Dereck Lively Holds Top Spot, Nick Smith Moves Up in Final SI99 Basketball Rankings

Players were ranked based on production against elite competition, future projection, intangibles and more.

Roughly five months after the initial unveiling of the SI99 basketball rankings for 2022, the very top has remained intact.

Westtown School (West Chester, Penn.) center Dereck Lively turned in a dominant high school finale of a season, averaging 14 points, 14 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game and claimed a state title in the process.

His senior year dominance was a carryover from a summer where he led Team Final (Penn.) to the prestigious Nike Peach Jam title.

Lively’s ability to not only live up to the hype, but to also surpass it in a season where he wore the ultimate bull’s-eye kept his grip on the No. 1 spot.

Still, the 7’1” Duke signee had a handful of stars pushing him all season.

North Little Rock (Ark.) shooting guard Nick Smith Jr., an Arkansas signee, dominated all comers over the last year, as did Montverde (Fla.) Academy shooting guard Dariq Whitehead, a Duke signee.

RELATED: First Team | Second Team | Third Team

Whitehead was named SI All-American Player of the Year after leading the Eagles to the GEICO Nationals title and the top spot in the SB Live/Sports Illustrated Power 25.

Lively and Smith were named to the SI All-American First Team.

Here’s the full list for the final SI99 for 2022.

