A recent article on CBS Sportsline has ranked a few Big Ten recruiting classes among the best ever in college basketball. At #1 is Indiana's 1976 recruiting class of Tom Abernethy, Quinn Buckner, Jim Crews, Scott May, and Bobby Wilkerson.
In at #2 is the Fab Five Michigan class of 1995 consisting of Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Chris Webber.
The Big Ten placed a third team in the top ten with Michigan State's class of 1981 that featured Mike Brkovich, Magic Johnson, Rick Kaye and Jay Vincent.
Receiving honorable mention just outside of the top ten is Purdue's class of 1988 featuring Jeff Arnold, Dave Stack, Troy Lewis, Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens.
It doesn't look like the columnists looked back very far when compiling this list, but one other Purdue class deserves mention. In terms of winning percentage and national recognition, Piggy Lambert's 1930 recruiting class of Robert Daniels, H. H. Kellar, V. E. Gibbens and John Wooden deserves a mention. Although Daniels and Gibbens only played the 1930 season, Kellar and Wooden would go on to be senior captains in 1932, posting a 42-8 (.840) career record, and helping Purdue to its only national championship in 1932.