Top 25 college basketball recruiting classes

Star Indiana shooting guard Gary Harris jumpstarted an eventful 24 hours late Wednesday when he announced he was heading to Michigan State over Indiana, Kentucky and Purdue.

By Thursday evening, two more Top 25 prospects in the Class of 2012 had joined Harris by rendering decisions, providing the biggest storylines thus far during college basketball's early signing period.

No. 13 overall prospect Alex Poythress, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward, made Kentucky fans happy with a pledge to the Wildcats Thursday afternoon. Not long after, 6-8, 245-pound big man Robert Carter – ranked No. 22 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100 – picked Georgia Tech.

All three boosted their future schools in our look at the nation's top recruiting classes. Kentucky moved to No. 2, while Michigan State improved to No. 8 and Georgia Tech to No. 15.

The early signing period got underway Wednesday and runs through Nov. 16. There is also a spring window from April 11 to May 16.

Top 25 College Basketball Recruiting Classes

1. Arizona
No. 6 Brandon Ashley (6-8, 225, PF)
No. 7 Kaleb Tarczewski (7-0, 235, C)
No. 23 Gabe York (6-3, 175, PG/SG)
No. 29 Grant Jerrett (6-9, 230, PF)
Quick take: Sean Miller's last two recruiting efforts have raised the bar in the Pac-12. Will be interesting to see if Ashley, Tarczewski and Jerrett are compatible on the floor together.

2. Kentucky
No. 5 Archie Goodwin (6-5, 185, SG)
No. 13 Alex Poythress (6-7, 220, PF/SF)
No. 46 Willie Cauley (6-11, 225, C)
Quick take: The Wildcats are still in the mix for several five-star prospects, including No. 1 overall Shabazz Muhammad.

3. North Carolina
No. 28 Brice Johnson (6-8, 190, PF)
No. 31 Marcus Paige (6-1, 160, PG)
No. 53 Joell James (6-10, 280, C)
No. 65 Jean-Pierre Tokoto (6-6, 190, SF)
Quick take: Roy Williams has luxury of bringing this group along slowly as the Tar Heels should still be well-stocked when they arrive on campus.

4. Indiana
No. 27 Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell (5-11, 165, PG)
No. 34 Hanner Perea (6-8, 220, PF)
No. 51 Jeremy Hollowell (6-7, 195, SF)
Peter Jurkin (7-0, 205, C)
Ron Patterson (6-3, 190, SG)
Quick take: Four of these future Hoosiers (Ferrell, Perea, Hollowell and Jurkin) all played for the Indiana Elite club team.

5. North Carolina State
No. 14 Rodney Purvis (6-3, 185, PG/SG)
No. 32 T.J. Warren (6-7, 215, PF/SF)
No. 75 Tyler Lewis (5-11, 165, PG)
Quick take: Lewis was one of five seniors at storied Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) to sign with high-major programs Wednesday.

6. Michigan
No. 2 Mitch McGary (6-10, 250, C)
No. 76 Nik Stauskas (6-6, 200, SG/SF)
No. 93 Glenn Robinson III (6-6, 190, SG/SF)
Quick take: The signing of McGary is being hailed as a program-elevating addition for the Wolverines.

7. Texas
No. 8 Cameron Ridley (6-10, 250, C)
No. 81 Prince Ibeh (6-10, 230, C)
No. 96 Javan Felix (5-11, 190, PG)
Connor Lammert (6-9, 210, PF/C)
Ioannis Papapetrou (6-7, 190, SF)
Quick take: How about the frontcourt at Fort Bend Bush (Richmond, Texas), where Ridley teams with 6-10, 270-pound Marquette signee Aaron Durley. Papapetrou played for Greece in the 2010 U16 European Championship.

8. Michigan State
No. 21 Gary Harris (6-5, 195, SG)
No. 61 Matt Costello (6-9, 225, PF)
No. 73 Kenny Kaminski (6-7, 230, PF)
Denzel Valentine (6-5, 205, SG/SF)
Quick take: Thursday's addition of Harris added a little star power to an already solid class. Kaminski will miss his senior season at Medina (Ohio) following a shoulder injury.

9. Providence
No. 10 Ricardo Ledo (6-6, 190, SG/SF)
No. 25 Kris Dunn (6-2, 170, PG)
Joshua Fortune (6-5, 180, SF)
Quick take: Friar fans were in need of something positive after going 8-28 in Big East play over the past two seasons under Keno Davis. New head coach Ed Cooley has provided that by landing two of the nation's Top 25 players.

10. Baylor
No. 4 Isaiah Austin (7-0, 210, C/PF)
No. 63 L.J. Rose (6-3, 180, PG)
Chad Rykhoek (6-10, 215, C)
Quick take: Austin continues Baylor's recent tradition of attracting tall, talented and versatile forward/center-types.

11. UCLA
No. 3 Kyle Anderson (6-7, 215, PG/SF)
No. 55 Jordan Adams (6-5, 215, SG/SF)
Quick take: Anderson is among the most unique and versatile prospects in the Class of 2012. He nearly averaged a triple-double at the highly-competitive Nike Peach Jam in July.

