by Alex Schwartz

Back in November, the Big 12 was number five in the conference recruiting rankings, but it has passed the Big Ten for the four spot this time around. Despite losing Nebraska to the Big Ten and having the only BCS school with no commitments, the Big 12 still overtook the Big Ten in the only change in the rankings since November.

Whereas the Big Ten has none of the top 23 players in the D1 Hoops Report Class of 2011 Top 150 headed its way, the Big 12's classes feature three of the top 11 players on the list. Those three players are headed to three different colleges, showing a bit of balance. In addition, the Big 12 will get an immediate boost from JuCo transfers, welcoming 11 of them, which is more than any other conference.

The states of Texas and Kansas will bring in most of the conferences talent, as those six schools take up six of the top seven spots in the Big 12 rankings and include all but two of the ranked players. The smallest BCS conference still finished behind the top-ranked SEC, number two Big East and the third-ranked ACC.

Below is the complete rundown on the players headed to the Big 12 Conference in the class of 2011. Note that player rankings are based off the D1HR 2011 Top 150 and the D1 Hoops Report 2011 Post-Grad Top 40. In addition, note that the top six players in the D1HR PG Top 40 are also considered as top 150 players in all statistics/numbers.

BIG 12 RECRUITING BREAKDOWN
An asterisk indicates that player is a junior college transfer and thus not eligible to be ranked
HM= Honorable Mention; NR= Not Ranked

Number of Top 30 Classes:  4
Class With the Most Commits: Texas Tech with 9 (plus a recruited walk-on)
Class With the Most Ranked Commits: Texas with 6

Top Ranked Player: Quincy Miller, Baylor
Best Unranked Player: Jordan Green, Texas A&M
Top Ranked Point Guard: Myck Kabongo, Texas
Top Ranked Shooting Guard: Deuce Bello, Baylor
Top Ranked Small Forward: Quincy Miller, Baylor
Top Ranked Power Forward: Jonathan Holmes, Texas
Top Ranked Center: no ranked centers are committed to Big 12 schools

Number of Top 10 Players: 2
Number of Top 25 Players: 3
Number of Top 50 Players: 6
Number of Top 100 Players: 11
Number of Top 150 Players: 16
Number of Top 40 Post-Grads: 40

1. TEXAS (6th)
Myck Kabongo, PG, 6'2, Findlay Prep (NV), #11
Sheldon McClellan, SG, 6'5, Bellaire (TX), #49
Sterling Gibbs, PG, 6'1, Seton Hall Prep (NJ), #76
Jonathan Holmes, PF, 6'8, Antonian Prep (TX), #84
Julien Lewis, SG, 6'4, La Marque (TX), #104
Kevin Thomas, SF, 6'7, Christian Faith Center (TX), #146

2. BAYLOR (10th)
Quincy Miller, SF, 6'9, Westchester Country Day (NC) #5
Deuce Bello, SG, 6'3, Westchester Country Day (NC), #43
*Pierre Jackson, PG, 5'10, College of Southern Idaho (ID)

3. OKLAHOMA STATE (17th)
LeBryan Nash, SF, 6'7, Lincoln (TX), #8
Cezar Guerrero, PG, 6'0, St. John Bosco (CA), #98
*Philip Jurick, C, 6'11, Chattanooga State CC (TN)

4. KANSAS (22nd)
Ben McLemore, SF, 6'5, Christian Life Center (TX), #46
Naadir Tharpe, PG, 5'11, Brewster Academy (NH), #96
Jamari Traylor, PF, 6'7, IMG Academy (FL), NR
Braeden Anderson, PF, 6'8, Wilbraham & Monson (MA), NR
*Kevin Young, PF, 6'8, San Bernardino CC (CA)
Mervyn Lindsay, SF, 6'5, Canyon Springs (CA), NR

5. Kansas State (NR)
Thomas Gipson, PF, 6'7, Cedar Hill (TX), #139
Adrian Diaz, PF, 6'11, Hialeah-Miami Lakes (FL), #148
*Jeremy Jones, PG, 6'2, Seward County CC (KS)
*James Watson, PF, 6'8, Cowley College (KS)
Angel Rodriguez, PG, 5'11, Dr. Krop (FL), NR

6. Texas Tech (NR)
Toddrick Gotcher, SG, 6'3, Lakeview Centennial (TX), #123
Daouda Soumaoro, C, 6'10, Our Savior New American (NY), NR
Jordan Tolbert, PF, 6'7, All Saints' Episcopal School (TX), NR
Terran Petteway, SF, 6'5, Ball (TX), NR
Kevin Wagner, PG, 5'8, Estacado (TX), NR
Hershey Robinson, PF, 6'7, Christian Life Center (TX), NR
*Jaron Nash, SF, 6'7, Tyler JC (TX)
*Ty Nurse, PG, 6'1, Midland College (TX)
*Kader Tapsoba, C, 6'10, Tyler JC (TX)
Pierre Hayden, PG, 5'8, Skyline (TX), NR (recruited walk-on)

7. Texas A&M (NR)
Jamal Branch, PG, 6'2, Grace Prep (TX), #56
Jordan Green, SG, 6'3, Flower Mound (TX), NR

8. Iowa State (NR)
*Tyrus McGee, SG, 6'2, Cowley County CC (KS), NR
Percy Gibson, PF, 6'8, Detroit Southeastern (MI), NR
Tavon Sledge, PG, 5'9, Half Hollow Hills West (NY), NR
Aaron Law, PG, 5'11, Tilton School (NH), NR

9. OKLAHOMA (NR)
*Sam Grooms, PG, 6'1, Chipola College (FL)
*Casey Arent, C, 6'10, Sierra CC (CA)

10. MISSOURI (NR)
No commitments

Note- photo is of Myck Kabongo and is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/