I see a lot of posts refer to a 9 year downward spiral and I think it’s worth noting that, at minimum, those first 3 years should objectively not count against JB/the staff. This is operating on the premise that the NCAA sanctions were absurd and unjust. If you think the NCAA had a good point, I have no interest in entertaining or engaging in that argument.
The scholarship sanctions mattered and the recruiter sanctions mattered more. Those lasted through 2017 (2019 for the schollies). 10/11 vs 13 scholarship players is not a trivial difference. 2 vs 4 recruiters is a huge difference. The effects of the sanctions were tangible.
A harsh interpretation would put the 2017-18 season as the marker of the decline. So, 6 seasons. A lenient interpretation, since you don’t recover immediately after sanctions, would be the 2019-20 season. 4 seasons, coinciding with the Buddy Boeheim experience.
Because of the sanctions, we couldn’t carry full squads. Despite not using a deep bench, schools still need those developmental players and that depth for when unexpected departures happen. So, on top of getting less talented recruits because we couldn’t put recruiters on the road to show love and to scout, we had fewer of them. If somebody left early, we had nothing behind them and had to scramble for transfers or rely on freshman 3-4 stars to play big minutes. There was a razor thin margin of error and any recruiting miss was death. That’s hard to overcome for any staff.
I know this is taboo to talk about because we’re supposed to pretend the sanctions weren’t that big of a deal and they’re just an ‘excuse’ and didn’t have long-term effects, but that’s the way I see it. A decline is still a decline, but I think we’re talking about 4-6 years, not 9, which is more than a semantic difference.
What we are seeing with this class is what an improvement in depth can get you. Taylor and Brown look like they will be really solid contributors here for multiple years. Either or both could easily turn in to excellent starters (as I see it). Without the full arsenal of scholarships, they’re the types of players who might not have been here.
We still have issues. Guard depth is scary, especially with no 2023 recruits. Center is going to be a question mark, assuming Jesse is outta here, but at least we have Centers on the roster. The staff is far from absolved from responsibility.
Additional points: I think the Hopkins departure hurt a lot more than any of us realized at the time. I think the ACC during most of that 2017-2021 stretch was more difficult than the old Big East at its peak, so more losses would be expected.
Just had to get this off my chest. Carry on.
The scholarship sanctions mattered and the recruiter sanctions mattered more. Those lasted through 2017 (2019 for the schollies). 10/11 vs 13 scholarship players is not a trivial difference. 2 vs 4 recruiters is a huge difference. The effects of the sanctions were tangible.
A harsh interpretation would put the 2017-18 season as the marker of the decline. So, 6 seasons. A lenient interpretation, since you don’t recover immediately after sanctions, would be the 2019-20 season. 4 seasons, coinciding with the Buddy Boeheim experience.
Because of the sanctions, we couldn’t carry full squads. Despite not using a deep bench, schools still need those developmental players and that depth for when unexpected departures happen. So, on top of getting less talented recruits because we couldn’t put recruiters on the road to show love and to scout, we had fewer of them. If somebody left early, we had nothing behind them and had to scramble for transfers or rely on freshman 3-4 stars to play big minutes. There was a razor thin margin of error and any recruiting miss was death. That’s hard to overcome for any staff.
I know this is taboo to talk about because we’re supposed to pretend the sanctions weren’t that big of a deal and they’re just an ‘excuse’ and didn’t have long-term effects, but that’s the way I see it. A decline is still a decline, but I think we’re talking about 4-6 years, not 9, which is more than a semantic difference.
What we are seeing with this class is what an improvement in depth can get you. Taylor and Brown look like they will be really solid contributors here for multiple years. Either or both could easily turn in to excellent starters (as I see it). Without the full arsenal of scholarships, they’re the types of players who might not have been here.
We still have issues. Guard depth is scary, especially with no 2023 recruits. Center is going to be a question mark, assuming Jesse is outta here, but at least we have Centers on the roster. The staff is far from absolved from responsibility.
Additional points: I think the Hopkins departure hurt a lot more than any of us realized at the time. I think the ACC during most of that 2017-2021 stretch was more difficult than the old Big East at its peak, so more losses would be expected.
Just had to get this off my chest. Carry on.
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