by Alex Schwartz

There is not much left in the way of proving grounds for current high school seniors. Their high school careers are over, almost all of them are done with AAU ball, and all the big all-star games have been played. This is a class that had some players burst onto the scene in middle school (i.e. Lance Stephenson, Renardo Sidney, Kenny Boynton, Demetrius Walker), some that came on late (i.e. Mouphtaou Yarou, Dante Taylor, Aaric Murray, John Wall), and many others with big names, games, and stories. For quite some time, people have been hard on the 09 class, saying it just isn't up to par with some other recent groups. Well, regardless of whether that is true or not, there are still a large number of talented players, future pros (including the one-and-done variety), and/or college stars. No rankings are perfect and none are ever entirely right, but that doesn't mean we can't try. I'll be including some notes on each player, as well as some other additional notes. Without further ado, here is the Northstar Basketball Class of 2009 Terrific 35:

CLASS OF 2009 TERRIFIC 35
Rank. Name, Position, Height, High School (State), College
1. John Wall, PG, 6'4, Word of God Christian Academy (NC), uncommitted- when you are 6'4, extremely athletic, and lightning fast, you are a very, very special player
2. Derrick Favors, C, 6'9, South Atlanta (GA), Georgia Tech- the only true dominant low post big man in this class; if he grows another inch or two—which he may, as he is young for the class—he could be a monster down the road
3. DeMarcus Cousins, C, 6'10, LeFlore (AL), Kentucky- big, tall body who can shoot it from beyond the arc and is a solid athlete; needs to develop low post game more
4. Lance Stephenson, SG, 6'6, Lincoln (NY), uncommitted- may well be the most physically gifted and talented player in the class; attitude is the only thing holding him back
5. Xavier Henry, SG, 6'6, Putnam City (OK), Kansas- a complete player—and one of only a few who can rival Stephenson physically—who can shoot the ball beyond the arc and get to the cup
6. Avery Bradley, SG, 6'3, Findlay College Prep (NV), Texas- a phenomenal athlete and lockdown defender who can drive to the hoop and finish
7. John Henson, PF, 6'10, Sickles (FL), North Carolina- still a project at this point, but has great length and can step out and shoot the rock
8. Kenny Boynton, SG, 6'2, American Heritage (FL), Florida- a gifted and athletic playmaker; probably the best pure scorer in the class
9. Mouphtaou Yarou, PF, 6'9, Montrose Christian (MD), Villanova- a dominant low post big man with a great frame who is still developing
10. Keith "Tiny" Gallon, PG, 6'9, Oak Hill Academy (VA), Oklahoma- the big man has a huge frame, can shoot it from deep, rebound the ball, and is extremely competitive
11. Dante Taylor, PF, 6'8, National Christian Academy (MD), Pitt- a great athlete who is tough and finds a way to put the ball in the hoop
12. Michael Snaer, SG, 6'4, Rancho Verde (CA), Florida State- does a good job on D, shoots the rock well, gets to the hole, and has a nice frame
13. Daniel Orton, C, 6'11, Bishop McGuinness (OK), Kentucky- a fantastic low post defender and a great shot blocker who rebounds the ball well and has a great frame
14. Wally Judge, PF, 6'9, Arlington Country Day School (FL), Kansas State- big-time athletic scores in bunches and rebounds the ball well
15. Royce White, SF, 6'7, Hopkins (MN), Minnesota- a big wing with a nice frame who has a nice handle and can also knock down shots
16. Maalik Wayns, PG, 6'1, Roman Catholic (PA), Villanova- a great distributor with a top-notch handle, he may well be the top pure point guard in the class
17. Jordan Hamilton, SF, 6'7, Dominguez (CA), Texas- an amazing athlete who plays the game very smoothly and can also shoot the ball
18. Dexter Strickland, PG, 6'3, St. Patrick's (NJ), North Carolina- a combo guard with a winner's mentality who can score in bunches and also distribute
19. Dominic Cheek, SG, 6'5, St. Anthony's (NJ), Villanova- silky smooth wing can hit shots from three-point land and also take the ball to the hole
20. Peyton Siva, PG, 6'0, Franklin (WA), Louisville- a pass-first point guard who does a very good job of getting teammates the ball
21. John Jenkins, SG, 6'4, Station Camp (TN), Vanderbilt- an amazing scorer—may be Boynton's biggest competition for that title—who is a lights-out shooter
22. Renardo Sidney, PF, 6'9, Fairfax (CA), Mississippi State- a huge body who is confident shooting the ball from deep, playing in the post, and dribbling the ball
23. Alex Oriakhi, C, 6'9, Tilton School (NH), UConn- has the body of a big-time low post player, with a great frame that takes up a lot of space in addition to huge hands
24. Abdul Gaddy, PG, 6'3, Bellarmine Prep (WA), Washington- the quick pass-first point guard can make plays and also get to the hole
25. Mason Plumlee, PF, 6'10, Christ School (NC), Duke- very athletic for a player with his size and build, and he can step out and hit the J
26. Milton Jennings, SF, 6'9, Pinewood Prep (SC), Clemson- a forward who plays on the wing, but has the size of a 4; great frame and a nice handle
27. Elijah Johnson, PG, 6'2, Cheyenne (NV), Kansas- more of a combo guard, he is an amazing athlete and is not yet a finished product
28. Tyler Honeycutt, SF, 6'7, Sylmar (CA), UCLA- a smooth, fluid wing with nice size and good athleticism who can also shoot the rock
29. Aaric Murray, C, 6'9, Glen Mills (PA), La Salle- a great physical presence in the paint, he puts the ball in the hole and also does a great job rebounding
30. Ryan Kelly, PF, 6'9, Ravenscroft School (NC), Duke- a long, skilled four with a great shot from beyond the arc and a high basketball IQ
31. Shawn Williams, SF, 6'7, Duncanville (TX), Texas- in addition to having nice size for a wing, he can stroke it from behind the three-point line
32. Durand Scott, SG, 6'4, Rice (NY), Miami- a New York City guard who plays great defense, shoots the ball well from deep, and has a nice overall frame
33. Thomas Robinson, PF, 6'8, Brewster Academy (NH), Kansas- a tenacious rebounder who grabs just about anything that comes near him
34. Terrence Boyd, SF, 6'5, San Diego (CA), Western Kentucky- a chiseled and athletic specimen—another one of the few who rivals Stephenson—who puts the ball in the cup
35. Lorenzo Brown, PG, 6'4, Centennial (GA), North Carolina State- a big lead guard who passes the rock well and plays the game the right way

