The Sweet 16: Ranking Baltimore’s best college basketball players

16 Photos

The 2010 basketball recruiting class in Baltimore was one of the most highly touted groups in the history of this city, and for good reason. Those players are now seniors in college, and the 2013-14 edition of The Baltimore Sun’s Sweet 16 features 12 of them.

The Sweet 16, which highlights the best Division I men’s college basketball players from this area, is based on prior accomplishments and projected success for this season. Eligible athletes are returning players and transfers who can play right away.

There are 89 local players on DI rosters this season. After the jump, we’ll look a little closer at the top 16, and address some who just missed the cut.

Greg Whittington, the former Oakland Mills star, is the most notable omission this year. The Georgetown junior would have ranked high on this list, but he tore his ACL in the offseason and could miss the entire season recovering. He’ll likely be a Top 5 pick on next year’s Sweet 16.

Stanton Kidd, meanwhile, would have been an easy pick had he stayed at North Carolina Central for his senior year. But the former Edmondson star transferred to Colorado State, where he’ll sit out this season as a transfer. He’s a good bet for next year’s list as well.

Others who just missed the cut include UNC-Greensboro’s Kayel Locke (McDonogh), South Alabama’s Antoine Allen (Lake Clifton), Troy’s Antoine Myers (Forest Park), Pittsburgh’s Durand Johnson (Lake Clifton), Gardner-Webb’s Naji Hibbert (Baltimore native, DeMatha grad) and Central Connecticut State’s Malcolm McMillan (John Carroll). There will be 12 new faces on next year’s list, and the aforementioned returners – Allen, Myers and Hibbert will all graduate – all have a great shot.

Any questions about the list? Email me at mbracken@baltsun.com. Click through the gallery for a look at each player.