Dereck Lively Holds Top Spot, Nick Smith Moves Up in Final SI99 Basketball Rankings
Roughly five months after the initial unveiling of the SI99 basketball rankings for 2022, the very top has remained intact.
Westtown School (West Chester, Penn.) center Dereck Lively turned in a dominant high school finale of a season, averaging 14 points, 14 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game and claimed a state title in the process.
His senior year dominance was a carryover from a summer where he led Team Final (Penn.) to the prestigious Nike Peach Jam title.
Lively’s ability to not only live up to the hype, but to also surpass it in a season where he wore the ultimate bull’s-eye kept his grip on the No. 1 spot.
Still, the 7’1” Duke signee had a handful of stars pushing him all season.
North Little Rock (Ark.) shooting guard Nick Smith Jr., an Arkansas signee, dominated all comers over the last year, as did Montverde (Fla.) Academy shooting guard Dariq Whitehead, a Duke signee.
RELATED: First Team | Second Team | Third Team
Whitehead was named SI All-American Player of the Year after leading the Eagles to the GEICO Nationals title and the top spot in the SB Live/Sports Illustrated Power 25.
Lively and Smith were named to the SI All-American First Team.
Here’s the full list for the final SI99 for 2022.
1. C Dereck Lively / West Chester, Penn. (Westtown School) – Duke
2. SG Nick Smith Jr. / Little Rock, Ark. (North Little Rock) – Arkansas
3. SG Dariq Whitehead / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Duke
4. C Kyle Filipowski / Wilbraham, Mass. (Wilbraham and Monson Academy) – Duke
5. PG Keyonte George / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Baylor
6. PG Cason Wallace / Richardson, Texas (Richardson) – Kentucky
7. SF Gradey Dick / Wichita, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Kansas
8. PG Anthony Black / Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville) – Arkansas
9. SG MJ Rice / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – Kansas
10. SG Amari Bailey / Chatsworth, Calif. (Sierra Canyon) – UCLA
11. SF Dillon Mitchell / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Texas
12. C Kel’el Ware / Little Rock, Ark. (North Little Rock) – Oregon
13. SF Mark Mitchell / Wichita, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Duke
14. SF Jarace Walker / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Houston
15. F Yohan Traore / Glendale, Ariz. (Dream City Christian) – Auburn
16. SF Cam Whitmore / Severn, Md. (Archbishop Spalding) – Villanova
17. SF Chris Livingston / Mouth of Wilson, Va. (Oak Hill Academy) – Kentucky
18. SF Brandon Miller / Antioch, Tenn. (Cane Ridge) – Alabama
19. PG Arterio Morris / Dallas (Kimball) – Texas
20. SF Julian Phillips / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Undecided
21. PG Jaden Bradley / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Alabama
22. C Adem Bona / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – UCLA
23. Skyy Clark / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Illinois
24. PG JJ Starling / La Porte, Ind. (La Lumiere) – Notre Dame
25. SF Jordan Walsh / Brandon, Mo. (Link Prep) – Arkansas
26. CG Jalen Hood-Schifino / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Indiana
27. C Tarris Reed / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Michigan
28. F Malik Reneau / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Indiana
29. C Ernest Udeh / Orlando (Dr. Phillips) – Kansas
30. PG Dior Johnson / Castaic, Calif. (Southern California Academy) – Oregon
31. PG Jayden Epps / Lincolnton, N.C. (Combine Academy) – Illinois
32. PG Seth Trimble / Menomonee Falls, Wis. (Menomonee Falls High School) – North Carolina
33. CG Judah Mintz / Mouth of Wilson, Va. (Oak Hill Academy) – Syracuse
34. C Vincent Iwuchukwu / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – USC
35. F Jalen Washington / Gary, Ind. (West Side) – North Carolina
36. PG Chance Westry / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – Auburn
37. SG Collin Chandler / Farmington, Utah (Farmington) – BYU
38. SF Kamari Lands / Phoenix (Hillcrest Prep) – Louisville
39. SG Tre White / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – USC
40. C Kijani Wright / Chatsworth, Calif. (Sierra Canyon) – USC
