Final rankings for Class of 2016 ESPN 100

[Windyplayer]

Anyone with ESPN insider care to share? Thank you.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecruiting/on-the-trail/insider/post?id=15572

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/view/espnu100/sort/rank/class/2016

The actual list isn't Insider only.

Markus Howard at #84
Sam Hauser at #86
Brendan Bailey not listed (might be because of his mission)
Kalif Young not listed

Some other BEast recruits:
Omari Spellman #18 (Villanova)
Shamorie Ponds #36 (St. John's)
Myles Powell #81 (Seton Hall)
Quentin Goodin #92 (Xavier)
Tyrique Jones #94 (Xavier)

Of note:
Amir Coffey #32 (former MU target)
Harvard ends up with 4 top 100 recruits?
Duke, UCLA, and UK end up with 9/14 of the top 14 recruits
Biancardi claims this is the best high school class since 2007 (Love, Griffin, OJ Mayo, etc)

[Windyplayer]

Thanks. For some reason, I thought Howard was much higher.

[Chili]

Thanks. For some reason, I thought Howard was much higher.

He was about 35-40 in the 2017 rankings. My guess is they just tossed him in somewhere.

[Windyplayer]

He was about 35-40 in the 2017 rankings. My guess is they just tossed him in somewhere.

Ah, that's right.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Thanks. For some reason, I thought Howard was much higher.

247 composite has him at 39. ESPN is the least reliable site when it comes to recruiting rankings IMHO

[brewcity77]

247 composite has him at 39. ESPN is the least reliable site when it comes to recruiting rankings IMHO

Agreed. Their summaries are nice and the main reason I have Insider, but their actual rankings seem somewhat haphazard.

[MU82]

247 composite has him at 39. ESPN is the least reliable site when it comes to recruiting rankings IMHO

247's team rankings have us at 15, just ahead of Shaka, Larry Brown and It's Indiana and just behind Zags, KU and Oregon. FWIW.

[CountryRoads]

Agreed. Their summaries are nice and the main reason I have Insider, but their actual rankings seem somewhat haphazard.

Agree but wojo is probably sharpening up his axe just in case.

[jsglow]

247's team rankings have us at 15, just ahead of Shaka, Larry Brown and It's Indiana and just behind Zags, KU and Oregon. FWIW.

And #1 in the BEast for the second straight year.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-East

[fjm]

not bad... But where is Kostas?

[Newsdreams]

And #1 in the BEast for the second straight year.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-East

Basic #1 in a basic conference

[fjm]

Basic #1 in a basic conference

wojo only gets the easy recruits.

[Windyplayer]

Typically, how many 5 stars are in a class? 10-15?

[NotAnAlum]

247's team rankings have us at 15, just ahead of Shaka, Larry Brown and It's Indiana and just behind Zags, KU and Oregon. FWIW.

And if you base it on average rank of recruits we're in the top 10. Its hard to complete when we only have 3... I mean 4 slots to fill.

[MU82]

And if you base it on average rank of recruits we're in the top 10. Its hard to complete when we only have 3... I mean 4 slots to fill.

Yep, so far - 3 slots, 3 four-star recruits. Pretty good.

Of course, there are a couple dopes on here who say that Damion Lee signing with Louisville is proof that Wojo can't recruit.

I think one of those same dopes said Wojo "better get Howard" - as if Howard decided to go elsewhere, Lovell would have immediately fired Wojo.

[brandx]

Typically, how many 5 stars are in a class? 10-15?

Typically, about 25 depending on the service.

[Windyplayer]

Typically, about 25 depending on the service.

Thanks.

[Herman Cain]

247 composite has him at 39. ESPN is the least reliable site when it comes to recruiting rankings IMHO

I agree with this analysis.

[Marcus92]

Did you notice that UNC only has 1 recruit among the top 50 — and nobody in the top 10? Could be that players are very aware of what's going on with the academic scandal.

[Groin_pull]

Did you notice that UNC only has 1 recruit among the top 50 — and nobody in the top 10? Could be that players are very aware of what's going on with the academic scandal.

Scandal? Hahaha. We all know the NCAA will let them walk away with only a mild slap on the wrist--if that.

[Marcus92]

Scandal? Hahaha. We all know the NCAA will let them walk away with only a mild slap on the wrist--if that.

I wouldn't be too sure. The NCAA ordered Jim Boeheim — one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history — suspended for 9 games and vacated over 100 of his wins. Syracuse also lost 12 scholarships over 4 years and all of its shares from appearing in the NCAA tourney from 2011-13.

Granted, that's not the death penalty. But I wouldn't call it a slap on the wrist, either. Those are significant penalties, from the less tangible cost of publicly shaming the university to losing recruiting opportunities and millions of dollars of revenue.

The UNC scandal is possibly the biggest academic fraud in the history of college sports. The university's standing as an educational institution is at stake. You can never predict what the NCAA will do. But I expect there will be sanctions. And that they'll have some bite.

[brewcity77]

Did you notice that UNC only has 1 recruit among the top 50 — and nobody in the top 10? Could be that players are very aware of what's going on with the academic scandal.

Roy doesn't like playing the one and done game. Would rather get the best recruits he thinks will play 4 years (like Paige and Johnson). Sometimes they still leave early, but he's not working the same way as K or Cal.

