NCAA Basketball: Predicting best player from top 2021 recruiting classes
By Ian Mumm
Recruiting has always been a major focus for NCAA Basketball teams to reinvent themselves in the off-season. Coaching philosophies have helped to sway tendencies for those efforts to center around existing players in the transfer portal and the more traditional high school route. Over the last decade, securing the top high school talent has not only meant a program is in good hands but possesses a great chance at landing a star with immediate returns on the court.
Players like Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson, Cade Cunningham, and a whole host of others have proven that training and skill development are improving year after year to enable a seamless transition to the college game. As a result, players further down the rankings are providing similar production and immediate benefit to their teams for coaches to rely on.
In the age of increased transferring and a growing pool of talent attempting to move the NBA ranks, these player’s values are incredibly important to filling holes in rosters and maintain momentum season to season.
Another impressive group of recruits is making their way to campuses across the country as we speak and acclimating to a new level of basketball. Among the top recruiting classes in the nation are countless players with the potential to make these kinds of impacts. For the top-20 recruiting classes in 2021, I have predicted which player is most likely to have the best season for their chosen program.