NCAA Basketball: Underrated power programs on the recruiting trail
Several NCAA basketball programs have emerged as rising recruiting powerhouses in recent years. Here is a look at few of those underrated schools.
Recruiting is the most crucial facet of building a strong NCAA basketball program. Without snagging commitments from high school players that are either extremely talented or fit well within a particular scheme, it is nearly impossible to consistently put together a winning team. And while there are many programs that dominate the recruiting scene with top-25 classes every single year, there are also plenty that fly under-the-radar.
These underrated recruiting programs are tremendous with regards to their scouting. In addition to landing the occasional top-rated recruit, these schools seek out prospects that fit their needs well and can make a major impact at the college level. Additionally, they do a great job finding players that will be able to grow within the program and emerge as stars once they are upperclassmen.
This article will take a look at 15 programs that I believe to be undervalued as strong recruiting destinations. This does not mean that their classes are under-ranked by recruiting services but that the national perception does not commonly view them as an elite recruiting program. They fit in either the second or third tier on the recruiting spectrum and do a superb job narrowing their focuses to players that are relatively highly-ranked and can fill major roles.
Even though recruiting rankings are often correlated with on-the-court success, these programs also consistently find players that they can develop. Their commits are easy to work with. This is an opinion piece meant to shed light on some of the consistently successful programs on the recruiting trail that not often regarded as top-tier recruiting powers. As a result, there are definitely other schools that fly under-the-radar and could be worthy of inclusion.
Let’s dive in. (All recruiting rankings were found via 247Sports.)