[my_adsense_shortcode_1]
Following the dedication of peak 50 prospect Annor Boateng remaining week, Missouri’s 2024 recruiting class surged to No. 1, in accordance to the 247Sports team rankings. While months nonetheless stay in the recruiting cycle, the Tigers’ recruiting prowess below second-year trainer Dennis Gates is a sight to behold.
Save for the one-year blip when it landed five-star brothers Michael and Jontay Porter, Mizzou has hardly ever been so related in trendy college basketball recruiting — and it is indicative of the game’s wider panorama. Also in the highest 10 of the crew scores are systems like Rutgers, Creighton and Notre Dame, none of which might be thought to be recruiting powers.
But in an technology the place some systems make a choice transfers as their number one approach of skill acquisition, the door is open for brand spanking new avid gamers to ranking with high-ranking highschool potentialities. The creation of brand name, symbol and likeness (NIL) incomes rights for athletes additionally lets in for well-financed systems to compete for peak potentialities despite the fact that they’re mild on basketball custom.
Kentucky Duke or Memphis completed with the highest recruiting class for every of the previous 13 years. The Blue Devils are no doubt off to a powerful get started with the 2024 class. But the emergence of a few marvel groups in the marketplace raises the query: who will end No. 1 in the 247Sports Team Rankings for the 2024 recruiting class? Our writers weight in for this week’s Dribble Handoff.
Duke
Let me get started via declaring that I’m inspired with what Dennis Gates is doing at Missouri and super-impressed along with his whole profession to date. In the previous 3 seasons — two at Cleveland State, one at Mizzou — the Cal graduate compiled a report of 64-29 total (42-17 in convention video games), received two league titles and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. Now Gates is undeniably recruiting at a degree upper than his employer’s ancient same old, and — on the age of 43 — has obviously established himself as probably the most absolute best younger coaches in the game.
His big name is vivid.
So is Mizzou’s long run.
(FYI: We talked about all of this in Tuesday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast.)
But, when all is settled, my expectation is that Duke, no longer Missouri, will finally end up with the country’s absolute best recruiting class. A class that are meant to be headlined via Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2024. The Blue Devils have already got commitments from five-star potentialities Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel, in addition to a pledge from four-star recruit Darren Harris. Assuming Duke sooner or later provides Flagg, Jon Scheyer’s program would then have 3 of the highest 16 potentialities in the Class of 2024, together with the consensus absolute best in Flagg. That must be sufficient to constitute the No. 1 recruiting class in the rustic. — Gary Parrish
North Carolina
The obtrusive solution to this query is Duke — which is the favourite to land celebrity prospect Cooper Flagg and thus could be in pole place to snap up to the highest of the scores. But I’ll cross with a fairly off the map (however actually simply down the street) solution and cross with UNC. Coach Hubert Davis has already assembled a celebrity squad with two top-10 commits in Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.
The Tar Heels’ class sits No. 2 at this time in the 247Sports Team Rankings only one spot forward of Tobacco Road rival Duke. One extra addition for the Tar Heels (Boogie Fland, in all probability?) may just stay them contending close to the highest of the ranks. — Kyle Boone
Rutgers
If Rutgers can land Dylan Harper, it’s going to have a sound shot at completing No. 1 in the 2024 cycle, which is an insane proposition for a program whose remaining 5 recruiting categories have averaged a last rating of 85.8. Harper — the No. 2 prospect in the class — is from New Jersey and has a powerful familial connection to this system. His brother, Ron Harper Jr., starred for Rutgers from 2018 to 2022 and is now on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors.
Thus, Dylan must have a prepared working out of what it is like to play below Rutgers trainer Steve Pikiell, who has made the Scarlet Knights extra related than that they had been at any level since their lone Final Four look in 1976. With No. 3 total prospect Ace Bailey already dedicated, Rutgers’ class is ranked No. 5 with a 247Sports ranking of 60.85. Add in Harper and that quantity jumps to 67.37. That could be sufficient for the Scarlet Knights to leap Missouri for No. 1 in the present scores.
History displays the No. 1 ranked class normally finishes with a ranking between 69 and 71. So after a theoretical Harper dedication, the Scarlet Knights would most likely nonetheless want yet another pledge from a top-100 prospect. It’s a tall ask, however let’s dream giant right here. It’s a brand new technology in college basketball as some systems eschew conventional recruiting to center of attention on transfers. That opens the door for systems like Rutgers to land higher highschool prospect than ever ahead of. — David Cobb
Duke
I believe GP. Duke seems to be in the driving force’s seat to land Cooper Flagg. The time period “generational prospect” is thrown round very loosely nowadays however let me be transparent. Flagg is solely that. He is the most productive to be had highschool prospect without reference to place or class in America.
Flagg is not the one marquee identify that might devote to Duke in the long run. Dylan Harper, the No. 2 participant in the class is thinking about Duke and two extra top-40 avid gamers (C Patrick Ngongba ll and SF Tyler Betsey) have the Blue Devils on their radar. If Duke can land a type of avid gamers in addition to Flagg, they’ll have a powerful case to end No. 1. Let’s be truthful despite the fact that, whoever lands Flagg would be the greatest winner in this recruiting cycle. — Cameron Salerno
(*1*)
[my_taboola_shortcode_1]
