Harrison Barnes' decision is a major x-factor this week.
Photo by Nicholas Koza
Our last crack at ranking college basketball’s top recruiting classes came in
August. Plenty has changed since then.
- Memphis continued adding to its backcourt riches.
- Star Phoenix wing Daniel Bejarano reneged on his pledge to Texas (making that the last Longhorn reference in this article).
- Kyrie Irving made Duke fans happy.
- And Kevin O’Neill has somehow pieced together an exciting cast of athletes at USC.
But the team at the top hasn’t changed – at least not yet.
Ohio State still has commitments from four members of the MaxPreps.com 2010 Top 100, including Top 10 prospects Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas. Thad Matta also has pledges from two other highly-regarded preps and expects to sign all six this week.
The early signing period for college basketball begins today and runs through Nov. 18. It’s not quite the holiday that football signing day has become as many prospects will wait to sign or even make a decision until the second wave running from April 14 to May 19, 2010.
Duke could emerge as the Buckeyes’ primary challenger if they get a commitment from Iowa star Harrison Barnes, who has scheduled an announcement for Friday that will air live on ESPNU.
Without regard to Barnes’ decision, or any other potential developments, here is MaxPreps.com’s look at college basketball’s top 25 recruiting classes entering Wednesday;
1. Ohio State
Top 100: No. 2 Jared Sullinger (6-9, 280, F), No. 9 DeShaun Thomas (6-7, 220, F), No. 50 Jordan Sibert (6-4, 180, G), No. 56 Aaron Craft (6-0, 175, G)
Supporting Cast: Lenzelle Smith (6-4, 205, G/W), James Weatherspoon (6-6, 205, W/F)
Analysis: Thad Matta could be on the verge of landing his second top-ranked class in the last five years.
2. Memphis
Top 100: No. 3 Will Barton (6-6, 165, G), No. 11 Joe Jackson (6-0, 170, G)
Supporting Cast: Antonio Barton (6-2, 180, G), Chris Crawford (6-4, 185, G)
Analysis: Nobody has hauled in more backcourt talent than the Tigers. Local product Tarik Black (6-8, 235, F) would be the perfect complement to this incoming foursome.
3. Syracuse
Top 100: No. 8 Fabricio Melo (7-0, 270, F), No. 25 Dion Waiters (6-4, 215, G)
Supporting Cast: C.J. Fair (6-7, 200, F), Baye Moussa Keita (6-11, 205, F)
Analysis: Melo set off a hot recruiting battle when he arrived from Brazil. Fair is coming off an injury that cost him his junior season on the court but has Top 100 potential.
4. Duke
Top 100: No. 19 Kyrie Irving (6-1, 175, G), No. 40 Joshua Hairston (6-8, 200, F), No. 72 Tyler Thornton (6-2, 190, G)
Analysis: Blue Devil fans are keeping their fingers crossed until Friday when star Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, makes his decision live on ESPNU. A Barnes commitment would move Duke to No. 2 – maybe higher.
5. Michigan State
Top 100: No. 23 Keith Appling (6-3, 175, G), No. 51 Adreian Payne (6-9, 210, F), No. 65 Alex Gauna (6-8, 210, F)
Supporting Cast: Russell Byrd (6-7, 190, W)
Analysis: Appling can score in bunches (49 points in Michigan’s Class A state championship last season), while Payne and Gauna are athletic bigs that will fulfill their potential under Tom Izzo.
6. USC
Top 100: No. 27 Dwayne Polee (6-6, 180, W), No. 31 Bryce Jones (6-5, 175, G), No. 98 Garrett Jackson (6-6, 190, W)
Supporting Cast: Maurice Jones (5-7, 165, G), Curtis Washington (6-9, 200, F)
Analysis: Strong effort from new Trojan coach Kevin O’Neill after taking over a program in distress. Polee and Jones are both long, athletic and exciting players. Jackson is one of Oregon’s top seniors and Jones put up huge numbers as a junior in Michigan.
7. Stanford
Top 100: No. 22 Dwight Powell (6-10, 210, F), No. 53 Anthony Brown (6-7, 190, W), No. 95 Aaron Bright (5-11, 165, G)
Supporting Cast: Josh Huestis (6-7, 210, F), John Gage (6-9, 210, F)
Analysis: Staring at a potentially long season in Palo Alto, Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins needed a major influx of talent and gets it with this group.
8. North Carolina
Top 100: No. 5 Reggie Bullock (6-7, 190, W), No. 13 Kendall Marshall (6-3, 175, G)
Analysis: Tough to decide where to put the Tar Heels with just two commitments. After bringing in a number of quality post players last year, Roy Williams went hunting on the perimeter and came up with a pair of big-time talents. Landing Barnes on Friday isn’t out the of question.
9. Wake Forest
Top 100: No. 41 J.T. Terrell (6-2, 175, G), No. 74 Carson Desrosiers (6-9, 210, F), No. 76 Tony Chennault (6-2, 175, G)
Supporting Cast: Travis McKie (6-6, 180, W), Melvin Tabb (6-8, 210, F)
Analysis: Dino Gaudio has a bit of everything with this group.
