This is the fifth installment of our Top Recruit Series, which outlines the recruiting history since 2000 for each of the seven power conferences. Here, we examine the Pac-12.
There is no apples-to-apples comparison when it comes to the Pac-12's recruiting patterns and other major conferences in college basketball. There is a distinct divide between the top five programs in the league and everyone else, and the Pac-12 has gone through multiple lulls over the years wherein the league fails to land even two top-40 prospects in a given class.
Then there are blazing years, like 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012. Elite prospects are going to find their way to the conference, we're just not seeing that happen every season outside of either Arizona or UCLA reliably pulling in at least one top-25 player. (It's happened again for 2017, as Arizona is a virtual lock to have a top-four recruiting class.)
What's also interesting, and you'll see this with the names mentioned below, is how many players from the Pac-10 era went on to become solid-to-stellar NBA guys. The conference has also been able to recruit big men on a five-star level to a more consistent degree than almost any other league.
So who are the 25 best recruits -- again this is based solely on their hype and rankings at the time of their recruitment -- at Pac-12 schools over the past 16 years? This is my list.
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | POS | YEAR | RATING |
| 1. O.J. Mayo | USC | SG | 2007 | |
| 2. Kevin Love | UCLA | PF | 2007 | |
| 3. Jrue Holiday | UCLA | CG | 2008 | |
| 4. Shabazz Muhammad | UCLA | SF | 2012 | |
| 5. Lonzo Ball | UCLA | PG | 2016 | |
| 6. Stanley Johnson | Arizona | SF | 2014 | |
| 7. Jaylen Brown | Cal | SF | 2015 | |
| 8. Markelle Fultz | Washington | CG | 2016 | |
| 9. DeMar DeRozan | USC | W | 2008 | |
| 10. Kyle Anderson | UCLA | PG | 2012 | |
| 11. Spencer Hawes | Washington | C | 2006 | |
| 12. Aaron Gordon | Arizona | PF | 2013 | |
| 13. Ivan Rabb | Cal | PF | 2015 | |
| 14. Jerryd Bayless | Arizona | CG | 2007 | |
| 15. Chase Budinger | Arizona | SF | 2006 | |
| 16. Leon Powe | Cal | PF | 2003 | |
| 17. Kaleb Tarczewski | Arizona | C | 2012 | |
| 18. Brook Lopez | Stanford | C | 2006 | |
| 19. Malik Hairston | Oregon | W | 2004 | |
| 20. Abdul Gaddy | Washington | PG | 2009 | |
| 21. Grant Jerrett | Arizona | PF | 2012 | |
| 22. Kevon Looney | UCLA | PF | 2014 | |
| 23. Allonzo Trier | Arizona | SG | 2015 | |
| 24. David Harrison | Colorado | C | 2001 | |
| 25. Jon Brockman | Washington | C | 2005 | |
That's my alignment of the 25 best recruits -- at the time they entered school -- in the Pac-12 since 2000. A few names that just missed: James Harden (ranked 17th in the 2007 class; attended Arizona State); Tony Wroten (ranked 18th in 2011 class; attended Washington); Brandon Ashley (ranked 15th in 2012; attended Arizona); Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ranked 16th in 2013; attended Arizona); Josh Childress (ranked 18th in 2001; attended Stanford); Trevor Ariza (ranked 19th in 2003; attended UCLA); Robin Lopez (ranked 19th in 2006; attended Stanford); and Hassan Adams (ranked 20th in 2002; attended Arizona).
That doesn't even get into guys like Jordan Farmar, Mustafa Shakur, Aaron Afflalo and Andre Iguodala. The league has not been short on talent, guys with NBA futures and really solid college showings.
