<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">1. Kansas State Impact Players: Bill Walker (No. 2 SF), Michael Beasley (No. 1 PF), Dominique Sutton (No. 11 SF) Talk about urgency: The Wildcats will get Beasley and Walker together for one season, 2007-08, before both are likely to jump to the NBA. Telep says they should form an "overwhelming front line" along with 7-foot-3 center Jason Bennett, the headliner of K-State's Class of 2006. Choosing Bob Huggins' second haul of recruits as the nation's No. 1 class, Telep said, "boils down to the fact that they got two guys who have the chance to be program-changers -- and that doesn't happen very often. "Beasley will be one of the best players in the Big 12," said Telep, "and Bill Walker hits you with an enormous amount of power and size at the small forward position." 2. Syracuse Impact Players: Donte Greene (No. 2 PF), Johnny Flynn (No. 4 PG) Will Paul Harris stick around for a sophomore season at Syracuse in order to team up with his old high school point guard, Flynn, and Greene, a Baltimore (Team Melo) product who rated the best overall player at his summer's Nike camp by scout.com? If so, the Orange will be a top-10 team in 2007-08. Telep said that "as important of a recruit as Greene is right now, he's still in his formative years -- and he could end up being the best prospect in the entire class [of 2007]." 3. Duke Impact Players: Kyle Singler (No. 1 SF), Nolan Smith (No. 10 SG), Taylor King (No. 7 SF) Singler is the reason the Blue Devils are in the top five; he's a polished perimeter player with NBA size (6-foot-8, 200 pounds) who is inevitably thrown into the Adam Morrison/Larry Bird category of big-time, throwback scorers. "[Singler] is a guy who could have picked up the phone and committed to any program in the country, and they would have accepted," said Telep. "His skill set is completely on another level." 4. Purdue Impact Players: E'Twaun Moore (No. 7 SG), Scott Martin (No. 5 SF), Robbie Hummel (No. 8 SF), JaJuan Johnson (No. 11 PF) Matt Painter pulled off an amazing coup in West Lafayette, recruiting a class that featured four top 100 prospects -- including three in the top 50 -- after finishing in last place in the Big Ten. "They made the most noise out of nowhere," said Telep. "This is the defining class for Matt Painter at Purdue -- and all of these kids have advanced their games in the past year [since being signed]." These blue-chippers won't take long to gel, either: three of them (Moore, Martin and Hummel) have already been playing together on the same AAU team. 5. Michigan State Impact Players: Durrell Summers (No. 6 SG), Kalin Lucas (No. 5 PG), Chris Allen (No. 9 SG) The Spartans recruited three talented big men in '06, and here they secured their backcourt of the future, with two homegrown guards (Summers and Lucas) and one star plucked from Georgia (Allen). "These three guys are designed to turn up the tempo of Michigan State basketball," said Telep. "You sometimes think of Tom Izzo teams being bruising and defensive-minded, but all of these guards are big-time offensive players." 6. Arizona Impact Players: Jerryd Bayless (No. 2 SG), Jamelle Horne (No. 3 SF) Bayless is considered a Gilbert Arenas-type combo guard who can create off the dribble; he re-signed with the Wildcats after de-committing during the Summer of 2006. He should start from Day 1 in Tucson. "When you add a guy like Bayless it changes the makeup of your backcourt," said Telep. "He's a big-time player who you find minutes for." Horne, meanwhile, was 'Zona's second consecutive big score from San Diego, after landing Chase Budinger in the Class of 2006. Horne, Telep said, "is an elite-level athlete who is good enough skill-wise to be a top-25 prospect." In other words, probably not a one-and-done player, but a wing with massive potential. 7. Ohio State Impact Players: Kosta Koufos (No. 3 PF), Evan Turner (No. 18 SF), Dallas Lauderdale (No. 15 C) The Buckeyes capitalized on their momentum from the Oden haul -- and probably, the likelihood that Oden would be gone after one year -- to secure another top-10 class that included a five-star 7-footer (Koufos). Telep noted that Koufos shouldn't be labeled as Oden's replacement -- "they're distinctly different players," he said -- but will give the Buckeyes a European-style big man with a strong outside shot. Turner, meanwhile, is a long wing player (6-6) from Chicago who was thought to be headed to Illinois ... but chose OSU this summer. 8. Indiana Impact Players: Eric Gordon (No. 1 SG), Eli Holman (No. 18 C), Jamarcus Ellis (juco SF, four stars) "Eric Gordon is the sole reason Indiana has a top-10 class," said Telep. "Without him, it's borderline top-25." Gordon's hotly contested recruitment -- in which he spurned Illinois coach Bruce Weber late in the game and opted to play for Kelvin Sampson instead -- was the story of the offseason. Even if he's in Bloomington for only one season, he's the kind of game-changing guard who will make the Hoosiers dangerous. Ellis was the Chicago Public League MVP as a high school senior ... three years ago. He's an old rookie who resurfaced after one season off, and another at Chipola Junior College. 9. Florida Impact Players: Nick Calathes (No. 3 PG), Chandler Parsons (No. 12 SF), Alex Tyus (No. 15 PF) The Gators followed up their national title by bringing in a solid class that won't be looking to bolt to NBA after one or two seasons. Calathes, the eventual heir to Taurean Green's point-guard spot, is the clear headliner. He's a 6-foot-4 point guard who doesn't have the prettiest jumper but knows how to run a team, and played with Parsons in AAU ball. "You can't fully appreciate Calathes until you see him play numerous times," said Telep. "There's something in his makeup that's just wired to win -- it's not a stat you can put your finger on." 10. Georgetown Impact Players: Austin Freeman (No. 3 SG), Chris Wright (No. 6 PG) The Hoyas' traditional recruiting strength has been in the frontcourt, securing stars such as Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and Vernon Macklin in recent years. This year's class is unusual in that it features two big-time guards. Freeman, a 6-4 scorer from prep powerhouse DeMatha Catholic, and Wright, a tough, 6-1 point who had originally committed to N.C. State, will form Georgetown's backcourt of the future. "Freeman is a multi-year college basketball player," said Telep. "I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking at a kid who might be a future Big East Player of the Year."</div> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/basketball/ncaa/
@ four Big 10 teams on that list. Let 'em keep saying we don't have the talent to play with the Big East and ACC The Badgers are bringing in two top 75 big men, also, so the 2007 class should be outstanding overall for the Big 10. I think Nick Calathes is the most underrated player coming in with the '07 class. He's a true point guard, and he's got great size (like his brother Pat, who is a 6'9" combo guard for St Joe's). I think he's going to be just awesome for Billy Donovan.