[79Warrior]

And #1 in the BEast for the second straight year.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-East

Then hopefully that will translate into some post season activity for MU soon.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I wouldn't be too sure. The NCAA ordered Jim Boeheim — one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history — suspended for 9 games and vacated over 100 of his wins. Syracuse also lost 12 scholarships over 4 years and all of its shares from appearing in the NCAA tourney from 2011-13.

Granted, that's not the death penalty. But I wouldn't call it a slap on the wrist, either. Those are significant penalties, from the less tangible cost of publicly shaming the university to losing recruiting opportunities and millions of dollars of revenue.

The UNC scandal is possibly the biggest academic fraud in the history of college sports. The university's standing as an educational institution is at stake. You can never predict what the NCAA will do. But I expect there will be sanctions. And that they'll have some bite.

The difference could come down to Syracuse was hit with academic misconduct and UNC men's Bball does not get mentioned for that in the ANOI. Roy Williams has publicly stated that his sport will come out fine, before the release of the ANOI that was laughed at, now no one is laughing except maybe Roy.

[Marcus92]

Does Nova have the next Ochefu with Omari Spellman? A 6'9" power forward listed at 275 pounds. Try moving him out of the paint.

[Herman Cain]

Does Nova have the next Ochefu with Omari Spellman? A 6'9" power forward listed at 275 pounds. Try moving him out of the paint.

He is a good prospect for them.

[Marcus92]

Roy doesn't like playing the one and done game. Would rather get the best recruits he thinks will play 4 years (like Paige and Johnson). Sometimes they still leave early, but he's not working the same way as K or Cal.

This might be Roy's story, but Paige was part of the Class of 2012. The academic fraud investigation first broke the year before. I'm not the only one who's speculated about the effect on recruiting:

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball-news/4700271-north-carolina-unc-academic-scandal-roy-williams-recruiting-final-four-marcus-paige

What will the NCAA ultimately decide? Who knows. Personally, I don't care about vacating wins or national titles. Seems like a mostly empty gesture to me. Scholarships, tournament revenue and postseason bans hit schools where it really hurts. With academic fraud so endemic throughout the entire UNC athletic program, I'd be surprised if the basketball team emerges unscathed.

[MattyWarrior]

Every time MU picks up a top 100 kid on espn they drop down the list and seldom get mentioned
at all, obvious bias against the Big East. For all the people they have following recruiting, the coverage is outdated and poor..

[Dawson Rental]

247 composite has him at 39. ESPN is the least reliable site when it comes to recruiting rankings IMHO

I agree with this analysis.

As TAMU himself says, its an opinion, not an analysis.

[Dawson Rental]

Does Nova have the next Ochefu with Omari Spellman? A 6'9" power forward listed at 275 pounds. Try moving him out of the paint.

No, he'll be better sooner than Ochefu, and probably won't stay four years.

[Herman Cain]

As TAMU himself says, its an opinion, not an analysis.

An opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

[Lennys Tap]

An opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

Sometimes.

[Nukem2]

An opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

well, that's an opinion.  Facts often never enter into opinions.   

[Jay Bee]

An opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

wat

[Marcus92]

I think that should be:

An informed opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

People can have plain-old opinions without considering any facts whatsoever. Then there are personal opinions (shaped by one's own experiences and preferences more than objective facts).

[Herman Cain]

I think that should be:

An informed opinion is derived from an analysis of the facts.

People can have plain-old opinions without considering any facts whatsoever. Then there are personal opinions (shaped by one's own experiences and preferences more than objective facts).

I agree with this analysis.

[brewcity77]

This might be Roy's story, but Paige was part of the Class of 2012. The academic fraud investigation first broke the year before. I'm not the only one who's speculated about the effect on recruiting:

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball-news/4700271-north-carolina-unc-academic-scandal-roy-williams-recruiting-final-four-marcus-paige

What will the NCAA ultimately decide? Who knows. Personally, I don't care about vacating wins or national titles. Seems like a mostly empty gesture to me. Scholarships, tournament revenue and postseason bans hit schools where it really hurts. With academic fraud so endemic throughout the entire UNC athletic program, I'd be surprised if the basketball team emerges unscathed.

Entirely possible the scandal has hurt recruiting, but UNC is still pulling down solid classes and getting guys to stay. Even guys recruited before the scandal, Barnes, Marshall, Henson, Hairston, were staying 2-3 years. They had three top-25 recruits in their 2014 class since the scandal and all will be back for their junior years.

Roy may be suffering from the scandal, but I'm sure almost any other coach in the country would happily see their team "suffer" to the tune of a preseason #1 ranking and a run to the Title game where it takes a buzzer beater three to knock you off. Further, with how long this is taking, it seems less and less likely that any sanctions of note will come. Vacating wins and all that, as you say, is pretty meaningless. And Syracuse is proving that scholarships don't necessarily amount to much. It's postseason bans that matter, but my guess is UNC would at most just put a 1-year postseason ban on themselves (like Syracuse and Louisville did before) and skate on all relevant charges.

[Golden Avalanche]

I agree with this analysis.

But do you agree with that opinion?

[brandx]

Every time MU picks up a top 100 kid on espn they drop down the list and seldom get mentioned
at all, obvious bias against the Big East. For all the people they have following recruiting, the coverage is outdated and poor..

Simply untrue.