Labissiere is Rivals No. 1 player
For the first time since 2009, John Calipari has the No. 1 player in the Rivals150.
Skal Labissiere topped LSU commit Ben Simmons as the No. 1 player in the class of 2015. The 7-foot, 215-pound forward wowed folks at the Nike Hoop Summit game and the Jordan Brand Classic all-star game.
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Labissiere averaged 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in those two all-star games, while showcasing an offensive arsenal unmatched in the 2015 class.
"Picking between Labissiere and Simmons for the No. 1 spot wasn't easy," National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi said. "Simmons is more physically mature and has a very well-rounded game that should allow him to have early success.
"However, at the end of the day Labissiere's advantages in height, ability to shoot the ball and graceful athleticism gave him the slight edge."
Simmons fell to No. 2 in the final Rivals150, making it the first time since 2009 that the SEC will be home to the top two players in high school basketball.
But in order for Labissiere to dominate the college game like he did in recent all-star games, he'll need to get stronger.
"He will have to get stronger, and it is possible that he won't put up quite the same numbers as Simmons, but long term and at the highest level he gets the nod as the slightly better prospect and because of that he earns the top spot," Bossi said.
Labissiere isn't the only UK commit in the top 10. He's joined by Isaiah Briscoe, who dropped a spot to No. 10.
Six out of Calipari's seven years at Kentucky, he has had at least two players in the top 10.
Briscoe was the only Wildcat commit to play in all three of the most prestigious all-star games. Labissiere was ineligible for the McDonald's All-American game, which requires players to play in their senior years of high school; Labissiere was forced to sit out because of Tennessee transfer rules.
Briscoe's best game was undoubtedly the Jordan Brand Classic where he finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists.
He averaged 14 points, six assists and five rebounds in those three games.
Briscoe finished as the top point guard in the class. He'll be Calipari's fourth top-ranked point guard.
The lowest ranked UK commit finds himself in the top 50, as Charles Matthews moved up from No. 58 to No. 48.
Matthews still keeps his four-star ranking, but was unable to climb back to five-star status where he was when he originally committed to UK back in February of 2014.[rl]
He suffered a big drop in the rankings to No. 57 after an injury-ridden summer, but bounced back for a tremendous senior season where he averaged over 23 points per game.
Matthews was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic game where despite being a bit banged up, he finished with six points, four assists and three rebounds.
Calipari has recruited one other player who finished ranked in the 40s, and things turned out fine for Willie Cauley-Stein.
Kentucky is also in on five other five-stars. Jaylen Brown, Cheick Diallo, Brandon Ingram, Thon Maker and Malik Newman are all undecided but considering UK.
Newman is set to announce Friday, Ingram on Monday, and Diallo will likely announce in the coming days.