The 10 Best Recruiters Among NCAA Basketball Coaches

The playing field is not level in college basketball. Thanks, in part, to a coach’s ability to woo highly rated talent, the best recruiters are also the best winners. You need players.

It’s a positive feedback loop that is self-perpetuating: Recruit great players, win, send great players to the NBA and more great players sit in your trick-or-treat queue for the big candy bars.

So for this slideshow, the criteria is simple: Who recruits the most 5-star talent? I’m going back just five recruiting classes to the year 2011, when a wiry Anthony Davis was 247Sports’ No. 1 player in the country.

The best recruiters snatch up the most coveted talent. As hard as that may be, it’s just that simple.

So read on to see which coaches are today’s best recruiters.

10. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Three

What makes him a great recruiter?

People would probably consider Tom Izzo to be a better coach than recruiter. You never really hear him making a huge recruiting splash the way Kentucky and Duke do.

Writes Jonathon Chun of The State News:

"

Still, it all comes back to bringing in the right people. Even if a top recruit has interest in the Spartans, it doesn't necessarily mean that player is right for MSU. Even Izzo admits he has to remind himself of that fact from time to time. So, maybe it was a good thing MSU struck out on guys like Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor, right? No? I’m fired?

"

Chun goes on and makes a good point: Izzo doesn't need to recruit 5-star players—as nice on the surface as that may be. Rather, he takes the players with higher ceilings and, pardon the expressions, raises their roofs.

Writes Chun, "Without a doubt, it’s always great to land a player of that caliber. However, what makes Izzo unique is he doesn't need a 5-star recruit to build a 5-star player. He’ll be satisfied if he finds three gym rats, as long as they can rebound and take a scolding.”

Aside from the top four on this list, most top programs bring in only one or two 5-star recruits a year. Izzo is no different, and he is skilled all the same.

9. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Four

What makes him a great recruiter?

Jim Boeheim never makes a splash in recruiting. Instead, he’s like an Olympic diver who nails the plunge like a teardrop, causing little turbulence yet lighting up the scoreboard.

In July, Boeheim went so far as to say this on SB Nation:

"

I will tell you that next year's recruiting class will be the best that we've ever had here at Syracuse University. That's next year's class — 2015. We've got four guys (who've committed) and we're getting another, but I can't talk about that. It's going to be a great recruiting class, and I think you'll be excited about the future.

"

Boeheim just keeps going. On top of recruiting a 5-star player every year for the past four years, he throws in some complimentary 4-star ability as well.

With Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Tony Bennett now in his conference, Boeheim has elevated his game since entering the ACC.

8. Johnny Jones, LSU

Ray Thompson/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Three

What makes him a great recruiter?

Johnny Jones could sit back and let John Calipari have his way with the SEC. Instead, Jones went out and signed the No. 1 player, according to 247Sports, in Ben Simmons. Jones locked him up early.

Then he pried Antonio Blakeney from Calipari's grip to have one of the more devastating 2015-16 freshman combos in the country. This could be a Kentucky-threatening combination coming out of Baton Rouge.

“Really just because the relationship I have with the coaches and the plan they have for the program,” Blakeney gave as his reason for joining LSU, per Sporting News' Brian Flinn. “It's a football school right now, but they're coming up as a basketball program and I would love to be a part of that.”  

Jones was able to forge relationships with two of the top recruits from 2015.

The true power of Jones’ ability as a recruiter will come in 2016 and 2017, when fans will see if he can parlay this winning hand into a national power for the next few years.

7. Rick Barnes, Texas

Eric Gay/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Four

What makes him a great recruiter?

It boils down to Rick Barnes’ integrity and willingness to land great talent at no cost to his soul.

Now, by extension of that sentence, there’s this implication that other coaches may be selling their souls to win at all costs. The implication, it should be noted, is that nefarious doings are taking place all around us, especially in Texas.

Barnes, sometimes to his own detriment, has steered away from that in his 17 years at Texas. He did get someone named Kevin Durant to play for him. He also lost a disgruntled Sheldon McClellan.

Barnes told Eric Prisbell of USA Today:

"

That is why you can't care. I only know what I know. We have to make decisions on what we know. I'm not assuming everyone is cheating. I just know when we are involved in the situation and we get into it and we see things happen. We have recruited enough to know. I have an experienced coaching staff. So you know.

"

Despite the cheating he despises, Barnes has managed to produce a team, in 2014-15, that ranks among the best in the country.

6. Billy Donovan, Florida

Phil Sandlin/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Four

What makes him a great recruiter?

Having the athletic state of Florida at your fingertips is nice, but it’s also his resiliency and ability to forge relationships. Those have helped Billy Donovan land precocious talent as well as the kind that takes a season or two to nurture.

Donovan told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports:

"

I said to myself if I ever get my own program I'm going to get the guys that can make the biggest impact immediately. I felt that way with Mike Miller.

Some other things fell into place. Donnell Harvey was two hours from our campus. We got Udonis Haslem, we got Brent Wright and there was some people who were around those kids who we had relationships with and it made it easier to have those kids take a risk on us. Then we got Noah, Horford, and Taurean Green and people said well Billy Donovan has changed his recruiting philosophy. That wasn't the case. I was always going after the best players but I also identified guys who I felt like could have an impact regardless of what they were ranked. The recruiting part fell into place for us.