As for the list above, O.J. Mayo's got one of the more infamous recruiting stories ever. Google it and enjoy. Kevin Love was a one-and-done guy, but he absolutely met the hype heading into UCLA. The Bruins' last Final Four trip came when he was in uniform. He averaged 17.5 points, 10.6 boards and shot better than 60 percent from the floor. Most of UCLA's representation on the list above are one-and-done guys: Jrue Holiday, Kevon Looney and Shabazz Muhammad all stayed just one season, and it's more than likely Lonzo Ball's upcoming season under Steve Alford will be the only one in Westwood.
Rounding out the top 10: Stanley Johnson (13. PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG), Jaylen Brown (14.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and DeMar DeRozan (13.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG) were all one-year players in college. Kyle Anderson (12.2 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.0 APG for his college career) really benefited from that second season. He was a very fun player to watch as well.
One of my favorite players on the list: Leon Powe. A man's man, a bruiser and one of the five best college players in Cal history. The Golden Bears weren't dominant when he was there, so he was a smidge underrated, though he did take Second Team All-American in 2005-06. Fun Powe fact: He played on the same basketball team in high school as Marshawn Lynch.
Brandon Jennings (class of '08) would've been in the top five on this list, as he was supposed to go to Arizona, but famously decided to instead play one year overseas. He became the first five-star recruit to not pick college after the NBA eliminated high school eligibility in 2005. The same goes for Terrance Ferguson, who isn't a top-25 recruit of the past 16 years, but is borderline top 40. He also had designs on going to Arizona, then was ineligible to play this upcoming season.
Don't remember the name David Harrison? He was a five-star guy ranked in the top 15 in the class of 2001. Wound up being a big player for the Buffaloes back when they were in the Big 12.
Malik Hairston -- a First Team Parade All-American -- was a very productive four-year player at Oregon, averaging 14 points and five boards for his career in Ernie Kent's system. He was the 48th pick in the 2008 draft.
FIVE OVERACHIEVERS
1. Russell Westbrook, UCLA. Ranked 151st in the class of 2006. Honestly, plenty of people tabbed him as being out of his league when he picked UCLA. At the time, he was expected to be a player that could've done very well in the WCC, not the then-Pac-10. Westbrook's a superstar now, a top-five guy in the NBA, but at UCLA his role expanded as he became one of the best defenders in the country. His scoring was never outrageous (part of that was Ben Howland's system) but it was clear he was one of the most athletic and strong-willed players in the sport. He went fourth in the '08 draft after playing in back-to-back Final Fours and became Pac-10 defensive player of the year in 2007-08.
2. Derrick Wiliams, Arizona. Derrick Williams was no unknown, but his jump in college was huge. He went from the No. 72 prospect in his class (2009) to becoming the No. 2 pick in the 2011 draft. The Wildcats were an Elite Eight team when he was a sophomore, and he averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 boards on 59-percent shooting his second season, when he was the Pac-10 Player of the Year. It's forgotten a bit now because he's a marginal NBA player, but he was a top-10 guy in college, absolutely.
3. Andre Roberson, Colorado. Roberson is another guy who's becoming more known and successful in the NBA, but this evaluation is strictly based off how players performed in college after not being highly touted as recruits. Roberson was ranked 158th in his class of 2010. He went on to become the No. 26 draft pick in the 2013 draft. Like Westbrook, he was a defensive savant, winning the league's DPOY in 2012-13. He was GREAT on the boards (11.2 rebounds his final year).
4. Delon Wright, Utah. From an unranked prospect to a JUCO stud to an all-league player at Utah who was picked 20th in the 2015 draft. What a comeup. Wright was guided by one of the best basketball minds in college hoops, Larry Krystkowiak. The Utes had a renaissance in Salt Lake City thanks in good part to his play. He averaged 15 points and five assists as a senior in 2014-15, becoming one of the three best point guards in college basketball in the process.
5. Nick Young, USC. The lowest-ranked prospect here -- 261! -- in the class of 2004. Decided between USC and Wyoming. Can you picture Swaggy P in Laramie? Young's time at Southern Cal was an eternity ago, but he absolutely popped his sophomore season (up to 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds/game), then went pro after his junior year and wound up getting picked 16th in the 2007 draft.
