High school: Don Bosco Prep

College commitment: Rutgers

Size: 6-foot-5

Position: PG/SG

Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft

Fresh off a commitment to Rutgers, Dylan Harper just erupted at the City of Palms Classic to average 30.8 points in four games over five days. He delivered some encouraging flashes of pull-up 3s and more of his signature knack for slicing through gaps, slipping off defenders and finishing below the rim.

Advantageous athletic traits aren’t needed for him to create and score, just as they aren’t for some of today’s best NBA guards such as Jalen Brunson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton. Harper’s jumper will need to keep improving to hit those players’ trajectories. But at 17 years old, it’s worth betting on the shotmaking stretches over the inconsistency and buying his signature ability to control a game and get to his spots as an initiator.

While it’s worth discussing whether his style and limitations point to a lead guard or 2/combo, Harper has the type of skill set and mentality that suggest college and pro offenses can run through him.

Despite his lack of burst, defenders have trouble containing his herky-jerky movement. There is a lot of stopping and starting and changing speeds and directions. His off-the-dribble footwork is advanced. He uses body control, contact to bounce off and touch to compensate for limited explosiveness in the lane.

And he can operate as a facilitator with vision, poise under pressure and the IQ to manipulate defenses.

NBA teams with established point guards won’t end up hesitating on Harper due to a log jam. At 6-foot-5, he’s looked comfortable off the ball, particularly moving without it to cut for easy buckets.

Over the next 18 months, the scouting microscope will be on his shooting development and how effective he looks while separating against tougher college defenders before the 2025 Draft.

High school: Link Academy

College commitment: Texas

Size: 6-foot-6

Position: SG

Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft

Tre Johnson figures to be the most advanced perimeter scorer in the 2025 Draft.

That title and style come with caution, given the ratio of jump shots to rim attempts it can mean. But he’s sharp enough with the positional size to execute that shot selection. He frequently reminds onlookers that good offense beats good defense with a translatable package of self-creation, shot-making, range and confidence.

As dangerous as his jumper is, the ability to get into it with pull-ups, step-backs and side-steps has helped turn Johnson into a 92nd percentile isolation player, per Synergy Sports.

Shooting 46.7% on dribble jumpers this season, he demonstrates outstanding footwork for separating or generating rhythm into his shot.

His footwork also shows up off the ball when he’s catching and squaring up.

Even if there isn’t a lot of space between his release point and the defender’s contest, Johnson can still lock in with the target.

He’ll make defenders pay for hard closeouts by taking a few dribbles into mid-range pull-ups (52.5%).

The fear with Johnson concerns the difficulty level of his shots mixed with a lack of playmaking. He doesn’t get himself the easiest looks, and there won’t be any mistaking him for a point guard or even a combo. Even a good chunk of his drives result in high-arching loft shots, as opposed to easy layups or trips to the free-throw line.

High school: McEachern

College commitment: Rutgers

Size: 6-foot-9

Position: SG/SF

Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft

We saw the best of Airious “Ace” Bailey last week at the City of Palms. The 6-foot-9 guard/wing went into microwave mode for full games and stretches of others to average 31.3 points on 12-of-27 shooting from deep.

Physically, Bailey looks to have ideal measurements for a wing that should be interchangeable between the 2 and 3.

Shotmaking at 6-foot-9 ultimately fuels his takeover scoring. While he shows no hesitation in catch-and-shooting from NBA range, his upside pops most in on-ball situations, where he can separate easily into a wide-ranging selection of pull-ups, runners, fallaways or step-backs that are all in his wheelhouse.

For a wing, he’s dangerous in the post, fading back into jumpers, stepping through the lane into one-handers or spinning off his man. He has a functional handle to create going north-to-south or east-west out of isolation.

The ability to hit high-difficulty shots also leads to some questionable shot selection, which a green light to fire at will also magnifies. He’s prone to settling. There may be possessions during a game when you think that there’s no way he’s going to attempt something — seconds before he does.

Bailey’s frame is also noticeably thin, so it will be worth watching how effectively he finishes in traffic or defends forwards when he jumps to the college and pro levels.

