Michigan Wolverines

Recruiting is a tricky deal to figure out sometimes.

There’s Duke, which knew it had to replace seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly with a stud frontcourt player in this recruiting class. But conversely, did the thought of potentially having to replace sophomore Shane Larkin even enter Jim Larranaga’s mind at the beginning of the season? I know Larkin is not likely going anywhere, but still, the point is that it can be hard to know exactly what you’re going to need to replace in recruiting.

To that point, Tom Crean knew Victor Oladipo was good, but no one saw this type of year coming from the now projected lottery pick.

Once the afterglow of this season wears off, many Wooden Award finalists will need replacing -- and that’s not an easy task. So while not every player on this list will turn pro, the point of this top 10 is to rate how well each team prepared for the contingency going forward in recruiting.

Top 10 Recruiting Replacements for Wooden Award Finalists

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ATHENS, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) recently cut his mammoth offer list down to a top-15 group of schools that he will consider.

“It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.”

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Quarterback David Cornwell (Jones, Okla./Jones) came out of nowhere to have an exceptional junior season and is now unquestionably one of the top in-state prospects for the Class of 2014.

Problem is, though, neither Oklahoma nor in-state power Oklahoma State have shown much interest. Cornwell camped at OU and had good contact with former OSU quarterbacks coach Todd Monken.

With Monken’s departure to become the Southern Mississippi head coach combined with little interest from OU quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel thus far, right now it looks like one of the state’s best prospects will have to look elsewhere.

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SAN ANTONIO -- Ask those in attendance watching quarterbacks, and you’d hear positive feedback regarding 2014 Coleman Key (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow).

Measuring in at almost 6-foot-5 and 224 pounds, Key has the size that every college coach wants in a quarterback. On Friday, Key showed he has arm strength and overall skill to go with that size at the U.S. Army National Combine at the Alamodome. He didn’t get as many repetitions in 1-on-1 drills as he wanted because of the many quarterbacks at the combine, but when he had the ball, he made his turns count.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Laquon Treadwell (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) seems to like the southeastern culture, and that could be a good thing for Ole Miss.

The ESPN 150 wide receiver says the Rebels are in his top three with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He will take his official to Stillwater on Jan. 11.

“My recruitment got pretty wild there for a couple of weeks, but once I starting talking with the schools I was most interested in and put together a top three everything settled down,” Treadwell said. “I don’t expect any schools to challenge those three, but we’ll see.”

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Ole Miss is the leader for Laquon Treadwell (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee), but the remaining teams in contention are starting to take shape.

Treadwell told WolverineNation writer Tom VanHaaren on Wednesday he will take his last four remaining official visits to Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He also confirmed a tweet Treadwell posted Tuesday that Ole Miss is his No. 1 program.

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ESPN 300 wide receiver Eldridge Massington (Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite) is a free agent again.

After discussing his recruiting situation with his parents and his recruiting coordinator, Massington decided Tuesday that he will decommit from USC and reopen his process. Ranked No. 167 in the ESPN 300, Massington said he’s open to all programs that are still interested in him.

Committed to USC since May 4, Massington tore the ACL in his left knee at a Tennessee camp he attended with West Mesquite teammates in July. In August, Massington said USC still would honor his scholarship, and he made public that he would graduate high school early in an effort to arrive in Los Angeles for further rehabilitation on his knee.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan will need a big, athletic receiver next season, especially if Devin Gardner winds up at quarterback.

One of the bigger names remaining on Michigan's 2013 recruiting board would fit the bill perfectly.

Laquon Treadwell (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) has kept track of recruiting classes as well as shifts in depth charts. The 6-foot-3 four-star receiver wants to play early, so both will likely affect his decision. He's also looking at how teams are playing, and while the Wolverines are running a quasi-spread offense with Denard Robinson, he's well aware of their plans to move to a pro-style offense, so he has read up on that.

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