"

Pardon the gigantic pull quote, but that really speaks to his range as a recruiter and coach. He can take the delicate mix of lottery-pick talent and mesh it with players he expects will take several games or seasons to develop.

Four Final Fours and two national titles are all the proof you need.

5. Bill Self, Kansas

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Five

What makes him a great recruiter?

Bill Self can snag a 5-star recruit as well as anyone. Look no further than Andrew Wiggins. Imagine the kind of attention Self will garner in the Midwest if one of his 5-star freshmen excels at the next level.

Bleacher Report’s C.J. Moore feels that this is what’s keeping Self from breaking into the Caliparian sphere of recruiting:

"

If there's a criticism for Self's first decade in Lawrence, it's that he hasn't produced any stars in the NBA. Self has got plenty of kids drafted, but he hasn't had a star. And, really, that may have been the only thing holding him back in recruiting.

"

Wiggins is proving to be a nice pro, and Joel Embiid is sidelined. Wiggins could be the player who helps propel Self’s image in the eyes of top recruits.

As a total footnote to this, when can we expect Self’s memoir/book of prose poetry titled Note to Self? Sports autobiographies have the worst titles.

4. Roy Williams, North Carolina

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Five

What makes him a great recruiter?

Roy Williams was a great coach at Kansas before he left town for Tobacco Road. He has since won two championships with both one-and-dones and four-year starters. Williams seems more judicious with his cherry-picking.

Williams told 247Sports:

"

You have to recruit with what you're comfortable with and with what your school is comfortable with, the way you believe. I've always said I want some of those top, top talent guys but I don't want a whole team full of them. I want some guys that I'm going to have around for four years also.

"

Not being a Tar Heels aficionado, I’d think that recruiting players who develop and stick around for two, three or maybe four years engenders fans. It allows fans to feel a kinship with the players on the court.

Not begrudging Calipari, but one-and-dones are merely mercenaries hoping to become lottery picks—and maybe win a national title along the way.

“It (one-and-dones) doesn't bother me. It is what it is," Williams said. "There is no one rule that is perfect for everyone. I don't think that LeBron made a mistake (going straight to the NBA). Kobe, Kevin Garnett, those guys have done all right.”

3. Sean Miller, Arizona

Don Ryan/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: 10

What makes him a great recruiter?

When it comes to quality basketball powers, the West isn't as populated as the eastern third of the country. Yet there is no shortage of talent. Enter Sean Miller.

Gary Parrish of CBSSports wrote, "Now I'm not sure how many of you fancy yourselves as recruiting experts. But even casual followers of player-grabs must realize that what Arizona is doing is some kind of impressive. Still, I bet most don't realize just how impressive."

Miller has already bagged two 5-star recruits from the class of 2015 and has been riding the obscene talents of freshman Stanley Johnson this year.

UCLA, a team in friction with Arizona, does poach some players whom Miller could get, but who else can compete with Miller out West? It’s a short list, and Miller’s Wildcats will be a perennial Top 10 team with Elite 8 expectations every year.

2. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke

Ellen Ozier/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: Seven

What makes him a great recruiter?

Mike Krzyzewski doesn't have as many 5-star recruits as Miller does, so what puts him ahead of Miller on this scale? Geography.

Coach K’s location on the East Coast puts him in direct overlap with Calipari and many other ACC schools with great recruiters. The competition is thus heightened.

Coach K routinely plucks players out of Chicago, which, geographically, is closer to Lexington, Kentucky, Calipari’s Death Star. Miller has the benefit of being west of the Rockies.

Bradley Beal, now a player with the Washington Wizards, recounts what it was like turning down Coach K on CBS DC, “Oh, he’s a cool guy. He recruited me when I was in high school and just, that bond that I have with him, and just the feel of him, like he’s a great coach. Like, you can feel his legacy and his passion for the game that he has.”

Passion goes a long way, but also coaching players like LeBron James makes Coach K an easy sell. That, and he’s humble. Beal continued:

"

And he coached LeBron. Like, he doesn't have this huge aura about himself, like being Mr. Bigshot because he’s coached Duke and all these other great guys that came through there, and all these other guys on the Olympic team, so he’s a real down to Earth guy and he wants the best for himself and his players, and the best for the team.

"

The proof is in the national championship pudding. Four titles always make for a great recruiting trump card.

1. John Calipari, Kentucky

Garry Jones/Associated Press

5-Star Recruits Since 2011: 19

What makes him the best?

When John Calipari comes into your living room while you fix him a nice cup of coffee and he starts talking about your boy and his plans for him over the next year, you listen.

Calipari, like most great salesmen, makes everything he says sound so believable. He could sell baleen to a blue whale.

Steven Reece, who coached blue-chip recruit Antonio Blakeney (who ultimately chose LSU), told The Courier-Journal:

"

(Calipari's) approach is just, 'If you don't like playing with other good players, it's not the place for you.' He's not going to sell you a dream. He's just going to make you reach your full potential, and he has a goal of trying to win a championship as well as be a guide to the NBA.

"

The transaction is clear and present. Calipari takes your talent and elevates it for his own personal gain, but that personal gain is a synergistic relationship that subsequently gets you what you want, too.

It’s a classic win-win.

Never be mistaken: At these highest levels, it’s not just about the kids.