Wednesday marks the first day that high school seniors can sign with colleges to play basketball beginning in the 2008-09 season. USC is expected to wait until next week to announce its signees, but the expected four-man Trojan class is popping up on national radar screens, thanks mainly to the likely signing of Compton swingman Demar DeRozan, pegged by some scouting services as the top small forward in the nation and one of the top two or three high school seniors overall.

The Trojan recruiting class, which at the moment is ranked 24th by Scout.com and 16th by Rivals, is also set to include JC transfer point guard Donte Smith, shooting guard Malik Story, and guard/rapper/actor Percy “Romeo” Miller (who will join the team as a walk-on). UCLA is expected to have the top recruiting class in the nation. Note that players do not have to sign with schools during this signing period (which lasts for another week), as there is a second signing period in the spring following the postseason tournament.

Scout.com 2008 Top 25 Recruiting Classes (Scout)
Early signing period class rankings (Rivals)
Trojans hit road after stumble at home (LA Times)