Biggest Winners and Losers from College Basketball's 2015 Early Signing Period

While the 2015-16 college basketball season is just getting started, the past week saw some major shifts in the future of the sport thanks to the early signing period for 2016 recruits.

Recruiting is a huge part of college basketball every year. While there are always diamonds in the rough and top prospects often struggle, the teams with the best players are usually the ones that win the most. This makes the scramble to get 4- and 5-star recruits such an important task for coaches.

After a rash of commitments throughout the past week, we will know a lot about the landscape of the upcoming seasons. There are some familiar programs still dominating recruiting, although a few others have made moves to get noticed. Meanwhile, some of the better teams over the years have fallen behind in the same time frame. 

A lot is still left to be decided in the 2016 class, but here is a look at the winners and losers from the early signing period in no particular order.

Winner: Duke

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A lot of teams brought in top players in this class, but Duke might have the best of the bunch.

This would have been an elite group with Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson and Javin DeLaurier all on board. Then Mike Krzyzewski added one of the best players in the nation in Harry Giles, the No. 2 player in the class. Although he might take time to contribute after tearing his ACL, he still has enough ability to make a difference once he returns to full strength. 

Tatum is one of the best pure scorers in the class with an ability to create his own shot, while Giles is a versatile forward who can dominate inside or make plays on the perimeter. Adding these impact recruits to a likely loaded group of returning players could make Duke the No. 1 contender for a national championship in 2016-17.

You still have to play the games, but the Blue Devils are in great shape going forward after the early signing period.

Loser: Kansas

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Kansas has missed on a number of top recruits in this class, most notably Harry Giles and De'Aaron Fox. The Jayhawks offered a scholarship to Jayson Tatum, but weren't even be a finalist for the Midwest recruit playing in St. Louis.

As top prospects continue to sign letters of intent all around the country, Kansas is left without much excitement in the 2016 class. At the moment, 3-star forward Mitch Lightfoot is the only player signed on to play for head coach Bill Self next season.

The good news is Kansas still has a good chance to land at least one of the top forwards available in Jarrett Allen, Udoka Azubuike and Marques Bolden. Even Thon Maker is involved to potentially help out down low. 

Kansas will likely need a lot of help in the frontcourt next year, though, so the pressure is on to bring in at least one or more of these talented bigs.

Winner: Mississippi State

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Mississippi State is rarely confused for being a basketball power, especially when considering the program hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2009. The Bulldogs haven't even had a winning record over the past three seasons.

However, coach Ben Howland is turning that around. After shocking the college basketball world by bringing in Malik Newman last season, the ball has kept rolling with the signing of Mario Kegler. A few days later, Abdul Ado joined the movement, marking five 4-star players in a six-man 2016 class for Mississippi State. 

Even if Newman only spends one year in college before going to the NBA, Kegler especially signifies stability in the program. He's a versatile player who can line up at multiple positions and will help the Bulldogs compete in the SEC.

Adding in a deep group of quality players around him will ensure Mississippi State will be competitive for the next few years.

Loser: Maryland

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Maryland is currently ranked No. 3 in both major polls, but if head coach Mark Turgeon wants to stay ranked among the country's big programs, he will have to keep recruiting at that level. So far his latest recruiting class isn't quite there.

After bringing in 5-star center Diamond Stone for the 2015-16 season, the 2016 recruiting class currently features only Kevin Huerter and Anthony Cowan, rated No. 63 and No. 64, respectively.

The Terps were involved with some bigger names before eventually fading, most recently failing to get Mario Kegler despite being a finalist.

There is still hope with Josh Jackson, but as ESPN.coms's Jeff Borzello noted, 2016's top overall player "will likely be one of the last 2016 prospects to make a decision."

Huerter and Cowan are a bit underrated and can help a returning group at Maryland stay competitive in the Big Ten, but Turgeon will have to keep recruiting at a high level to remain a top contender nationally.

Winner: Kentucky

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It's amazing how quickly things can change when John Calipari is involved.

With Kentucky likely to once again lose many key players to the NBA draft, reloading is always essential. This was a bit of a problem with just Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones committed entering the week, two 5-star players with tons of upside but less of an immediate impact than the Wildcats are used to seeing.

The early signing period changed everything, however, with Kentucky bringing in three of the top 10 players in the 2016 class. 

De'Aaron Fox is the highlight of this group as a long, athletic point guard who can score from anywhere and play shutdown defense at this level. He will be flanked by Malik Monk, who chose the Wildcats over Arkansas and should put up huge numbers immediately. If this wasn't enough, Edrice "Bam" Adebayo will also head to Lexington as one of the top big men in the class.

