Thursday, April 29, 2010

Top Recruiting Classes of 2010

 Read this article on Bleacher Report

Now that the vast majority of the highly rated senior prospects have committed to a school, it's time to take a look at which colleges got the best recruiting hauls. Many of the same names are back in the picture. John Calipari, Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Thad Matta all made big splashes with this year's class, but many newcomers have entered the picture as well. Memphis' Jon Pastner and NC State's Sidney Lowe came through big for their schools on the recruiting trail.

Lets look at the top 10 classes, but first here are some schools with great classes coming in, but just missed the cut for the top 10:

Florida
#13 F Patric Young
#35 G/F Casey Prather
F Cody Larson
F Will Yeguette
G Scottie Wilbekin

Missouri
#24 F Tony Mitchell
#42 G Phil Pressey
G/F Ricky Kreklow
F Kadeem Green
F Ricardo Ratliff
G Matt Pressey

Wake Forest
#49 G JT Terrell
#60 F Travis McKie
#64 C Carson Desrosiers
F Melvin Tabb
G Tony Chennault

Illinois
#23 G/FJerome Richmond
#47 C Meyers Leonard
#79 G Crandall Head

10. North Carolina State
#11 F CJ Leslie
#39 G Ryan Harrow
G Lorenzo Brown

State is officially back. Sidney Lowe secured a HUGE commitment (again) from athletic freak CJ Leslie, who had UK in his top 3 at the very end of his recruitment. Leslie is a dunking and rebounding machine. He stands 6'8' but has RIDICULOUS arm length. You'll see what I'm talking about next year. Leslie will be one the best shot blockers in the nation with his unreal combination of length and athleticism. What a steal for NC State.
Ryan Harrow will start at point guard from day 1. He gives Coach Lowe a savvy guard who has many, many ways of scoring. He's lightning quick and has the unusually solid knack for shooting on the move. With Harrow at the controls, the Wolfpack will be back in the hunt for the ACC title.

9. Tennessee
#6 F Tobias Harris
#38 G Jordan McRae
G Trae Golden

Versatile forward Tobias Harris is the jewel of Bruce Pearl's latest class. Harris is a good shooter, rebounds extremely well, and has been commended for his great work ethic. He needs to work on his post game, but with his ability to play up to 3 different positions, he will be a star in the SEC.
McRae is an aggressive slasher who has great ability to create his own shot and finish at the rim. He isn't a great shooter, but should be a great contributor to the Vols with his athleticism and slashing ability.

8. Michigan State
#26 C Adreian Payne
#27 G Keith Appling
#61 F Russell Byrd
F Alex Gauna

The Spartans only add to their already formidable Final Four Squad that loses just 1 starter with this incredible class, headlined by two studs in Payne and Appling. Payne is one of the best centers in the class, and will most likely start for Coach Izzo. He is a long, athletic shot blocker who is explosive and plays above the rim. He will be a tough interior defender for an already scary good defensive MSU team. Offensively, he is not quite as polished, but the Spartans will not need him to score. Great pickup for Izzo.
Appling is a compact scorer who once scored 49 points in a high school state championship game. He is super quick and can shoot the jumper. His only weakness is that he needs the ball to be effective and must work on his point guard skills. Once he develops a floor game, he will be a tough guy to stop.

7. Texas

#10 F Tristan Thompson
#16 G Cory Joseph
Rick Barnes went waaaay up north to Canada to find these two young studs. Texas's class is more about quality than quantity. Thompson is an extraordinarily gifted athlete. He is a combo forward who can guard players on the perimeter as well as down low. He is an elite rebounder and can really get it done on both ends of the court. He must improve on his shooting and ball handling, but has unlimited potential.
Cory Joseph is THE best defensive guard in the class. He is a relentless ballhawk and an accurate perimeter shooter.He doesn't have the explosiveness and athleticism of some other guards, but overall, may be the one of the two best pure point guards in the class. He can handle the ball, and is a great distributor.

6. Duke
#3 G Kyrie Irving
#19 F Josh Hairston
G Tyler Thornton
G Seth Curry (Transfer from Liberty)
F Carrick Felix (Transfer from College of Southern Idaho)

It's been a LOOOOONG time since Coach K had a point guard prospect like Kyrie Irving. Not all scouting services agree at the moment, but I am 100% confident that KI is the number one point guard in this year's class, and it's not even close. No guard in 2010 has Irving's combination of speed, quickness, court vision, shooting stroke, and ability to get to the rim at will. He has the body strength to score through contact, and is deadly in crunch time. Duke will not miss a beat with KI replacing Jon Scheyer at the point.
Also going to Durham next year is Josh Hairston, a versatile forward who is long and athletic. Hairston can shoot the three with accuracy and is smooth offensively with his face-up game. He needs to work on his strength, but should be a valuable contributor off the bench.
Seth Curry also joins the Blue Devils after a year sitting on the bench due to NCAA transfer rules. After leading all freshman in the nation in scoring at Liberty in 2009, Curry is ready to contribute immediately with his deadly three point shooting and overall scoring ability.

