247 Composite Class Rankings

247 just put out a list of the top 2013 basketball classes in the B1G. Indiana came in with the best class in the B1G with the #6 overall class in the nation, Michigan came in second with the #11 overall class. The final standings are as follows:

Indiana - #6
Michigan - #11
Illinois - #19
Purdue - #28
O$U - #34
Wisconsin - #48
Nebraska - #64
Penn State - #72
Michigan State - #73
Minnesota - #84
Northwestern - #104
Iowa - #112

Two things to note...

1. Michigan commits Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton came in as the #2 and #3 overall composite recruits in the conference behind Indiana's Noel Vonleh.

2. A little weird but Michigan recruit Mark Donnal has the highest differential between 247 and overall composite ranking. 247 has him a 3* with an 88 grade but the overall composite has him as a 4* with a 95 grade. I wonder what the deal is with that. Just something that I thought was weird enough to mention.

I'm so happy that Izzo put all his eggs in the Jabari Parker basket and failed.

Also, its Noah Vonleh (not Noel).

hailtoyourvictor wrote:

I'm so happy that Izzo put all his eggs in the Jabari Parker basket and failed.

Also, its Noah Vonleh (not Noel).

Yeah that was a HUGE swing and miss on Izzo's part. I read that he has been recruiting Jabari since he was in eighth grade. The only saving grace that MSU has right now is that Payne and Harris are coming back. They're still gonna be a decent team next year but I don't expect them to compete for the B1G. They are a tournament team though.

Gonna be nice to see UM trending higher than lil bro in both sports for a while. At least that's how I see it.

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

hailtoyourvictor wrote:

I'm so happy that Izzo put all his eggs in the Jabari Parker basket and failed.

Also, its Noah Vonleh (not Noel).

Yeah that was a HUGE swing and miss on Izzo's part. I read that he has been recruiting Jabari since he was in eighth grade. The only saving grace that MSU has right now is that Payne and Harris are coming back. They're still gonna be a decent team next year but I don't expect them to compete for the B1G. They are a tournament team though.

Gonna be nice to see UM trending higher than lil bro in both sports for a while. At least that's how I see it.

Really?, I figure MSU is the likely (and legitimate) favorite for the BT in 2013-14.

'shoes

wshoes wrote:

Really?, I figure MSU is the likely (and legitimate) favorite for the BT in 2013-14.

'shoes

Well I figure MSU will be in the discussion because they will be pretty loaded coming back. I mean they really only lost Nix but I still have O$U and UM duking it out for the title.

O$U has a bit tougher road than UM. I know it's weird to think but the loss of Thomas might be bigger than our loss of Burke. Burke meant a lot to us but on any given night four or five other scorers could show up, O$U seemed 100% dependent on Thomas the entire year. Yes I remember times when Trey Burke single-handedly put the team on his back and willed them to wins but it always seemed like he had a supporting cast to help him while Thomas was O$U's guy throughout. O$U has some good incoming recruits as well as other options in place (Thompson and Ross should be pretty good this year) so I put them right on the level with MSU.

Losing Burke's leadership is huge but I think Alrbrecht and hopefully Walton will be able to transition smoothly and run the team. I know it's asking a lot to rely on new kids especially given the experience of the guys they are replacing but I think UM has a strong core of the team coming back that will make us the team to beat. McGary, GRIII, Stauskas are going to be good but look for Levert to surprise some people this year. If he can put on a couple of pounds he could be a scoring machine with the ball in his hands. Again, I hate to rely on kids that haven't set foot on the court but I really think Zak Irvin is going to be special. He may be a one-and-done type of kid. While MSU may have the conference POY next year (Payne is going to be scary good next year), I think our core is better and we have better recruits coming in that will contribute so I give UM the upper hand over MSU. This all provided we get the McGary that showed up in the tourney

I think the other team to watch is going to be Indiana. I know they just lost their two best players but they had a team of highly ranked prospects on the bench last year because they were so deep. It may be the same this year because their class is really good but may have to wait for playing time. They are young but can't be overlooked.

Of course I should have put my "UM Homer" disclosure on my last past but I hope this helps explain my thought process shoes.

The way I see it is:

1. Michigan St.- They return so much talent and experience that it is hard to see them not be on top.
2. Michigan- Bring back two future lottery picks along with 2 of the top 3 Big 10 recruits.
3. Ohio St.- LaQuinton Ross is a stud and will make people forget about DeShaun Thomas. Their starting 5 might be the best defensive team in the country.
4. Iowa- They return everybody from a team that should have been in the NCAA Tournament. They have more talent than you would think.
5. Indiana. I love their recruit class, but when you lose Zeller (draft), Oladipo (draft), Watford, Hulls, and Abell (transfer) it's hard to see them competing for the BTT.

Thanks for the basketball projections/insights guys. I am cautiously optimistic that the Walton/Albrecht combo at the point will be productive enough that we can indeed challenge for the title. It's tough to know how a true freshman is going to do in the toughest conference in the land until we get to see him over a couple of months.

'shoes

The thing is, the other teams lost pieces but none of them lost their point guards.

Ranking the returning point guard(s):

1. Penn St.- Tim Frazier/D.J. Newbill
2. OSU- Aaron Craft
3. Minnesota- Andre Hollins
4. MSU- Keith Appling
5. Indiana- Yogi Ferrell
6. Wisconsin- Josh Gasser/Traevon Jackson
7. Illinois- Tracy Abrams
8. Purdue- Ronnie Johnson
9. Northwestern- Dave Sobolewski
10. Iowa- Mike Gessell
11. Michigan- Spike Albrecht
12. Nebraska- ?

So Michigan is likely going to be at a disadvantage at the PG position more times than not. The Big 10 is stacked there. On the flip side, almost every other team lost their starting bigs.
MSU- Nix
Indiana- Zeller
Minnesota- Mbakwe
Wisconsin- Berggren
Illinois- Griffey
Nebraska- Ubel

While we return a lottery pick, McGary, at the position, along with two 4th year players (Morgan/Horford). That is very, very, awesome.