Obviously Green was #1 on our board. Tucker and Randolph were higher as well. We really didn't even want HW. And as posted the other day, they are really surprised at how talented he is. much better than they thought. Thorpe was a great pick up because we didn't land Green. But Thorpe is a good player. I will tell you this, once they saw Marek, they really wanted him. And were going to take him regardless of whether they got anyone else.
In time, yes. What hurts us is that the kids we get, are better than people thought but not good enough to put us over the top. They leave early before they can do that.
However, losing Marshall was a bit different in that we lost him under the building speculation that the NCAA hammer was coming down on us, the sanctions were still unknown as they were yet not announced by the NCAA. Our recent misses and losses on the recruiting trail are happening with "known" sanctions. The sanctions have had no effect on the kids we are now losing on in that regard, meaning, these kids know they're still able to play in ALL post season tournaments, etc. So, it really doesn't impact the kid's decision.
Let's say we're not
Jalen Rose.Yes, I recall losing Donyell Marshall, he was a huge Owens fan near his hometown of Carlisle in nearby Reading. We all but had him locked up...today, we would've argued he certainly gave us that infamous "silent verbal."
Again, just my opinion, but I think the biggest reason by far has to do with the aforementioned misses, both on whom we didn't get and the ones we did that aren't really ACC caliber type, transferred, etc. I also feel that the cloud over precisely when JB may retire, etc. hurt the program larger than the actual sanctions as well. Bottom line is that even with the sanctions, we still had enough scollies to offer our prime targets. The fact that we whiffed on practically 100% of those guys and had to settle for whatever we could is why (for the most part) where we are today...a three years in the making mediocre middle of the pack ACC team, looking at a 4th, unless the team pleasantly exceeds expectations. As a lifelong fan, I hope they do.
edit: I don't recall the Michigan kid we lost due to the "Out of Bounds" expose. The only one that comes to mind is Winfred Walton, but we lost him due to academics/admissions.
Well, he was ours, Staying closer to home had nothing to do with it. The X factor was that Rose's coach ended up going to Mich as an ass't. He ended up getting the head job at Detroit.
Agree. Make no mistake though this team is not winning less than 10 games in conference. Tons and tons of talent.
We are winning (unless injuries cripple us) at least 11 games this season. And we will be excited about what we have coming back for next year.
As I was saying...
Exactly. And you could replace Randolph with Tucker and it would be a happy recruiting board. Or Washington or Ayala in place of Green. We obviously miscalculated and there were behind the scenes issues, but I think 2018 should hopefully be back to normal.
Dude, I said it because it is 100% correct. We have a board that had three names at the top of it. Swider, Bazley and Carey. We came very close with Swider. It didn't work out. We got Bazley. If we just wanted a top 40 kid, we would have taken Jones. He would have committed before we got done offering. Just yesterday you called me senile. Which only makes you look bad. If any mod had bothered to read your post, you would probably have got a few days off. Try adding something to the board. You never add information or any real insight. Just temper tantrums. The least you could do is at least be polite. Yesterday, we got Bazley. That on a day that you were ranting about another terrible recruiting year. The fact is dude, you have no idea who the staff (JB) has high on his board. And you won't find out reading the different sites. The staff likes Roberts a lot more than some kids that are rated a lot higher. And of course we add plan b's. When you strike out on your main targets, you look for others.
but the rating services, the rating services...
"Alternative fact" alert: "The last couple of years" of missing out on top targets is not accurate. It was one year--2017. For 2016 we landed 3 top 100 recruits, most of them the primary guys we targeted. I think we would have gotten Huerter, too, if not for the scholarship reduction. Let's see what happens for 2018. But one recruiting cycle does not make a trend.
