Michael Gilchrist’s got company at the top.
The 6-6 wing from New Jersey is widely hailed as the nation’s top recruit in the class of 2011. He’s got everything - size for his position, skill, aggressiveness - and even thrives without a full night’s sleep. But the Nike Peach Jam showcased a couple of players who are making a run at Gilchrist’s unofficial title.
The first is Austin Rivers, a 6-3 guard who’s a deadly outside shooter and earned raves the last few weeks from both Luke Winn and Mike DeCourcy. He doesn’t have Gilchrist’s athleticism, but few players can match Rivers’ potent offensive game.
Yet defense may end up making Anthony Davis, a 6-10 forward from Chicago, the top prospect of the class. He even has Gilchrist’s endorsement.
Davis is the fifth overall recruit on Scout.com and No. 8 on Rivals.com, but he’s heading up the charts. Quickly. Sporting News’ Chris Littman has the details:
The buzz about moving Davis up to the No. 1 spot is getting loud. Our own Mike DeCourcy has decreed it so on Twitter. I also talked with DeCourcy -- who has seen his fair share of Davis’ game in the last month -- by phone this afternoon, and he raved about Davis being well on his way to being an elite defender while also having good offensive skills. Maybe not the shooting range of some other recruits to pile up ridiculous point totals, but the lanky 6-foot-10 forward has ceiling for days, so that makes up for any current scoring deficiencies.
Dave Telep is starting to buy into Davis. Evan Daniels is, too. Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman is as well.
Mike Miller’s also on Twitter, usually talkin’ hoops. Click here for more.