Kentucky has nation’s No. 1 basketball recruiting class. Where does the G League rank?
One year after Penny Hardaway and Memphis came out of nowhere to rocket to the top of the recruiting charts, John Calipari and Kentucky are back in their accustomed place in the rankings.
The long-running Recruiting Services Consensus Index rankings were finalized for the class of 2020 this week, and UK took the No. 1 spot for the eighth time in 12 recruiting cycles under Calipari, who had gone three years without a top-ranked RSCI class.
Last year, it was Memphis — led by No. 1 prospect and longtime UK target James Wiseman — that took the top spot. The year before that, it was Duke at No. 1 with a class led by the all-star trio of Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cameron Reddish.
In both of those years, Kentucky was No. 2.
The RSCI rankings predate the 247Sports composite rankings by more than a decade and attempt to build a master list of the top high school seniors in the country, using in-house rankings from Rivals.com, ESPN, 247Sports and longtime recruiting analyst Van Coleman to come up with one overall order of players.
In 12 classes under Calipari, the Wildcats have now finished first in the RSCI rankings eight times, with three No. 2 finishes and one placing at No. 3.
This year’s UK class ended a skid in the individual rankings. No Kentucky signee had placed in the top five in the RSCI rankings since Skal Labissiere finished in the No. 2 spot five years ago. And no UK signee had finished better than No. 10 since 2016. In this cycle, shooting guard Brandon Boston was placed at No. 4, and fellow shooting guard Terrence Clarke finished tied for No. 8 (with former UK target Greg Brown).
That makes Kentucky the only program in the country to land two top-10 recruits for next season. It’s the first time UK has landed multiple top-10 recruits in one class since 2016, when De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and Malik Monk finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Wildcats’ incoming group also features four other highly touted players: power forward Isaiah Jackson (No. 26 in the final RSCI rankings), point guard Devin Askew (No. 28), power forward Lance Ware (No. 39) and wing Cam’Ron Fletcher (No. 52).
Despite all that talent, Kentucky barely held off Duke for the No. 1 spot.
The Blue Devils have six signees in the RSCI top 50, led by forward Jalen Johnson at No. 11, point guard Jeremy Roach at No. 20, combo guard D.J. Steward at No. 24, and center Mark Williams at No. 25. No other school had four top 25 signees.
North Carolina finished at No. 3 — with six total recruits and three top 20 signees — and then came an interesting twist in this evolving recruiting landscape.
Jeff Crume, who has put together the RSCI rankings since 1998, noted that the G League — if it were a school — would have a talent haul worthy of the No. 4 national ranking in this recruiting cycle. The NBA developmental league’s revamped preps-to-pros program has already reeled in four recruits from the 2020 class: Jalen Green (No. 2), Daishen Nix (No. 16), Isaiah Todd (No. 17) and Kai Sotto (No. 55).
Tennessee and Gonzaga round out the top five, at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
Memphis, which landed five Top 100 recruits last year to achieve the No. 1 ranking, has zero Top 100 commitments for 2020.
It’s likely there will be a couple of future tweaks to the rankings as top players from the 2021 class — such as Jonathan Kuminga and Moussa Cisse — continue to consider reclassification into 2020, though there are no realistic possibilities that would bump UK from the No. 1 spot in the RSCI rankings.
The top 10 classes for 2020
1. Kentucky: In addition to the six aforementioned recruits for next season, the Wildcats’ almost-entirely new roster will welcome Wake Forest transfer Olivier Sarr, Creighton transfer Davion Mintz, and Rhode Island transfer Jacob Toppin as scholarship players. Mintz will be eligible immediately, Sarr is applying to the NCAA for a waiver to play next season, and Toppin is expected to sit out in 2020-21 and make his debut for the Cats next year.
2. Duke: Top to bottom, Duke has a mighty impressive group of newcomers, but this is the first cycle since 2012 that Coach Mike Krzyzewski did not sign a player in the top 10 of the final RSCI rankings. From 2013 to 2019, Coach K landed a total of 11 top-five players and three No. 1-ranked recruits.
No. 3 North Carolina: Day’Ron Sharpe is UNC’s top-ranked recruit at No. 12, and he should be a force in the paint for the Tar Heels next season. Somewhat surprisingly, this is Coach Roy Williams’ first top-five class since 2014.
No. 4 Tennessee: The Volunteers have just three recruits for next season, but it’s a talented trio that includes a couple of five-star shooting guards: Jaden Springer (No. 13) and Keon Johnson (No. 25).
No. 5 Gonzaga: There have been G League rumors swirling around Zags signee Jalen Suggs — the No. 5 player in the country — but, for now, he remains college bound and tops one of the best recruiting classes in the nation.
No. 6 Arizona State: The Sun Devils’ talented two-man class features former UK target Josh Christopher (No. 10 overall) and fast-improving forward Marcus Bagley, the nation’s No. 31 recruit and the younger brother of former Duke star Marvin Bagley.
No. 7 Texas Tech: No. 27-ranked Nimari Burnett leads a Red Raiders’ class that includes three Top 100 recruits. Coach Chris Beard also landed transfer forward Marcus Santos-Silva, who is expected to be eligible for next season, and remains in the mix for top 2021 recruit and reclassification candidate Jonathan Kuminga, who would be a top five player in the 2020 class.
No. 8 Auburn: Bruce Pearl has done it again. Questions about his NBA stock hurt the final ranking for 6-foot point guard Sharife Cooper (No. 19), but he should be among the most exciting players in college basketball next season. Pearl also landed top 50 recruit JT Thor, talented Kentucky guard Justin Powell, and Auburn remains in the mix for Kuminga. If the Tigers could land him — and some in recruiting circles think they could be the favorite — Pearl’s class would likely jump to No. 4 nationally.
No. 9 Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have three Top 100 signees for next season, led by former Kentucky target Cade Cunningham, who finished this cycle as the nation’s No. 1 player.
No. 10 Illinois: The Illini will welcome a pair of top 50 guards — Adam Miller (No. 29) and Andre Curbelo (No. 45) — for next season. This is Illinois’ first top 10 class in 10 years. Former UK recruiting whiz Orlando Antigua has been an assistant coach at the school since 2017.
