2007 Recruiting Class Rankings

Florida secured the top spot on this list when they picked up a late signing from Jai Lucas (pictured), who became their 5th recruit.  Lucas and Nick Calathes were both McDonald’s All-Americans and Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus also have All-American caliber talent.  Throw in top 100 recruit Adam Allen and the Gators are ready for another title run.

USC is a close second on this list after signing OJ Mayo, who will be the best college basketball player in the country next season, and Davon Jefferson, the top ranked 5th year senior in the nation. Those two players alone would make the Trojans’ class tough to beat, but the addition of Mamadou Diarra, Angelo Johnson, and Marcus Simmons gives this quality class depth.

Kansas State checks in at third after signing the nation’s #2 recruit, Michael Beasley, and five other quality players.  Syracuse is right behind Kansas State at 4th after signing a pair of All-Americans, Donte Greene and Johnny Flynn, a pair of top 60 recruits, Rick Jackson and Anonio Jardine, and two others.  Duke rounds out the top 5 as they have three All-Americans coming in with Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Taylor King.

1.  Florida (5 Recruits)
Alex Tyus 6’8 PF Cincinnati (OH) Harmony Christian (Ranked 2nd Nationally- 5th Year Senior)
Nick Calathes 6’6 CG Winter Park (FL) Lake Howell (Ranked 13th Nationally)
Chandler Parsons 6’8 SF Winter Park (FL) Lake Howell (Top-35 Recruit)
Jai Lucas 5’10 PG Houston (TX) Bellaire (Top-40)
Adam Allen 6’6 SF Milton (FL) High (Top-100)
After losing their starting five from a back-to-back national title squad, Florida reloads with five top-100 recruits including four All-American caliber players (Tyus, Calathes, Parsons and Lucas).  This recruiting class has enough quality and depth to put the Gators right back in national title contention.

2.  USC (5 Recruits)
OJ Mayo 6’5 CG Huntington (WV) High (No.1)
Davon Jefferson 6’8 SF Venice (CA) (No.1- 5th Year Senior)
Mamadou Diarra 6’11 C Simi Valley (CA) Stoneridge Prep (Top-5 5th Year Senior)
Angelo Johnson 5’11 PG Simi Valley (CA) Stoneridge Prep (Top-15 5th Year Senior)
Marcus Simmons 6’5 SG Alexandria (LA) Peabody (N/A)
Fresh off a Cinderella-type season, USC will no-doubt be one of the most feared teams in the country in ‘08 with the addition of the best player in the country (Mayo) and the best 5th year senior in the country (Jefferson) to go along with three other top-100 caliber recruits.

3.  Kansas State (6 Recruits)
Michael Beasley 6’9 PF Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame (No.2)
Dominique Sutton 6‘4 SF (Top-5 5th Year Senior)
Jacob Pullen 6’1 PG Maywood (IL) Proviso East (Top-100)
Fred Brown 6’3 CG West Palm Beach (FL) Dwyer (N/A)
Andre Gilbert 6’7 SF San Jacinto (CA) Mt. San Jacinto College (N/A)
Jamar Samuels 6’8 PF Patterson (NC) Prep (N/A)
It’s beyond us why Coach Huggins would dip after recruiting a class as talented as this one, but he sure left the program in good shape.  Beasley is only expected to stay a year, but he’ll be an All-American candidate from the get-go.  Jacob Pullen is the most underrated passer in the country, Dominique Sutton would have been a top-30 recruit if he wasn’t a 5th year senior, and Fred Brown, Andre Gilbert, and Jamar Samuels are good enough to have this team competing for the Big 12 title.

4.  Syracuse (6 Recruits)
Donte Greene 6’8 SF Towson (MD) Catholic (No.15)
Johnny Flynn 6’0 PG Niagara Falls (NY) High (Top 30)
Rick Jackson 6’9 PF Philadelphia (PA) St. John Neumann (Top-60)
Antonio “Scoop” Jardine 6’2 SG Philadelphia (PA) St. John Neumann (Top-60 Recruit)
Kristof Ongenaet 6’8 PF Cuesta (CA) Junior College (N/A)
Sean Williams 6’10 C Villa Park (CA) High (N/A)
This would have been the best recruiting class in the country a lot of years.  The ‘Cuse have a class made up of a pair of All-Americans (Greene and Flynn), another pair of borderline top-50 recruits (Jardine and Jackson), their first junior college recruit in decades (Ongenaet), and a solid big man (Williams).

