NCAA Basketball: 25 best recruiting classes since 2000

18) 2018 Duke Blue Devils

In terms of sheer raw talent, it’s really hard to match this group of Blue Devils. They famously became the first school ever to land the top three overall players in the same recruiting class in R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson, and added another five-star player in Tre Jones just for good measure (four-star Joey Baker joined the class as well).

This group took the college basketball world by storm, blowing out preseason No. 1 Kentucky by 34 points. It was a performance that caused many to ask if this team would go undefeated but, as the season wore on, weaknesses – particularly a lack of depth and 3-point shooting – became obvious. Injuries to Reddish and Williamson at different points in the season didn’t help either.

Still, Duke won the ACC Tournament rather convincingly and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. They did not look as dominant there, beating UCF in the second round and Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 by a combined three points before losing by one to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.

Many consider this season to be a failure, not getting to the Final Four with this much talent, but they did pick up some hardware – and they’re not done.

Barrett, Reddish and Williamson were all top-10 picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, but Jones opted to return to school and will be a leader on a team that is expected to be ranked in the top five of preseason polls. But the trio of Barrett, Reddish and Williamson will always be remembered for what could – or should – have been.