The Boiling Point: A breakdown of the new Rivals.com 2012 recruiting rankings.
Rivals.com updated its 2012 basketball recruiting rankings on Monday and with little surprise, several Purdue verbal commitments are in the field.
Six-foot-7 Jay Simpson is the highest-ranked player checking in at No. 91. The four-star big out of Champaign Central has been on the rise recently after improving his work ethic and winning his battle with asthma. Fort Wayne star Rapheal Davis is at No. 95. Davis is a high-scoring wing who will be a lead candidate for Indiana Mr. Basketball this next year.
At No. 120 is recently committed point guard Ronnie Johnson. The speedster from Indianapolis North Central has just started getting a bunch of attention, so one would think his ranking will only go up.
The fourth member of the ’12 class, guard Kyle Molock, is unranked after not playing competitive basketball for an extended period of time as he recovers from a knee injury.
Here are some other notable rankings for the 2012 class.
-No. 5 Mitch McGary: Purdue coach Matt Painter and the Boilers were once very early favorites for McGary, but academic issues scared them away. It looks like the big man out of Northwest Indiana might have his act in order and is turning it on in terms of basketball. He was ranked No. 92 in the previous rankings.
-Indiana has four guys ranked, starting with No. 15 Hanner Parea. Perea is a five-star guy, while IU’s once five-star point guard, Yogi Ferrell, fell a bit to No. 28. Also ranked for the Hoosiers is Jeremy Hollowell (No. 42) and Ron Patterson (No. 115).
-Highly-sought after guard Gary Harris is a four-star talent. Harris checks in just outside the Top 25 at No. 26. Harris is one of the few highly-ranked 2012 Indiana guys who hasn’t made a decision on college yet.
-The son of legendary Purdue star Glen Robinson, Glen Robinson III, is slotted at No. 50. He is committed to Michigan.
-Carmel, Ind., native A.J. Hammons is at No. 55. The 7-footer has been pursued by Painter, but at this point Purdue has no more scholarships to dole out. If one comes open, Hammons would be one of the first priorities.
-Another Indiana kid, DeJuan Marrero, checks in at No. 118.