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Big East Recruiting Steals Led By Some Of Conference’s Top Stars

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) shoots the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half of the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

When looking at Big East recruiting, UConn remained hot on the recruiting trail with the recent commitment of guard Darius Adams. Adams is ESPN’s No. 19 rated player in the Class of 2025, marking the third straight season the Huskies received a commitment from a top-20 player. Stephon Castle and Liam McNeeley led the way in the previous two UConn recruiting classes.

Not every big-time player in the Big East comes into the conference as a top recruit. Let’s take a look back and see where they were rated coming out of high school. It could be a reminder that the top players might be ones who fly a bit under the radar.

Marquette’s Kam Jones and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner are among the Big East players to keep an eye on. They are showing up in the Vegas Insider Wooden Award odds heading into the 2024-25 season. The Big East schedule begins on Dec. 10. It won’t take long for the top returning players to prove that they were undervalued in the recruiting process.

With the calendar flipping to October, teams will get to work. This is looking like another special season in the Big East, and the talented recruits who stuck around are a major reason why that is the case.

Big East Recruiting Steals Led By Some Of Conference’s Top Stars

When looking at past Big East recruiting classes, Kam Jones was the No. 28-rated shooting guard. He was also the No. 107-ranked player in the 247sports.com database in the Class of 2021. Shaedon Sharpe, Max Christie, Jordan Hawkins and Brandin Podziemski are among the shooting guards ranked ahead of Jones in his recruiting class who are now in the NBA.

Maybe Jones will join them. Jones averaged 15.1 and 17.2 points per game in his last two seasons. He averaged 22 points in the 2024 NCAA tournament. Jones had four 30-point games during the regular season. Perhaps the best is yet to come for Jones this year.

Karaban Eyeing Another National Title At UConn

UConn star Alex Karaban is another player from the Class of 2021 who finished outside the top 100 in the national recruiting rankings. It is hard to argue with Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith as the top two power forwards in that recruiting class. Karaban was a big catch in the Big East recruiting battles.

Karaban’s scoring average jumped from 9.3 points as a freshman to 13.3 during the 2023-24 season. He has a pair of national championships at UConn—something the other Class of 2021 power forwards don’t have. Expect more from Karaban since he is UConn’s only returning starter. The lack of individual accolades fuels Karaban this season, as he told the Stamford Advocate:

“In my opinion, I think I’ve been snubbed the past two years with awards. That’s motivation itself.”

Top 100 Recruit Becomes Top-Rated Transfer

It has been quite the journey for Kadary Richmond after Seton Hall came up with a key win in the Big East recruiting battles. He was rated as the 92nd best recruit in his class coming out of Brewster Academy. However, when he made the decision to transfer from Seton Hall to St. John’s, the 247sports.com database had Richmond as the top incoming transfer.

Richmond has plenty of opportunities to shine for the Red Storm with the roster bolstered heading into Rick Pitino‘s second year as the head coach. Richmond has a chance to impress the pro scouts until the tutelage of one of the best coaches in college basketball history. Circle the calendar on Jan. 18, as Richmond and the Red Storm face Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on that day.

Kalkbrenner Among the Big East Recruiting Gems

The 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner was just outside the top 100 in the 247sports.com Class of 2020 recruiting rankings. He was rated as the No. 19 center in his class. Many of the centers rated ahead of him are already in the NBA. It will be interesting to monitor the NBA interest in Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner finished third on the 2023-24 Creighton team in scoring last season. With Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander both looking to stick in the NBA, Kalkbrenner could improve his scoring average. He is coming off a season when he averaged 17.3 points in his fourth year at Creighton. He also averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in three NCAA tournament games.

Jim Fuller

Jim Fuller

Jim Fuller is a former newspaper reporter who covered nine of the UConn women's basketball program's 11 national championship teams, multiple US Open tennis tournaments, was a former voter on the Associated Press women's basketball poll and a former Heisman Trophy voter as well.

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