NCAA Basketball: 25 best recruiting classes since 2000

15) 2002 Illinois Fighting Illini

Dee Brown was the five-star guard who was the headliner of this class, but three-star big man James Augustine and a four-star guard named Deron Williams also played major roles for the Illini.

Though this group was Bill Self’s last recruiting class while he was at Illinois, they didn’t become a dominant force until Bruce Weber took over prior to their sophomore season.

After going 25-7 and reaching the NCAA Tournament’s second round as freshmen, this group won the Big Ten regular-season title and made the Sweet 16 in their first season under Weber in 2003-04 – but that only set the stage for what would be one of the greatest seasons in program history.

With their unselfish brand of basketball (they led the nation in assists), Illinois started the year 29-0, winning every game up until their regular-season finale at Ohio State.

They cruised to their second straight Big Ten regular-season title and rebounded to win the conference tournament as well. The Illini continued their hot streak in the NCAA Tournament, which included an all-time comeback victory over Arizona in the Elite Eight.

Illinois found its way into the national championship game with a 37-1 record, setting a record for most wins in a single season (that record was later broken by the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats). There they faced North Carolina, where their magical season ended in a five-point loss to the Tar Heels.

Williams was the only member of the class who was able to carve out a long and successful NBA career, but this group remains one of the best in college basketball history.