Given the rise in popularity of the transfer portal and programs electing to prioritize older players who are ready-made impact players, high school prospects are ending their recruitments earlier and earlier. Very few recruits are opting to wait around until the spring, when coaches focus far more on the portal than the high school landscape.
There are only around 20 players in the ESPN 100 still available, with several more expected to come off the board between now and the end of next week.
With only a couple of days until the early signing period, it's time to take stock of the best recruiting classes in the country -- and the big storylines surrounding the best of the best.
Can anyone catch Duke at No. 1?
Duke's lead for the top recruiting class in the country is going to be difficult to erase, regardless of where the rest of the uncommitted five-star prospects land. Cooper Flagg, the best prospect in the country by some distance, simply gives the Blue Devils a different caliber of player. If Rutgers lands No. 2 recruit Dylan Harper (more on that in a second), the Scarlet Knights will have two of the top three prospects in the country -- and that still might not be enough to overcome Duke's quintet of top-50 prospects. And if the Blue Devils counter with V.J. Edgecombe, it likely ends the debate for the rest of the cycle.
