The current state of college sports remains up in the air due to the coronavirus pandemic. Certain major conferences such as the Big Ten and Pac-12 have already cancelled their fall sports schedule. How this may impact the upcoming college basketball season is unclear at this time.
As far as the future of college basketball beyond the 2020/2021 season, the 2021 CBB recruiting class is starting to take shape. Using ESPN’s Top 100 players in the 2021 NCAAB recruiting class, a few college powers already have the early edge with some key commitments.
Topping the list is the ACC’s Duke Blue Devils. This comes as no big surprise for a team that is routinely at the top of the NCAAB futures to win a national championship. Heading into this season, Duke has +1400 odds to win the national title. There are actually 11 other schools with lower odds on the board right now.
Given the early 2021 commitments from July and August, Duke’s new class of recruits is shaping up to be as strong as ever.
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Paolo Banchero Commits to Duke
The highest commitment on the ESPN Top 100 is Paolo Banchero at No. 3. He committed to the Blue Devils on Aug. 20. The 6-foot-8, 230 lbs. center is from Seattle, Washington. He plays his high school ball for O’Dea High School. Banchero grades out at 97 which is tied for the highest number on the board. He is the No. 1 ranked player in the nation at his position.
Moving down to the No. 9 player on the list, small forward AJ Griffin had previously committed to Duke at the end of last year. This gives the Blue Devils two of the top 10 players in the nation as an extremely strong start in the recruiting process.
Baylor Bears Land Two Recruits Ranked in Top 25 on ESPN’s Rankings
Another team ahead of the curve in the 2021 recruiting process is the Big 12’s Baylor Bears. July was a busy month after landing a pair of players ranked in the Top 25 of ESPN’s list.
At No. 17, Kendall Brown decided he was going to Baylor on July 20. The 6-foot-7, 195 lbs. small forward is from Woodbury, Minnesota. His high school is Sunrise Christian Academy. His overall ranking is 90 as the fourth small forward on the board.
Five days earlier on July 15, Langston Love committed to Baylor. He is ranked No. 23 on the list as a 6-foot-4, 190 lbs. shooting guard out of Universal City, Texas. His high school team is Montverde Academy.
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Tennessee Volunteers Land Kennedy Chandler
The SEC’s Tennessee Volunteers recently landed the third-highest recruit on the list at No. 12. On Aug. 14, Kennedy Chandler committed to play his college ball with the Volunteers. The Memphis point guard is another player from Sunrise Christian Academy.
At 6-foot-1, 160 lbs. Chandler is a bit undersized at his position. However he has a strong overall grade of 92. This makes him the top-rated player in the nation at his position and will help the Volunteers rise up the CBB rankings.
The next-best 2021 recruit to commit is Max Christie at No. 13. The 6-foot-7, 170 lbs. shooting guard from Rolling Meadows, Illinois committed to the Big Ten’s Michigan State Spartans on July 7. His overall grade is 91 as the third best player on the list at his position.
The No. 1 recruit on the ESPN Top 100 list is power forward Chet Holmgren from Minneapolis, MN. Also available at No. 2 is power forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. from Sussex, Wisconsin. Both players grade out at 97
