Hot topic questions from the 2025 On3 150 ranking update

On Monday, On3 released an updated 2025 On3 150 ranking. The previous update for this class was in October. In the time since the previous update, we have seen half of a high school basketball season pass by. The On3 national team has racked up the air miles along with watching countless hours of streams and film. 

Storylines from the 2025 On3 150 Ranking Update

This update saw AJ Dybantsa hold serve in the No. 1 spot. On3 first moved Dybantsa, originally in the 2026 class, to No. 1 when he announced his re-classification in October. Dybantsa has had a strong start to the season, leading the way for MaxPreps No. 3 ranked Napa (CA) Prolific Prep. 

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 their game projects moving forward. 

Here are some of the top topic questions, applied to the 2025 class update.

Read the full 2025 On3 150

How close was the race for No. 1?

While Cameron Boozer’s continued production makes this a conversation to be had, the actual decision-making process to have AJ Dybantsa at No. 1 did not take very long. 

With Dybantsa, we are looking at a 6-foot-8 wing who is comfortable with the ball in his hands and can create an offensive advantage from multiple levels on the floor. There is a lot of value in that skill set at the highest levels. While he will still need to continue getting stronger and working on his balance throughout his movement, Dybantsa is a good athlete with excellent length and optimal positional size. 

Given his physical makeup and his skill set, the baseline of Dybantsa’s outcomes is a valuable archetype as he progresses forward. With continued work and optimal development, the ceiling of possible outcomes for Dybantsa remains very high. 

At the end of the day, at On3 we are projecting toward the NBA Draft. At this point in the process, we expect both players to hear their names called on draft night, we project Dybantsa’s to be heard earlier.

Which players are you higher on than others?

At this point in any recruiting cycle, there starts to be a lot of movement in the class. This is around the time we start to see players develop and become comfortable in their game and pathway toward potential outcomes and archetypes. 

With that said, there were quite a few in this update that On3 is higher on than others in the industry. On3 has ten players in the top 50 alone who are considered On3 Outliers. SF Nate Ament at No. 6, SF Dwayne Aristode at No. 10, SF Will Riley at No. 11, PF Chris Cenac at No. 16, PF Tylis Jordan at No. 20, C Malachi Moreno at No. 21, PF Nigel Walls at No. 23, PG Kingston Flemings at No. 35, SF Joshua Lewis at No. 38, and C Nick Randall at No. 53 are each considered outliers in the updated rankings. 

For the purposes of this writing, I will focus on the two highest-ranked players, Warrenton (VA) Highland School forward Nate Ament and Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy forward Dwayne Aristode. 

Ament is listed as a 6-foot-8, 180-pound wing. Seeing him live recently, he might be pushing 6-foot-9 at this point. Ament is very skilled and his game is continuing to grow. He is comfortable knocking down shots with range and he can get to his spots off the bounce. Oftentimes for his high school team, he will initiate the offense. Inside the arc, he has good footwork and is comfortable with counters which creates an advantage for shot opportunities. 

Ament will need to get stronger, and that will go a long way to deciding how high his ceiling of potential outcomes gets. But his offensive skill set with his size and length is unique at this stage, and his developmental curve has been steep over the past six to eight months. 

Aristode is a 6-foot-7, 190-pound wing that is originally from Holland. This is his first season in the U.S. playing his last three for Club Joventut Badaionia in Spain. Aristode is a highly explosive and quick twitch player. He plays with a toughness that helps him on the defensive end and on the boards. He can also get downhill to finish at and above the rim in traffic. 

Aristode will need to continue working on the jump shot. The release is fine, but his footwork and shot load have a tendency to leave his trajectory a little flat at times. Still young, and getting used to the speed of the American game, he is already productive and has top-tier athleticism and frame.

It should be fun to continue watching as this class progresses.

Who was the toughest player in the class to rank?

Darius Acuff continues to be a tough player for me to pinpoint in this class. The Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy point guard came in at No. 17 overall and the No. 1 point guard in this 2025 On3 150 update.

There is no denying Acuff’s talent. He has a crafty handle that gets him to the spots on the floor he is most comfortable with, and is able to rise up and score from each level. Despite being a below-the-rim guy at the basket, he has a crafty finishing package, with both hands, from various angles.

Acuff also has deep range on his jumper and is able to create an advantage off the bounce, for himself, to get into scoring opportunities. A question that continues to arise around Acuff is how conducive are his talents to winning basketball games. Acuff is a high-volume guard who measures below 6-foot-3. During Nike’s EYBL E17 Circuit, playing up in grade, Acuff averaged 19.0 points on 18.3 shots, shooting 38.8 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from three (Synergy).

With the eight games played tracked via Synergy so far this high school season, Acuff is averaging 20.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while shooting 42.2 percent from three. As you look deeper into those numbers you see a 16.5 turnover percentage with a 1.5 to 1.0 assists-to-turnover ratio and that he is shooting 42.7 percent from inside the arc.

Watching the games, you see a player who is capable of getting a shot off at any point in time, from any level of the floor. You also see a lot of dribbling and the ball stopping a good amount of the time it touches his hands. There is no denying the talent, and Acuff’s ability to create scoring opportunities, but he is one that I continue to have trouble placing in the class.

Which player could you see outplaying their ranking?

The two players that immediately popped into my mind for this update of the 2025 On3 150 are PF Cedric Taylor and SF Dillan Shaw. 

Shaw, No. 79, is a 6-foot-7 wing out of Northridge (CA) Heritage Christian. You notice his lengthy frame immediately when he steps on the floor. Shaw started to come into his own this summer while playing with the Compton Magic program on the Adidas 3SSB 16U Circuit. He will need to continue adding weight, which will help his all-around game. The shooting touch is looking more confident and the athleticism is coming along. Shaw has shown continued progression over the past six to eight months and it would be worth checking back in another six to eight to see where he is at.

Taylor, No. 106, is a 6-foot-10 forward out of McDonough (GA) Creekside Christian. He is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, and has been in the US for only two years. I had not heard of him before stumbling on his game in a back gym during the downtime of an event. His size and lengthy frame immediately caught my eye, and as I sat down to watch Taylor play, I quickly saw his athleticism. Taylor proceeded to dribble, pass, and shoot his way to a 25-point and 12-rebound performance. He created his own shot off the bounce, made threes off the catch, and showed versatility on defense. 

Shaw currently carries around ten offers with Washington State being the only power six at this point. Taylor does not have any offers to his name. It will be fun continuing to watch these two, and the rest of the class grow.