New York’s Prince Soon To Be The King

Magic Mel has been one of the hottest names in grassroots sports over the last 5 years. He's built a cult like following with his peers and the kids younger than him.  From the 9th grade down, kids from all over the country think of Jermel "Magic Mel" Thomas when you think of New York basketball. He's been all over the country, putting on show after show and doing with the legendary New York flare like the ones before him. Sebastian Telfair is the one that comes to mind when I reflect on my years of following Mel. It's the passing, the confidence, the personality and the smile. Mel had a big summer with his New Heights Lightning squad in the Nike EYBL league.  He helped lead his team to the Peach Jam tourney, the biggest live period event of the summer held only for the teams that qualify. He averaged 9pts and 5 asst all while shooting 47% from two point field goal and 51% from three. From a point guard standpoint he's the best passer in the country regardless of class, all while being one of the most vocal as well knowledgeable point guards regardless of class.  Add on that he's one of the best on ball defenders in his class and you have a problem. So why isn't he ranked on any of the most publicized websites in the country? ESPN, Rivals and 247 sports have all dropped there 2026 player rankings and none of them have the "Magic Man". This isn't as much about Mel as it is about what it take to catch the eye of those recruiting websites.

Mel holds offers from some offers already Fordam, Manhattan, Hofstra, Bryant, and St. John's, with schools like Kentucky, North Carolina, Houston and Seton Hall all tuning in to make sure they get a glimpse of the Magic show and don't miss out. He also has a personal relationship with Kyrie Irving, that grew organically from Kyrie watching Mel do his thing on Instagram. Now they have been locked in for years. He's also amassed his own following of over 70,000 followers on Instagram.  His pops Scooter has 50,000 plus followers on Instagram through the relationship built through Mel's nationwide tours over the years. He's fresh off of a top 20 performance at CP3 Camp and Hoop Group Camp, that was loaded with some of the top players in the country. I spoke to Scooter, Mel's father and he actually like all the list, he has no problem with Mel not being on them, "I've known most of those kids since 3rd grade, they all deserve to be on there and they will continue to get my support". In his defense, he's always been a advocate for the kids that most people didn't know, he put me onto a lot of kids that I wouldn’t have known without him early on.  But for me, I said all of that to say, I know they see him, but what aren't they seeing to believe he's not a top ranked PG in the country? Do I think he will get on the list this upcoming year, no doubt. He's grown 5 inches over the last year and a half to 6'1.  I thought he was one of the best at 5'8. Some things just don't take long to see, and Mel is one of those things.  In this case we are highlighting Mel because he’s actually of the most notable kids in the country and he’s not on any of the first list that dropped for top players in the country.  The question is more about what do the sites look for and at when they are creating these rankings list. We will go deeper in depth with questions and stats soon that could give a idea. 

For the record, I know most of the kids on all the list, and they are more deserving to be on theses top ranked player lists.  The spots are usually debatable, but those kids work hard and have bright futures, just like many others across the country.  This is just a question that is asked a lot amongst people on social media anytime a list or a ranking drop. What’s the criteria? Or is there any method to ranking players? Back to Mel, he’s entering his sophomore season at Cardinal Hayes High School for boys in the Bronx, NY where he will look to play a bigger role because of his maturity, talent and the departure of some of the players from last year.  One being arguably the best player in the country, Ian Jackson.  Even with all of that being said, the Magic Man will be fine.  Mel learned a lot from his coaches over the summer with New York Lightning EYBL team. One being pro scout Khalid Greene and another being New York point guard legend Gary Ervin.  Especially on how to maneuver through this ever changing basketball seen and how to handle getting to the top and staying there through the perspective of a high level point guard.  With summer ball ending not too long ago, it’s almost time for the Magic Man to fill New York Gymnasiums in anticipation of what pass, crossover or magic he will do next. And I can’t wait.