For all the talk about the decline of New York City basketball, the Class of 2017 might just prove otherwise.
In the latest 2017 ESPN 100, New York and the surrounding area has five players ranked in the Top 50.
Mohamed Bamba, the 7-footer from Harlem who plays for the Westtown (Pa.) School and the PSA Cardinals, is No. 3. He holds offers from a Who’s Who of schools, including Duke, Kentucky and Harvard.
Nick Richards, the 6-11 Queens native who plays for St. Patrick’s (N.J.) and Expressions Elite, ranks No. 8. He is being recruited at the highest levels, including by Kentucky and Syracuse.
Hamidou Diallo, the 6-6 wing guard from Queens who plays for Putnam Science Academy (CT) and the NY Rens, chimes in at No. 12. Diallo holds offers from Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse and UConn, among others.
Meantime, Jordan Tucker, the 6-7 wing from Riverdale, N.Y., who plays for Archbishop Stepinac and the Rens, ranks at No. 35, while Yonkers, N.Y., native Brandon Randolph of the Westtown School and the PSA Cardinals, ranks No. 43.
Tucker recently told me Syracuse is working the hardest for him, but is considering St. John’s, Maryland and Villanova, among others. Randolph’s recruitment has blown up and he holds offers from Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, Villanova, Notre Dame and Syracuse, among others
Deng Gak, the 6-11 power forward from Blair (N.J.) Academy and the PSA Cardinals, is the highest-ranked player from New Jersey on the list at No. 80. Meantime, Philadelphia-based point guard Quade Green of Neumann-Goretti and the PSA Cardinals is ranked No. 22, giving that AAU outfit four Top 100 players.
The PSA Cardinals and NY Rens — both of which will compete in next month’s Peach Jam — have two players each on this list.
“At some point the rest of the country will take some time and look up,” PSA Cardinals director Terrance “Munch” Williams said. “When they do, they will realize that New York City basketball is in a great space. Until then, please allow these young men to chase their destiny.”
NY Rens coach Andy Borman broke down the top three players on the list.
“I think Bamba is a pure winner,” he said. “He does it all and on top of that he’s a competitor.
“Nick Richards is a player that is really starting to come into his own. His offensive game is progressing really well and he can single-handedly win a game on the defensive side of the ball.
“Hamidou is the best guard in the country. I couldn’t say enough good things about what it’s like to coach him. He is an athletic freak, but what separates him is his desire to be truly great. Hamidou is a workhorse in the gym and is at it all day long.”
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