Indiana Basketball: Top recruits in Big Ten since 2003

Indiana basketball has had its fair share of good recruits since 2003, but where does their top one rank in the Big Ten during that time, and were they the best college basketball player of the group?

Recently Fox College Hoops tweeted out a graphic on the top recruits from each Big Ten school since 2003 according to 247Sports. You will probably recognize a few of these names but there are others you either have forgotten about or never heard of.

https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1260337241823391749?s=20

One thing that is for sure judging by this list is that being the top recruit by a school does not necessarily translate to success in the college game and definitely is not a measure of a future in the NBA.

Of the guys on the list, there are only three currently in the NBA with two more in the NBA G League. None of them are stars in the league. The Hoosier’s very own Eric Gordon is having a good career but has not been an all-star. Glenn Robinson Jr from Michigan has been productive but not great.

Greg Oden was drafted number one overall, famously in front of Kevin Durant but injuries derailed his career.

Maybe the most famous on this list is Kris Humphries and that has nothing to do with basketball as he married, briefly, Kim Kardashian. Yeah, I am sure he would like to forget that time in his life also.

Of the top recruits by every team, though, where do they rank and would Indiana’s Gordon be up on the top of this list.

If you look at production from the players then Gordon would have every right to be at the top or right near it. He averaged 20.9 points per game in his one year at IU before being drafted seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Gordon would shoot 33.7% from deep and was a great finisher at the rim. He was a great player for the Hoosiers even though he was there for just one year.

But on this list, he still would probably the second-best college player. For as much of an NBA bust as Oden was, he was great in college. He helped lead Ohio State to a national runner-up finish in 2007. He would score 25 points with 12 rebounds and four block shots in the championship game. He was the most dominant player on the court but unfortunately Florida as a team was just a little bit better.

Gordon was great and you could argue that he is the best on this list but Oden would have just as good of an argument.

If you look at the list closely, though, those two guys would be head and shoulders better than anybody else on that list. It drops off a lot until you probably get to the likes of Robinson, Caleb Swanigan, and maybe Stone.

The one thing that this list proves, though, is that just because you are a highly ranked recruit doesn’t mean you will end up being the best player on the team. Just remember Trey Burke from Michigan won National Player of the year and was just a 3-star out of high school.

Oh and don’t forget about our beloved Victor Oladipo, was also “just” a 3-star recruit.