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Scout.com Updated 2016 Top 100: Where do Wake basketball targets rank?

A top recruiting website just released its updated class of 2016 player rankings. Which Wake targets made the Top 100?

By Ned Harwood
Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Recruiting website Scout.com released their updated basketball Class of 2016 Top 100 earlier today and it featured a number of Wake Forest targets. Over the last 12 months, Head Coach Danny Manning has offered dozens of top prospects in the 2016 class, and as we approach an important summer of recruiting for the turnaround of Wake Forest basketball, the Deacs remain contenders for a number of these highly rated recruits. You can see the full rankings here on scout.com, but if you are interested in simply seeing where the Wake Forest targets ended up, I have everything you need to know below.

Notes on the Rankings:

-Even if you seldom follow college basketball recruiting, it would seem difficult for you to still be unfamiliar (particularly if you read this site) with the #1 recruit on Scout’s rankings: Harry Giles. Giles now finds himself as #1 on Scout, #2 on 247sports, ESPN, and Rivals’ rankings, and yes, Wake Forest has a legitimate chance at landing the program-changing big man. From all indications, it looks to be a four-way race between UK, Duke, UNC, and WF for his services, with Wake being able to pitch the fact he could stay in Winston-Salem and be a hometown hero before inevitably leaving for the NBA. The Deacs haven’t been this close to landing the top recruit in the country since Greg Oden back in 2006, and might not be again for a long time unless Giles commits and transforms this program back into a national powerhouse.

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-Jonathan Isaac came in at #14 in the Top 100 after yet another significant bump on his rise to becoming a consensus 5* recruit. Wake Forest was one of the first schools to offer Isaac last year when he was in the 70-100 range on most scouting sites, and now he finds himself in the Top 15 on both 247sports and Scout’s rankings. Wake did manage to make his official Top 12 (Yes, twelve) that was announced on Twitter this week, but will be going up against some fierce competition as other programs listed were UK, FSU, UVA, UT, and LSU. Will the fact that Wake contacted him early in the process help the Deacs in the long run? Potentially, but the challenge only gets tougher as his ranking gets higher.

Talented 2016 Jonathan Isaac down to 12: Auburn, LSU, Texas, FSU, Wisconsin, Michigan, Miami, Cal, Kentucky, Stanford, Wake Forest, Virginia

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-Speaking of soaring rankings, Javin Delaurier-Montgomery has improved his stock in the last three months more than possibly any player in the country, and comes in at #38 for Scout. Wake offered the PF from VA on April 11th, and he since has risen approximately 100 spots in the 247sports rankings and broken the Top 40 in Scout’s. Georgetown offered him this week as well, and the scholarships will continue to flow in to his mailbox until he starts cutting down his list and taking official visits. A few months ago, Delaurier-Montgomery would have been a solid pickup. Now he is an absolute must-have.

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-A few other WF big men targets found spots in the Top 100 including recently decommited Sacha-Killeya Jones at 64, Oak Hill C Rodney Miller at 78, and Canadian PF Eddie Ekiyor at 91. Of these three, the most likely to eventually wear the Black and Gold is probably Miller, having already visited campus back in March and being a priority for the Deacs for a while now. Landing Killeya-Jones would be fantastic for the program, but difficult now that he has a lot more attention around him than back in December before he committed to UVA. Eddie Ekiyor would be a very nice addition to the 2016 class, but it is still very early in his recruitment process and tough to gauge where Wake stands at the moment.

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-Curtis Jones from Huntington Prep was the last realistic WF target in the Top 100 coming in at 94, but the Combo Guard is heavily favored to go to Maryland at the moment. Wake is listed as "Warm" on his school interest on 247sports, but is accompanied with UNC, Maryland, Texas, Xavier, Indiana, and Georgetown in this category. It would be a long-shot to land Jones, but maybe an official visit to Winston-Salem could change that.

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-Kwe Parker, Richard Washington, and Eli Wright all wound up just outside the Top 100, but all remain top targets for the Deacs for the 2016 class. Parker most likely fell a little due to his injury this spring, but he has fully recovered and is expected to announce his college decision in July. Washington has been very under-recruited up until now, but I expect him to rise in offers and rankings over the summer after a good start to the AAU season. Most scouting sites now have Eli Wright in the 100-115 range in their rankings, but differ on his 3*/4* status. Regardless, he is a smooth lefty wing who could help this program for four years if he commits to the Deacs.

-Jalen Johnson and Brandon Childress both ended up in the 200’s for the rankings, though I doubt either of them finish there in the final rankings next year. Johnson has had an excellent AAU season so far from all accounts and multiple other scouting sites have him rated far higher already. Childress claimed the Mr. Playmaker Award at an NC Top 80 Camp in March and continues to improve his driving and shooting ability. With increased attention on Wesleyan Christian Academy (The high school of Giles, Johnson, and Parker) next fall, I wouldn’t be surprised if Childress is a top 125 prospect by the end of his senior year.

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Wake Forest is getting a talented PG in '16 Brandon Childress. @DCBlueDevils @UAassociation http://t.co/vT6RISX9fK pic.twitter.com/qpWACp35v5

Those are all my notes from scout.com’s updated 2016 rankings in regards to Wake Forest targets. I will be posting an overall 2016 Wake Forest Basketball Recruiting Breakdown in the next week as well with in-depth analysis on all recruits the program is seriously targeting and what the Deacs’ "Ideal 2016 class" would look like. For more daily recruiting news, follow me on Twitter @DeacFan3 and feel free to comment below with any thoughts on the rankings or Wake Forest recruiting in general. Here’s to hoping it reads "Wake Forest commit" alongside some of these names on the next updated Scout Top 100 rankings.

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