Big Ten getting ready to say goodbye to talent-rich Class of 2007
After the 2006-07 college basketball season ended, the Big Ten needed a boost to its national reputation.
Yes, Ohio State made it all the way to the 2007 NCAA championship game, but team leaders Greg Oden and Mike Conley ran off to win the NBA lottery after their lone year in school.
That blessed Buckeyes team served as the league exception instead of the rule, anyway.
No other Big Ten team made it out of the NCAA Tournament's first weekend in 2006 or 2007.
And of the 15 players on the 2007 all-Big Ten team, only four opted to return for the 2007-08 season.
The Big Ten needed talent — and a lot of it.
Enter the mighty Class of 2007, which merits a massive league-wide hosanna during the Big Ten tournament that starts Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“It's been a great class,” said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. “Most of them are still here. There are guys that have left. Evan Turner left. But great depth in our league.”
From one-and-done standouts like Eric Gordon and Kosta Koufos to four-year lions like E'Twaun Moore and Talor Battle, the Class of 2007 had more than enough great players to restore the Big Ten's good name across the land.
As the NCAA Tournament committee pores over resumes in Indianapolis, the Big Ten boasts seven of the nation's top 57 teams in RPI.
The league also owns the nation's highest collective power ranking according to Ken Pomeroy's computer formula and trails only the Big East per Jeff Sagarin.
Propelled by the Class of '07, Michigan State went to back-to-back Final Fours.
Propelled by the Class of '07, Purdue reached back-to-back Sweet 16s and projected much better had Robbie Hummel stayed healthy.
Despite losing national player of the year Evan Turner to the NBA draft, Ohio State has two Class of '07 seniors helping guide the Bucks to the No. 1 ranking in the land.
Illinois has its best team since 2006. Penn State has its best team since 2001. Minnesota was a likely NCAA Tournament team before senior point guard Al Nolen broke his foot and couldn't help fellow '07ers Trevor Mbakwe and Blake Hoffarber.
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody points to the Big Ten's all-league teams as proof of the class' excellence.
For the record, 15 of the 20 first-team spots over the last four years were claimed by the Class of '07.
Purdue's JaJuan Johnson won this season's Player of the Year honor, succeeding Turner and Michigan State's Kalin Lucas for that award.
And of the 15 spots on this year's all-Big Ten teams, the Class of 2007 claimed nine. Hummel, had he not re-injured his knee in October, surely would have made it 10.
“There's some really good guys on that team,” Carmody said. “And then there's some honorable-mention guys (that deserved more). Like, I think (Penn State's Jeff) Brooks was honorable mention. That guy's a pretty good player.”
How did the Big Ten get so fortunate? For starters, the Class of '07 turned out to be a fabulous group nationwide.
Of the Recruiting Services Consensus Index's Top 100 players, 21 already have been NBA first-round picks. Guys like Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Kevin Love have put their stamp on the pros.
“You look on TV and see what they're doing in the NBA,” said Northwestern's record-setting senior point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson. “It makes you wonder what they would be doing to college (players). Maybe two or three times worse than what they're doing to the NBA.”
The key to the Class of 2007's excellence, at least among most of the 19 Top 100 players who donned Big Ten uniforms, was the fact they were good prospects who needed time to become great players.
JaJuan Johnson ranked No. 47 per RSCI. Evan Turner ranked No. 54. Wisconsin's Jon Leuer stood 86th. None were great from the jump.
But, with the exception of Hummel, the Class of '07 steps aside over the next three weeks.
Might the Class of 2011 step in and keep the Big Ten's reputation alive? The current RSCI Top 100 shows at least 12 recruits committed to league schools.
“When you look at it, it is going to start over,” Weber said. “Michigan is going to have a lot of people and other teams have a few guys here and there. But the majority of the top players are going to be gone.”