5.  Duke (3 Recruits)
Kyle Singler 6’9 SF South Medford (OR) High (No.10)
Nolan Smith 6’3 CG Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill (No. 18)
Taylor King 6’7 SF Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei (Top-30)
The depth of this class might not be something to brag about, but it is second-to-none quality-wise.  Singler, Smith and King were McDonald’s All-Americans and each of them have star potential at the next level.

6.  Purdue (5 Recruits)
E’Twaun Moore 6’3 CG East Chicago (IN) Central (No.22)
Scott Martin 6’8 CF Valparaiso (IN) High (Top-50)
Robbie Hummel 6’8 GF Valparaiso (IN) High (Top-50)
JaJuan Johnson 6’10 C Indianapolis (IN) Franklin Central (Top-60)
Greg Hill 6’2 SG North Bridgton (ME) Academy (Top-25 5th Year Senior)
This could turn out to be the most important recruiting class of 2007.  Unlike the top 5 teams on this list, all of Purdue’s recruits are likely four year players.  Moore, Martin, Hummel, and Hill played on the same (championship winning) AAU team growing up so team chemistry won’t be a concern.  With this class, we wouldn’t be surprised if Purdue is the best team in the country three years from now.

7.  Indiana (6 Recruits)
Eric Gordon 6’3 SG Indianapolis (IN) North Central (No.3)
Jamarcus Ellis 6’5 SG Chipola (FL) Junior College (N/A)
DeAndre Thomas 6’9 C Chipola (FL) Junior College (N/A)
Jordan Crawford 6’3 CG Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military (Top-20 5th Year Senior)
Eli Holman 6’10 C Richmond (CA) High (Top-100)
Brandon McGee 6’8 PF Chicago (IL) Crane (Top-100)
Eric Gordon will be one of the best players to ever sport an IU jersey, and he will be a frontrunner for Big-10 POY as a freshman.  This class also has depth with a pair of quality junior college transfers (Ellis and Thomas-who were teammates on one of the best JC teams in the nation), and three other top-100 caliber recruits (Crawford, Holman, and McGee).

8.  Ohio State (5 Recruits)
Kosta Koufos 7’1 C Canton (OH) Glen Oak (Top-10)
Jon Diebler 6’6 SG Upper Sandusky (OH) High (Top-75)
Evan Turner 6’6 SF Chicago (IL) St. Joseph’s (Top-75)
Dallas Lauderdale 6’8 C Solon (OH) High (Top-75)
Eric Wallace 6’6 SF Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military (Top-100)
This class isn’t short on quality or quantity as they pick up the best 7-footer in the country (Koufos) for the second year in-a-row and surround him with four more top-100 recruits (Diebler, Turner, Lauderdale, and Wallace).  Ohio State's recruiting is looking more and more like Duke's- “they don’t rebuild, they reload”.

9.  Memphis (2 Recruits)
Derrick Rose 6’3 PG Chicago (IL) Simeon (No. 4)
Jeff Robinson 6’5 SG Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick (Top-35)
Make no mistake about it, Memphis is going to compete for a national title next season and Derrick Rose will be expected to have a Mike Conley-like freshman season.  He will potentially be the best point guard to play college ball in a very long time- it’s just a matter of him embracing his talent.  Jeff Robinson isn’t too shabby either.  He’s a tremendous athlete and an underrated shooter that will be an impact player from day one. 

10. Villanova (3 Recruits)
Corey Stokes 6’5 GF Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s (Top-25)
Corey Fisher 6’1 PG Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick (Top-30)
Malcolm Grant 6’1 PG Winchendon (MA) School (Top-5 5th Year Senior)
Villanova’s philosophy with this class was quality over quantity and the result is a backcourt that will rival the Randy Foye-Allan Ray-Kyle Lowry squad that was top-5 in the country most of the 2005-2006 season.  All three of these recruits have All-American talent.

11. Arizona (5 Recruits)
Jerryd Bayless 6’4 CG Phoenix (AZ) St. Mary’s (No.8)
Jamelle Horne 6’7 SF San Diego (CA) Senior (Top-30)
Alex Jacobson 7’0 C Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei (N/A)
Laval Lucas-Perry 6’2 SG Flint (MI) Luke M Powers Catholic (Top-150)
Zane Johnson 6’6 SF Phoenix (AZ) Thunderbird (Top-150)
Bayless is the gem of this class and he’s talented enough to be one of the best guards to ever play at Arizona- and the school is known for producing great guards (Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Damon Stoudamire, Gilbert Arenas, Michael Dickerson, Jason Terry, and Salim Stoudamire among others).  Jamelle Horne will be an immediate impact player.  The other recruits will be solid four-year players.

