Ranking the top 10 classes

Unlike their college football counterparts, basketball coaching staffs don’t huddle around the fax machine waiting for letters of intent on signing day. College hoops signing day, because of the smaller number of scholarship athletes, is a much more intimate process.

Nonetheless, Nov. 13 marks the first day of a week-long process in which student-athletes can pen letters of intent with their favorite schools.

While there’s usually a change of heart or two, for the most part kids stick to their original commitments. Fewer than 10 members of our pre-season Top 100 remain. With that said, here’s a look at the Top 10 recruiting classes of the fall period. Keep in mind that the decision of power forward Brandon Bass could vault a program like LSU into the Top 10.

1. Arizona (Ndudi Ebi, Mustafa Shakur, Kirk Walters): With a pair of likely McDonald’s All-Americans in Shakur and Ebi, the Wildcats signed the nation’s top point guard and power forward prospects.

2. Louisville (James Lang, Nate Daniels, Brandon Jenkins, Noah Diakite): Lang is the kind of guy you put four guys around and let him do his thing. If Daniels is as good as advertised, the Cardinals will have big dreams.

3. Mississippi State (Travis Outlaw, Jackie Butler, Gary Ervin): Ervin made the rare successful switch from shooting guard to point guard and that eventually will be the key to this class’s success.

4. Michigan State (Shannon Brown, Brandon Cotton, Drew Naymick): The best shooting guard in the nation in Brown and two more members of our Top 50 in Cotton and Naymick comprise a formidable trio.

5. Duke (Luol Deng, Kris Humphries): Duke might be a Final Four team before this class’s arrival but Deng should slide neatly into the small forward position regardless. Humphries gives the Devils great depth.

6. Memphis (Kendrick Perkins, Sean Banks): Sometimes two-man classes don’t receive enough attention but the skilled inside moves of Perkins and the deft scoring touch of Banks command respect.

7. Illinois (Charlie Villanueva, Richard McBride, Brian Randle, Warren Carter): This class has a bonafide superstar, a strong scoring guard and a couple of guys who give Bill Self’s team frontcourt depth.

8. Maryland (Michael Jones, Hassan Fofana, Ekene Ibekwe, D.J. Strawberry, Will Bowers): The champs signed a diverse bunch that has the kind of qualities Gary Williams wins big with.

9. Kansas (David Padgett, J.R. Giddens, Omar Wilkes, Jeremy Case): This group already seems to have good chemistry and diversity. Giddens’ athleticism and Padgett’s skills complement Wilkes’ versatility nicely.

10. Arkansas (Olu Famutimi, Ronnie Brewer, Julius Lamptey, Vincent Hunter): The Hogs wanted top quality swingmen and an inside presence. Mission accomplished.

Pac-10 Recruiting Rankings

Ranking the recruiting classes for the Pac-10 isn't an easy task -- there are a number of close calls throughout the conference. Here's our take on how the classes stack up, based purely on how the talent measures up. In other words, we paid no consideration to how well the talent fits on an existing team or whether needs were filled for the various rosters.

1. Cal (Ayinde Ubaka, 6-2 PG, Oakland, Calif., High; Leon Powe, 6-7 PF, Oakland, Calif., Oakland Tech; Dominic McGuire, 6-6 SF, San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln; Marquise Kately, 6-5 SF, Pittsfield, Maine Central Institute)

The Bears get a slight edge over Arizona, due to quality and quantity. Few people outside of the west realize just how good McGuire and Kately are going to be. Many national analysts also underrate Ubaka.

2. Arizona (Kirk Walters, 6-10 C, Grand Rapids, Mich., South Christian; Mustafa Shakur, 6-3 PG, Wynnewood, Penn., Friend's Central; Ndudi Ebi, 6-9 PF. Houston, Texas, Westbury Christian)

Adding two of the top ten players in the country to Arizona's already loaded roster doesn't seem fair.

3. Arizona State (Will Fameni, 6-8 PF, Amelia Academy, Va.; Chris Low, 6-8 PF, Gorman, Texas, High; Tron Smith, 6-2 PG, Moreno Valley, Calif., Canyon Springs; Keith Wooden, 6-8 PF, Lawrence, Kan., Lawrence Free State)

Tron Smith is a stud and Keith Wooden has a terrific upside. The Sun Devils were a clear choice for #3, in our opinion.

