2011 - Top 25 Recruiting classes...

[SupaDave]

Duke at 4? Hmmm...


http://www.maxpreps.com/news/0tfY2oG...ng-classes.htm

[CDu]

Duke at 4? Hmmm...


http://www.maxpreps.com/news/0tfY2oG...ng-classes.htm

It amazes me that a team (St. John's) has 9 commitments in this class!

[BluePanda]

FWIW, both Rivals and ESPN have us at #2 behind UK, which is probably more realistic.

[Kedsy]

It amazes me that a team (St. John's) has 9 commitments in this class!

Well, they had 11 seniors, right? Got to replace that somehow.

[CDu]

Well, they had 11 seniors, right? Got to replace that somehow.

Yeah, and that was crazy in and of itself. It's still hard to imagine having 11 seniors.

[Bluedog]

Which Duke recruit does MaxPreps not consider top 100? Maybe Murphy because he re-classified? Otherwise, that's a joke.

[Devilsfan]

It will only start to matter in ACC play (especially against the large state school down the road) and bulid to how we do in March and April. Hope were playing in April like a couple of years ago. Boy that seems so long ago.

[SCMatt33]

Which Duke recruit does MaxPreps not consider top 100? Maybe Murphy because he re-classified? Otherwise, that's a joke.

That is exactly the case. Here is the link to Maxpreps final top 100, which was released way back on April 17 (and just before Murphy officially reclassified). Individually for Duke, they have:

2 - Rivers
27 - Cook
36 - Gbinije
63 - Plumlee

Those are around the range that others have them. Ohio State being ahead of us has much more to do with them being high on OSU players compared to others, than low on Duke. Three of OSU's recruits are in the top 20 for Maxpreps, while Dave Telep has NONE even in the top 30. As for St. John's, the question is how much you value a ton of very good players, but without any great ones. I don't think I would harp on someone for valuing that much quantity more, especially when only one Duke recruit completely outclasses the St. John's guys. Another thing to keep in mind is that most experts have said in this class that the gap between number 20 and number 80 is much smaller in most years, so having guys ranked 20-30 compared to guys ranked 60-70 might mean less than in previous years.

With all that being said, it's still just Maxpreps. I know that they are technically affiliated with CBS but that doesn't really even mean anything. There's a reason they aren't even included in the RSCI. I've read several Gary Parrish articles on CBS where he quotes Scout and Rivals ranking along with, and maybe once or twice in lieu of (though I don't remember for sure) Maxpreps rankings. If you're lead college basketball guy doesn't exclusively use the rating that you're officially affiliated with, you know something's up.

[Chris Randolph]

Not a big deal, don't really care. Derrick Williams was, I think, rated between #70-80 coming out of high school by some reports, he turned out ok

Come February and March we will find out how good this class really is

[Kedsy]

Not a big deal, don't really care. Derrick Williams was, I think, rated between #70-80 coming out of high school by some reports, he turned out ok

Come February and March we will find out how good this class really is

Actually Derrick Williams was only ranked #100 in the RSCI. Scout had him at 72 and Telep at 94, and something called the "All Star Report" had him at 56, but Rivals and the other three services that made up the RSCI all had him unranked.

And two years later he was a lottery pick. Clearly he fooled the experts. But that doesn't mean the rankings are meaningless.

Also, it's doubtful we'll "find out how good this class really is" in February and March. I'll be happy if as many as three of our five recruits are getting meaningful minutes as freshmen in ACC play (I think the smart over/under is two). We won't be able to fully judge the class for another couple of years, at least.

[Gewebe14]

It amazes me that a team (St. John's) has 9 commitments in this class!

I believe they have 5, 4 of which are top 100...

[Gewebe14]

I believe they have 5, 4 of which are top 100...

nevermind... that is amazing

[Starter]

In terms of Ohio State's class... that's a really good class. I like Scott from Milton. Milton was one of the best teams in the country that nobody really talked about this year. They beat Oak Hill, beat Winter Park twice and lost by one to St. Patrick.

But you know, I saw LaQuinton Ross play live and was markedly unimpressed by his effort level. He did nothing that stood out for me, and was matched against St. John's recruit Sir'Dominic Pointer, who absolutely destroyed everyone.

Regardless, I wouldn't be too concerned with Duke's rank on MaxPreps, or anywhere else for that matter. As some have said, it'll be some time before we can judge this class. Frankly, I'm surprised it's ranked as high as it is in certain spots. NCAA basketball is such an instant gratification world now, and Duke's class only ("only") has Rivers as a lock to make an instant impact, based on the players themselves and the programs they're coming to. But I think everyone here would be in agreement that when all is said and done, players like Cook, Murphy and Gbinije will more than have had their say.