Individually, rankings do not matter...look at Aaron White.
But,collectively, check the top of the Big Ten standings over the last decade.
They are usually populated with teams that have more than 1 or 2 top 150 player.
Iowa had Matt Gatens as our only top 150 player in the Lick years after Lick ran off Freeman...and had the three worst seasons in Hawkeye history. The last time they had 3 top 75 players was 2006,when they finished 2nd in the league.
Mock all you want,but bb recruit rankings are fairly predictive of team success,unlike football. When OSU got 4 top 25 players in Cook,Lighty,Oden and Conley,they made the national championship game the next year...a coincidence? I think not.