Early signing breakdown: Big 12
Previous Breakdowns: ACC
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The Big 12 generally brings in some of the top basketball recruiting classes in the country, but the 2016 class hasn't been too friendly to the league overall. Only three of the 10 schools in the Big 12 currently have classes that rank in the top 35 nationally. It's worth watching to see if some of the top ranked players still available help change that.
By the numbers
Ranking the Big 12 classes
1. Oklahoma (No. 22 nationally)
2. Oklahoma State (31)
3. Texas (34)
4. Baylor
5. Iowa State
7. Kansas State
8. Kansas
9. TCU
10. Texas Tech
Usually, you can count on Kansas, Texas and Baylor to reel in top talent that can have those schools ranked among the top classes in the country every year. That's not the case so far this year. None of those schools even rank in the 35. Only Oklahoma (No. 21) and Oklahoma State (No. 30) find themselves inside the Rivals.com team rankings at the moment.
At the moment, there are 10 prospects in the 2016 Rivals150 headed to the Big 12. However, zero of those 10 prospects currently have five stars next to their name. Seven of the 10 Rivals150 prospects are in four-star range, with Oklahoma signee Kameron McGusty (No. 43) coming in as the highest prospect in the league. The other three prospects headed to the Big 12 from the Rivals150 are three-star prospects with another Sooner signee Kristian Doolittle coming as the highest at 116th overall
Things to keep an eye on
• There are nine five-star prospects that have yet to announce their college intentions. Kansas remains involved with several of them. Can the Jayhawks get the Big 12 on the board with a five-star prospect?
• Lon Kruger added a nice backcourt to his program in the 2016 class. McGusty and Doolittle give the Sooners some fire-power on the wing, while junior college point guard Darrion Strong should help immediately at point guard.
• It didn't take Shaka Smart long to reel in some talent in Austin. Four-star shooting guard Jacob Young will give the Longhorns a capable scorer on the wing, while four-star center James Banks can be an anchor inside.
• Neither Iowa State nor West Virginia signed any prospects ranked in the Rivals150, but both added four prospects during the early signing period. Cyclone signee Emmanuel Malou should make an impact immediately coming from the junior college ranks, while Jakolby Long and Solomon Young will provide depth early for Steve Prohm.