NCAA Basketball: 10 intriguing storylines to watch for 2021 recruiting class

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 12: Head coach Penny Hardaway of the Memphis Tigers holds his hand over his heart during the national anthem before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

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WACO, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 22: The Baylor Bears (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

4. Teams building off of great seasons

Not having an NCAA Tournament was devastating for a number of programs that were having one of their best ever campaigns in respective school history. There’s an obvious recruiting benefit that comes from huge seasons and teams can still claim success despite not having a true postseason.

The biggest examples of this are Dayton and San Diego State. These mid-major programs were in the top-5 for most of this past season and the Flyers had the National Player of the Year and likely top-10 NBA Draft pick Obi Toppin to boast. As for the Aztecs, the development and stardom of All-American Malachi Flynn proved that they should be a destination for western transfers and prospects. Each team got a high-profile roster addition this offseason, with Dayton landing USC transfer Elijah Weaver and San Diego State grabbing Cal State Northridge guard Terell Gomez.

I’ll speak more about Gonzaga’s recruiting rise later but another WCC program to watch out for is BYU. They had a fantastic season under first-year head coach Mark Pope, being ranked in the top-25 for the first time in nearly a decade. The Cougars will have to replace a ton of talent but did land Purdue grad transfer Matt Haarms. The honor code for the school will always limit who they’ll ultimately get but look for better talent to start consistently end up in Provo.

One other team’s upcoming recruiting class to watch is Baylor. They fought with Kansas all season long at the top of both the Big 12 and national polls overall and while the Jayhawks always have top-tier classes, the Bears are looking for a huge group of their own. Coming off a top-25 class for 2020, Baylor is targeting five-star recruits, Harrison Ingram and Michael Foster. Head coach Scott Drew’s development has been good enough to have the Bears as a conference contender, so imagine if they start landing top prospects in each recruiting class.

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