NCAA Basketball: 4 biggest takeaways from updated 2023 recruiting rankings
By Ian Mumm
Following Monday morning’s release of the new rankings, the recruiting website revealed recent momentum surrounding the play of 6’3” guard Isaiah Collier has elevated him to the #1 spot in the 2023 class. Collier has steadily risen in the 247sports site’s personal rankings following a small slip to 31st in the March 10th, 2021 edition. The new update sees him climb eight spots to usurp Camden (NJ) guard DJ Wagner, who has not fallen any lower than 2nd in the class since the initial rankings were released on September 30th, 2020.
The race for the top spot is far from being over. The aforementioned Wagner sits in the #2 spot for only the 2nd time during his recruitment, after previously contending with South Carolina’s GG Jackson prior to reclassifying. Following a gold-medal-winning performance for Team USA during the FIBA U17 World Cup, Wagner has time left to rebound again to the top seat.
However, a number of highly talented prospects notably Justin Edwards (Kentucky), Mackenzie Mgbako (Duke), Xavier Booker (Michigan State), and Matas Buzelis (G-League Ignite) remain heavily in the mix. Also, a part of this group is Kentucky target Aaron Bradshaw who climbed 14 spots up to 4th in the most recent rankings.
Among the fight at the top, I dive into what else stood out in 247’s latest update.