Top 25 college basketball recruiting classes

Tired of hearing about John Calipari's incredible recruiting exploits at Kentucky? This might be a good place to stop reading.

Calipari struck again Thursday, landing his third verbal commitment from a Top 10 prospect in the last seven days. This time it was James Young, a 6-foot-6 wing from Rochester (Rochester Hills, Mich.) ranked No. 7 in the MaxPreps Class of 2013 Top 100.

A week ago top-ranked twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison made a pledge to the Wildcats. Kentucky owns the top spot in our look at the Top 25 college basketball recruiting classes and is on track to land the nation's best recruiting class for the fifth year in a row.

Over that half-decade span, Calipari has lured 15 five-star prospects to Lexington and reeled in players from nearly 20 different states.



Read on for a look at who's playing for second.

TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL RECRUITING CLASSES

1. Kentucky
Commitments: No. 1 Andrew Harrison (6-5, 215, PG), No. 2 Aaron Harrison (6-5, 210, SG), No. 7 James Young (6-6, 210, SG/SF), No. 98 Derek Willis (6-9, 210, PF/SF)
Throw in a Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon or Marcus Lee – all five-star forwards – and this group will be in the conversation for greatest John Calipari recruiting class at Kentucky.

2. Florida
Commitments: No. 8 Kasey Hill (6-1, 175, PG), No. 9 Chris Walker (6-9, 210, PF)
It's likely that Billy Donovan will be adding another elite talent in 2013. The Gators are legitimate players for Randle and Chicago phenom Jabari Parker.

3. Duke
Commitments: No. 11 Matt Jones (6-4, 190, SG), No. 24 Semi Ojeleye (6-6, 215, SF)
The Blue Devils are all-in on Parker as head coach Mike Krzyzewski has trailed the Simeon senior closely for several years. Duke is also in the mix for Memphis-area forward Austin Nichols, the No. 20 overall 2013 prospect.

4. Louisville
Commitments: No. 63 Anton Gill (6-2, 180, SG), Akoy Agau (6-8, 235, PF/C), Post-grad Terry Rozier (6-1, 165, PG), JC Chris Jones (5-10, 170, PG)
Jones is the nation's top junior college recruit and one of the most highly-regarded players to come from the two-year ranks in the past decade. Rozier, spending a post-graduate year at Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.), was a Top 100 recruit in the 2012 class.



5. Kansas
Commitments: No. 29 Conner Frankamp (6-1, 160, SG/PG), No. 32 Brannen Greene (6-7, 200, SF), Post-grad Frank Mason (5-11, 180, PG/SG)
Frankamp averaged over 32 points per game as a junior at North (Wichita, Kan.), then went out and led United States gold medal team in scoring at FIBA U17 World Championship over the summer. Mason, also a big-time scorer at Moses Malone's former school Petersburg (Va.), originally committed to Towson but saw his recruitment pick up after electing to do a post-graduate year at Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, Va.).

{PAGEBREAK} 6. Michigan
Commitments: No. 27 Zak Irvin (6-6, 180, SG/PG), No. 43 Derrick Walton Jr. (6-0, 175, PG), No. 74 Mark Donnal (6-8, 210, PF/SF)
Irvin looked like a game-changer late in the summer. If his ascension continues as a senior at Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), this trio goes from solid to spectacular.

7. Memphis
Commitments: No. 30 Kuran Iverson (6-8, 200, PF/SF), No. 45 Nick King (6-7, 210, SF), Rashawn Powell (6-0, 170, PG), Markel Crawford (6-3, 185, SG)
Josh Pastner and the Tigers have at least six other Top 100 talents on their wish list. Given Pastner's track record, it's a pretty safe bet that he lands at least one of them.

8. North Carolina State
Commitments: No. 13 Anthony Barber (6-2, 170, PG), No. 53 Kyle Washington (6-8, 210, PF)
Mark Gottfried is proving last year's stellar class was no fluke. The Pack will be looking to add a quality big – or two – to this list. Randle, No. 40 Kennedy Meeks and No. 49 BeeJay Anya are all in play.

9. California
Commitments: No. 23 Jabari Bird (6-5, 180, SG/SF), No. 67 Jordan Mathews (6-3, 195, SG), Sam Singer (6-3, 175, PG/SG)
The Golden Bears are slugging it out with Kentucky to keep five-star forwards Gordon and Lee close to home. The addition of either of them could make this a program-elevating recruiting class for Mike Montgomery.

10. UCLA
Commitments: No. 33 Zach LaVine (6-3, 165, SG/PG), No. 44 Allerik Freeman (6-3, 195, SG)
Knowing Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson aren't long-term options in the backcourt, Ben Howland is loading up at the guard positions for the second year in a row.



{PAGEBREAK} 11. Illinois
Commitments: No. 50 Malcolm Hill (6-5, 195, SG), No. 57 Kendrick Nunn (6-2, 180, SG/PG), Maverick Morgan (6-10, 240, C), Jaylon Tate (6-1, 165, PG)
The Fighting Illini slipped out of the race for Parker, but head coach John Groce nabbed a couple of his talented Simeon (Chicago) teammates in Nunn and Tate and is off to a strong start recruiting-wise in Champaign.

