Recruiting Classes

4. Ellington
5. Wright
8. Lawson
22. Thompson
58. Stepheson
NR Graves, has been in and out right around 100

Pretty darn close, but I would have to give the edge to the Fab 5 since they did have the #1 prospect.

 

It also depends on the relative quality of the recruits. Aside from Oden, it seems like this year is a little down. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have gotten commitments from those guys, but I don't see anyone describing them as sure-fire NBA All-Stars. And for that reason, I still imagine that Ohio State is getting the better end of the deal. Oden is a freak, and far better than anyone else in the class.

 

He is the best player for sure, not sure what type of team he will have around him.

 

Actually 06 is a better crop than this current class. There are a ton of sure fire NBA players. I'm not sure what recruiting you've seen, but there's Oden, Kevin Durant, Wright, Daequan Cook, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes, Wayne Ellingtonfunction photos(){ window.open("/PictureGallery.aspx?PlayerId=49626&Title=Daequan%20Cook","PhotoGallery","height=450,width=550,statusbar=no,location=no,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,resizable=yes"); }

 

He's got a couple solid players coming in with him.

 

From what little I've read it sounds like only Oden is considered a sure-fire future NBA star, and that there's a big drop from him to the group of next bests.

 

So was Kwame Brown. Anybody know who were some of the other top recruits from his class?

 

Tyson Chandler
Eddy Curry
Sagana Diop
Ousmane Cisse

These are others that went straight to the NBA that I remember being heavily recruited.

 

Then you haven't read much. Durant's considered a very high level prospect and would've been a lottery pick outta high school. Same with Wright and Spencer Hawes. Ellington and Cooke would have a shot at lower first round and could've improved their stock with potential strong rookie camp performances. Furthermore next year's rookie class will be weak compared to this year and it would've opened the door for even more HS guys to get in, had the age limit not been put in place.

 

Actually he wasn't. Brown being drafted #1 was a surprise to most people, since Chandler was generally considered the best prospect, but none of them were considered anywhere close to "sure-things."


The Brain:
Forgive me if I go with people who actually follow these things for a living instead of you, but I'm going to stick by what I've read. Those outlets say that he's the best basketball prospect since LeBron James, and that except for James, he's better than anyone who has come out in a long while. Sure, other guys would have been drafted, but that's not exactly saying much. They're certainly talented, but they're not in Oden's class.