JUST MISSED (alphabetical order)
Eric Bledsoe, PG, 6'0, Parker (AL), Kentucky
Solomon Hill, SF, 6'6, Fairfax (CA), Arizona
Noel Johnson, SF, 6'7, Fayette County (GA), USC
Christian Watford, SF, 6'8, Shades Valley (AL), Indiana

OTHERS CONSIDERED (alphabetical order)
Kawhi Leonard, SF, 6'5, Martin Luther King (CA), San Diego State
Leslie McDonald, SG, 6'4, Briarcrest Christian (TN), North Carolina
DJ Richardson, SG, 6'3, Findlay College Prep (NV), Illinois
Hollis Thompson, SF, 6'6, De La Salle (CA), Georgetown
Mfon Udofia, PG, 6'2, Miller Grove (GA), Georgia Tech
Terrell Vinson, SF, 6'6, St. Frances (MD), UMass
Travis Wear, PF, 6'9, Mater Dei (CA), North Carolina

RANKING NOTES
- Post-grads were not considered for this list, though fifth year seniors were
- There are three states with three or more players in the Terrific 35, only one of which has over three: California (five), Florida (three), and North Carolina (three)
- There are nine states with two players in the Terrific 35: Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Washington
- The position with the most players on the list is Power Forward (nine), with Shooting Guard in second (eight), Point Guard in the middle (seven), Small Forward in fourth (six), and Center with the least (five)
- There are six schools with multiple players in the Terrific 35, have of which have three recruits on the list: Kansas (three), Texas (three), Villanova (three), Duke (two), Kentucky (two), and North Carolina (two)
- There are two conferences getting most of the talent in the Terrific 35, the ACC with nine and the Big 12 with eight, though the Big East with six and the SEC with five are not that far behind; the Pac-10 has two players on the list, the Big Ten has just one, and of the mid-major conferences, the A-10 has one and the Sun Belt has one
- There are two uncommitted players in the Terrific 35, and both of them—John Wall and Lance Stephenson—are ranked in the top four
- There is not one high school with multiple players on the list

OTHER NOTES
- This class is definitely top heavy, as there are not a large amount of top-flight, elite players, but the ones that are at that level, are very good
- The Terrific 35 rankings confirm what we have known all along: PF and SG are the deepest positions in the class, while SF and C are the weakest
- Of the 24 McDonald's All-Americans, 21 of them are ranked in the Terrific 35, 20 of which are in the top 26 (of those six who did not make it, three—Wall, Hamilton, and Orton—were ineligible)

Notes- Rivals used as a source for player information; photo is of John Wall and is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/