1. Maryland
Best recruit: 6-4 Michael Jones of Braintree, Mass. (No. 21 in the nation).
Comment: Defending NCAA champion also nabbed 6-9 Ekene Ibekwe (No. 25), 6-3 D.J. Strawberry, 6-11 Will Bowers and 6-11 Hassan Fofana.
2. Illinois
Best recruit: 6-9 Charlie Villanueva of Blairstown, N.J. (No. 5).
Comment: Illini follow up last year’s class led by all-American Dee Brown with Villanueva, 6-3 Richard McBride of Springfield Lanphier (No. 26), 6-7 Brian Randle of Peoria Notre Dame (No. 55) and 6-8 Dallas power forward Warren Carter (No. 100). Illinois’ ranking would drop out of the top 10 if Villanueva, who has committed orally, opts for the NBA.
3. Oklahoma
Best recruit: 5-7 Andrew Lavender of Columbus, Ohio (No. 20).
Comment: Lavender is a game-breaking point guard who will set up fellow recruits such as 6-5 Brandon Foust (No. 52), 6-10 Longar Longar (No. 77) and 6-2 Lawrence McKenzie (No. 86). Would move near the top of the class if the Sooners sign 6-5 Ronnie Brewer (No. 59).
4. Kansas
Best recruit: 7-0 David Padgett of Reno, Nev. (No. 16).
Comment: Coach Roy Williams also netted 6-6 J.R. Giddens (No. 24), 6-3 Omar Wilkes (No. 79) and 6-1 Jeremy Case.
5. Arizona
Best recruit: 6-10 Ndudi Ebi of Houston (No. 3).
Comment: Ex-Crane guard Will Bynum will also be teaming up next season with 6-4 Mustapha Shakur (No. 9) and 6-10 Kirk Walters on what could be the nation’s deepest roster.
6. Memphis
Best recruit: 6-10 Kendrick Perkins of Beaumont, Texas (No. 4).
Comment: Coach John Calipari is hoping Perkins doesn’t enter the NBA draft and will play for at least one year with fellow recruits 6-7 Sean Banks (No. 15) and 6-5 Alex Carmona.
7. Michigan State
Best recruit: 6-3 Shannon Brown of Proviso East (No. 10).
Comment: Coleman believes Brown could have the best offensive skills in the class. He is joined by 6-0 Brandon Cotton (No. 22), ranked the fourth-best point guard in the country, and 6-10 Drew Naymick.
8. California
Best recruit: 6-8 Leon Powe of Oakland (No. 7).
Comment: Coach Ben Braun is hoping Powe will recover from a leg injury to head a cast that includes 6-1 Ayinde Ubaka (No. 51), 6-5 Marquis Kately (No. 68) and 6-6 Dominic McGuire.
9. Louisville
Best recruit: 6-8 junior-college transfer Nate Daniels.
Comment: The Cardinals would rise if they sign 6-10, 300-pound James Lang (No. 12) of Birmingham, Ala. He would join Daniels, 6-10 juco star Nouha Diakite and 6-3 Brandon Jenkins (No. 53).
10. Florida State and Cincinnati (tie)
Florida State
Best recruit: 6-6 Vakeator Wafer of Cleveland (No. 8).
Comment: 6-10 Diego Romero and 6-7 Antonio Griffin are rated among the nation’s top 25 juco talents.
Cincinnati
Best recruit: 6-10 junior-college transfer Robert Whaley.
Comment: Whaley is FutureStars’ No. 1 juco prospect, and 6-4 Nick Williams is another prize juco catch. They’re joined by 6-7 Mike Pilgrim.