41. SF Tyrell Ward / Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic) – Undecided
42. F Eric Dailey Jr. / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Undecided
43. SG Jaden Schutt / Yorkville, Ill. (Yorkville High School) – Duke
44. PG Bruce Thornton / Milton, Ga. (Milton High School) – Ohio State
45. C Jaxon Kohler / American Fork, Utah (South Cal Academy) – Michigan State
46. SF Jett Howard / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Michigan
47. PG Richard “Pop Pop” Isaacs / Las Vegas (Coronado) – Texas Tech
48. F Isaac Traudt / Grand Island, Neb. (Grand Island High School) – Virginia
49. SG Rodney Rice / Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic) – Virginia Tech
50. F Ty Rodgers / Harvey, Ill. (Thornton Township) – Illinois
51. PG Dylan Andrews / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – UCLA
52. C Donovan Clingan / Bristol, Conn. (Bristol Central) – Connecticut
53. F Brice Sensabaugh / Orlando (Lake Highland Prep) – Ohio State
54. PG Milos Uzan / Glendale, Ariz. (Dream City Christian) – Oklahoma
55. SG Rylan Griffen / Richardson, Texas (Richardson High School) – Alabama
56. PG Dillon Hunter / Bel Aire, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Clemson
57. F Felix Okpara / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Ohio State
58. PG Dug McDaniel / Fairfax, Va. (Paul VI) – Michigan
59. SG Zion Cruz / Simi Valley, Calif. (Donda Academy) – DePaul
60. F Noah Clowney / Roebuck, S.C. (Dorman) – Alabama
61. SG Roddy Gayle / Mount Pleasant, Utah (Wasatch Academy) – Ohio State
62. C Taylor Hendricks / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Calvary Christian) – Central Florida
63. F Darrion Williams / Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman High School) – Nevada
64. F A.J. Casey / Chicago (Whitney Young) – Miami
65. F Aidan Shaw / Stillwell, Kan. (Blue Valley) – Missouri
66. SG Derrian Ford / Magnolia, Ark. (Magnolia High School) – Arkansas
67. SG Kam Craft / Cherokee County, Ga. (The Skill Factory Prep) – Xavier
68. SG Isaac McNeely / Poca, W.Va. (Poca High School) – Virginia
69. SF Terrance Arceneaux / Beaumont, Texas (Beaumont United) – Houston
70. SF Leon Bond / Wauwatosa, Wis. (Wauwatosa East) – Virginia
71. SF Justyn Fernandez / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – George Mason
72. F Ven-Alleb Lubin / Orlando (Orlando Christian Prep) – Notre Dame
73. SF Barry Dunning / Mobile, Ala. (McGill-Toolen Catholic) – Arkansas
74. F Zuby Ejiofor / Garland, Texas (Garland) – Kansas
75. F KyeRon Lindsay / Denton, Texas (Guyer) – UNLV
76. SF Alphonzo Billups / Richmond, Va. (Varina) – VCU
77. F Sadraque Nganga / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – Boise State
78. SF Devin Ree / Terry, Miss. (Terry High School) – Undecided
79. SG Emmanuel Sharp / Spring Hill, Fla. (Bishop McLaughlin) – Houston
80. F De’Ante Green / Asheville, N.C. (Christ School) – Florida State
81. SG Justin Taylor / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Syracuse
82. PG Mark Armstrong / Jersey City, N.J. (Saint Peter’s Prep) – Villanova
83. C Kebba Njie / La Porte, Ind. (La Lumiere) – Penn State
84. Cameron Corhen / Bel Aire, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Florida State
85. F Kaleb Banks / Fayetteville, Ga. (Fayetteville County – Indiana
86. PG Tre Holloman / South Saint Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham) – Michigan State
87. C Jalen Reed / Los Angeles (Southern Cal Academy) – Florida
88. C Dylan Anderson / Gilbert, Ariz. (Perry) – Arizona
89. SG Denver Anglin / Gladstone, N.J. (Gill St. Bernard’s) – Georgetown
90. F Tyler Nickel / Elkton, Va. (East Rockingham) – North Carolina
91. SF Christian Watson / Washington, D.C. (St. John’s College) – Miami
92. SF Otega Oweh / Blairstown, N.J. (Blair Academy) – Oklahoma
93. SG Brendan Hausen / Amarillo, Texas (Amarillo) – Villanova
94. SF Quion Williams / Jonesboro, Ark. (Jonesboro High School) – Oklahoma State
95. SG Joseph Pinion / Morrilton, Ark. (Morrilton High School) – Arkansas
96. SG A.J. Storr / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – St. John’s
97. SF Chris Bunch / Mount Pleasant, Utah (Wasatch Academy) – Syracuse
98. PG Sean Jones / Gahanna, Ohio (Lincoln) – Marquette
99. PG Amarr Knox / Memphis, Tenn. (Bartlett) – Undecided
