Starting Five: The best recruiting college hoops coaches

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY Sports

Is it March yet? Hardly. With the NCAA tournament far in the rear-view mirror and Midnight Madness several months away, USA TODAY Sports examines the best story lines for the 2013-14 college basketball season.

Strong recruiting has become synonymous with success in NCAA basketball. Simply put: the best players can spearhead a team to championships. John Calipari proved this theory emphatically in 2012 when a freshmen-laden Kentucky Wildcats squad cut down the nets after their first and only college hoops season. On the contrary, the best talent doesn't always equate to success. Ben Howland's star-studded freshmen class at UCLA didn't pan out and the former Bruins coach lost his job at the end of last season after failing to meet high expectations.

Outside of the season, July is unarguably the most important month for college coaches. The impression coaches can make on potential recruits can vastly determine their program's success and alter their own careers. The July "live" period is three separate four-day periods over a three-week span. During these days, coaches travel all around the country to watch top prospects in various high school events.

This week, with the Peach Jam basketball tournament showcasing some of the nation's top high school talent, the best recruiting coaches in the game are both highlighted and dissected.

1. Kentucky coach John Calipari: There's no question Calipari is the best recruiter in college basketball. Since arriving in Lexington, he's landed a wide array of five-star recruits including John Wall, Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel. Over the past five years, Calipari and his staff have reeled in a whopping 15 five-star recruits. He affirmed his dominance atop the recruiting world with his 2013 class that could be one of the best freshmen groups since the Fab 5 in the early 1990s. The vaunted incoming class — which boasts top-10 recruits Julius Randle, Dakari Johnson, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison and James Young — will pin the Wildcats as the top team in the country heading into the season.

2. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: Coach K is the winningest coach in college basketball history and has won four NCAA titles, including 11 Final Four trips. Needless to say, he knows how to mesh talent and lead a team to greatness. But he's had the right players to do so. While Krzyzewski doesn't pull in the same level of talent that Calipari does, he still has his program's success to lure in five-star recruits such as Ryan Kelly, Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers and Rasheed Sulaimon. His latest gem came with bringing in Jabari Parker, the nation's second-best recruit who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "The top high school basketball player since LeBron James." Krzyzewski beat out Michigan State, BYU, Stanford and Florida in the Parker sweepstakes.

3. Kansas coach Bill Self: Nine consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles is a product of the talent Self assembles prior to meshing everyone together each season. Self's stellar recruiting started when he was at Illinois and he brought in Luther Head, Dee Brown and Deron Williams. He's demonstrated a keen eye to land top talent outside of five-star recruits, too, with players such as Jeff Withey. While his latest top players — Thomas Robinson and Ben McLemore — both have paved way to the NBA, Self's greatest recruiting prize came with his upcoming class headlined by highly-touted recruit Andrew Wiggins, who chose Kansas over Florida State, North Carolina and Kentucky.

4. North Carolina coach Roy Williams: While roaming the sidelines at Kansas and UNC, Williams has never had a problem bringing in top talent. Since bringing in the likes of Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz at Kansas in the late '90s, Williams has been ahead of the curve. Once he arrived at North Carolina in 2003, he coached the Tar Heels to a national title in 2005 and spearheaded UNC to six ACC regular-season titles, plus back-to-back Final Fours in 2008 and 2009. His latest prized recruits include John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, James Michael McAdoo, and P.J. Hairston. Isaiah Hicks, a top-20 recruit, headlines his 2013 class.

5. Arizona coach Sean Miller: In very quick order, Miller has helped restore Arizona basketball back to the excellence it enjoyed under former coach Lute Olson. Miller's brought in several five-star and four-star recruits, plus three-star recruit Derrick Williams. After two strong recruiting classes, Miller has one of his best freshmen groups ever behind top-notch recruits Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Honorable Mentions: Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Thad Matta (Ohio State), Tom Crean (Indiana), Josh Pastner (Memphis), Billy Donovan (Florida), John Beilein (Michigan).

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Scott Gleeson, a college basketball producer/writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.