BY ZACH SMART
As a 6-foot-3 guard who has opened up a consistent outside shooting presence to balance his forays to the rim, Class of 2028 Christ The King (NY) HS guard Skyler Ragoo has rapidly emerged into one of the city’s intriguing young prospects.
Playing alongside Class of 2027 LaSalle commit Johnny Magna and Class of 2028 stock riser Aaron Ellis-– Game MVP during the recent MADE Hoops Jordan Holiday Classic following a 24-point showing on the strength of six 3-pointers–Ragoo has been a supreme table setter.
Ragoo turned in several games of double digit assists while playing for the Long Island Lightning this summer.
With CTK quickly re-tooling its roster, which now features a monstrous space eating forward/center with an evolving skill set in 6-foot-10, 250-pound behemoth Filip Runjo, Ragoo has been a critical table setter. He is suddenly adapting to the niche of a go-to scoring option.
While Magna is the stabilizing source who makes everything happen for Joe Arbitiello‘s team, Ragoo has made significant strides as a shot maker who snares rebounds and defends multiple positions.
He was offered by St. John’s last year, prior to Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino’s widely reverberating statement about the program’s decision to shy away from recruiting high school players.
Ragoo was also offered by LaSalle, which has tapped into the local market and also recently offered Ellis.
The radiant triumvirate of Magna, Ragoo, and Ellis played a major role in a double digit home win over Bishop Loughlin.
Impacting winning and seemingly every category of the stat sheet as well as any player in his class throughout NYC, Magna finished with 18 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and four steals.
Ragoo showed a consistent long range shooting presence, as he stuck four 3-pointers and turned in a performance of 20 points and seven assists.
Angry Darius Prospers
Southern California-signee and 7-foot Class of 2026 Stepinac HS Center Darius Ratliff may have been being too nice during the first half of the Crusaders’ 59-50 victory over rival Iona Prep during the SLAM Dunk/Crusader Classic at the Westchester County Center.
And the reality is, you can’t consistently win in New York’s Catholic Leagues by being nice.
Ratliff played possessed and channeled some much-needed aggression during the second half, showing physicality and changing shots on the interior.
Headed to play for Eric Musselman alongside his twin brother, Adonis Ratliff (who has been on the shelf with an injury he recently sustained) as part of a Top-10 national recruiting class, Darius Ratliff wound up with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He took home MVP honors for the Showcase game of the event.
The Ratliff Twins, the sons of 16-year NBA veteran and 2001 NBA All Star Theo Ratliff are both on the Naismith Boys’ High School POY Watch List.
Stepinac’s Michigan State bound 6-foot-5 guard Jasiah Jervis, who helped catapult the Crusaders to a third consecutive city title with his clutch shot making last season, is also on the list.
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