College Basketball Recruiting: The Top 5 Senior Big Men and Where They'll Go

With UConn's signing of Andre Drummond, the structure of the college basketball recruiting class of 2012 has been shaken up.

The 6'11" center will suit up for the Huskies this year, meaning there will be one less talented big man coming out of this year's senior class.

With that being said, there is certainly not a lack of talent available. The powerhouse teams will look to reload, and they should be happy with the players available.

The following is a list of the top five big men in the senior class, and where they are going—or where they'll likely end up going—to school next fall.

Rankings are according to the 2012 ESPNU 100

Mitch McGary

Mitch McGary is a great basketball player, but he is really known for recently breaking a backboard during the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event.

McGary wasn't always considered to be an elite prospect, but through hard work and an energizing style of play, he has risen to No. 2 overall in the class rankings.

Florida, Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, and Kentucky are the six schools that McGary is now considering. He has not indicated any preference just yet.

He will, however, end up at one of these six schools. If I had to guess, I would give Duke the early edge given its immense history and the lure of Coach K.

Isaiah Austin

Standing at seven feet tall, Isaiah Austin is the most interesting prospect in the class of 2012. He has the ability to dribble the ball like a guard and can shoot from the perimeter.

Along with that, Austin can play on the interior and is a force on defense. One area of concern for the Baylor-bound center will be his weight—He weighs in at a meager 200 lbs. If he wants to compete down low in major college basketball, he will need to bulk up.

Despite his lanky frame, Austin has the potential to be a great collegiate (and professional) basketball player.

Brandon Ashley

Brandon Ashley recently committed to the University of Arizona, and he will make Sean Miller a happy man this season.

Ashley has a long frame, and is multitalented on both sides of the court. He plays at the prestigious Findlay Prep, which is almost like a mini-college in and of itself.

The main concern with Ashley, like many young high school recruits, will be adding some weight to his slender frame early on in his career. Nonetheless, he will be productive right away for the Wildcats.

Kaleb Tarczewski

Kaleb Tarczewski is a prized recruit these days, considering how few true centers there are. At seven feet tall, he is a force around the rim and on the defensive side of the ball.

Tarczewski is considering four schools (Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina), which all have significant interest in the big man's services for next season and beyond.

I would guess that Tarczewski will end up signing with UNC, because he will fill the void left by junior John Henson and senior Tyler Zeller when they leave Chapel Hill. As a mobile center, he will fit in well with the Tar Heels for years to come.

Anthony Bennett

Anthony Bennett, teammate of Brandon Ashley at Findlay Prep, is still considering a number of schools for next year.

Among those schools is UNLV, the local school that competes in a lesser conference than the rest of the schools that Bennett is considering. Even though he would be a good fit in the UNLV system, he will probably end up choosing one of the schools that competes in an elite conference.

With such a large list, it is almost impossible to say where Bennett will be attending at this moment in time, but the three most likely destinations are Connecticut, Kentucky and Pittsburgh.