New ESPN rankings for 2017 and '18

ESPN unveiled a new batch of basketball prospect rankings for the 2017 and 2018 classes this week and there are several names of local note.

In the 2017 class, North Central’s Kris Wilkes landed at the No. 11 spot. The 6-7 Wilkes was offered by Ohio State on Wednesday while taking an unofficial visit. He has a number of offers, including Butler, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue, Maryland, UCLA and others.

Park Tudor’s 6-9 Jaren Jackson Jr. rose to No. 25 in the ESPN rankings for 2017. Jackson Jr., has offers from Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue, Alabama, Georgetown, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Xavier.

Southport’s Paul Scruggs, a 6-3 guard, is ranked No. 33 by ESPN. Scruggs is considering Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Ohio State and Xavier.

Malik Williams, a 6-11 forward from Fort Wayne Snider, is No. 42 in 2017. Williams has an impressive offer list, including Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, UCLA, Xavier and others.

There are 19 committed recruits in the ESPN Top 100 for 2017. Florida (three), Auburn (two), Creighton (two) and UCLA (two) all have multiple commits.

In the 2018 class, Romeo Langford of New Albany rose to No. 2 in the ESPN rankings. The highly-regarded 6-4 Langford has offers from Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue, UCLA and Vanderbilt.

Langford is the only ranked player in 2018 by ESPN.