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[QUOTE="orangecuse, post: 2235856, member: 668"]
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." ;) 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.

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 [I]"Out of Bounds"[/I] expose.  The only one that comes to mind is Winfred Walton, but we lost him due to academics/admissions.
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