The College Basketball world is full of talented athletes. Those stars in the past have gone on to bigger and better things like enter the NBA to make their dreams come true of making it to the league.
The Duke Blue Devils, which won’t come as a shock to anyone, had the best recruiting
class in 2022 and have had amazing recruiting classes in the past. Top recruit in the
2021 recruiting class for Duke, Paolo Banchero, went 1st overall in the 2022 NBA draft,
which was unexpected. He joined the likes of other Blue Devil 1st overalls like Art
Heyman, Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving and Zion Williamson.
Once again though the Blue Devils have secured the top recruiting class spot over SEC
teams Arkansas and Alabama. Duke landed four 5-star recruits such as Derek Lively, a
center out of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Dariq Whitehead, a 6 foot 6 inch small forward
coming from Montverde Academy in New Jersey, and two others Kyle Filipowski and
Mark Mitchell both big men looking to make an impact on a Duke team who is still very
young. They have also added two 4-star recruits and one 3-star recruit as well.
While Duke does hold the top spot, there is still lots of talent that comes out of this recruiting class. Like I mentioned earlier, Arkansas and Alabama hold the 2nd and 3rd spots underneath the Blue Devils.
The Razorbacks posed well in this recruiting class and made a couple runs in the past 2
NCAA tournaments with some great seniors leading the way, and looking to make it
back with some young up and coming talent heading to their roster. Arkansas landed
three 5-star recruits which include two guards, Nick Smith out of North Little Rock,
coming in at 6-4 he is very versatile on the floor, and creates havoc for the other teams
with his scoring ability, and Anthony Black out of Duncanville high school in Texas
coming in at a height of 6-7, he is a very difficult point guard to defend as he spreads
the floor very well making it almost impossible for defenders to stop him. Jordan Walsh,
the other 5-star recruit, is a small forward out of Link Academy in Cedar Hill, Texas
coming in at 6-7 and looking to make an impact with his ability to score the ball and
efficient defense. The Razorbacks have also added three 4-star recruits to boost
themselves just above conference foe Alabama for the 2nd spot.
Which leads us to Alabama. Mostly known as a football favorite school, the Crimson
Tide are making a statement about their basketball program. Finishing in the middle of
the SEC last year at 9-9 in the conference and 19-14 overall in the regular season,
Alabama made a huge statement by adding two 5-star recruits into their program.
Brandon Miller, a 6-8 small forward hailing from Cane Ridge high school in Antioch,
Tennessee, has amazing potential with his long wing span and significant height, the
forward could be a new star in the spotlight in the SEC conference. Jaden Bradley, the
other 5-star, is a 6-3 point guard coming from IMG Academy in Florida. With the
potential of facilitating the floor and becoming one of the best players Alabama has ever had, Bradley definitely has a lot of potential heading into the 2022-23 season. Alabama
also added two 4-star recruits and one 3-star recruit to boost their roster.
This is notable for the fact that two SEC teams are in the top 3 for the recruiting class
and that poses a threat, as the SEC conference has been known for producing
ridiculous football athletes, but they now look to become great at basketball as well.
Other notable teams in the top 10 for the recruiting class are the defending champions,
Kansas Jayhawks, who were able to secure a 5-star recruit and three 4-star recruits.
Conference rival Texas is just behind them in the 5th spot getting two 5-star recruits,
two 4-star recruits and one 3-star recruit. The Big Ten also stuck four teams in the top
10 for the recruiting class with teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes, who landed four 4-
star recruits, the Indiana Hoosiers who snuck in a 5-star recruit to boost them up to 8th
in the charts with two 4-stars and a 3-star. The Illinois Fighting Illini also made some
noise along with the Michigan Wolverines who both secured four 4-star recruits.
The ACC really only made a small impact in their recruiting classes, Duke being the
only notable team that secured high talent with Virginia right behind them with four 4-
star recruits. A surprise that came to a lot of people was North Carolina only having
three 4-star recruits even after finishing runner-up in the NCAA tournament this year.
The Big 12 had a nice showing from Kansas and Texas but other than that, Texas Tech
one of the more stronger defensive teams in the College basketball world, landed three 4-stars and one 3-star and Oklahoma really has had a bad showing with only two 4-star recruits despite having Trae Young on their team a couple years back.
The Big Ten we already talked about with four of those teams landing themselves in the
top 10. But the Pac 12 really showed they were strong with teams like USC and UCLA
securing 5-star recruits to help better their programs for when they merge with the Big
Ten in 2024.
Finally, the SEC with Arkansas and Alabama both cracking the top 3 with solid
recruiting classes, and LSU still hanging on strong getting three 4-stars and a 3-star to
help better their program to catch up to the Razorbacks and Crimson Tide. Kentucky
managed to land two 5-stars but nothing else besides a 3-star to back it up. Auburn and
Tennessee also managed to land a 5-star and a few talents in the 4-star and 3-star
categories to back them up.
With summer almost over which means summer ball is wrapping up, these talented
players will be on their respective courts in no time, and with that it should be a fun year
of College basketball. With Duke having the best recruiting class can they make a
run for the title or will they come up short and still have yet again another player drafted
1st overall in the 2023 NBA draft?
