What we learned after the men's basketball recruiting early signing window

The action surrounding the early signing period began before the weeklong signing spree even started, with top-10 recruit Meleek Thomas announcing his commitment to Arkansas on Nov. 11. A flurry of high-level commitments followed once the period officially opened, headlined by Kingston Flemings (Houston), J.J. Mandaquit (Washington), Kiyan Anthony (Syracuse), Davion Hannah (Alabama), Bryson Tiller (Kansas) and Sebastian Williams-Adams (Auburn).

All six of those players were ranked inside the top 50, leaving just 10 prospects of that caliber still uncommitted.

While high school recruiting slows down considerably -- as college seasons heat up and coaches spend less time on the road -- there are still several storylines to monitor in the coming weeks and months. And it begins with a potential commitment from the best prospect in high school basketball in the not-so-distant future.

1. The big names still left on the board

While there are fewer than 20 prospects in the ESPN 100 uncommitted entering the winter, seven of the top-12 are among those names. Here's where things stand with each of the five-stars still on the board:

A.J. Dybantsa (No. 1): Dybantsa told ESPN before the early signing period began that he plans to make his commitment in December. He's still considering Alabama, Auburn, BYU, North Carolina, Kansas and Kansas State, with BYU perceived to be the favorite heading down the stretch.

Nate Ament (No. 4): Don't expect a decision from Ament anytime soon. He's taken plenty of visits already, including trips to Texas, Louisville, Tennessee, Duke and a recent one to Notre Dame. He's also expected to visit Kansas State in the coming months. His has been a fluctuating recruitment, so a surprise school could enter the fray at some point.

Caleb Wilson (No. 5): While Wilson didn't make a decision during the early signing period, he did trim his list to five schools: Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCF. The most notable news out of that list cut is the lack of Arkansas, which had a jumpstart on the competition due to John Calipari's relationship with Wilson from his time at Kentucky. But the Razorbacks failed to get him on campus in recent weeks, which didn't help. Kentucky and Carolina currently are the top contenders.

Koa Peat (No. 6): Peat was busy in his recruitment throughout the summer and fall, taking trips to all five of the schools in contention for his commitment: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston and Texas. Arizona has been in a strong position for most of the past several months, but Houston and Baylor are right there and Arizona State has been lurking as a sleeper.

Chris Cenac Jr. (No. 7): One of the biggest breakout stars of the spring and summer, Cenac Jr. didn't make a decision during the early period, but advanced enough in his recruitment to commit at any time. Home-state school LSU had momentum for much of the fall, but it sounds like Tennessee and Houston have closed the gap considerably.

Brayden Burries (No. 11): Burries has always been among the most likely five-star prospects to take his recruitment well past the early signing period, and that still seems to be the case. He's taken plenty of visits, but it's been difficult to get a grasp on the pecking order of his recruitment. Arizona, Tennessee, USC and Alabama have been among the mainstays.

Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 12): Like Burries, Brown Jr. has long been expected to extend his recruitment past the fall. Given that the talented point guard has been consistently taking visits since last fall -- including trips to Providence, Alabama, Ole Miss and UCF as a junior and Indiana, Kentucky and Louisville in the past couple months -- his timeline could be moving up.

2. UConn builds off back-to-back national championships

Dan Hurley has a pretty good sales pitch on the recruiting trail these days: Compete for national championships while developing into an NBA player. And he has the trophies and draft picks to back it up. It's paid off to the tune of a top-three recruiting class in the country, with three top-25 commitments in the fold: Darius Adams (No. 19), Eric Reibe (No. 23) and Braylon Mullins (No. 24), as well as skilled Australia native Jacob Furphy.

This is the first time since the ESPN recruiting database started in 2007 that UConn signed multiple top-25 recruits in the same class. The Huskies have now landed 10 ESPN 100 prospects over the past three classes.

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3. Is Duke's No. 1 recruiting ranking under threat?

Duke has the inside track to sign the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class for a second straight year, with five-star twin brothers Cameron Boozer (No. 2) and Cayden Boozer (No. 17) leading a quartet of top-35 signees for Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils also remain in pursuit of Nate Ament, the second-best available prospect in the country.

But can anyone overtake Duke for the top spot in the rankings?

Kentucky could move up if it were to land Caleb Wilson -- although that likely wouldn't be enough to get to No. 1.

Houston could close the gap by signing Koa Peat and/or Chris Cenac Jr., while Arizona would skyrocket up the rankings if the Wildcats add Peat and Brayden Burries to Dwayne Aristode (No. 20).

Duke could also end the debate if the Blue Devils win the race for Ament.

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4. Notre Dame exits signing period with top-five class

The top five of the recruiting class rankings doesn't look all that unfamiliar: There's perennial recruiting powerhouse Duke, there's perennial recruiting powerhouse John Calipari, there's the two-time reigning national champion UConn, there's arguably the biggest program in the sport. And then there is one disruptor: Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish, behind a commitment from Jalen Haralson -- the program's highest-ranked signee of the modern era -- signed the program's highest-ranked recruiting class of the modern era. Micah Shrewsberry landed three ESPN 100 prospects in a five-day span back in September, with Brady Koehler on a Monday, Haralson on a Wednesday and Ryder Frost on a Friday. The Irish are also still in the mix for Nate Ament.

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5. The SEC is the early winner (again) when it comes to stockpiling talent

For the second year in a row, the SEC is bringing in the most ESPN 100 freshmen at this point in the cycle: 26 top-100 prospects have committed to member schools. The ACC is second with 19 ESPN 100 commitments, the Big 12 is third with 12, the Big Ten is fourth with 10 and the Big East rounds out the power conferences with nine top-100 pledges.

The other two leagues with multiple ESPN 100 commits are the Atlantic 10 and, in a surprise twist, the Big West with two. The AAC, Ivy and WCC have one apiece.

Three conferences -- the ACC, Big 12 and SEC -- each have three five-star prospects coming in next season, while the SEC leads the way with 11 top-50 signees.

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6. Big programs off to slow starts in 2025

In the transfer portal era, not having a highly-rated or deep high school recruiting class isn't the roster-building hindrance it was a decade ago. That said, it's noticeable when big-time programs don't have commitments near the top of the rankings.

In 2025, North Carolina has two ESPN 100 commitments -- but neither is ranked inside the top 50. The Tar Heels are still in the mix for a couple of five-stars, however. Indiana made strong pushes for top-25 prospects Jalen Haralson and Braylon Mullins, but both went elsewhere, and the Hoosiers have just one ESPN 100 commitment. Meanwhile, UCLA enters the winter without a high school signee.