The one-and-done path to the NBA continues to grow in popularity. In 2008 just five of ESPN’s top ten recruits from the ’07 high school class entered the NBA draft; this spring, all but one of ESPN’s top 10 recruits from the ’16 class left their names in, with Michigan State’s Miles Bridges the lone exception.
This makes college basketball’s incoming freshman class all the more interesting. Two of ESPN’s top five recruits, Texas center Mohamed Bamba (No. 3 in 247’s composite rankings) and Duke power forward Wendell Carter (No. 7), have stressed their investment in academic and personal interests outside of basketball, and while Carter will attend Duke and Bamba seriously considered Kentucky before committing to the Longhorns, both have emphasized that basketball wasn’t the only factor in their decision-making processes.