Top recruits ink LOI's

The college basketball early signing period began Wednesday, Nov. 11 with heavy anticipation from the media, and the deep 2010 class surely has not disappointed. Check here for the complete list of updates, school by school, of who's going to play where next season. Here's some highlights, starting with you know who.

The Kansas Jayhawks finally inked Phoenix shooting guard Royce Woolridge, who had been verbally committed for two years. At 6-3, 175, Woolridge was rated the No. 94 prospect by ESPNU 100. He showed his versatility his junior season by averaging 28.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

The Iowa Hawkeyes signed a four-player class Wednesday that made head coach Todd Lickliter extremely happy in his press conference on Thursday. The only in-state player is SF Zach McCabe from Sioux City. The others are PF Cody Larson (Sioux Falls, SD), SG Ben Brust

(Mundlelein, IL) and SG Roy Marble, Jr. (Southfield, MI, right).

Baylor adds an Amare Stoudamire-prototype in Perry Jones (Duncanville, TX), the classes No. 3 overall player in the country. Scouts say that this highflying PF brings legitimate NBA potential to the Bears.

Michigan secured Miami native Tim Hardaway, Jr. The 6-5 forward is ranked No. 99 by ESPNU 100.

Penn State coach Ed DeChellis nabbed the program's most heralded recruit in history by signing Taran Buie, the half-brother of current Nittany Lion star guard Talor Battle. The two will get to play together for one season in State College.

Photo from iahawkhoops.com.

Barnes to be a Tar Heel

Well, if you consider yourself a college basketball fan of any level, then you probably (hopefully) already know that Ames, IA native Harrison Barnes chose to take his game to Chapel Hill to play for head coach Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels. I tweeted about this yesterday--I still cannot wrap my head around the idea that a kid from Iowa was rated the #1 overall basketball prospect in the nation and will now be the next stud Tar Heel. I think it's a good fit for him and glad that he won't be a Blue Devil, that's for sure.

Barnes averaged 19.7 ppg and 8.8 rebounds on his way to becoming Iowa's Gatorade Player of the Year last season, and led the Little Cyclones to a 26-0 state championship campaign. Check out the video of his press conference from yesterday. Barnes obviously practiced his speech several times. He began it by thanking his family, the media and everyone who helped him get to where is is today. He spoke about choosing a school based on academics and athletics. He even wore a suit and tie. Does any other top player do these things? No, they just say their choice, put on a hat and smile. This kid is mature, legit and he's the real deal. Good luck son.

Harrison Barnes commitment near

The consensus #1 overall recruit in the nation for the class of 2010 is none other than Ames, Iowa's own Harrison Barnes. The 6-8, 209-pound small forward is rated a 98 by ESPN, with 99 being the highest possible score for a player. Barnes, a silky smooth scorer versatile enough to play four positions (check out this video displaying his offensive abilities), is the reigning Mr. Iowa Basketball heading into his senior season. It goes without saying that he is coveted by numerous top college programs. His short list is currently North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, Duke, UCLA and Iowa State (basically the same as my list of schools when I was a senior in high school). But after months of speculation, the wait is nearly over as Barnes is set to announce his decision this Friday, November 13 at 3 p.m. The live press conference will be televised by ESPNU.

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to see Barnes stay in the midwest, I don't see that happening. Let's be honest, him staying in his hometown to play for the Cyclones would be a SHOCKER, to say the least. As a Jayhawk, he could at least make a return to play in Ames once a season. However, I also don't see him signing with KU--the team is already too deep and talented at the wing positions for several years to come, especially after landing 2009's overall #1 recruit in swingman Xavier Henry. North Carolina and Duke seem to be the top choices he is wrestling with.

I haven't seen Barnes play in person recently, but I did see him play against Urbandale when he started as a freshman in high school. This was before he was "Harrison Barnes." No one knew who he was, but I could tell he was going to be a player. He was raw at the time, but it was obvious once he matured physically and became more comfortable with his skills he would be a big time prospect. I also refereed him the summer going into his sophomore year and I could tell he was moving along in that direction. He absolutely dominated last year, leading Ames High to the state championship.

SLAM Magazine has chosen Barnes to be this season's senior diary keeper where he pens a short section talking about life as a top recruit and going through his senior year in high school. The thing that makes this kid special though, is that he is just as dedicated in the classroom as he is on the court. He's smart and very mature for his age. Some analysts may talk about him being a "one-and-done" type of player, which he may have the potential to be, but I don't think he is even considering that. He wants to enjoy college and win a national title, which is why he is taking his time with his final decision. Whichever program he chooses, it should consider itself lucky. Who says Iowa doesn't produce quality ballers?

And because, really, no post is complete without a reference to Dick Vitale, here's one of his recent tweets having to do with this subject:

Do u think it is Maolox time at Kansas, Okla.,UCLA, NC, Duke , and Iowa STas they find out in 80 hours where Harrison Barnes will go?

Photo from highschoolhoop.com.

All-time college basketball rankings

Jeff Sagarin is a math whiz who thankfully is a sports fan as well. He has developed a formula that supposedly ends the debate over which is the best college basketball program in history (in which Iowa magically comes in at #10 with a little help from Dr. Tom Davis, at right). The formula calculates points for wins, NCAA tournament wins and national championships, along with a few other categories. He compiled a list of the top Division I teams, #1 through #330, along with a more detailed explanation of the rating system.

