Welcome back to the Starting Five. Those of you who have followed my writing through the years know that I used to start each week with this column. Depending on the week it could be used to go over the latest intel on the most heavily recruited prospects, recap an event, introduce our audience to up-and-coming players, go more in-depth on a big commitment, or any other variety of subjects.
At its core, the column is meant as a tool for hoop fans to get their week started with a nice, easy read on a variety of current and interesting recruiting and college basketball topics. Anyway, you get the idea, so let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s Starting Five.
ANTHONY THOMPSON AND TAYLEN KINNEY KICK OFF WHAT SHOULD BE A BIG VISIT SEASON
Anthony Thompson (Photo: Courtesy of Adidas 3SSB)
We’ve written all summer that we are expecting the class of 2026 to take their time with the decision-making process. At this point, only five of the top-50 prospects in the current edition of the 247Sports rankings for the 2026 class have made their college choice. Given that pretty much every elite prospect who has started to set visits seems to be setting anywhere between five and eight visits that extend into the fall – hat tip to Deron Rippey Jr., who has scheduled double-digit visits between now and the early signing period – there just don’t seem to be that many big timers ready to pop.
Because of that, the next few months could feature more trips from more blue-chippers than we’ve ever seen over the next few months. While college football’s week zero was relatively quiet, we did see two five-stars on the road. No. 10-ranked Anthony Thompson visited North Carolina, and No. 12-ranked Taylen Kinney saw Kansas. Early returns suggest that they each had good trips, but to the UNC and KU fans who may be hoping for a commitment, don’t waste your breath because both are examples of the crazy visit schedules that this senior class has put into place.