Are top recruiting classes needed to make the Final Four? Maybe not, and here is why
There’s tons of hoopla surrounding college basketball recruiting rankings, from the amount of stars given to an individual player to the team rankings, among diehard basketball fans.
But does recruiting well translate to reaching a Final Four or winning a national championship?
The 68-team NCAA Tournament is referred to as March Madness for the upsets and crazy endings, showcasing how much parity in the sport exists and how you need good coaching and some luck rather than solely depending on your recruiting prowess to make a deep tournament run.
The 2019 NCAA Tournament is no exception as the superstar freshman-led team of Duke, with three of the top five and four of the top 15 recruits from the 2018 class, were ousted in the Elite Eight by Michigan State.
“I think experience does matter. I don’t know if it will be a seismic change. But I think people are going to start looking at things a little differently. It’s hard to try to get these super teams, even in the NBA or NFL,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo told reporters at a press conference earlier this week about one-and-done teams.
“You still need people to get along, people to understand their roles. Everybody can’t be the leading scorer. Everybody can’t be the best player. And when you’re fighting about things like that, it’s hard to deal with them. And if you don’t have any leadership — remember the Izzo way of a player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team — because players are around each other, like, in an hour they’ll be in their locker room talking, they’ll be no coaches in there. They’ll be in there after, at the meals at night talking. And that’s where a lot of work gets done.”
“And every game — I’ll say it again to Cassius and Josh and Matt — you know, remember, the games are going to be won with what goes on the next couple of days from plane, hotel, to practice. And if you don’t have any experience telling you that — I give a lot of credit to what John Calipari has done and what Mike has done and won a lot of games. But there is nothing. But when they had success there were a couple of key upperclassmen, I think. It’s just hard to do.”
With that said, let’s examine this year’s Final Four teams based on how well they recruited, according to the 247 Sports’ composite:
Auburn
The Tigers don’t have a 5-star player on their roster, but have seen five 4-stars either start or play significant minutes off the bench during their tournament run. One of those 4-stars is Chuma Okeke, who tore his ACL against North Carolina in the Sweet 16 and underwent successful surgery Tuesday.
Three starters and another bench player were 3-star recruits out of high school, while junior guard J’Von McCormick wasn’t rated at all. And Auburn hasn’t had a top 10 recruiting class in the past four years, either. None of that has mattered with Bruce Pearl’s group getting hot at the end of the season en route to a 12-game winning streak and the program’s first-ever Final Four berth.
Key tournament players’ recruiting rating: Anfernee McLemore (3 stars), Chuma Okeke (4 stars), Malik Dunbar (3 stars), Jared Harper (4 stars), Bryce Brown (3 stars), Danjel Purifoy (4 stars), Horace Spencer (4 stars), Austin Wiley (4 stars), Samir Doughty (3 stars), J’Von McCormick (N/A).
Highest class ranking since 2015: 12th nationally in 2016.
Virginia
Like their Final Four opponent on Saturday, the Cavaliers don’t possess a 5-star recruit on their roster. The ‘Hoos do have several 4-star players and two 3-star contributors to their first Final Four run since the 1980s.
The Cavaliers did get a top 10 recruiting class in 2016, but Tony Bennett’s coaching style has helped Virginia become a perennial force throughout each passing season. And it finally culminated with the team making the Final Four this season.
Key tournament players’ recruiting rating: Kyle Guy (4 stars), De’Andre Hunter (4 stars), Ty Jerome (4 stars), Kihei Clark (3 stars), Mamadi Diakite (4 stars), Braxton Key (4 stars), Jay Huff (4 stars), Jack Salt (3 stars).
Highest class ranking since 2015: Seventh nationally in 2016.
Texas Tech
The Big 12’s player of the year, Jarrett Culver, was a 3-star recruit coming out of Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas. Only Davide Moretti was a 4-star recruit among the starters. A defensive juggernaut, the Red Raiders have put the clamps on several offenses in their run to the program’s first Final Four.
Head coach Chris Beard has masterfully guided Texas Tech, despite not garnering a top 30 recruiting class in the past four years proving it’s not all about the recruiting high-profile talents.
Key tournament players’ recruiting rating: Tariq Owens (3 stars), Norense Odiase (3 stars), Matt Mooney (N/A), Jarrett Culver (3 stars), Davide Moretti (4 stars), Brandone Francis (4 stars), Kyler Edwards (3 stars), Deshawn Corprew (3 stars)
Highest class ranking since 2015: 33rd nationally in 2018.
Michigan State
Tom Izzo is known for his coaching. He’s making his eighth trip to the Final Four and already has a national title on his resume. The Spartans’ success each year yielded the No. 3 recruiting class in 2016 with star point guard Cassius Winston among the jewels of that class. That year also saw Joshua Langford, who was lost for the season in January, as one of two 5-star players in the class alongside Miles Bridges, who left early for the NBA in 2018.
The other three recruiting classes since 2015 haven’t been in the top 10, though. This year’s team is chock full of former 4-star recruits, but has seen contributions in the tournament run from non-blue chip prospects, too.
Key tournament players’ recruiting rating: Kenny Goins (N/A), Aaron Henry (3 stars), Xavier Tillman (4 stars), Matt McQuaid (4 stars), Cassius Winston (4 stars), Nick Ward (4 stars), Gabe Brown (4 stars).
Highest class ranking since 2015: Third nationally in 2016.
This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Are top recruiting classes needed to make the Final Four? Maybe not, and here is why."
