OHIO’S BEST
Top 23 Ohio statewide high school boys basketball players in 2023
Ohio continues to produce high-quality high school basketball players who are putting their talents on display this winter.
The high school sports staff of the Gannett Corp.’s more than 60 Ohio newspapers and websites compiled a who’s who of the Buckeye State’s prep boys basketball players. We compiled a list of its respective area’s top players and the journalists voted on these players using a point system.
1. Gabe Cupps, Centerville
The 6-foot-2-inch point guard and reigning Mr. Basketball signed to play for Indiana. Cupps averaged 14.3 points, 6.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals for the Division I state runner-up Elks last season.
2. Devin Royal, Pickerington Central
An Ohio State signee, the 6-6 forward averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists as a junior, shooting 60% from the floor to lead the Tigers to a Division I state championship. Royal is the top-ranked player in the state entering this season according to 247Sports.com and 50th nationally per ESPN.
3. Austin Parks, St. Mary’s Memorial
An Ohio State commit, the 6-9, 240-pound Parks averaged 18.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
4. Darryn Peterson, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Peterson received scholarship offers from elite college programs, including Ohio State, before enrolling in high school and has since added an offer from Kentucky, among others. ESPN ranks him No. 4 nationally in his class after he averaged 26.1 points, 10 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game as a freshman, shooting 50% from the field and 43% from beyond the 3-point arc.
5. Dailyn Swain, Africentric
The Division III Player of the Year in the state, Swain is a 6-8 senior forward who has signed with Xavier and is ranked 87th among ESPN’S top 100 prospects nationally. He averaged 17.5 points as a sophomore and 21 points last winter, when he also averaged 8 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 72% from the floor.
6. Raleigh Burgess, Sycamore
The 6-10 junior center is listed as the No. 2 junior in Ohio by 247Sports.com. He averaged 10.5 points, 6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game as a sophomore and has offers from Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana and Cincinnati.
7. Jerry Easter II, Emmanuel Christian
Easter, a 6-8 sophomore, was among 58 players invited to be a part of the USA Basketball men’s junior national team minicamp in October. He has more than 20 college offers, including to Syracuse, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Ohio State and UCLA. As a freshman, Easter averaged 25 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game.
8. Jesse Mcculloch, Lutheran East
The 6-9 Mcculloch has offers from Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. He is rated by 247Sports as the No. 5 junior in Ohio. Last season, he averaged just over 16 points and 10 rebounds.
9. Jonathan Powell, Centerville
The 6-4 transfer from Chaminade-julienne averaged 16.8 points per game and 4.5 rebounds as a sophomore. He is ranked as the top junior in Ohio and has an offer from Michigan State.
10. Dorian Jones, Richmond Heights
The 6-3 sophomore shooting guard has offers from Arizona State, Cleveland State, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Toledo. 247Sports rates Jones as the No. 34 player nationally in the class of 2025, and the second-best sophomore in Ohio.
11. Chico Johnson, Toledo Central Catholic
The 6-2 guard is committed to Drake and averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists a season ago.
12. Marlon Barnes Jr., Brush
The 6-6 small forward is committed to Pittsburgh, and 247Sports rates him as the state’s No. 7 senior player for this season. He Barnes returned to Brush last season after spending a year at YPSI Prep.
13. Colin White, Ottawa-glandorf
The 6-5 White averaged 19.1 points last season.
14. Bede Lori, Caldwell
Lori averaged 28.2 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 4 assists. He owns the OHSAA boys mark for single-season free-throw percentage after making 95.3%. That earned him Division IV Player of the Year honors last season.
15. Lawrent Rice, Wayne
The 6-3 Rice averaged 20.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 6.2 assists last season. In five postseason appearances, he averaged 24.6 points per game.
16. Nathan Dudukovich, Lakota West
The 6-3Dudukovich averaged 25.4 points per game last season. The 1,000-point scorer had a 51-point night in a holiday tournament and 12 times scored 25 points or more.
17. Eian Elmer, Taft
As a junior, the 6-7 forward averaged 8.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. He is committed to Miami (Ohio).
18. Lance Hayes, Akron St. Vincent St. Mary
A Kent State commit, Hayes scored 13.6 points per game last season.
19. Brayden Fogle, Lexington
A freshman, Fogle has offers from Arizona State and Texas A&M. He is ranked in the top five in his class nationally.
20. Cade Norris, Hilliard Bradley
The 6-3 Norris can play anywhere from the point to the post. He averaged 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals last season and has offers from Ball State, Illinois State and Wright State. He has two brothers playing Division I college basketball in Loyola Chicago redshirt senior Braden Norris and Wright State sophomore Keaton Norris.
21. Will Maxwell, Oakwood
Last season, he averaged 20.9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game and has offers from Akron, Kent State, Ohio and Toledo.
22. Khoi Thurmon, Akron Buchtel
After transferring to Buchtel from Copley, he averaged 15.6 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals per game and shot 47.8% from the field. He has committed to Purdue Fort Wayne.
23. Will Aljancic, Louisville
Stark County’s leading scorer averaged 21.4 points per game. He shot 46.3% from the field and 35.9% from 3-point range and grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game, scoring 30 points or more three times.
Others receiving votes
Alex Bruskotter, Shelby; Solomon Callaghan, Wadsworth; Jabari Covington, Cincinnati College Prep Academy; Conner Cravaack, Madeira; T.J. Crumble, Lutheran East; Parker Davidson, Bradford; Dru Deshields, Beloit West Branch; Collin Dixon, Tallmadge; Boubacar Djigo, Rocky River Lutheran West; Chase Garito, Brecksville; Jahlil Graham, Canton Mckinley; Brady Hardewig, Turpin; Cody Head, Cleveland Heights Lutheran East; Julius Kimbrough, Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas; Ja’corey Lipkins, Canton Glenoak; Dylan Hohler, Huron; Jonas Nichols, Archbishop Hoban; Hayden Nigro, Louisville; Kaleb Schafer, Ready; Nyelle Shaheed, Harvest Prep; Mason Shrout, Preble Shawnee; Luke Skaljac, Brecksville; Chandler Starks, Anderson; Tim Stewart, Mariemont; George Washington III, Chaminade-julienne.