Hot Topic Questions from the 2024 On3 150 Ranking Update

On Monday, On3 released an updated 2024 On3 150. The previous update for this update was in November. In the time since the previous update, we have seen the majority of a high school season pass. The On3 national team has hit the road along with watching countless of hours film to make sure we got the most accurate and up-to-date read on these players.

Storylines from the 2024 On3 150 Ranking Update

This update saw Cooper Flagg hold serve as the No. 1 player in the class. On3 first moved Flagg, who was originally in the 2025 class, to the No. 1 spot when he announced his re-classification in August. Flagg has had a strong start to the season, leading Montverde (FL) Montverde Academy in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals, en route to an undefeated record.

On3’s rankings use a baseline of first projecting for the NBA Draft, with a career in the league being a secondary projection tool. Our goal is to assess a prospect’s long-term potential, ultimately manifested by the NBA Draft. We look at a player’s career developmental arc, and how and how their game projects moving forward.

Here are some of the hot topic questions, applied to the 2024 On3 150 class update.

1. How close was the race for No. 1?

I would not necessarily call the race for No. 1 close in this update, but there was certainly a stronger conversation than in previous updates. At the end of the day, Cooper Flagg held on to the No. 1 spot in the 2024 On3 150, but the season that Powder Springs (GA) McEachern forward Ace Bailey has had was noted. 

READ Cooper Flagg vs. Ace Bailey; the battle for On3’s No. 1 player in 2024

Every ranking we put out is a snapshot in time. This is our ninth, and second to last update for the 2024 recruiting cycle. We started tracking this class during their freshmen seasons and put out our first ranking just before their sophomore year started. In all, On3 will have ten updates of the 2024 class rankings. With each update, there is a thorough evaluation of the class. We look at each player’s strengths, weaknesses, development, and projection over time.

Cooper Flagg has a high floor, a sense of security that you know the low-end outcomes of what he could be. His defensive abilities are unique among his peers, and his ability to dictate play from that end of the floor is a skill that he will be able to hang his hat on as he continues to progress his game. 

Flagg also has a high ceiling that he is still looking to grow into. His game is not complete, there are pieces to his game that, if developed, could continue to thrust him into different tiers of prospects. He is a quick processor, with a natural feel, and he competes every game, every second he is on the floor. 

When it came to Monday’s update Flagg was the choice. Both players will have more opportunities as there is still the balance of their regular season, playoffs, and post-season all-star events before our next update. 

2. Which Players are you higher on than others?

Typically, this question is just one player, and there are a few that fall into this category, like Syracuse signee Donnie Freeman, Iowa signee Chris Tadjo, and Oklahoma signee Kuol Atak, just to name a couple. 

However, for the purposes of this piece, I want to talk about the four-man class that Colorado is bringing in. F Sebastian Rancik, C Doryan Onwuchekwa, G Felix Kossaras, and G Andrew Crawford. 

One thing that each of these players have is skill and feel. Rancik and Kossaras are noted scorers, Onwuchekwa is a developing shooter, and Crawford is a quick processor with the ball. 

Rancik’s dad, Martin Rancik, played at Iowa State on Larry Eustachy. The younger Rancik, from San Diego, J Serra Catholic has good size at 6-foot-9 and is comfortable handling the ball and can create an advantage off the bounce. He has also a pure stroke that he is comfortable taking off the catch or the bounce. You will find the ball in Crawford’s hands a lot of the time. He makes great reads with the ball and has the feel and touch to deliver passes from various angles at different levels of the court.  

Onwuchekwa has worked hard to get his body right over the past eight months. He has a natural touch that extends beyond the three-point arc and he is a very good area rebounder. Kossaras is a 6-foot-5 combo guard who is comfortable scoring the ball. 

Each of these players fit together, they have positional size, and they have a feel for the game. One cycle after landing On3’s No. 1 player in the 2023 cycle, Cody Williams, I am very eager to see how this encore group develops together in Boulder.

3. Who was the toughest player in the class to rank?

Looking through this class there were a couple of guys that I had difficulty figuring out where to slot them. The first is Miami signee Isaiah Johnson-Arigu and the second is uncommitted guard Justin Pippen. 

Johnson-Arigu is a 6-foot-7 wing out of Minneapolis (MN) Totino-Grace. What makes him interesting, at least to me, is his feel for the game. Watching him live, and then cutting on the tape to monitor his progression throughout the season, I got a Dillon Jones (Weber State) type vibe with him. He has a projectable frame with long arms, but he is very good with the ball, especially with his processing and deliveries. He can also knock down a shot.

The ball seems to find its way to Johnson-Arigu, and – much like with Jones – positive things typically happen. Miami had success with a bigger play-initiator recently with first-team All-ACC wing Jordan Miller a year ago. Which also makes the fit is interesting. He is a good straight-line athlete, and I kept him in the top 100 of the On3 150 and will be monitoring closely if a bump is necessary. 

Pippen is the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, also the brother of NBA guard Scottie Pippen, Jr. Much like his brother, Justin Pippen is a later bloomer. He has always been a good athlete and an aggressive basketball player at the point of attack, however, this high school season he has sprouted up to 6-foot-3.

The Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon guard has produced some big outputs this season. However, the efficiency and processing are questions. Of the 12 games that Synergy has charted this season, Pippen is averaging 14.8 points while shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three. In that span, he is also averaging 5.8 assists with a 3.00 assist-to-turnover while averaging 2.3 steals.  

The eye test will show you a guard with good size, who is comfortable with the ball in his hands and has no trouble touching the paint. He plays aggressively, and without question deserves to be in the 2024 On3 150. Currently, he is a 6-foot-3 combo guard who needs to continue developing his scoring efficiency. That put him as a high three-star, at No. 115 in this update.

4. Which player could you see outplaying their ranking?

Seeing this question, and then looking through this ranking, the very first thing that popped into my head is that the three-star mid-major signees have a chance to outplay their current ranking. 

Players like Saint Mary’s signee Zion Sensley (No. 129), San Francisco signee Tyrone Riley (No. 126), Arkansas State signee Josh Hill (No. 127), and Wyoming signee Oliver Faubert (No. 136). Each of these players went to play in a system that fit their specific skill sets, and they went to play for coaches who expressed early and often how much they wanted them.

A look through the college basketball landscape, you have players like San Francisco’s Jonathan Mogbo, Dayton’s DaRon Holmes, and New Mexico’s JT Toppin who committed to mid-major programs out of high school and are popping up in NBA Draft conversations. They went into situations where they were able to best develop. 

Each of these four players is clearly talented, and they each bring size and skill to the table. They chose to play for coaches who showed they wanted them and programs where they could come in and play through mistakes while developing. 

With the parity that is starting to happen in college basketball two mid-major programs in last season’s Final Four, players are able to go to more than just the blue bloods and develop into prospects. As we sit down at the table to discuss our final iteration of the 2024 cycle, this will be something to think about moving forward.