4. Oregon (Ray Schafer, 6-10 C, Wasilla, Alaska, High; Mitch Platt, 6-9 C, Henderson, Nev., Green Valley; Aaron Brooks, 5-10 PG, Seattle, Wash., Franklin)

Of the remaining teams, Oregon had the best player in Brooks, plus very intriguing big man Schafer and a solid post prospect in Schafer.

5. UCLA (Trevor Ariza, 6-7 SF, Los Angeles, Calif., Westchester; Sean Phaler, 6-9 PF, Villa Park, Calif., High)

Bruins edge out next two teams with the best player in Ariza.

6. Oregon State (Liam Hughes, 7-2 C, Modesto, Calif., Modesto Christian; Kyle Jeffers, 6-8 PF, Santa Rosa, Calif.; Jeffree Williams, 6-8, Portland, Ore., Roosevelt)

Oregon St. loads up in the frontcourt with three players who will be significant contributors over the next 4-5 years.

7. USC (Rodrick Stewart, 6-3 SG, Seattle, Wash., Rainier Beach; Lodrick Stewart, 6-3 SG, Seattle, Wash., Rainier Beach)

Twins are very talented, and very athletic, but feel for the game needs a lot of work. If they figure it out, this class could end up among top three in the conference.

8. Stanford (Fred Washington, 6-4 SF, Torrance, Calif., Bishop Montgomery; Tim Morris, 6-4 SG, Atlanta, Ga., Whitefield Academy; Evan Moore, 6-6 PF, Brea, Calif., Brea Olinda)

Washington was a very good late signing after losing on a few big-time targets. He'll bring athleticism and a warrior's attitude to the Cardinal.

T-9. Washington State (Lance Den Boer, 6-6 SF Sunnyside, Wash., Sunnyside Christian; Justin Garcia, 7-1 C, San Bernardino, Calif., San Bernardino Valley College)

Cougars get a project big man and a pure shooter in Den Boer.

T-9. Washington (Tre Simmons, 6-5 SG, Odessa, Texas, Odessa College)

Juco sources tell us that Simmons will help the Huskies.

-- Tracy Pierson & Greg Hicks, PrepWestHoops

Texas Lands Juco Point Man

Edgar Moreno, a point guard at Lon Morris Junior College, is headed to Austin next fall. South Carolina and UTEP showed interest but the Longhorns were a great fit.

"Rick [Barnes] came in here and saw him last spring and loved him," Morris' coach Dale Dotson said. "He's not like T.J.; not many are. He's bigger and stronger but not a flash. He's a good player. He's a great passer and he can run past people. He's a player."

Moreno averaged 12.9 points and 3.9 assists last season.

"He hurt his knee and tore some cartilage in the first game of the regional tournament and played on it right through the national tournament. His numbers will really pick up more this year, in fact they already have. This year he'll do a little more scoring."

Moreno visited Texas last weekend. Shortly thereafter he committed to the Horns.

He's been in the country for two years. Originally, he's from Columbia.

"We he got here he couldn't speak any English," Dotson said. "He's a great kid. He's really interested in doing well."

Columbia, huh? Don't be surprised when the Longhorns make a play for junior power forward Juan Tella Palacios, another Columbian who plays high school ball at Our Savior.

But for now, UT is probably ecstatic to get a point guard who's big, strong and tough.

"That's right down Rick's alley," Dotson said.

-- Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

Kansas State lands Top 50 player

Over at TheInsidersHoops.com, we're big fans of Cartier Martin. The Houston Select forward is athletic and makes plays. Now, he's also committed to a college.

On Thursday, Martin ended a long recruiting process by selecting Kansas State over Oklahoma State and Kentucky. Texas took itself out of the running earlier that day.

Martin is the Wildcats third commitment of the year. Center Tyler Hughes and point guard Dez Willingham are already in the mix. This is a pretty good class and Willingham and Martin give KSU a nice solid, youthful foundation. Martin is ranked No. 47 in our pre-season list.

-- Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

 

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