5. Syracuse
#11 G Dion Waiters
#14 C Fabricio Melo
#63 F CJ Fair
C Baye Moussa Keita

Syracuse lost it's best player in Wes Johnson, but don't be surprised to see the Orange back in the hunt for a #1 seed with imposing 7 footer Fab Melo suiting up for Jim Boeheim. Melo is 7 feet tall and 270 pounds and will be the anchor of Boeheim's stifling 2-3 zone. He can block shots, rebound, and score. Melo can really do it all.
Waiters is big time scoring guard who owns a body built for contact. He can get himself hoops when he needs to, and has a great first step, accelerates and finishes at the rim. A talented scoring threat.

4. North Carolina

#1 G/FHarrison Barnes
#18 G/F Reggie Bullock
#22 G Kendall Marshall

It's a little bit hard to believe this isn't the #1 class this year, but that just shows you how good the top classes really are. If you haven't heard of Harrison Barnes at this point, then you've been living in another galaxy. Barnes is the most complete player in the country. He has a 7 foot wingspan, can shoot the 3, get to the rim, is a lock down defender, can handle the ball, and the list goes on and on. No player in the country will be as good as Harrison Barnes next year. Yes, that includes upperclassmen.
Reggie Bullock is a deadly shooter and has great size. He is also an accomplished defender and will start alongside Barnes right away.
Marshall finally gives Ol' Roy a floor leader who can really pass. He isn't quite the fast break dynamo that Kyrie Irving is, but make no mistake, this guy is one of the best passers in the class.
Tobacco road looks to be hotly contested this year, as NC State, UNC, and Duke will all be formidable teams in the ACC.

3. Kentucky
#4 G Brandon Knight
#25 C Enes Kanter
#29 G Doron Lamb
#51 G/F Stacy Poole
G Jarrod Polson

Knight is a a big time scorer, he has the ability to create for himself, but needs to work on his passing and court vision. He has good athletic ability and size for the point guard position and will step in nicely for John Wall.
Enes Kanter may be the most underrated prospect in this year's class. He is a big time scorer in the post and can shoot the mid ranged jumper as well. He is fundamentally sound and has great basketball IQ. He will be one of the top centers in the country.
Lamb is one of the top scoring wing players in this class. He really has a great feel for getting buckets. He could be more explosive off the bounce, but overall just a really talented kid.

2. Memphis
#8 G Will Barton
#21 G Joe Jackson
#44 G/F Jelan Kendrick
#59 Tarik Black
F Hippolyte Tsafack
G Chris Crawfod
G Antonio Barton

Second year coach Josh Pastner picked up right where John Calipari left off: picking up top recruits and making it look easy. Will Barton will be one of the top scoring threats in the nation with his length and aggressiveness. He has great size and has a unique ability to create scoring opportunities for himself. At this point, his greatest weakness is strength, once Barton hits the weights, he will be a force to reckoned with.
Joe Jackson is a high flying scoring machine who reminds some of Nate Robinson. He needs to work on his ball handling and passing to excel at the college level, but he is an elite scorer.
Kendrick is one of those unique wings who will either be a skilled small forward or a point man. He's working towards the latter and has the natural ability to make it happen. Great size, vision and passing skills. Needs to tighten up his handle in traffic but that will come easier once his game grows into his body.

1. Ohio State
#2 C Jared Sullinger
#12 F Deshaun Thomas
#80 G Lenzelle Smith
#82 G Jordan Sibert
G Aaron Craft
F JD Weatherspoon

Ohio State is quickly becoming THE place for centers to go to college. Following in the footsteps of former Buckeyes Oden, Mullens, and Koufos, Jared Sullinger joins Thad Matta as possibly the best of the bunch. Big Sully is an unstoppable low post scorer, using his huge frame extremely well. He must become better conditioned, as his speed and quickness are below par, but he will be the best center in the nation this year.
Deshaun Thomas is an incredible prospect. At 6-7, he is a deadly catch and shoot scorer as well as a threat to take it to the hole. Few players in the country have his combination of size and shooting ability.

2 comments:

  1. so Kanter is ranked #3, really not that underrated, and it looks like T.Jones picked UW. But apparently he didn't sign an LOI and Calipari supposedly has been talking to him since he announced UW, so who knows, he'll probably end up at UK.

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  2. updated. screw calipari . . if he turns jones and guilts him into changing his mind, then he has officially become the supervillian of college basketball.

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