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. Simmons was selected with the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the 76ers, becoming the third Melbourne-born number one overall pick in 11 years. He has also represented the Australian national team. He has yet to make his NBA-debut at the time of this article.
2016- Harry Giles
Giles is a five-star recruit and is generally seen as the best overall recruit in the 2016 Class by most basketball recruiting services. On November 6, 2015, Harry announced his intentions to attend and play for Duke University. Giles was originally recruited by Wake Forest University, Duke University, University of North Carolina, University of Kentucky and University of Kansas. On November 6, 2015, Giles committed to Duke University. On October 3, 2016, it was announced Giles would likely miss up to six weeks to have surgery on his knee. On December 19, 2016, Giles made his college debut against Tennessee State, playing for four minutes.
