The 2004 Texas Mens Basketball team had their best recruiting class since 2000. Where are they all now?

The 2004 Texas mens basketball team had the 2nd best recruiting class in the nation (#1 was Kentucky). The Longhorns had three 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star recruit.

5-Star recruits:

LaMarcus Aldridge C Dallas, Texas. 13th ranked national, 5th best center, 1st best in state of Texas. Played 2 seasons for the Longhorns. Aldridge was the 2nd overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft (by the Chicago Bulls). He currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets after being bought out by the San Antonio Spurs after the trade deadline this year. He is a 7x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, and averages 19.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 2.0 apg in 14+ years in the league.

Mike Williams PF Camden, Alabama. 19th ranked national, 4th best power forward, 2nd best in the state of Alabama. Played 2 seasons for the Longhorns and transferred to Cincinnati for the 2008-2009 season. Williams was never drafted and never played in the NBA.

Daniel Gibson SG Houston, Texas. 20th ranked national, 5th best shooting guard, 3rd best in the state of Texas. Played 2 seasons for the Longhorns. Gibson was drafted in the second round (42nd overall) in the 2006 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played 7 years in the NBA and retired after the 2012-2013 season. He averaged 7.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, and 2.0 apg and never made an all-star team.

4-Star recruits:

Dion Dowell SF Texas City, Texas. 47th ranked national, 9th best small forward, 5th best in the state of Texas. Played 2 seasons for the Longhorns and transferred to Houston and played 2 years at Houston. Dowell was never drafted and never played in the NBA.

3-Star recruits:

Connor Atchley PF Houston, Texas. 209th ranked national, 53rd best power forward, 18th best in the state of Texas. Played 4 seasons for the Longhorns. Atchley was never drafted and never played in the NBA.

From the number 2 recruiting class in the nation, only two players played in the NBA (LaMarcus Aldridge and Daniel Gibson). LaMarcus Aldridge had the best career and is well respected as a premier power forward in NBA history. In the 2004-2005 season the Longhorns were an 8-seed in March and lost in the 1st round to Nevada (61-57). The best recruiting class of the past 20 years, didn’t really amount to much for the Longhorns.