Five-star big man Darius Wabbington evaluates summer, breaks down top six

For class of 2027 five-star prospect Darius Wabbington, it’s been a summer of evolution.

Wabbington, the 6-11 big man out of Sunnyslope (AZ), has always been known as an elite rebounder and finisher in the post. But he’s taken an extra step this summer as a playmaker and has really expanded his perimeter game with the Compton Magic Adidas 3SSB program.

“If you realize, we're using him as a point forward, handling the ball and passing the ball,” Compton Magic’s program director Etop Udo-Ema said. “We're trying to open up his game and I think that's the reason he's rose in the rankings. It's because he's changed his game man, because he's changed his body a little bit.

“I call him the ‘Cactus Joker,’ even though I think he's a little more mobile than Nikola [Jokic]. So we run him at the point a lot. He can really pass, shoot it, has a plethora of skillset moves. I think he's the best big in the country."

Wabbington has always had guard skills, as he’s been training with former NBA player Isaiah Rider since he was very young. But he’s really put it into practice with Compton, averaging 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

“[Isaiah and I] always just worked on guard skills and it kind of just stuck,” Wabbington said. “So now, I got to come over to Compton Magic where they put that trust in me and put the ball in my hands, and that's what they said they were going to do and they did it. I'm just super blessed to be able to showcase that.

“Like I said, I [play point forward] in training. I do it in open gyms, open runs. So when I come out to the game it feels like second nature. So it's just constantly working and like I said earlier, I’m just a matchup nightmare. You’re going to put someone on me, you have a 6-11, 7-foot point guard, and if you switch it, we're going to bury you inside. So it's just creating matchups and creating mismatches to where I can attack and abuse them." 

As for his recruitment, Wabbington is down to a final six of Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina and Texas.

“All of the schools in my top six have just come down to relationships,” the big man said. “Just them having a good relationship, feeling comfortable around the coaches and stuff like that."

Wabbington broke down what stands out about each of his final six options:

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.