1. C Dereck Lively / West Chester, Penn. (Westtown School) – Duke

2. SG Nick Smith Jr. / Little Rock, Ark. (North Little Rock) – Arkansas

3. SG Dariq Whitehead / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Duke

4. C Kyle Filipowski / Wilbraham, Mass. (Wilbraham and Monson Academy) – Duke

5. PG Keyonte George / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Baylor

6. PG Cason Wallace / Richardson, Texas (Richardson) – Kentucky

7. SF Gradey Dick / Wichita, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Kansas

8. PG Anthony Black / Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville) – Arkansas

9. SG MJ Rice / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – Kansas

10. SG Amari Bailey / Chatsworth, Calif. (Sierra Canyon) – UCLA

11. SF Dillon Mitchell / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Texas

12. C Kel’el Ware / Little Rock, Ark. (North Little Rock) – Oregon

13. SF Mark Mitchell / Wichita, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Duke

14. SF Jarace Walker / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Houston

15. F Yohan Traore / Glendale, Ariz. (Dream City Christian) – Auburn

16. SF Cam Whitmore / Severn, Md. (Archbishop Spalding) – Villanova

17. SF Chris Livingston / Mouth of Wilson, Va. (Oak Hill Academy) – Kentucky

18. SF Brandon Miller / Antioch, Tenn. (Cane Ridge) – Alabama

19. PG Arterio Morris / Dallas (Kimball) – Texas

20. SF Julian Phillips / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Undecided

21. PG Jaden Bradley / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Alabama

22. C Adem Bona / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – UCLA

23. Skyy Clark / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Illinois

24. PG JJ Starling / La Porte, Ind. (La Lumiere) – Notre Dame

25. SF Jordan Walsh / Brandon, Mo. (Link Prep) – Arkansas

26. CG Jalen Hood-Schifino / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Indiana

27. C Tarris Reed / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Michigan

28. F Malik Reneau / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – Indiana

29. C Ernest Udeh / Orlando (Dr. Phillips) – Kansas

30. PG Dior Johnson / Castaic, Calif. (Southern California Academy) – Oregon

31. PG Jayden Epps / Lincolnton, N.C. (Combine Academy) – Illinois

32. PG Seth Trimble / Menomonee Falls, Wis. (Menomonee Falls High School) – North Carolina

33. CG Judah Mintz / Mouth of Wilson, Va. (Oak Hill Academy) – Syracuse

34. C Vincent Iwuchukwu / Montverde, Fla. (Montverde Academy) – USC

35. F Jalen Washington / Gary, Ind. (West Side) – North Carolina

36. PG Chance Westry / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – Auburn

37. SG Collin Chandler / Farmington, Utah (Farmington) – BYU

38. SF Kamari Lands / Phoenix (Hillcrest Prep) – Louisville

39. SG Tre White / Napa, Calif. (Prolific Prep) – USC

40. C Kijani Wright / Chatsworth, Calif. (Sierra Canyon) – USC

41. SF Tyrell Ward / Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic) – Undecided

42. F Eric Dailey Jr. / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Undecided

43. SG Jaden Schutt / Yorkville, Ill. (Yorkville High School) – Duke

44. PG Bruce Thornton / Milton, Ga. (Milton High School) – Ohio State

45. C Jaxon Kohler / American Fork, Utah (South Cal Academy) – Michigan State

46. SF Jett Howard / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Michigan

47. PG Richard “Pop Pop” Isaacs / Las Vegas (Coronado) – Texas Tech

48. F Isaac Traudt / Grand Island, Neb. (Grand Island High School) – Virginia

49. SG Rodney Rice / Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic) – Virginia Tech

50. F Ty Rodgers / Harvey, Ill. (Thornton Township) – Illinois

51. PG Dylan Andrews / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – UCLA

52. C Donovan Clingan / Bristol, Conn. (Bristol Central) – Connecticut

53. F Brice Sensabaugh / Orlando (Lake Highland Prep) – Ohio State

54. PG Milos Uzan / Glendale, Ariz. (Dream City Christian) – Oklahoma

55. SG Rylan Griffen / Richardson, Texas (Richardson High School) – Alabama

56. PG Dillon Hunter / Bel Aire, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Clemson

57. F Felix Okpara / Branson, Mo. (Link Prep) – Ohio State

58. PG Dug McDaniel / Fairfax, Va. (Paul VI) – Michigan

59. SG Zion Cruz / Simi Valley, Calif. (Donda Academy) – DePaul

60. F Noah Clowney / Roebuck, S.C. (Dorman) – Alabama

61. SG Roddy Gayle / Mount Pleasant, Utah (Wasatch Academy) – Ohio State

62. C Taylor Hendricks / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Calvary Christian) – Central Florida

63. F Darrion Williams / Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman High School) – Nevada

64. F A.J. Casey / Chicago (Whitney Young) – Miami

65. F Aidan Shaw / Stillwell, Kan. (Blue Valley) – Missouri

66. SG Derrian Ford / Magnolia, Ark. (Magnolia High School) – Arkansas

67. SG Kam Craft / Cherokee County, Ga. (The Skill Factory Prep) – Xavier

68. SG Isaac McNeely / Poca, W.Va. (Poca High School) – Virginia

69. SF Terrance Arceneaux / Beaumont, Texas (Beaumont United) – Houston

70. SF Leon Bond / Wauwatosa, Wis. (Wauwatosa East) – Virginia

71. SF Justyn Fernandez / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – George Mason

72. F Ven-Alleb Lubin / Orlando (Orlando Christian Prep) – Notre Dame

73. SF Barry Dunning / Mobile, Ala. (McGill-Toolen Catholic) – Arkansas

74. F Zuby Ejiofor / Garland, Texas (Garland) – Kansas

75. F KyeRon Lindsay / Denton, Texas (Guyer) – UNLV

76. SF Alphonzo Billups / Richmond, Va. (Varina) – VCU

77. F Sadraque Nganga / Chandler, Ariz. (AZ Compass Prep) – Boise State

78. SF Devin Ree / Terry, Miss. (Terry High School) – Undecided

79. SG Emmanuel Sharp / Spring Hill, Fla. (Bishop McLaughlin) – Houston

80. F De’Ante Green / Asheville, N.C. (Christ School) – Florida State

81. SG Justin Taylor / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – Syracuse

82. PG Mark Armstrong / Jersey City, N.J. (Saint Peter’s Prep) – Villanova

83. C Kebba Njie / La Porte, Ind. (La Lumiere) – Penn State

84. Cameron Corhen / Bel Aire, Kan. (Sunrise Christian) – Florida State

85. F Kaleb Banks / Fayetteville, Ga. (Fayetteville County – Indiana

86. PG Tre Holloman / South Saint Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham) – Michigan State

87. C Jalen Reed / Los Angeles (Southern Cal Academy) – Florida

88. C Dylan Anderson / Gilbert, Ariz. (Perry) – Arizona

89. SG Denver Anglin / Gladstone, N.J. (Gill St. Bernard’s) – Georgetown

90. F Tyler Nickel / Elkton, Va. (East Rockingham) – North Carolina

91. SF Christian Watson / Washington, D.C. (St. John’s College) – Miami

92. SF Otega Oweh / Blairstown, N.J. (Blair Academy) – Oklahoma

93. SG Brendan Hausen / Amarillo, Texas (Amarillo) – Villanova

94. SF Quion Williams / Jonesboro, Ark. (Jonesboro High School) – Oklahoma State

95. SG Joseph Pinion / Morrilton, Ark. (Morrilton High School) – Arkansas

96. SG A.J. Storr / Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) – St. John’s

97. SF Chris Bunch / Mount Pleasant, Utah (Wasatch Academy) – Syracuse

98. PG Sean Jones / Gahanna, Ohio (Lincoln) – Marquette

99. PG Amarr Knox / Memphis, Tenn. (Bartlett) – Undecided