"I'm not sure there's ever been a one-week stretch like we just saw from Kentucky: De'Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Malik Monk. Unreal," ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello tweeted after the announcements. 

Considering how many great classes Calipari has brought in over the years, it's no small feat to say this is one of his best ever.

Loser: Arkansas

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Malik Monk is a cherry on top of a great class for Kentucky, where he will likely have one good season and then be forgotten by Big Blue Nation when the next big-time player comes along. On the other hand, the guard could have been a legend and program-changing recruit for Arkansas.

Despite the draw of starring for his home state, at the school where his brother played football, Monk decided to join the Wildcats.

This clearly angered many fans and alumni, including Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis, who tweeted, "I didn't need Kentucky to make it to the NBA, but that's none of my business."

Arkansas will settle for an interesting class featuring three junior college transfers in Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Arlando Cook. Barford especially has been one of the best JUCO players in the nation and should make an immediate impact when he comes to Arkansas.

Still, the Razorbacks and their fans will be left wondering what might have been if Monk had stayed home.

Winner: Michigan State

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Although there weren't many surprises on signing day for Michigan State, that was a good thing, as the Spartans had already secured one of the top classes in the nation.

Head coach Tom Izzo even went a step further in calling it one of the best ever. Vinnie Duber of CSN Chicago quoted the coach's thoughts on the 2016 class:

"

I'd say in our basketball program, days don't get much better than this as far as a recruiting class. ...I think we've shored up some weaknesses we had. I think we've gotten some depth. I think we've added a class that will definitely be ranked in the top one, two or three when it's all said and done and I think, for once, deserving of all the rankings.

"

The star of the class is small forward Miles Bridges, a talented athlete who can play above the rim while also stretching the floor with three-point shooting. Adding in 5-star guard Joshua Langford as well as Cassius Winston and Nick Ward, Izzo certainly isn't exaggerating with his praise of the class. 

Considering what the coach has been able to do in his career with good-but-not-great talent, this group of elite players could add to last year's class and make an immediate Final Four contender.

Loser: Florida

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Replacing head coach Billy Donovan was never going to be an easy task. When Florida hired Mike White from Louisiana Tech, however, the question was less about his ability to coach and more about whether he could recruit at a high-major program.

So far that question has been left unanswered.

Florida currently has two committed players in the 2016 class, with neither ranking among the nation's top 100 recruits. Guard Eric Hester certainly has ability as an undersized scoring guard, but he is not a game-changer.

To make matters worse, the Gators are getting beat out by Miami and Florida State for in-state recruits like Jonathan Isaac and Dewan Huell. It obviously takes time for a new coach to make connections in a new location, but this hasn't been a good start for White.

It won't matter how good his offensive system is if he can't start bringing in top talent.

Winner: North Carolina

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There was some concern that the recent academic scandal would hurt recruiting at North Carolina, especially with uncertainty about possible sanctions. After an underwhelming 2015 class, the Tar Heels were certainly under pressure to add top talent in 2016.

Head coach Roy Williams did just that with the addition of the exciting Seventh Woods to go with 4-star recruits Tony Bradley and Brandon Robinson. Although none of these players may be McDonald's All-Americans, they can all make an early impact for a team that might lose a lot of talent after the 2015-16 season.

Woods was an especially big commitment as an elite athlete who can score as well as anyone in the nation. In UNC's fast-paced offense, he is certain to make a number of highlight-reel plays throughout his career.

The Tar Heels are still in the mix for other top talent, but they needed to get some momentum on their side after a questionable offseason, and they have accomplished that feat.

Loser: South Carolina

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According to 247Sports' Crystal Ball Predictions, 81 percent of experts predicted Seventh Woods would sign with South Carolina. ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello added, "Coming out of the weekend, South Carolina seemed like the choice for Seventh Woods—but UNC made up a lot of ground leading up to decision."

You can't win every recruiting battle, but this is one that will sting for a while with South Carolina. Frank Martin and his staff had been working on signing Woods throughout his high school career, and the local product seemed like he was going to be a huge addition for the Gamecocks. But alas, he will travel up north to play for the Tar Heels.

With Dewan Huell narrowing his options down to South Carolina and Miami before picking the latter, this has been a rough week for the Gamecocks.

Although the team has forward Sedee Keita locked up, there aren't many obvious names out there leaning toward a commitment. All of a sudden a promising class looks pretty light, especially considering all the players headed elsewhere in the SEC.

After all the work Martin has done to be relevant in the conference, this was clearly a step back.

All recruit info and rankings courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.  

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