NCAA Basketball: 25 best recruiting classes since 2000

19) 2013 Kentucky Wildcats

Simply put, this class was loaded.

Featuring Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson, this Kentucky class set a record with six McDonald’s All-Americans, including five players that were ranked in the top 15 nationally. Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis rounded out the eight-player class, both of whom were valuable role players during their time at Lexington.

For much of the season, this group was together, they were viewed as underachieving. Ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the Wildcats posted just a 24-10 record going into the NCAA Tournament, earning them a No. 8 seed. Once there, however, all that talent started to click.

Thanks to their depth and versatility – and some clutch shots from Aaron Harrison – the Wildcats played their way into the national championship game, where they were upset by Shabazz Napier and UConn.

Randle and Young left after the season and were both selected in the first round, while the rest of the group returned for what would be a magical sophomore season.

With another elite recruiting class in tow (a class we’ll see later on the list), the Wildcats ripped off 38 straight wins to start the season – putting them in the Final Four as the country’s lone undefeated team. They were upset by Wisconsin there but won both the SEC regular-season and tournament titles.

This group has a complicated legacy. They were great and that 2014 NCAA Tournament run was a lot of fun. But the six remaining sophomores were all secondary players on the 38-1 team, usurped by Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis and Trey Lyles.

Lee ended up transferring and finishing his career at Cal, while Young, Johnson and the Harrison twins haven’t been able to find consistent footing on an NBA roster.