In an October 5 article on ESPNcom however, senior college basketball columnist Pat Forde does debate Sagarin's order of the list. Forde has several qualms in the weight given to some of the categories, for example not enough is given to national championships, he writes. In the article, he lists the top ten programs in his eyes.

Here are the Big Ten and Big 12 teams as ranked by Sagarin:

Big 12 Big Ten

3. Kansas 5. Indiana

18. Oklahoma State 6. Illinois

20. Oklahoma 8. Purdue

27. Kansas State 9. Ohio State

29. Missouri 10. Iowa

47. Texas 13. Michigan

51. Colorado 14. Minnesota

52. Iowa State 15. Michigan State

57. Nebraska 28. Wisconsin

89. Texas Tech 77. Northwestern

111. Texas A&M 82. Penn State

117. Baylor

Forde's Top Ten: UCLA, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Duke, Louisville, Michigan State, Oklahoma State and Ohio State.

2nd poll results and 3rd poll question

The final results are in from the second poll...and it seems like the Kansas Jayhawks are the Basketblog's choice to win the Big 12 this season. Rock Chalk earned 11 of the 15 total votes, with Texas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma each earning one vote apiece. As all you readers may know, it is well documented that I support this choice whole-heartedly. The Jayhawks are extremely deep (11 players will see valuable minutes) and explosive offensively. Of course, head coach Bill Self will have them buy into his defensive philosophy as well. The only real contender I see on the Jayhawks' heels is the Longhorns, who are very similar in personnel and style. It should be a pretty good race for the regular season crown in Big 12 country.

Be sure to vote on the third and newest poll, and also be commenting on posts and sending me emails/tweets with questions and I will answer them on the Basketblog. New poll question: Who will be the Player of the Year in the Big Ten?

Pumping ESPN

Since we all love ESPN, I'm going to link to some really well done stories about Big Ten and Big 12 schools or players from those teams in those conferences. Two of my favorite writers in general both happen to work for ESPN covering college basketball. They are Andy Katz and Dana O'Neil. I swear I should earn a salary from the "Worldwide Leader" as much as I plug their content on the Basketblog.

Anyway, without further ado:

Katz just posted a really good article on Michigan State, and one of the better videos I've seen lately featuring a tour of head coach Tom Izzo's memorabilia-decorated home. Katz had another post just today about Spartan forward Delvon Roe in his blog.

Another recent article by Katz chronicled Northwestern's history as the only team in a power-six conference to never have been invited to the NCAA tournament, a drought that Kevin Coble (left) hopes to end this season.

O'Neil has a nice article here about Texas super freshman Avery Bradley. He was a top high school recruit, a McDonald's All-American, but has opted to wear #0 in college, a reference to a blank slate.

Lastly, and my favorite, is O'Neil's article on former Iowa player Jake Kelly. He transferred to Indiana State last spring to be closer to his family after the death of his mother, and he was recently granted a waiver by the NCAA that will allow him to play right away for the Sycamores.

Interestingly enough, I was one of the first people to meet Kelly when he arrived in Iowa City during the summer of 2007. I was hanging around Carver-Hawkeye Arena waiting for the Iowa team to finish weightlifting before scrimmaging with them. Kelly introduced himself to me and I got to see his skills on the court. I also had a sports studies class with him last spring. He's a great kid and had a great two season as a Hawkeye. He deserved to get the waiver and deserves to be happy back home. Best of luck to you this season, Jake.

Follow Katz and O'Neil and myself on Twitter.

Photos from skinnymoose.com and dailytexanonline.com.

Hawkeyes getting into season shape

You know college basketball is just around the corner when... teams start playing exhibition games! Iowa hopes to avoid "pulling a Syracuse" when it hosts Marian (Ind.) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday at 12:35 p.m. Go here to read about head coach Todd Lickliter's press conference where he talked about the importance of playing these preseason games.

The Hawkeyes most likely will go with a starting lineup of freshman Cully Payne at point guard, sophomores Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens on the wings, sophomore Aaron Fuller at the 4 and junior co-captain Jarryd Cole at the low post.

This might be the deepest squad Lickliter has had heading into his third year with the program. His bench will offer players with experience such as senior co-captain Devan Bawinkel, sophomore forward Andrew Brommer, junior college transfer Devon Archie and redshirt freshman John Lickliter. Also as Lickliter's disposal will be a slew of young and talented freshmen like Cully Payne, Eric May, Brennan Cougill and Nick Neari. If these freshman can show that they are game-ready, things will be looking good for the Hawkeyes.

Since the 1999-2000 season, Iowa is 15-1 in exhibition games with a 79-76 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters in 2002 its only blemish. Marian is certainly capable of an upset though, as it returns its top seven scorers from a team that finished 11-15 last season. And in today's age of parity in college basketball, we all know the consequences of looking past an opponent (see: Syracuse Orange).

Today, the Hawkeyes are actually holding a close scrimmage with University of Illinois at Springfield for just another chance to prepare themselves for the start of non-conference play and what looks to be a brutal Big Ten schedule.

Photo from Hawkeyesports.com.