UCLA,Louisville, Florida, Kansas, Florida State recorded the top five early classes in the just completed Early Signing Period. The Bruins filled the holes in the backcourt with the addition of Malcolm Lee and JRue Holliday. They are the type of pressure guards that Ben Howland loves.
Louisville filled it’s roster with long, agile and skilled versatile forwards who will be interchangeable in their system. Rick Pitino took a page out of Denny Crum’s book with the signing of Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings. Both players can play more than one position. The roster is starting to look like Pitino’s Kentucky line up when the won the national championship.
Florida followed up last year’s top ranked class with immediate help in the frontcourt and backcourt. Eloy Vargas will step in at the forward position while lightning quick guard Erving Walker will be pushing the ball down the court in record speed.
Kansas got a two for one deal when they signed a pair of twins out of New Jersey. Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris will give immediate help on the backboard. However, look for junior college swing, Mario Little, to have the most impact.
Florida State pulled off the biggest upset by landing Chris Singleton and five other players. Look for Xavier Gibson out of Alabama to play a significant role down the road.
Others in my top ten were as follows:
Georgetown
Ohio State
USC
Oregon
Arizona
That is it for the hype. Now let’s see where they are two years from now. It used to be four years, but if they are as good as advertised they won’t be there longer than two.
