A dandy decade: Ranking the best classes of St. Louis-area hoopsters

The 2019 basketball recruiting class is considered a monumental one for Cuonzo Martin and Missouri, in large part because of the talent within a few hundred miles of Columbia. Three of those players — EJ Liddell, Terrence Hargrove Jr. and Mario McKinney — all hail from the St. Louis area, a spot that has been ripe for talented prep hoopsters recently. See: Jayson Tatum. But the 2019 class has plenty of competition for what stands as the best class of prep players in the last decade. PowerMizzou dug through the records — OK, not really — to come up with the definitive list of ballyhooed ballers.

1. 2016

Jayson Tatum, Tyler Cook, Xavier Sneed, Jordan Barnes

There have been some talented classes over the last 10 years in St. Louis, but with Tatum and Cook leading the way, 2016 takes the top spot. After a solid rookie season with the Celtics, Tatum has shown himself to be one of the best young players in the league at 19 years old. After two solid years at Iowa, Tyler Cook declared for the NBA Draft without an agent, but he wasn’t one of the players invited to the Draft Combine. Even so, Cook is likely headed toward a nice paycheck overseas if he opts to go that route. Xavier Sneed (Kansas State) was one of the more improved players in the Big 12 this year and started every game for a Wildcats team that made a surprise run to the Elite Eight. And after averaging just 6.5 points per game as a freshman, Jordan Barnes (Indiana State) developed into one of the better scorers in the league this year, averaging 17.4 points per game and shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.

2. 2017

Jeremiah Tilmon, Jordan Goodwin, Mark Smith, Javon Pickett, Levi Stockard, Ryan Stipanovich, Caleb Bennett

It remains to be seen how good this class can be — they all just completed their freshman or post-grad seasons — but of the last 10 years, this group is by far the deepest, boasting eight Division I scholarship players. Three of them (Jeremiah Tilmon, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Smith) were ranked in the top-80 in the 2017 Rivals150. Smith started early on for Illinois before opting to transfer to Mizzou after the season; Goodwin was far and away SLU’s best player, and Tilmon showed at times that he could be the pre-eminent big man in the SEC. After getting a late release from NLI, Pickett took a post-grad season and signed with Mizzou. Bennett was one of Lehigh’s better players, off the bench while Stockard and Stipanovich player sparingly at Kansas State and Bradley, respectively.

3. 2011

Bradley Beal, Javier Duren, Corey Jones Jr., B.J Young

Had Ben McLemore's high school not closed down (meaning he wasn’t in our database as a St. Louis product) this group likely would've been No. 1. The group isn’t particularly deep, with Corey Jones Jr. (South Florida) and Javier Duren (Yale) occupying two of the four spots, but Beal (Florida/Washington Wizards) makes up for it, going on to become one of the best shooting guards in the NBA and Young had a strong college career at Arkansas under Mike Anderson.

4. 2018

Courtney Ramey, CarteAre Gordon, Jericole Hellems, Torrence Watson

Another group that is yet to be determined because they haven’t stepped foot on college campuses yet, but this is a group that already has a handful of ready-made impact players. Ramey, who spurned Mizzou for Texas recently, headlines the group and could play significant minutes in a guard-heavy system for Shaka Smart. Gordon signed with SLU earlier this year, but then tweeted a very cryptic message in recent weeks about looking for something new. Regardless, he’s a blue-chip talent when he’s on the court and will make whatever team he ends up with very happy. Hellems is another player who spurned Mizzou for an out-of-state program, but the Tigers will be just fine with Watson entering the fold at the wing. While none are surefire NBA Draft picks, each has the ability to be an all-conference player at the next level.

5. 2019

EJ Liddell, Mario McKinney, Terrence Hargrove Jr., Yuri Collins

The 2019 class gets the nod here based on projection alone, and the fact that none of the other classes behind them were particularly impressive. Liddell might be the most physically gifted player from the St. Louis area since Tatum and will likely see his recruitment skyrocket after this summer. McKinney and Hargrove are both solid players, who should start early on at the next level. Yuri Collins is another surefire Division I prospect despite his small stature.

6. 2013

Kendall Stephens, Nolan Berry, Jordan Martin

Stephens has been the most successful of the group, playing significant minutes for three years at Purdue before transferring to Nevada, where he averaged just over 13 points per game last season. Although he was highly touted coming out of high school, Berry flamed out quickly at Butler before transferring to UC-Davis and then transferring home to Maryville. Martin spent two years in junior college before ending up at Missouri State, where he played sparingly over his final two seasons.

7. 2012

Cameron Biedscheid, Ryan Rosburg, Jordon Granger, D.J. Johnson

Biedscheid was one of the highest-rated prospects to come out of Missouri, ranking No. 28 overall in the 2012 Rivals150. After a promising freshman season at Notre Dame, though, he transferred to Mizzou, where he left before ever playing a minute. He then bounced around between schools, including Iona, LSU-Shreveport, Jacksonville State and eventually, Harris-Stowe College in St. Louis. Rosburg, meanwhile, spent four solid but unspectacular seasons at Mizzou, averaging just over four points per game, while Granger played in 109 games at Auburn, starting 50 of them and averaging just under five points per game. Of the group, Johnson was the most successful, averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest as a senior at Kansas State.

8. 2014

Jordan Barnett

Only two players from the 2014 class, Jordan Barnett, made much of an impact at all on the college level. Barnett initially opted to go to Texas, but transferred to Missouri, where he averaged 13.1 points and 5.8 rebounds over his final season and a half with the Tigers.

T-9. 2010 and 2015

Neither the 2010 nor the 2015 class produced notable Division I players in the St. Louis area, so why waste time ranking them?