The early signing period is just over a month away so we’ve taken the time to refresh our Big Ten class of 2013 rankings. The rankings incorporate numbers from Rivals, Scout and ESPN into a composite average score to rank the best incoming classes in the conference. We’ve made a couple of tweaks to this month’s rankings by adding a factor into the formula. The change in the formula aims to demonstrate the relative importance of top flight recruits, or recruits ranked four stars or better.
Adding the additional factor to the math kept Michigan (three 4-star recruits) ahead of Indiana while also moving Ohio State (two 4-star recruits) ahead of Wisconsin, Penn State and Nebraska. We also added a breakdown of the top ten prospects in the conference with their respective ranks across services.
| Rank | School | Commits | Rivals Avg. | Scout Avg. | ESPN Avg. | Rankings Avg. | Class Ave. Score | Class Cum. Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | 3 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 102.93 | 835 | |
| 2 | Indiana | 4 | 3.25 | 3.50 | 2.75 | 3.17 | 94.03 | 990 | |
| 3 | Illinois | 3 | 3.67 | 3.67 | 3.67 | 3.67 | 93.23 | 790 | |
| 4 | Purdue | 3 | 3.67 | 3.67 | 3.33 | 3.56 | 88.91 | 765 | |
| 5 | Ohio State | 2 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 81.52 | 540 | |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 4 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.75 | 2.92 | 79.76 | 875 | |
| 7 | Penn State | 3 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.67 | 2.89 | 72.28 | 690 | |
| 8 | Nebraska | 3 | 2.67 | 2.67 | 3.33 | 2.89 | 70.19 | 670 | |
| 9 | Northwestern | 2 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.50 | 3.17 | 65.15 | 485 | |
| 10 | Iowa | 1 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 41.60 | 225 | |
| 11 | Minnesota | 2 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 34.21 | 370 | |
| 12 | Michigan State | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 |
Find a run-down of new commitments, top 2013 players in the Big Ten and team-by-team breakdowns after the jump.
Action since last rankings:
- Sep 4, 2012: Penn State adds commitment from Payton Banks
- Sep 14, 2012: Wisconsin adds commitment from Vitto Brown
- Sep 15, 2012: Illinois adds commitment from Kendrick Nunn
- Sep 18, 2012: Ohio State adds commitment from Kameron Williams
- Sep 23, 2012: Iowa adds commitment from Peter Jok
- Sep 23, 2012: Minnesota adds commitment from Alvin Ellis
- Oct. 3, 2012: Minnesota adds commitment from Daniel Edoze
Names to Know
There are ten players committed to Big Ten schools with an average composite score of 90 or higher, which equates to a consensus 4-star top 100 prospect. Here’s the top ten, sorted first by average score and second by average rank.
| Name | School | Average | Rivals | Scout | ESPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Walton | Michigan | 95.0 | 44 | 44 | 33 |
| Zak Irvin | Michigan | 93.3 | 31 | 63 | 22 |
| Kendrick Nunn | Illinois | 91.7 | 42 | 55 | 57 |
| Stanford Robinson | Indiana | 91.7 | 48 | 57 | 56 |
| Marc Loving | Ohio State | 90.0 | 60 | 60 | 58 |
| Kendall Stephens | Purdue | 90.0 | 56 | 64 | 63 |
| Malcolm Hill | Illinois | 90.0 | 64 | 66 | 89 |
| Kameron Williams | Ohio State | 90.0 | 80 | 89 | 53 |
| Bronson Koenig | Wisconsin | 90.0 | 70 | #25 SG | 92 |
| Mark Donnal | Michigan | 90.0 | 104 | 81 | 97 |
Note: Walton ranks ahead of Irvin, despite Irvin’s higher average rank, because our system rates him 95/100 at all three services while Irvin’s 63 grade at Scout brings his average score to 93.3.
Team-by-Team
Michigan
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Donnal | PF | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Zak Irvin | SF | IN | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Derrick Walton | PG | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Austin Hatch reclassifies to 2014 which negates Michigan’s cumulative numbers but moves U-M’s average ranking to 4-stars across the board.
Indiana
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Davis | SF | IN | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Luke Fischer | PF | WI | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
| Collin Hartman | SF | IN | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Stanford Robinson | SG | VA | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Stan Robinson is one of the highest rated incoming prospects in the Big Ten but Indiana’s previous early commitments are still down a bit from early on in their careers.
Illinois
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Hill | SG | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Maverick Morgan | C | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Kendrick Nunn | SG | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Illini land a big commitment in local product Kendrick Nunn and jump Purdue for #3 spot in the team rankings.
Purdue
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryson Scott | SG | IN | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| Basil Smotherman | SF | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Kendall Stephens | SG | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Status quo for the Boilermakers who have a strong incoming group.
Ohio State
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Loving | PF | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Kameron Williams | SG | MD | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Consensus 4-star SG Kameron Williams commits to the Buckeyes. Buckeyes move up in the team rankings with two 4-star commitments.
Wisconsin
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitto Brown | PF | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Riley Dearring | SF | MN | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Jordan Hill | SG | CA | NR | NR | 2 | |
| Bronson Koenig | PG | WI | 4 | 4 | 4 |
One time Michigan target Vitto Brown commits to Wisconsin. Riley Dearring adds 3-stars from Rivals. Jordan Hill gets 2-stars from ESPN.
Penn State
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payton Banks | SF | CA | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Julian Moore | PF | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Geno Thorpe | PG | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Penn State goes cross country to grab a commitment from Orange County product Payton Banks. Julian Moore gets 3-stars from Rivals.
Nebraska
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Fuller | SF | WI | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Nathan Hawkins | SG | TX | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Tai Webster | PG | NZ | NR | NR | 4 |
Tai Webster gets 4-stars from ESPN. Nathan Hawkins gets 3-stars from ESPN.
Northwestern
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaren Sina | PG | NJ | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Nate Taphorn | SF | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Iowa
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Jok | SF | IA | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Hawkeyes get their first commitment in small forward Peter Jok.
Minnesota
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvin Ellis | SF | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Daniel Edoze | PF | TX (Juco) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Minnesota got its first commitment from Chicago product Alvin Ellis and added a junior college big man Daniel Edoze this week.
Michigan State
Michigan State has no commitments in the class of 2013.
Ranking Explanations
Every player is given a normalized score on a 100 point scale for each of the three major scouting services. That score breaks down like this:
| Player Score | |
|---|---|
| 100 = | 5* Player |
| 95 = | 4* and top 50 player |
| 90 = | 4* player not in top 50 |
| 85 = | Top 150 player or top 30 at position |
| 80 = | Top 40 at position |
| 75 = | Top 50 at position or 3* player unranked at his position |
| 70 = | Top 75 at position |
| 65 = | Top 100 at position or 2* player unranked at his position |
| 60 = | Top 300 player or 1* player unranked at his position |
| 50 = | Player who has no star rating or position ranking |
That much is relatively simple. Those scores are combined into two cumulative metrics: Class Average Score and Class Cumulative Score.
- Class Average Score: Average normalized scores by service multiplied by the square root of the number of commitments/3.25 (13 total scholarships over 4 years) as well as our additional factor the square root of average ranking over 3.
- Class Cumulative Score: Sum of all normalized score for all recruits based on all services
The system is far from perfect – as was discussed in the comments of our last 2012 update – but we favor the current system to generate some sort of consistent, objective basis for comparing classes. Special thanks to Trent Montemayor for compiling all of the data.
