2007 Winners
1) Syracuse (272 pts)
#8 Donte Greene
#20 Johnny Flynn
#48 Antonio Jardine
#56 Rick Jackson
Sean Williams
OK, so the Orange didn’t make the NCAAs last season but with a class like this one that sort of situation should be in the rearview mirror now.
2) Florida (262 pts)
#11 Nick Calathes
#32 Jai Lucas
#46 Chandler Parsons
#53 Alex Tyus
What do you do if you’ve just lost the core of a team that won back-to-back championships? Reload, of course, and that’s exactly what the Gators have done with this bunch which is shy on superstars but long on guys who can contribute in a big way, nonetheless.
3) Duke (255 pts)
#5 Kyle Singler
#19 Nolan Smith
#24 Taylor King
Coach K. brings in the #3 class in the nation for the 2nd year in a row. Will there be a 3-peat? Don’t bet against it ...
4) Purdue (231 pts)
#23 E’Twaun Moore
#41 Scott Martin
#47 JaJuan Johnson
#61 Robbie Hummel
The Boilermakers took a huge step forward with this national top 5 class.
5) Ohio State (207 pts)
#12 Kosta Koufos
#54 Evan Turner
#61 Jon Diebler
#70 Dallas Lauderdale
Thad Matta comes up huge again. There’s no Greg Oden in this group but, then again, these guys might hang around a little longer and do even more damage in the long run.
6) Michigan State (203 pts)
#28 Durrell Summers
#34 Kalin Lucas
#38 Chris Allen
Any time you bring in a trio of top 50’s, you’ve had a banner year. The question now is whether these guys will hang one (banner, that is) before they’re done.
7) Memphis (186 pts)
#5 Derrick Rose
#55 Jeff Robinson
#65 Marcus Morris
#93 Markieff Morris
Will Bogan
Coach Cal will benefit mightily both from getting a top 5 in Rose but also from the decision by the Morris twins to stay with the 2007 class.
8) Arizona (173 pts)
#7 Jerryd Bayless
#22 Jamelle Horne
Alex Jacobson
Zane Johnson
The Wildcats have a star in Bayless and an excellent supporting cast to join him in Tucson.
9) Kansas State (166 pts)
#4 Michael Beasley
#52 Bill Walker
#81 Dominique Sutton
Jacob Pullen
Bill Walker is really a top 10 (despite his artificially low RSCI ranking) and Beasley is a beast but even that wasn’t enough to keep Bob Huggins from leaving for West Virginia.
10) Georgetown (161 pts)
#13 Austin Freeman
#28 Chris Wright
Wright’s decision to back out of his verbal to NC State when Herb Sendek left resulted in a big time pick up for the Hoyas.
Honorable Mention:
Kentucky (157 pts)
Villanova (145 pts)
UCLA (136 pts)
NC State (130 pts)
USC (130 pts)
Kansas (122 pts)
DePaul (118 pts)
Indiana (116 pts)
Alabama (109 pts)
Florida State (109 pts)
Texas (102 pts)
Virginia Tech (102 pts)
Wake Forest (101 pts)