FIVE UNDERACHIEVERS
1. Josiah Turner, Arizona. Josiah Turner was ranked 14th in 2011 class. He never clicked with Sean Miller and wound up leaving after one season in which he averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 turnovers. He was not drafted.
2. Jawann McClellan, Arizona. Jawann McClellan was a five-star player who was a top-20 guy in the class of 2004. He wound up playing four years at U of A, never averaging double digits in scoring and shooting less than 43 percent from the field in his career. Recruiting is inexact, and when you're talking about top-10 programs in the nation, some guys aren't going to hit. It's inevitable.
3. Jamal Sampson, UCLA. Was a five-star player ranked 23rd in his class (2001), then left UCLA after one season -- averaging 6.4 points and shooting 42.6 percent and 53 percent from the foul line -- to be picked midway through the second round. Just never had near the impact that was expected, and this was at a time when Steve Lavin's tenure at UCLA was coming to an end.
4. Chris Rodgers, Arizona. A top-20 prospect back in 2002, Rodgers was similar to McClellan in that he stayed four years but never turned into an NBA-level player. He never put up double digit averages and in fact was worse than 40 percent from the field for his career, this despite being a shooting guard. Problematic, to say the least.
5. Josh Smith, UCLA. The story of Josh Smith -- right now -- appears to finally having some happiness. But he was a disaster at UCLA. Consistently overweight and not nearly the player that his talent allowed, Smith was ranked 18th in the class of 2010, per Basketball Reference, yet he had foul issues, couldn't stay on the court for more than half the game, then ultimately transferred to Georgetown. While there, he still couldn't break through.
Final Thoughts
One particular recruit that still sticks out: Klay Thompson. He's the biggest recruit -- and now the most famous basketball player -- in Washington State history. Tony Bennett was coaching the team then. It's very hard to recruit to Wazzu. Thompson wasn't an overachiever of top-five status because he was a really, really good four-star recruit. He's become better at the NBA level than anyone anticipated, but his college career (two-time All-Pac-10 First Team) was merely pretty good. He wasn't a revelation, so to speak. However, Washington State has not been the same since he was there -- and Bennett has a big part to do with that, too.
You look around the league, and here's what I'd expect going forward. Utah should be getting better and better at recruiting. Arizona State will not be down for much longer, not with Bobby Hurley coaching there. The Sun Devils will have a top-20 recruiting class within the next three years. James Harden -- who just missed out on the top 25 -- is the biggest recruit that program's had. By 2018, I think Hurley can and will get some prospect ranked higher than Harden was.
Stanford's the interesting case. In terms of campus life and all that the school has to offer, the program has the potential to be a perennial top-four team in the league. It's a matter of the right coaching and being able to lure the best possible players in the country who happen to have the grades and ability to stay eligible while at Stanford. Those players are out there; they're just going to Duke and Carolina and Virginia and Michigan much more often as of late. I'd love to see Stanford get back into annual NCAA Tournament contention. Jerrod Haase will need a couple of years, though.
Dana Altman continues to win, though Oregon's been a mix of transfer gets and recruiting victories. Still, the Ducks are Final Four-good again this season. In-state rival Oregon State has a very good coach in Wayne Tinkle, someone I could see lasting for more than a decade in Beaverton, but recruiting-wise, OSU is hard-pressed to land big fish. Jared Cunningham is the only Beaver drafted this century (though Gary Payton II should have been picked last June).
Lastly, Washington's been very good in recruiting but an underachiever between November and March. There's no argument against it. Lorenzo Romar now has Markelle Fultz, who could be the No. 1 pick in 2017. And he's got Michael Porter, Jr. coming in for next fall -- and he could be the top pick in 2018. UW has more NBA picks (12) than NCAA Tournament wins (8) since 2005.