12. Syracuse
No. 9 DaJuan Coleman (6-8, 280, C)
No. 48 Jerami Grant (6-7, 190, SF/PF)
Quick take: Coleman has helped nearby Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, N.Y.) go 75-7 with three Class A titles since his freshman year.

13. Virginia
No. 43 Justin Anderson (6-7, 220, SF)
No. 62 Evan Nolte (6-7, 200, SF)
No. 77 Mike Tobey (6-10, 210, C/PF)
Teven Jones (6-0, 180, PG)
Quick take: Anderson helped Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) capture the National High School Invitational as a junior and will bring toughness and an ability to guard multiple positions to the Virginia roster.

14. Maryland
No. 24 Shaquille Cleare (6-9, 280, C)
No. 56 Jake Layman (6-8, 190, SF/PF)
Seth Allen (6-2, 190, SG)
Quick take: Cleare is a native of The Bahamas and will make his way to College Park via The Village School (Houston, Texas), a boarding school in the Houston area.

15. Georgia Tech
No. 22 Robert Carter (6-8, 245, PF)
No. 87 Marcus Hunt (6-6, 215, SF)
Chris Bolden (6-2, 185, SG)
Quick take: Brian Gregory's revitalization of the Georgia Tech program took a big step forward Thursday when Carter announced for the Yellow Jackets. He was pursued by the likes of Florida and Kentucky.

16. Wake Forest
No. 59 Arnaud Adala Moto (6-6, 210, SF)
No. 100 Cody Miller-McIntyre (6-2, 170, PG)
Tyler Cavanaugh (6-7, 200, SF/PF)
Aaron Rountree (6-8, 190, PF/SF)
Devin Thomas (6-8, 225, PF)
Andre Washington (6-11, 200, C)
Quick take: The Demon Deacons will be on the rise once again when this class matures along with a promising group of freshmen and sophomores already on the roster.

17. Colorado
No. 64 Xavier Johnson (6-6, 190, SF)
No. 85 Josh Scott (6-9, 215, C/PF)
Wesley Gordon (6-7, 195, PF)
Chris Jenkins (6-7, 190, SF)
Xavier Talton (6-1, 185, PG)
Quick take: Colorado's introduction to Pac-12 football has been a rough one, but the transition is looking much more positive for the basketball program, thanks in part to this recruiting class.

18. Iowa
No. 39 Adam Woodbury (7-0, 230, C)
Anthony Clemmons (6-1, 175, PG/SG)
Mike Gesell (6-1, 175, PG)
Patrick Ingram (6-3, 175, SG)
Kyle Meyer (6-9, 215, C)
Quick take: Fran McCaffery beat North Carolina for Woodbury's services. Clemmons, Gesell and Ingram will all be pivotal players for state championship hopefuls in the Midwest.

19. Memphis
No. 16 Shaq Goodwin (6-8, 240, PF)
No. 74 Damien Wilson (6-5, 190, SF)
Quick take: If 34-year-old Tiger head coach Josh Pastner proves to be as good of a coach as he is recruiter, he is in line for a long and successful career.

20. Houston
No. 36 Danuel House (6-6, 190, SF)
No. 78 Danrad Knowles (6-10, 190, PF)
Valentine Izundu (6-10, 190, C)
Quick take: The Houston area is loaded with high school basketball talent and James Dickey is taking advantage. All three signees attend school within 45 miles of the Cougar campus.

21. Oklahoma State
No. 11 Marcus Smart (6-3, 205, PG/SG)
Phil Forte (5-11, 180, PG/SG)
Kamari Murphy (6-8, 200, PF)
Quick take: Smart, who combined with Forte to lead Marcus (Flower Mound) to the Texas Class 5A state title as a junior, will make Oklahoma State better the day he arrives in Stillwater. He is a tough, fiercely-competitive combo guard with a linebacker build.

22. Mississippi State
No. 72 Gavin Ware (6-8, 245, C)
No. 99 Fred Thomas (6-5, 180, SG)
Josh Gray (6-1, 175, PG)
Craig Sword (6-2, 175, PG)
Quick take: For all the grief Rick Stansbury has received over the past couple of years, he's recruited incredibly well to Starkville and won the SEC West five of the past nine seasons.

23. Florida
No. 41 Braxton Ogbueze (6-1, 185, PG)
No. 84 Michael Frazier (6-4, 185, SG)
Dillon Graham (6-3, 175, SG)
Quick take: The Gators are looking for a big man to compliment this guard-heavy group, but struck out on Carter, Poythress and Shaq Goodwin in the last week. Five-star prospects Anthony Bennett and Jarnell Stokes could still be options, however.

24. Purdue
No. 92 Ronnie Johnson (5-10, 160, PG)
No. 97 A.J. Hammons (6-10, 275, C)
Raphael Davis (6-5, 190, SG/SF)
Jay Simpson (6-8, 230, PF)
Quick take: The Boilermakers already have three verbal commitments in the Class of 2013.

25. Pittsburgh
No. 66 James Robinson (6-2, 200, PG
Steven Adams (6-11, 230, C)
Quick take: Adams relocated to the United States from New Zealand this summer to attend Division I pipeline Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.). He may wind up being a Top 10 prospect.