The final 247Sports recruiting rankings revealed Wednesday featured Rutgers signee Dylan Harper jumping one spot to No. 3 and Duke signee Khaman Maluach dropping a spot to No. 4. Harper and Bailey, the No. 2 recruit in 2024, headline a historic recruiting class at Rutgers that became the first school that is not a traditional blue-blood program to sign two top-five players from the same class.
But subsequent historic success for teams with two players in the top five is far from a guarantee. Consider that Rutgers has reached the NCAA Tournament just twice this century. The Scarlet Knights lost their best player (Clifford Omoruyi) to Alabama via the transfer portal earlier this month, and they’re coming off a season in which they went 15-17 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play — good enough for 13th. While Bailey and Harper project as impact players from Day 1, surrounding them with veterans will be critical toward future success.
Duke and Rutgers joined eight different recruiting classes that featured two top-five signees. Of those eight, five failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky’s historic 2011 recruiting class, which featured Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, was the only one to win a national championship.
While the historical data doesn’t favor Rutgers or Duke winning a national championship come March, the latter may be better equipped to make a deep run. The Blue Devils’ incoming recruiting class rivals their 2018 recruiting class that featured RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Zion Williamson for the best high school recruiting class in the 247Sports era. The latest class is headlined by Cooper Flagg — the No. 1 overall prospect and one of the most hyped-up incoming college basketball players in recent memory.
Duke finished with the No. 1 overall class ahead of Alabama, Arizona, and Rutgers and signed two top-five prospects for the fourth time…
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