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[QUOTE="JeremyCuse, post: 2007717, member: 43"]
I think as you noted its been a combination of both recruiting misses and the uncertainty surrounding the scholarship losses due to the sanctions. Malachi is a prime example, he was 99% returning back for his Soph more year until the second half of the UVA game in April.  At that point the staff really has no options other then a grad transfer or I guess a late JUCO. Normally they might have had someone lined up to come in but remember we were down 4 scholarships going into last fall that became 3, staff had to make sure they could actually have the room for these players if they committed and I don't think even the most optimistic Malachi fan had him leaving until after that game.  That's where the sanctions kill SU we didn't have that spot already filled because we couldn't now we are left scrambling to basically get a 5th year grad guy over the summer in a year where there really wasn't that much talent available (White, Spike Albrecht, dude form Columbia etc).

Your right about the class with Buss, Chino, Kaleb etc being a complete mess but that was a failure of the staff identifying talent and bringing guys who can't or couldn't complete at this level.  We also had to move some of them out to get under the scholarship threshold when the sanctions began. SU had a great record of hitting on kids just outside the very top be it Ennis, Grant, Malachi, etc, at some point we were going to start missing on some of those guys ie Kaleb, Frank Howard, Roberson, when you combine that with lack of scholarships to recruit over them and missing out on top targets the past two seasons this is what you end up with.
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