In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald names the top five basketball programs of 2021 and highlights another strong addition on the recruiting trail for Duke coach Jon Scheyer.
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RELATED: Duke stays hot, lands four-star forward Sean Stewart
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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STARTING FIVE: Top five programs of 2021
With only a week remaining on the 2021 calendar, it’s time to rank the top programs of the year.
It should come as no surprise that Baylor (1) sits in the top spot in these rankings. Scott Drew’s Bears won the national championship last season, currently sit in the top of the polls this year and signed the No. 17 overall class that includes five-star guard Keyonte George. That’s about as good of a year as a program can have.
Gonzaga (2) isn’t far behind Baylor with the year it had. The Bulldogs capped off a terrific 2020-21 season with a run to the championship game to come up short in the championship game. Mark Few’s program is once again in the top five this season with another real shot at winning a national championship. On the recruiting trail, Gonzaga received a commitment from the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2021 class in Chet Holmgren, along with fellow five-star Nolan Hickman and highly ranked four-star guard Hunter Sallis to close out with the No. 2 overall class of incoming freshmen.
Let’s talk about what Kelvin Sampson and his staff have done at Houston (3) this past year. Following a breakthrough run to the Final Four, the Cougars are once again in the top 15 with the type of team that could make another deep run. Houston has also crushed it on the recruiting trail as it currently has the No. 11 overall class, which includes five-star forward Jarace Walker along with a pair of four-star prospects.
UCLA (4) came out of nowhere last season to make a run to the Final Four. With several key players deciding to return for this season the Bruins are once again positioned to be a factor the rest of this season with a current ranking of No. 5 overall in the AP poll. Like Houston, UCLA added a really strong recruiting class with a five-star guard Amari Bailey, No. 2 overall, and a pair of four-star prospects.
Staying in Los Angeles, it might surprise some people to see USC (5) cracking this list, but the Trojans had a really good year on the other side of the city. Andy Enfield’s squad advanced to the Elite 8 last season and currently sits inside the top 10 this season. For the fifth time in the past five years, USC inked a five-star prospect during the Early Signing Period last month and sits at No. 10 overall in the team rankings.
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2023 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Sean Stewart to Duke
Jon Scheyer continues to crush it on the recruiting trail as Duke also dominates on the court. With the No. 1 overall 2022 class locked in following the Early Signing Period, the Blue Devils are working toward another highly ranked class in 2023 with a strong addition this week in Sean Stewart. Currently the No. 58 overall prospect, the Florida native is a really versatile forward that can play both inside and on the perimeter. He joins five-star guard Caleb Foster in Duke’s 2023 class.