12. Michigan State (3 Recruits)
Durrell Summers 6’5 SG Redford (MI) Covenant (Top-20)
Kalin Lucas 6’0 PG Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s (Top-50)
Chris Allen 6’3 SG Norcross (GA) Meadow creek (Top-50)
After Purdue, this is the best class in the country that didn’t sign a single McDonald’s All-American.  That doesn’t mean  these kids don’t have All-American talent, though.  Durrell Summers is a legit top-20 player and is a potential future-lottery pick.  Lucas and Allen were both ranked among the top-25 at some point in their high school careers and could become All Big-10 caliber players for the Spartans.

13. Georgetown (3 Recruits)
Austin Freeman 6’4 SG Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha Catholic (No.11)
Chris Wright 6’0 PG Washington (DC) St. John’s (Top-20)
Omar Wattad 6’5 SG Johnson City (TN) Science Hill (N/A)
Austin Freeman and Chris Wright are both McDonald’s All-Americans and will make Georgetown’s backcourt one of the best in the country.  Freeman could lead the Big East in  scoring someday and we wouldn’t be surprised if Wright has a DJ Augustin-like (Texas)  freshman season.

14. Kentucky (4 Recruits)
Patrick Patterson 6’8 PF Huntington (WV) High (No.12)
Alex Legion 6’4 SG Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy (Top-50)
Mike Williams 7’0 C Alexandria (VA) Bishop Ireton (N/A)
AJ Stewart 6’7 PF Jacksonville (FL) Arlington Country Day (Top-125)
Kentucky’s recruiting class (and season) was riding on Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas’s college decisions.  Well, Jai Lucas signed with Florida, but Coach Gillispie signed another top-50 recruit in Alex Legion and then Patterson chose Kentucky instead of following Lucas to Florida.  With the addition of Patterson and Legion Kentucky goes from a bubble tourney team to a real contender next season.

15. DePaul (5 Recruits)
Nayal Mac Koshwal 6’7 PF Chicago (IL) Boys to Men (Top-25)
Darquavis Tucker 6’5 SF Saginaw (MI) Arthur Hill (Top-50)
Matija Poscic 6’9 PF Freeport (IL) Highland-Illinois JC (N/A)
Mike Bizoukas 6’1 Munster (IN) High (N/A)
Mario Stula 6’7 SF Decatur (IL) Christian (N/A)
Mac Koshwal is good enough to be the go-to-guy for the Blue Demons as a freshman and Darquavis Tucker will be ready to contribute from day one.  Matija Poscic, Mike Bizoukas, and Mario Stula give this class depth.

16. North Carolina State (4 Recruits)
JJ Hickson 6’9 PF Marietta (GA) Wheeler (No.6)
Tracy Smith 6’7 PF Durham (NC) Mt. Zion (Top-10 5th Year Senior)
Javi Gonzalez 6’0 PG Miami (FL) Dr. Krop (Top-175 Senior)
Johnny Thomas 6’5 SF Greensboro (NC) Day (N/A)
JJ Hickson will be one of the elite power forwards in the ACC the moment he steps on the court.  Tracy Smith was one of the best players in the prep ranks this season and will be ready to contribute as a freshman.  Javi Gonzalez is a solid late pickup at point guard and is good enough to someday start for the Wolfpack.

17. UCLA (2 Recruits)
Kevin Love 6’9 PF Lake Oswego (OR) High (No. 7)
Chase Stanback 6’7 SF Los Angeles (CA) Fairfax (Top-75)
Kevin Love is one of the most heralded recruits in the program’s modern day history and he has college All-American written all over him.  Stanback is expected to be a solid four year contributor.

18. Oklahoma (5 Recruits)
Blake Griffin 6’9 PF Edmond (OK) Oklahoma Christian (Top-20)
Chris Early 6’7 SF Huntington (WV) High (Top-100)
Tony Neysmith 6’4 CG Norcross (GA) High (Top-125)
Cade Davis 6’5 SG Elk City (OK) High (N/A)
Omar Leary 5’10 PG Sterling (CO) Northeastern JC (N/A)
Blake Griffin, the McDonald’s All-American slam dunk contest winner, is a beast down low and will be a major contributor next season.  Chris Early comes from winning programs (Boo Williams and Huntington High) and is a nice pickup as is Tony Neysmith (who‘s Norcross High team won the class 5A Georgia state championship). 

