Wednesday morning the Sun rose in the East, the Little League World Series remained irrelevant and Tom Crean's 2012 recruiting class was still atop the ESPN rankings.
All was right with the world (granted there's no more earthquakes).
But just how important are these rankings? Does being the top-rated recruiting class translate onto the court? Do these questions make you want to read the rest of this blog post?
Let's let history be our teacher and look at the 2008-'09 UCLA Bruins.
The departure of Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to the NBA after their 2008 Final Four season left a hefty gap on Ben Howland's squad. However, all was right in Westwood, as the undisputed No. 1 recruiting class in the country was poised to lead the Bruins to another Final Four berth with the help of seniors Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.
That coveted 2008 freshman class included five recruits - all with an ESPN grade of at least 96 - and carried four California high school standouts, led by McDonalds All-American Jrue Holiday, the second-best shooting guard in his class behind Tyreke Evans.
Sound a little familiar?
Expectations were high and with good reason. UCLA was ranked fourth in the coaches' poll to open the season.
But after a 24-7 regular season void of a Pac-10 championship, the Bruins were embarrassed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Villanova 89-69.
That year, Holiday was the only one of his freshman class to make any real impact, starting every game and being named to the All-Freshman team. However, outside of the now-76er, not a single freshman averaged more than 3.6 points or played more than 10.9 minutes per game that season.
So where is that prized 2008 class of wunderkinds today?
Senior point guard Jerime Anderson was arrested in July for stealing a laptop. Last season he averaged 5.1 points as a backup. After his sophomore year at UCLA, forward Drew Gordon transferred to New Mexico, deciding in December 2010 to play for Lobos coach Steve Alford. Howland dismissed J'mison Morgan in March 2010, with the 6-foot-10 forward now playing at Baylor. Guard Malcolm Lee was the only other member of his recruiting class to get drafted, being selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of this year's Draft. Lee was promptly traded to the Timberwolves that same day.
Ok, I don't mean to get your candy stripes in a bunch. That's one of the worst-case scenarios for a top-ranked recruiting class. Let's look at what Hoosier fans hope the 2012-'13 team can emulate- the 2009-'10 Kentucky Wildcats.
I'll spare you the details of that lottery pick-laden club, which featured John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins in coach John Calipari's first year in Lexington. That trio of freshmen, which headlined the top-ranked class of 2009, were regular starters for Big Blue.
The 35-3 season witnessed the resurgence of Kentucky basketball and a trip to the Elite Eight - their best finish in five years. UK again earned the top spot in ESPN's recruiting rankings for the next two years before IU took it for the 2012 class.
Three schools, three No. 1-ranked recruiting classes and three different results (one of which is to be decided in two seasons). To avoid becoming another defunct group of once highly touted recruits, the class of 2012 must take the hype from the recruiting sites and produce on the court.
This has already begun in AAU tournaments for the Indiana Elite team, but the next step is to develop team chemistry while playing in the Cream and Crimson. Gelling with then-seniors Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford, Maurice Creek, as well as the rest of the squad will be the key to success.
Yes, the 2012 recruiting class is the most highly anticipated haul since Eric Gordon, but they are a piece of the puzzle that will have to fit in with the components already in place. If that team can play as the 2012-'13 Hoosiers, and not "The Freshmen Show plus those guys from before," they will prove Public Enemy wrong.
