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In the modern day recruiting game, in an age where the Internet is king, perhaps the site most frequently referenced list by any recruiting, is that of the Rivals' recruiting rankings. It is in these rankings that fans and media determine the whose who of the high school ranks. These same rankings donned the coming of Lebron James, the elite talent of Michal Beasley, and surely enough, the incoming talent of players such as Samuardo Samuels* (Louisville) and Tyreke Evans (Memphis) for the upcoming season.

Yet, while fans glimpse at these rankings, more often than not, little thought is placed into exactly how are they contrived, and as Rivals.com Senior Analyst Justin Young would attest, it is not an easy process. There are ten's of thousands of high school prospects in the country. It is the work of two people at Rivals.com to weed the best from the best, and in the end, produce what is the most accurate list of the top basketball players in America. “Jerry Meyer [Rivals.com Senior Analyst] and myself watch as much basketball as humanly possible, mesh our brains together and come up with a list of players that we believe is the correct order of players.” Young said in a recent interview.

No area is left neglected. Year in and year out, Young and Meyer attend high school games across America. In the off season of the high school leagues, the AAU circuit winds into full motion, stocked full of America's top talent. At events such as Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions (Durham, NC), Tyson's The Real Deal on the Hill (Fayetteville, Arkansas), Nike Peach Jam (North Augusta, GA), and the Las Vegas Summer Jam; it is not unusual to see Billy Gillispie sitting next to Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim sitting next to Billy Donovan, or Tom Crean sitting next to Ben Howland. Of course, included in this crowd is either of the Rivals.com senior analysts, Justin Young or Jerry Meyer.

While the AAU tournaments often, by nature, gather the best talent in the country all in one gym, the high school games are also an integral part of the process. The AAU teams, often consisting of players thrown together temporarily or guided by lower-quality coaches, generally play with much less passion for their team. “There seems to be much more pride on the line [in high school games]. The games have much more meaning. I believe you really find out about the great ones in high school due to that.”

Yet, the AAU tournaments and high school games are not the only way talent is picked up by Rivals, and for the elite of the elite that are lucky enough to be ranked and noticed by Rivals, there are many more who wish they could be ranked. “I get more calls and emails from players' parents and coaches than anything else. I'd say I receive roughly 20 a day about a player. More times than not, the player is a non Division I player.”

So what are the criteria which separates the good from the great? As Young observes players, three main qualities are looked for in determining their skill level. “I'm an athleticism guy. I'm a size guy. Those are the two things that I look for first... Then, of course, skill set.” Yet, Justin Young also cautions that talent is not the end all of scouting and ranking prospects. “The biggest thing that turns me off about a player is his attitude. If you are a problem on the court or with your coach, I can promise you that will be one of the first things that comes out of my mouth to a college coach if I'm asked about that player.”

It is by these observations, that Young and Meyer slowly, but surely, order and rank the prospects scouted. As the final list is placed and published, there are always those fans ready to disagree and take arms with the rankings. Generally, and with out fail, fans always believe their players should be ranked higher. “Fan is short for fanatic. I realize that.” Said Young regarding to fan opposition to the rankings. “For the most part, they don't watch the games. They speak out of ignorance and a lot of times that is dangerous. They raise the bar way too high and in turn a lot of the kids read the message boards and believe to be as fact. In turn, when I'm giving my professional opinion and it doesn't match the thoughts of the fan base, I'm perceived to be the villain. I don't mind that. That same player usually sits instead of plays (or transfers) and the fans have already moved onto the next great star. It's a continual cycle of overzealous expectations.”

While disgruntled fans knock the lack of high rankings for their own players, it does not detract from the confidence of the Rivals gurus. “I think what we do is on point. That's why we do them. We put in more time than people realize trying to get them right. We don't always get it right but more times than not, we do. But at the end of the day, a ranking has never signed a scholarship paper. Never has, never will.”

A special thanks to Rivals.com analyst Justin Young for contributing information in this article.
Article by Brad King