Sophomores Chaney and Watson ranked among state’s best
Sophomores Reggie Chaney (L) and Zac Watson (R) are ranked as two of the top 55 recruits in Texas for the class of 2018.
Yahoo Sport’s Rivals.com has ranked sophomore Reggie Chaney as its number one overall prospect and fellow sophomore Zac Watson as the 51st best prospect in Texas in their 2018 Texas Prospect Rankings. Previous players ranked number one by Rivals include NBA players Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, and Lamarcus Aldridge.
“It doesn’t really mean much,” Chaney said. “I still have to work, stay in the gym to get better. I have to work hard to stay up there and become better, it just means I’m better than other guys at the moment.”
Throwing down a dunk against Centennial, sophomore Reggie Chaney is ranked number one by 2018 Texas Prospect Rankings.
Boys’ basketball head coach Marcus Eckert attributes their high rankings to their superb work ethic.
“I think the number one reason they are so successful is number one they work hard,” Eckert said. “They are extremely coachable.”
Eckert stresses that even with the high ranking, the players must not become complacent, and should continue to work at their craft.
“If you want to be the best, you have to practice like the best,” Eckert said. “That means you have to spend a lot of time in the gym and make sacrifices that other kids aren’t making.”
Although very preliminary, the rankings are updated throughout the year, and will go a long way in determining which colleges offer players and the amount of attention players will receive from recruiters from colleges.
“Getting ranked really helps you get noticed and it puts your name out there,” Watson said. “But it can be good or bad because you get more attention and more people may see you when you perform poorly.”
Driving to the basket against Frisco, 6’7″ sophomore Zac Watson is ranked 51st in the 2018 Texas Prospect Rankings.
With the AAU season around the corner, these players have a great opportunity to make an impression for the coming year even in the off-season of high school basketball. With many college scouts going to tournaments across the nation, AAU is a very valuable opportunity for players to show their best abilities.
“AAU helps get more exposure because tournaments gather all together,” Watson said “We all get together in one or two gyms whereas in high school, coaches have to go to individual schools. Any exposure is mostly good and will help me get recruited and eventually play in college.”
Eckert says the two players have been great to work with, but that even with the prestigious ranking, the team still comes first.
“We are honored to have them in our program and to be able to coach them,” Eckert said. “But I think that they would both agree that it’s not about them it is about the team.
Sarah Philips is a senior and highly involved in the school. She has competed in UIL Journalism all four years of high school, and placed fifth in News...
