Early signing period: Top storylines

RANKINGS: 2017 Rivals150 | 2017 Team

The early signing period for the class of 2017 begins on Wednesday and runs through Nov. 16. So far, only eight of the 27 five-star prospects have made their decisions. Who will sign early? Who will wait until the spring? Which teams will make big moves?

Here are four storylines we’ll be watching over the next 10 days.

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Although signing day isn’t until Wednesday, five-star utility guard Troy Brown will get the week started when he announces his decision at 3:30 p.m. ET Monday. The No. 12 player in the class of 2017, Brown visited Alabama, Georgetown, Kansas, Ohio State and Oregon officially. Headed into the day of his announcement, Oregon and Kansas have been getting the most discussion.

The next planned decisions from big-name players are actually set to happen on the second day of the signing period, Thursday. Currently, five-star combo guard Collin Sexton, five-star big man Nick Richards and high-end four-star shooting guard John Petty are expected to announce then.

Ranked No. 7 overall, the explosive Sexton has visited Alabama, Kansas, N.C. State and Oklahoma State officially and he’s also been by Georgia and Georgia Tech unofficially. He and Petty – who ranks No. 30 overall – have both been considered to be leans to Alabama. As for Richards, the near 7-footer is a bruising post player who ranks No. 19 overall. He’s down to Arizona, Connecticut and Kentucky with Kentucky as the heavy favorite.

Next up will be the nation’s No. 18 overall player, Kris Wilkes. Wilkes will announce at 2 p.m. ET at Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central and is down to Illinois, Indiana and UCLA. With his decision less than a week away, the general consensus is that the Bruins could be tough to beat here.

No. 5 overall Wendell Carter confirmed to Rivals.com on Sunday night that he will be announcing during the early period. He has not yet set a time but Duke is considered the favorite here.

Finally, No. 23 overall Quade Green is set to decide shortly after the signing period. The 6-foot point guard from Philadelphia is down to Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, Temple and Villanova. Syracuse has been considered the team to beat of late, but don’t sleep on Kentucky here. The Wildcats are closing hard on the five-star point guard

Sean Miller and Arizona have a commitment from the country’s best player – 7-footer DeAndre Ayton – and a great group surrounding him in four-star prospects Brandon Randolph, Ira Lee and Alex Barcello. The question, though, is whether the Wildcats have enough firepower to hold onto the top spot.

Much of it will depend on what other teams do, but the Wildcats are still heavily involved with three five-star prospects. If they can add one more among big man Brandon McCoy, shooting guard Lonnie Walker or small forward Brian Bowen (all three have visited), then they have a good chance of holding onto the top spot. If they can land any two of them, then it’s going to be tough to top the Cats.

Between 2013 and 2016, Duke (12) and Kentucky (17) have combined to land an incredible 29 five-star prospects. So far in the class of 2017, they have landed a total of one four-star prospect, shooting guard Alex O’Connell who is headed to Duke.

Should Blue Devils or Wildcats fans be worrying? Probably not.

While they aren’t likely to land four or more five-stars this time, it’s a safe bet that they each end up with multiple five-star prospects, and there’s a good chance that it happens over the next week or so.

Along with the aforementioned Nick Richards and Quade Green, Kentucky is heavily involved with other five-stars P.J. Washington, Trae Young, Lonnie Walker and four-star Shai Alexander.

As for Duke, top target Wendell Carter will announce soon and the Blue Devils are the favorite there. They are also considered favorites for five-star shooting guard Gary Trent and have put some serious heat on high-end four-star point guard Matt Coleman, who was at one time considered a heavy lean to Texas.

Definitely waiting until the spring is five-star small forward Kevin Knox, who has both Duke and Kentucky in his final four with Florida State and North Carolina.

In football, National Signing Day can be a wild time as prospects flip from one program to another. However, nobody in basketball stands out as a potential candidate to flip. What is likely, though, is that we see some high-profile prospects who haven’t yet set decision dates go ahead and sign.

For instance, No. 17 overall P.J. Washington has said that he will likely decide early, but he hasn’t yet set a decision date. Others to watch for potential decisions include five-stars Billy Preston, Gary Trent and Lonnie Walker, and four-stars Matt Coleman, Daejon Davis and Shai Alexander.