12. Brigham Young
Commitments: No. 66 Nick Emery (6-1, 175, SG), Jakob Hartsock (6-7, 205, PF), Eric Mika (6-8, 220, PF/C), Braiden Shaw (6-8, 190, PF), Luke Worthington (6-8, 230, PF/C)
The Cougars have three current commits from one powerhouse Utah high school program: Emery, an elite scorer, and Mika in the 2013 class and 2014 guard T.J. Haws all hail from Lone Peak (Highland).

13. Marquette
Commitments: No. 75 Deonte Burton (6-5, 230, SF), No. 82 Duane Wilson Jr. (6-2, 170, PG), John Dawson (6-1, 175, PG), JC Jameel McKay (6-7, 190, PF/SF)
In addition to a pair of Top 100 in-state talents, Buzz Williams used the (sarcasm alert) well-worn New Mexico-to-Milwaukee pipeline to land Dawson.

14. Arkansas
Commitments: No. 16 Bobby Portis (6-9, 215, PF), No. 80 Moses Kingsley (6-9, 220, C)
Portis and Kingsley were teammates on the Nike EYBL circuit and created major problems on the defensive end.

15. North Carolina
Commitments: No. 18 Isaiah Hicks (6-8, 200, PF), No. 79 Nate Britt (6-1, 170, PG)
Hicks and Britt will be major contributors for the Tar Heels, but Roy Williams is in need of a bona fide star. Recently re-classified Noah Vonleh, ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2013 Top 100, could be that guy.

{PAGEBREAK} 16. Ohio State
Commitments: No. 41 Marc Loving (6-7, 205, SF), No. 62 Kameron Williams (6-2, 160, SG)
Thad Matta continues to pile up Top 100 commitments. Williams led Nike's ultra-competitive EYBL in scoring over the summer at over 22 points per game.



17. Arizona
Commitments: No. 47 Rondae Jefferson (6-6, 195, SF/PG), No. 89 Elliott Pitts (6-4, 180, SG)
Jefferson and Pitts will be a nice compliment to the frontcourt talent Sean Miller amassed in the 2012 class – assuming a couple of them are still around.

18. LSU
Commitments: No. 42 Jordan Mickey (6-7, 210, SF), Tim Quarterman (6-5, 180, PG/SG), JC Deng Deng (6-8, 215, PF/C), JC John Odoh (6-10, 230, C)
A long guard who has drawn comparisons to Jeremy Lamb, Quarterman came on strong over the summer and could wind up with a Top 100 tag when the 2013 rankings are updated in January.

19. Iowa State
Commitments: No. 68 Matt Thomas (6-3, 185, SG/PG), No. 77 Monte Morris (6-2, 170, PG), JC Richard Amardi (6-9, 220, PF/C)
Wisconsin fans will rue the day Bo Ryan allowed state Player of the Year candidate Thomas to slip out-of-state to the Cyclones.

20. Indiana
Commitments: No. 91 Stanford Robinson (6-4, 190, SG/SF), No. 99 Luke Fischer (6-10, 210, C/PF), Devin Davis Jr. (6-6, 185, SF), Collin Hartman (6-6, 185, SF)
The Hoosiers are another program in the hunt for Vonleh. If you believe in the power of shoe company connections, IU's Adidas affiliation could be key.

{PAGEBREAK} 21. USC
Commitments: No. 46 Roschon Prince (6-5, 210, SF), Kahlil Dukes (5-11, 170, PG/SG), Kendal Harris (6-4, 190, PG/SG), Nikola Jovanovic (6-9, 215, PF/C)
Pretty impressive effort for head coach Kevin O'Neill, particularly since he is 14 games under .500 entering his fourth year at USC and coming off a train wreck of a 2011-12 campaign.

22. Tennessee
Commitments: No. 12 Robert Hubbs (6-4, 185, SG), Antonio Davis Jr. (6-7, 185, SF), Travon Landry (6-0, 185, PG)
Hubbs, who was pursued by the likes of Duke, Florida and Memphis among others, was a huge get for Vols head coach Cuonzo Martin. The small town star is among the most dangerous scorers in the 2013 class.



23. Texas Christian
Commitments: No. 36 Karviar Shepherd (6-9, 220, PF), Brandon Parrish (6-4, 190, SG)
Yes, Texas Christian. New head coach Trent Johnson convinced a pair of serious players from the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex to stay home.

24. Purdue
Commitments: No. 55 Bryson Scott (6-0, 180, PG), Basil Smotherman (6-4, 180, SF), Kendall Stephens (6-4, 175, SG)
Combined with 2012 signee Ronnie Johnson, Scott and Stephens should help make the Boilermaker backcourt a major strength in the coming years.

25. Notre Dame
Commitments: No. 56 Demetrius Jackson (6-1, 180, PG), V.J. Beachem (6-6, 180, SF), Austin Torres (6-6, 200, SF/PF), Stephen Vasturia (6-3, 185, PG)
The national appeal of Notre Dame wasn't needed to land Jackson and Torres, who both hail from nearby Mishawaka.

Just missed the cut: Alabama, Rhode Island, Saint Mary's, South Carolina, Villanova, Wisconsin