BYU-bound A.J. Dybansta, Duke-bound Cam Boozer and Kanas-bound Darryn Peterson form an elite trio at the top of the 2025 class. There is no question the trio is that good, but how good it the national class of 2025?
There has been plenty of chatter as to the strength of the national class of 2025 in terms of the impact its elite members had on the high school game the past three season and their future impact on the sport.
There is no doubt 2025 is a fine class, but is it the best in a generation? The best since the turn of the century? The quick answer is simply “no”.
Now, when one talks about the top talents in this class, it’s not easy to find a better trio from yesteryear than BYU-bound A.J. Dybansta, Duke-bound Cam Boozer and Kanas-bound Darryn Peterson. They are elite talents who have a chance to be among the best players in college basketball next season. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if one of them emerges as NCAA Player of the Year. The trio of Dybansta, Boozer and Peterson is that productive and has a chance to be that good.
In recent conversations at grassroots events discussing some of the best high school players of all-time, John Stovall of Nike Basketball stated, “those three when we talk about some of the best players, they will definitely be in that discussion and definitely belong in that group of players.”
Between Dybanta, who averaged 28.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 3.6 apg for a 22-12 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) team, Boozer, who led Miami (Columbus, Fla.) to the FAB 50 National Title by averaging 22.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg, and 3.2 apg and Peterson, who led Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) to a No. 3 FAB 50 ranking by averaging 30.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 7.0 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.5 bpg while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line, one of them will be named Mr. Basketball USA in the next few days. Dybansta has been considered the No. 1 prospect in the class since Duke’s Cooper Flagg re-classed up to 2024 and Boozer is one of the most decorated high school players of all-time in terms of production and accolades. Peterson, however, pushed the envelope and clearly put himself in the discussion to earn Mr. Basketball USA honors and/or finish as the No. 1 ranked prospect in the class. That what happens when you go for 33 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a 66-54 win over No. 1 Columbus or score 61 points in a game vs. Dybansta.
Keep in mind, Flagg was once part of this class and if he was still part of it the conversation might be different. Perhaps 2025 would be the best class in a generation. Boozer was the 2023 Mr. Basketball USA as a sophomore and it took the talents of Flagg, who was the 2024-25 NCAA Player of the Year as a freshman, to keep him from repeating in 2024. That’s pretty impressive.
But here’s a few reasons why the 2025 class comes up a bit short.
It lacks a generational point guard talent. Looking back at the 2020 class, 6-foot-7 Cade Cunningham of FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Fla.) was that player. If you talk about a trio, Cunningham, shooting guard Jalen Green of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and center Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) is comparable to this 2025 group. That 2020 trio may fall a bit short in terms of high school accolades, but as prospects were every bit as good. Cunningham and Mobley have developed into NBA all-stars and Green is trying to play at a level consistent enough to one day join them. We’re not sure there is a point guard in this current class even to the level of Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis), much less Cunningham.
Secondly, all great classes have terrific size and some depth, Obviously Mobley was a terrific interior prospect, and the definition of a big man is evolving. Even Boozer’s high school coach, Andrew Moran, mentioned to us in the preseason his star player was going to expand his offensive game further from the basket and he did it to a high level this season. Keep in mind, Boozer is the best rebounder in high school basketball but outside of Chris Cenac Jr. of Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) there is nobody 6-foot-10 or bigger in the Top 15 in this class.
Now, there have been some players in this class who have turned heads and helped its depth with their play as seniors and on the all-star circuit such as Baylor-bound Tounde Yessoufou of St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.). California’s all-time leading scorer was terrific at the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic, but there is no evidence this class has anywhere near the depth of the 2007 class.
That class not only had a great point guard (Derrick Rose), size and a great trio, but great depth that you could see in real time. With the class of 2007, we already knew at the time some of the second-tier prospects would be impactful as collegians and beyond. Names such as Blake Griffin, James Harden, DeAndre Jordan, Pat Patterson, DeJuan Blair, and Jerryd Bayless, among others, were not the stars of the class but it was evident by the all-star game circuit the 2007 group would have a plethora of its Top 50 making an impact in college and beyond. Are we as confident in saying that about the 2025 class in real time? No.
When it comes to impact, it won’t be easy for the 2025 class to surpass what the 2007 class did at the top. The NCAA freshman seasons of Michael Beasley of Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.), Kevin Love of Lake Oswego (Ore.) and Rose of Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) won’t be easy for Boozer, Dybansta and Peterson to top. Those three freshmen seasons in 2007-08 are considered three of the best dozen or so in NCAA history and O.J. Mayo of Huntington (W. Va.) and Eric Gordon of North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) are not that far behind, either.
Perhaps the trip at the top of the 2025 class will be that good in 2025-26 and others in the class will step up.
Time will tell.
As far as the great classes prior to 2000, the 1995 class (Stephon Marbury, Ron Mercer, Paul Pierce, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups), the 1988 class (Chris Jackson, Chris Mills, Billy Owens, Shawn Kemp, Alonzo Mourning, Malik Sealy, Stanley Roberts, LaPhonso Ellis) and the legendary 1979 class (Isaiah Thomas, James Worthy, Clark Kelllogg, Sam Bowie, Ralph Sampson, Steve Stipanovich, Antoine Carr, Dominique Wilkins, Leon Wood, Quinten Dailey, Sidney Green, Terry Cummings) meet all the criteria that would give it the nod over the 2025 class. Pick the top trio from any of those three classes and it is comparable to 2025’s big three. The 1995 class perhaps lack some depth, the 1988 class didn’t produce a plethora of NBA All-Stars or Hall of Famers and the 1979 class really doesn’t lack in any category (elite trio, starting five, elite point guard, size, depth, future NBA All-Stars, etc.).
Keep in mind when discussing a topic such as comparing elite players as an individual, trio or starting five, or as a class to those of yesteryear, we’re are today armed with the knowledge of how the players in those old classes panned out. That’s the danger when doing exercises such as this one or comparing all-time players and classes. You have to attempt to put yourself in a time capsule and recall or gather information on how good those players were back then or what type of prospects they were considered.
Sometimes, removing what you already know and recalling what transpired in real time is not easy to do.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
