Early review: Four teams that came through, four with work to do

The early signing period for college basketball comes to a close Wednesday. As we eye what happened during the last week of signings and commitments and look down the road at what could happen in the spring, we take a look at four programs that had a great week and four who are hoping things pick up between now and the second signing period in April.

The early signing period couldn’t have possibly gone much better for Avery Johnson and the Crimson Tide. Not only did they close on five-star scoring machine Collin Sexton, they added the nation’s No. 30 ranked player in shooting guard John Petty. Adding those guys to a class that already featured two four-star prospects in power forward Alex Reese and small forward Herb Jones plus a legit SEC athlete in big man Galen Smith gave the Crimson Tide a top five class. Excitement for Alabama basketball is as feverish as it has been in many years.

So far, Duke has only picked up one additional commitment in the early signing period. However, that one addition was five-star shooting guard Gary Trent Jr., who ranks No. 13 overall nationally. Trent is an explosive scorer who has a brash and confident style and he should be able to step right in for Grayson Allen, who is likely gone for the NBA after this season. Four-star shooting guard Alex O’Connell was already on board and has big upside. The Blue Devils may not be done during the early signing period either, 2017’s No. 5 player Wendell Carter is still expected to announce his decision and the Blue Devils are the heavy favorites for the five-star big man.

At the beginning of the early signing period, the Wildcats were zero for the class of 2017. Now, they have the No. 5 ranked class in 2017 after securing commitments from five-star forward P.J. Washington, five-star center Nick Richards and four-star point guard Shai Alexander. There probably wasn’t anybody who ever doubted that John Calipari would eventually secure another big-time class, but you still have to cross the finish line with the guys that you lead for and that is exactly what the Wildcats did. The Cats are still involved with five-star shooting guard Lonnie Walker and five-star point guard Quade Green, who should have decisions soon. But, even if they miss on one or both, they still have five-stars like big man Mohamed Bamba, wing Kevin Knox, shooting guard Hamidou Diallo and point guard Trae Young to chase for the next few months.

Because they locked up most of their class early in the process, Steve Alford and the Bruins were able to hone in and focus on five-star wing Kris Wilkes. That focus was rewarded when Wilkes elected to leave his home state of Indiana and head to Westwood giving them the top 2017 class at this point. Wilkes is a potential difference-maker on the wing and he joins a class that has the heir apparent to likely NBA-bound point guard Lonzo Ball in Jaylen Hands. Also onboard are a couple of rugged four-star power forwards in Cody Riley and Jalen Hill as well as Ball’s younger brother, the three-point gunning LiAngelo Ball.

The Illini currently have the No. 11 ranked class in 2017, however that class is in danger of taking a major hit because of the status of five-star big man Jeremiah Tilmon. After committing during July, rumors surfaced during the early fall that Tilmon’s pledge could be shaky. However, those rumors seemed to have been put to rest until Tilmon verified that he wouldn’t sign early with the Illini. Now, we want to be clear that the 6-foot-10 center from East Saint Louis hasn’t de-committed, however his status does look tenuous and if he were to completely back off of the Illini, it would be a huge hit for their class. With few options left anywhere close to the level of Tilmon as a prospect, John Groce and company really need to lock him down.

The Hoosiers class of high flying four-star wing Justin Smith, high scoring three-star combo guard Al Durham and promising three-star big man Clifton Moore is a good, solid class. However, it’s tough to ignore that the Hoosiers were shut out from landing any of the top four players from Indiana -- five-stars Kris Wilkes (UCLA) and Jaren Jackson (Michigan State), four-stars Malik Williams (Louisville) and Paul Scruggs (Xavier) -- who rank among the top 31 in the class of 2017. Losing out on four-star point guard Tremont Waters to Georgetown was also a tough blow. The final blow of losing Wilkes to UCLA was a pretty stinging one. However, the Hoosiers are still heavily involved with five-star forward Billy Preston, who is from Los Angeles and it would be quite the turn of events if they could lose a homegrown guy to the team from L.A. and then bring a kid from L.A. to Indiana. Four-star wing Jordan Tucker is another to keep an eye on in the coming months.

There is still plenty of opportunity for Kansas to end up with a very strong class. Four-star point guard Marcus Garrett is a terrific player and will likely play multiple roles at Kansas. But, it was a tough fall for the Jayhawks, who lost out on the nation’s No. 1 player DeAndre Ayton to Arizona and had others like Collin Sexton, Troy Brown, Tremont Waters and Cody Riley visit but pick other schools. They are still very much in the mix with the previously mentioned Billy Preston and they are continuing to work Trae Young hard. Another possible option is the nation’s top point guard, Trevon Duval, who visited Lawrence unofficially. Also, keep in mind that Bill Self seems to rally every winter in recruiting. Just look at last year where they only had forward Mitch Lightfoot sign early before they finished things up by landing 2016’s No. 1 player Josh Jackson and McDonald’s All-American Udoka Azubuike in the spring.

The Tar Heels have a solid class that includes five-star combo guard Jalek Felton, three-star shooting guard Andrew Platek and three-star big men Brandon Huffman and Sterling Manley. Felton has the tools to be an impact scorer and the other three should develop into solid players with time. However, with Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks graduating and Justin Jackson possibly leaving for the NBA, the Heels really need an impact frontcourt player. Losing P.J. Washington to Kentucky was a tough hit and, to a lesser extent, so was missing out on Garrison Brooks to Mississippi State. The Heels are still involved with five-star forward Kevin Knox and Jarred Vanderbilt and landing either one of them would be a huge boost.