10. Maryland
Top 100: No. 30 Terrence Ross (6-5, 185, G), No. 43 Terrell Stoglin (6-1, 180, G), No. 62 Mychal Parker (6-6, 195, W)
Analysis: Ross and Stoglin should develop into a nice 1-2 punch at the guard spots for Gary Williams.
11. Illinois
Top 100: No. 29 Jereme Richmond (6-6, 190, W), No. 60 Meyers Leonard (7-0, 220, F), No. 91 Crandall Head (6-3, 185, G)
Analysis: Bruce Weber stays in-state for three Top 100 talents.
12. LSU
Top 100: No. 32 Andre Stringer (5-10, 160, G), No. 64 Matt Derenbecker (6-7, 185, W), No. 100 Ralston Turner (6-6, 190, W)
Supporting Cast: Jalen Courtney (6-7, 210, F)
Analysis: Trent Johnson lands last year’s state player of the year in Louisiana (Derenbecker) and Mississippi (Stringer).
13. North Carolina State
Top 100: No. 38 Luke Cothron (6-8, 220, F), No. 39 Ryan Harrow (6-1, 150, G)
Supporting Cast: Lorenzo Brown (6-4, 175, G/Post-graduate)
Analysis: Brown was expected to be on campus this fall, but is instead spending the year at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and will join Cothron and Harrow as freshmen in 2010-2011.
14. Purdue
Top 100: No. 44 Terone Johnson (6-3, 190, G), No. 82 Travis Carroll (6-9, 230, F)
Supporting Cast: Donnie Hale (6-7, 195, F), Anthony Johnson (6-4, 170, W)
Analysis: Matt Painter continues to quietly build a deep and talented roster.
15. Virginia
Top 100: No. 81 Will Regan (6-8, 210, F), No. 94 James Johnson (6-9, 215, F)
Supporting Cast: K.T. Harrell (6-4, 200, G), Joe Harris (6-5, 180, G), Akil Mitchell (6-7, 200, F)
Analysis: Cavalier fans may have questions about Tony Bennett's style of play in the ACC, but early returns on the recruiting trail are positive.
16. UCLA
Top 100: No. 6 Joshua Smith (6-10, 280, F), No. 93 Tyler Lamb (6-5, 205, W)
Analysis: A Kevin Love-type impact isn’t out of the question with Smith, but improving his conditioning is a must. The Bruins could use another guard. Ray McCallum would be a nice fit.
17. Florida State
Top 100: No. 36 Okaro White (6-9, 180, F), No. 47 Ian Miller (6-1, 175, G)
Analysis: White does a lot of little things well. Leonard Hamilton would probably like to have Miller this season.
18. Florida
Top 100: No. 34 Patric Young (6-9, 225, F), No. 84 Casey Prather (6-5, 195, W)
Supporting Cast: Young is one of the nation’s best rebounders.
19. California
Top 100: No. 42 Allen Crabbe (6-4, 175, G)
Supporting Cast: Gary Franklin (6-1, 190, G), Alex Rossi (6-5, 180, G/W), Richard Solomon (6-9, 200, F)
Analysis: Mike Montgomery double-dipped at Los Angeles’ Price High School with teammates Crabbe and Solomon.
20. Florida International
Top 100: No. 48 Phillip Taylor (5-9, 160, G), No. 61 Dominique Ferguson (6-9, 205, F)
Analysis: Talents like Taylor and Ferguson would have been completely out of the question at Florida International prior to Isiah Thomas’ arrival.
21. Tennessee
Top 100: No. 58 Trae Golden (6-3, 190, G), No. 86 Jordan McRae (6-6, 170, W)
Analysis: Bruce Pearl strikes twice in Georgia by landing Golden and McRae.
22. Oklahoma State
Top 100: No. 37 Michael Cobbins (6-8, 200, F)
Supporting Cast: Markel Brown (6-5, 185, G/W), Brian Williams (6-5, 190, G)
Analysis: Fighting off Memphis, Missouri and Oklahoma, Cobbins was a big get for Travis Ford and the Cowboys.
23. Providence
Top 100: No. 69 Joseph Young (6-2, 175, G), No. 87 Gerard Coleman (6-4, 175, G)
Supporting Cast: Ron Giplaye (6-5, 200, F)
Analysis: Young drew some big crowds (comprised of college coaches) during Las Vegas’ AAU extravaganza with his scoring exploits.
24. Dayton
Top 100: No. 70 Jesse Berry (6-1, 170, G)
Supporting Cast: Ralph Hill (6-6, 185, F), Devin Oliver (6-5, 180, W), Brandon Spearman (6-3, 185, G), Juwan Staten (5-10, 170, G)
Analysis: This season’s Atlantic 10 favorite has a lot to be excited about.
25. Arizona State
Top 100: No. 59 Corey Hawkins (6-3, 175, G)
Supporting Cast: Jordan Bachynski (7-2, 245), Keala King (6-6, 200, W)
Analysis: Hawkins is the son of former NBA star Hersey Hawkins. Bachynski is coming off a two-year Mormon mission.
