“You guys are getting a great player,” Thomas said. “I called it last year: Devin is going to be in the NBA.
“I say that because he’s skilled, and he’s a sponge. I know he’s going to a good program that’s going to teach him nothing but the right way. Once he takes everything in, the sky’s the limit. He can shoot it, he can post, but the best thing about him is how he shares the ball.”
The Flyers’ five-member 2010 recruiting class is ranked 23rd nationally by Rivals.com, one spot behind Xavier. Staten is rated as the 44th-best prospect individually, but he’s not the only one to make the Rivals’ top 150.
Chicago Simeon guard Brandon Spearman has cracked that exclusive list at No. 116. He’s known for being a lock-down defender and blossomed offensively last summer. He’s averaging 15 points and seven rebounds on a team loaded with Division I prospects.
“We’re only playing him 18-19 minutes because of the balance we have,” said Simeon coach Robert Smith, whose squad is ranked fourth in the Illinois all-division state poll. “If we had to keep him out there longer, his stats would definitely be higher. But we’re a well-rounded team and don’t have to kill him.
“He’s doing well, REAL well. ... We wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Ralph Hill of Westerville North was recruited by UD as a power forward, but he recently put his shooting range on display against Dublin Scioto by knocking down six 3-pointers.
He’s averaging 21.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
“He’s attracting a lot of individual attention, which is a compliment to him,” coach Kevin Thuman said. “He’s getting a lot of combination defenses — box-and-ones, face-guarding, making it tough for him to catch the ball. They’re not playing him straight up.
“But a lot of things (UD coach Brian) Gregory liked about him are there. He’s real athletic, really runs the floor well and plays defense.”
Although 6-1 guard Jesse Berry of Lafayette (Ind.) Jefferson was suspended for one game for undisclosed reasons, he’s been a scoring machine again this season. He’s averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 40 percent on 3s and 47 percent overall.
But Lafayette Jeff, which plays in perhaps the toughest prep league in the state, has struggled to a 7-4 record.
“He’s doing real well, but he’s all we’ve got,” coach Scot Bunnell said.
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