I have said in other posts that the last few years in Illinois, there have been many good players, but only 3 that I have watched who differentiated themselves early in their career (way before senior year) as potential difference makers in college: Brunson, Liddell, and Adam Miller.
I'd go along with that. Ayo was very good as a Junior once Charlie Moore left, but in terms of evaluating them as college prospects, the three you list are probably a step ahead as Soph/Juniors. Whitney was turning plenty of heads at Solorio as a Freshman, but he was on a crumby team and obviously left the state after that season. Had he stayed, he'd be at the top of that list.
Liddell is intriguing because he doesn't fit the mold that Duke or other blue bloods typically look for in a 4. He's undersized at 6'6" and doesn't have a consistent, knock-down, shot. That being said, his rim-protection for someone that size is unreal, he cleans the glass (on both ends), and attacks the rim viciously. Really the only knock on him as a college 4 is his size, but if you watch him play to realize he easily makes up for it by getting off the floor so quick. He's by far the best 6'6" shot-blocker as a HS player that I've ever seen.
It's going to be interesting to see if the blue bloods get over their preconceived notions of what an elite 4 should look like and recognize how good he is. For our sake, I hope they don't.