19. Florida State (4 Recruits)
Solomon Alabi 7’1 C Montverde (FL) Academy (Top-40)
Julian Vaughn 6’9 PF Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy (Top-50)
Jordan DeMercy 6’7 SF Norcross (GA) High (Top-125)
Chris Blake 6’4 SG Mobile (AL) Le Flore (N/A)
Florida State will have one of the best  frontcourts in the ACC for years to come with this class.  Alabi finished his high school career as one of the hottest recruits in the country after the 7-footer led Montverde to an undefeated season and a #1 national ranking by HoopsUSA.  Vaughn is one of the most skilled power forwards in the nation and is expected to be a solid scoring threat with his soft shooting touch.  Vaughn played high school ball at Oak Hill Academy, USA Today’s #1 ranked team in the country.  Jordan DeMercy is a big time athlete and helped lead Norcross High to a 29-3 record and a 5A state championship in Georgia.

20. Virginia Tech (5 Recruits)
Jeff Allen 6’7 SF Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military (Top-5 5th Year Senior)
Malcolm Delaney 6’3 PG Baltimore (MD) Towson Catholic (Top-75)
Dorenzo Hudson 6’4 SG Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military (Top-75)
Terrell Bell 6’7 SF Stone Mountain (GA) High (N/A)
Darrion Pellum 6’5 SF Woodstock (VA) Massanutten (N/A)
We wrote last summer that Jeff Allen was ready to contribute at Virginia Tech then.  He’ll be a year-and-a-half bigger and better when he steps on the court in the fall.  Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson are going to be a tough backcourt in a couple of years.

21. Cincinnati (6 Recruits)
Jason Henry 6’7 SF Cincinnati (OH) Harmony Prep (Top-10 5th Year Senior)
Anthony McClain 6’11 C Ft. Washington (MD) National Christian (Top-15 5th Year Senior)
Alvin Mitchell 6’5 GF Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal Gibbons (Top-100)
Rashad Bishop 6’6 SF Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s (N/A)
Kenny Belton 6’7 PF Greensboro (NC) Dudley (Top-200)
Larry Davis 6’3 SG Alief (TX) Hastings (Top-200)
This class is one of the best in the country in terms of depth as the Bearcats picked up two of the best players in the country from the prep ranks (Henry and McClain) and added four other solid recruits in Alvin Mitchell, Rashad Bishop, Kenny Belton, and Larry Davis.

22. Georgia Tech (3 Recruits)
Gani Lawal 6’9 PF Norcross (GA) High (Top-20)
Maurice Miller 6’2 PG Memphis (TN) Raleigh-Egypt (Top-100)
Lance Storrs 6’4 SG Decatur (GA) Columbia (Top-125)
The Yellowjackets may be losing Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton to the draft but they have reloaded well.  Gani Lawal is a beast and he’ll be ready to fill the void left down low and Maurice Miller and Lance Storrs will make a solid backcourt and should be four year players.

23. Alabama (3 Recruits)
Senario Hillman 6’2 SG Irwinton (GA) Wilkinson County (Top-35)
Rico Pickett 6’4 PG Decatur (AL) High (Top-75)
Justin Knox 6’8 PF Tuscaloosa (AL) Central High (Top-100)
Alabama fans are going to love the highlights that will come with Senario Hillman and the wins that will come with Rico Pickett and Justin Knox.  This class is the third best class in the SEC behind Florida and Kentucky.

24. Texas (4 Recruits)
Gary Johnson 6’7 PF Houston (TX) Aldine (Top-30)
Alexis Wangmene 6’8 FC Blairstown (NJ) Blair Academy (Top-100)
Clint Chapman 6’9 C Canby (OR) High (Top-100)
Dogus Balbay 6’1 PG Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy (N/A)
The Longhorns have their frontcourt covered as they signed Gary Johnson, Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapmen who are three of the best big men in the country.  Kevin Durant might be gone, but they returned a lot of quality players like DJ Augustin, AJ Abrams, Justin Mason, and Damion James, and this recruiting class is solid enough that this team could be better than last season's team that had Durant. 

25. Washington (4 Recruits)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6’8 CF South Kent (CT) School (Top-50)
Justin Holiday 6’6 SF North Hollywood (CA) Campbell Hall (Top-100)
Darnell Gant 6’8 PF Los Angeles (CA) Crenshaw (Top-150)
Venoy Overton 6’0 PG Seattle (WA) Franklin (Top-150)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning is a tremendous talent with unlimited upside, Justin Holiday has gotten better every year and could someday be an all-league caliber player and Darnell Gant and Venoy Overton are legit top-150 players.

Honorable Mention- UMass, Texas Tech, VCU, Arizona State, Gonzaga, LSU, Nebraska, Pitt, Illinois, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Kansas, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, UAB, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

-Nathan McCauley, Nathan@HoopsReport.com