Alexander Brown
O 247Sports Final Recruiting Rankings Revealed Wednesday featured Rutgers signee Dylan Harper jumping one spot to third place and Duke signee Khaman Maluach falling to fourth place. Harper and Bailey, the No. 2 recruit in 2024, headlined a historic recruiting class at Rutgers that became the first school that is not a traditional blue-blood program to sign two of the top five players from the same class.
But subsequent historic success for teams with two top-five players is far from a guarantee. Consider that Rutgers has reached the NCAA Tournament only twice this century. The Scarlet Knights lost their best player (Clifford Omoruyi) to Alabama through the transfer portal earlier this month, and are coming off a season in which they went 15-17 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play – good enough to 13th place. . While Bailey and Harper have been considered impact players from day one, surrounding them with veterans will be critical to their future success.
Duke and Rutgers joined eight different recruiting classes that featured two of the top five signees. Of those eight, five failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky’s historic 2011 recruiting class, which featured Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, was the only one to win a national championship.
While historical data does not favor Rutgers or Duke winning a national championship in March, the latter may be better equipped to make a deep run. The Blue Devils’ new recruiting class rivals the 2018 recruiting class, which featured RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson for the best high school recruiting class in the 247Sports era. The latest class is headlined by Cooper Flagg – the No. 1 overall prospect and one of the most highly touted college basketball players in recent memory.
Duke finished first in the overall class, ahead of Alabama, Arizona and Rutgers, and signed two of the top five for the fourth time since 2016.
Here’s how other teams that signed two of the top five players in the same class fared the following season:
Kentucky (2023)
Who: Justin Edwards (#3) and Aaron Bradshaw (#5)
Season result: Lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament
John Calipari’s latest recruiting class at Kentucky was ranked as the No. 1 class in the 2023 cycle. The group’s highest-rated prospect, Edwards, was touted as a player who could become the No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft, but some difficulties at the start of the season led to him finding a reduced role. As for Bradshaw, he missed the first month of the season with an injury and transferred to Ohio State after an up-and-down freshman campaign. Kentucky lost to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with this group in the final game of Calipari’s tenure at the school.
Who: Dereck Lively lll (#2), Dariq Whitehead (#3) and Kyle Filipowski (#4)
Season result: Lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament
In the first season without legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke brought in three five-star recruits to begin a new era. Lively and Whitehead declared for the 2023 NBA Draft (where they became first-round picks), and Filipowski decided to return to school for his sophomore season. After falling to 8-6 in ACC play following a loss to Virginia, Duke went on a winning streak that included winning 10 consecutive games before falling to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Who: RJ Barrett (#1) and Cam Reddish (#3)
Season result: Lost in the Elite Eight
Perhaps the best recruiting class of the modern era, Duke managed to sign the highest-rated player (Barrett), the No. 3 player (Reddish) and the No. 7 player (Zion Williamson) of the 2018 recruiting cycle. thrilling run in the NCAA tournament that included close wins over UCF and Virginia Tech before losing to Michigan State in the Elite Eight. Williamson is one of three freshmen (Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant being the others) to win the Naismith Award.
Who: Harry Giles (No. 3) and Frank Jackson (No. 5)
Season result: Lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Duke managed to sign two of the best players in the 2016 recruiting cycle, but the class’ top recruit fell outside the top five. Future NBA Star Jayson Tatum was the No. 8 player in his class and helped the Blue Devils secure the highest-ranked recruiting class during the 2016 cycle. Duke lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to South Carolina as a No. 2 seed.
Who: Cliff Alexander (No. 4) and Kelly Oubre (No. 5)
Season result: Lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament
Kansas’ 2014-15 roster featured seven players who would play at the next level. Alexander and Oubre were two of them. The Jayhawks entered the 2015 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed and fell to No. 7 seed Wichita State in the second round. Oubre was selected 15th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, while Alexander went undrafted.
Kentucky (2013)
Who: Julius Randle (#2) Andrew Harrison (#3) and Aaron Harrison (#5)
Season result: Lost in the national title game
Kentucky’s (at the time) 2013 recruiting class became the first team in the 247Sports era to sign three of the top five players from the same class. The Wildcats entered the 2014 NCAA Tournament with a 24-10 record and won five straight games over Kansas State, Wichita State, Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin to reach the national title game. Aaron Harrison hit a handful of baskets during the tournament that helped Kentucky reach the title game.
Who: Shabazz Muhammad (#2) and Kyle Anderson (#3)
Season result: Lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament
After signing two key players from the 2012 recruiting cycle, UCLA coach Ben Howland was fired after being eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Muhammad was drafted 14th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft after a breakout rookie campaign, but never lived up to the hype at the next level. Anderson decided to return to school as a sophomore and later became a late first-round pick the following summer.
Kentucky (2011)
Who: Anthony Davis (No. 1) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (No. 2)
Season result: Won national title
It’s rare to get a player of Davis’ caliber at the college level. The former Kentucky star is considered one of the best prospects in college basketball history and helped lead the Wildcats to their last national title in 2012. Kidd-Gilchrist was also one of the best freshmen in college basketball during his only season at UK . Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist would end up going No. 1-2 in the 2012 NBA Draft — just as they were ranked in 247Sports’ final rankings.
