The Class of 2003 hasn't quite been put on the shelf yet, but the juniors (Class of 2004) have definitely taken center stage as the spring tournament season is in full swing on the club ball circuit.

Although it appears that sophomore point guard T.J. Ford will be leaving early for the NBA, the University of Texas basketball program has certainly been able to capitalize on their great NCAA Tournament run headed by their homegrown star.

The Longhorns have apparently hooked 6-foot-11 LeMarcus Aldridge (Segoville/Dallas, Texas), one of the nation's top preps in the class of 2004, who reportedly made a verbal commitment.

Aldridge joins 6-7 athlete Dion Dowell (Texas City, Texas), and super guard prospect Daniel Gibson, 6-3 (Jones/Houston, Texas).

This puts Texas far out in front in the race for the best class -- and it only figures to get better as the 'Horns aren't through yet. This class makes Texas taller, more athletic, and just as dangerous at the point as Gibson will step right in.

The University of Memphis has been rumored to be the leader for explosive scoring lead guard Darius Washington, 6-0 (Washington/Orlando, Fla.) for some time and thus his verbal commitment comes with just a small amount of surprise.

Washington has a patent on the word "explosive." His speed left the nation's top junior, Sebastian Telfair, in the dust last summer in a duel to the death at ABCD.

The Atlanta Celtics have a front line that a lot of colleges would like to have as a threesome. Josh Smith (Whitfield Academy/Atlanta, Ga.) is the highest rated and the 6-10 wing forward is also the most developed. Randolph Morris (Landmark Christian/Fairburn, Ga.) is a 6-10 low-post prospect who appears to favor Georgia Tech right now. Six-foot-10 Dwight Howard (Southwest Atlanta Christian/Atlanta, Ga.) appears to have Tennessee and North Carolina at the top of his list which includes Indiana, Alabama, Florida State, and Georgia, among others.

Not to be outdone, the Class of 2006 includes a player who has just made an early verbal to the University of Arizona. Five-foot-9 freshman Nic Wise (Cinco Rancho/Katy, Texas) has made a name for himself this spring and apparently decided, why wait? Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner is very strong in Texas and Wise's early verbal adds another Texan to the Wildcats future roster.

With the hiring of Ben Howland at UCLA, Pastner's connection will become more and more important over time for Arizona. The Wildcats and some of the other powerhouses won't be able to get as much of the top talent out of Southern California. Without a large in-state population to draw from, Arizona must branch out and make another state its recruiting priority.

Arizona has started to show the ability to recruit nationally, but Texas is huge for their program. No other state produces as many athletic basketball prospects as Texas does year after year. The University of Texas is now the main competition for the best kids in the state -- and they can't take them all. Arizona, with their recent string of commitments from Texas (Ndudi Ebi, Jawaan McClellan, and now Wise) is staking a solid claim to squatter's rights.

Class of 2003 center Sagari Alleyne (New York, N.Y./Rice) has made a verbal commitment to Kentucky. Losing Marquis Estill for the 7-3 project is not a fair trade now, but could possibly be should Alleyne stay for four years.

David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of Recruiting USA cover the national college basketball recruiting scene. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call 818-363-1978.