High school: Prolific Prep

College commitment: Uncommitted

Size: 6-foot-8

Position: SF

Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2026 Draft

AJ Dybantsa’s 6-foot-8 size, athleticism and shot-making scream pro during each viewing in every setting.

Peach Jam’s leading scorer unloads on defenses with transition finishes, shooting versatility and physical, long strides on drives. Natural talent consistently creates easy dunk opportunities, while the ability to drill mid-range pull-ups and fallaways separates him from other high school wing prospects with similar and rare positional tools.

Dybantsa is a threat from every spot on the floor, simply by elevating over defenders’ contests into makeable shots, easy or difficult.

The comfort level to shoot off the catch and movement adds another way for Dybantsa to score in non-isolation or ball-screen situations.

Defensively, he possesses exciting potential with his length and signs of strong fundamentals and level of engagement. He’s shown admirable interest in guarding on and off the ball.

His handle must improve for him to create more nuance at the next levels. He dribbles high, doesn’t get low on attempted blow-bys and allows defenders to get hands on the ball. His vision and decision-making will need to catch up. He’s prone to passing on good looks, holding it and forcing up a tougher shot.

But at 16 years old, it’s difficult to imagine a more promising baseline foundation of measurements, movement, leaping and a built-in jumper.

High school: Columbus

College commitment: Uncommitted

Size: 6-foot-9

Position: PF

Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2026 Draft

Cameron Boozer immediately stood out as a freshman with his advanced frame, polished offense and professional approach. Now a sophomore, his bio also pops every time too, as it’s still difficult to comprehend the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward doesn’t turn 17 until after the 2024 Draft.

He just opened the Les Schwab Championship last week with a 37-point effort on 15-of-18 shooting.

Boozer possesses a body and skill set that create a coveted, persuasive archetype in the mold of 2022 top pick Paolo Banchero. He operates as a featured post option, initiator in transition, top-of-the-arc facilitator and spot-up shooter. He has power and footwork to use around the basket, touch for scoring away from it and IQ for counters and passing.

Though he struggled from behind the arc this summer at the U16 World Championships — where he averaged a laughable 16.8 points in just 21.1 minutes — it still feels like Boozer’s jump shot is ahead of schedule when considering his projected position and age.

A lack of quickness off the bounce or vertical explosion remain questions when projecting Boozer’s upside. He can still improve his ability to create and handle in tight half-court windows. It’s also reasonable to wonder about his lateral mobility for perimeter defense and whether he has any upside at all in rim protection.

High school: Montverde Academy

College commitment: Duke

Size: 6-foot-9

Position: PF

Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft

Over the past several months, Cooper Flagg has become the easy-answer No. 1 high school prospect. At this stage, the only debate is over how he stacks up against the 17-year-old versions of previous top picks like Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama.

Versatility is Flagg’s superpower. No player in high school — and potentially down the road in the NBA — can impact a game in more ways using athleticism and motor, ballhandling and passing, different types of shotmaking and defensive movement.

He’s as interchangeable as a player can seemingly be. He attacks and facilitates in ball-screen situations at 6-foot-9, and he’s constantly showing improvement with self-creation separating into drives and jumpers. Off the ball, he’s a huge cutting weapon who started the season shooting 45.8% on catch-and-shoot chances, even showing signs of being able to make mid-range jumpers curling around screens.

Flagg is also a constant on the offensive glass with his strength, leaping and aggression. There isn’t a situation where he isn’t a threat to make or finish a play.

And his defensive impact still feels bigger than his offense’s. He anticipates so well that he’s able to block shots with his palms and wrists. Saying a player can guard five positions is generally thrown out too loosely, but Flagg will force turnovers in the backcourt, pressure the point of attack and protect the rim while roaming from the arc to the baseline. His switchability potential and court coverage are as good it gets.

The only worthwhile questions about Flagg ask whether he projects as a No. 1 option or a high-level shooter. The majority of his scoring right now is fueled by physical gifts, either in transition or off the ball.

But at 17 years old, his creation just keeps expanding, and he’s now making 41.8% of his total jumpers at Montverde.

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Jonathan Wasserman is the lead scout and NBA Draft analyst for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on  X, formerly known as Twitter.The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Brothers Discovery.

Stats courtesy of Synergy Sports and Sports Reference.