1) LSU (230 pts)
#12 Brandon Bass
#24 Regis Koundjia
#37 Taurean Minor
The Tigers jumped to the head of the class when they added a star (Bass) to a pair of top 50’s.
2) Kansas (227 pts)
#7 David Padgett
#14 J. R. Giddens
#55 Omar Wilkes
No one can accuse Roy Williams of leaving the cupboard bare given the stature of this class.
3) Michigan State (226 pts)
#3 Shannon Brown
#23 Brandon Cotton
#51 Drew Naymick
Brown and Cotton make for a backcourt to die for. Tom Izzo continues to bring in the talent that should keep the Spartans at the top of the heap.
4) Maryland (182 pts)
#17 Mike Jones
#27 Ekene Ibekwe
#77 Hassan Fofana
Will Bowers
D.J. Strawberry
The Terps lost a lot from last year’s squad but have rebounded nicely with a deep class of quality recruits.
5) California (181 pts)
#9 Leon Powe
#35 Ayinde Ubaka
#78 Marquise Kately
Dominick McGuire
The Bears are truly golden with this bunch led by future star Powe.
6) Michigan (167 pts)
#22 Dion Harris
#52 Courtney Sims
#62 Brent Petway
Tommy Amaker shook off NCAA troubles and brought in a substanial haul.
Tie 7) Arkansas (150 pts)
#13 Olu Famutimi
#39 Ronnie Brewer
Julius Lamptey
Vincent Hunter
Something old (Brewer’s dad is a former Hog), something new (Famutimi is a Canadian in out of his element in Little Rock), something borrowed (Lamptey originally signed with Georgia but failed to qualify) and something blue (still woking on that one...).
Tie 7) Missouri (150 pts)
#14 Linas Kleiza
#38 Thomas Gardner
Spencer Laurie
Same point total as Arkansas but the Hogs get the nod on both quality (Famutimi edged out Kleiza) and quantity (Tigers have 3 top 100ish players compared to 4 for Arkansas). Nevertheless, a very strong class that got a huge boost when Kleiza made a late decision for Mizzou.
9) Connecticut (149 pts)
#18 Charlie Villanueva
#41 Marcus Williams
#95 Josh Boone
Villanueva reneged on Illinois and the NBA -- but the Huskies don’t mind. This class really should be higher given that Villanueva’s #6 average ranking is more indicative of his talent than this actual RSCI ranking of #18 reflects.
10) Florida State (142 pts)
#11 Vakeaton Wafer
#49 Alexander Johnson
Johnson would have a higher RSCI ranking if he hadn’t been excluded by some of the gurus for being a 5th year player. No matter -- any way you slice it, Leonard Hamilton has picked up two of the highest rated recruits in FSU history.
Honorable Mention:
Oklahoma (141 pts)
Syracuse (137 pts)
Wake Forest (129 pts)
Florida (124 pts)
Illinois (121 pts)
Minnesota (110 pts)
USC (110 pts)
Virginia (102 pts)