I know this doesn't really have to do with Haskins, but I found it interesting that Cal basketball just picked up a commitment from the #2 player in the country Jaylen Brown. Now that's in addition to the #6 overall player in the country Ivan Raab. They have 2 other top 150 guys (#73, 147 respectfully) to close out the class, giving them a top 5 overall class. That's not bad for Cal basketball. During the McDonald's All-American game Ivan Raab gave an interview saying he wanted to do something different, and that he and a couple friends wanted to start a new trend. He hinted at there may be some more top guys to follow, hence the Jaylen Brown commitment (Caleb Swanigan the #19 player overall was potentially the 3rd 5 star, but he chose Michigan St). The same thing happened at LSU where arguably the best player in the class Ben Simmons (#2 overall), Antonio Blankley (#13 overall), and Brandon Sampson (#49 overall) decided to buck the trend and sign with a program some what off the radar.
Now what does this have to do with Cuse? Who knows, maybe not much, but it does show that the idea is out there. If I was the coaching staff I certainly would be using the idea of starting something different as the main recruiting pitch. Hell i'd even use cases like those above as example. Almost all of these kids are hyper-competitive, and most have a bit of an ego, which is totally fine, and understandable given the circumstances. The hard part is you have to get that first guy to pull the trigger, so we already have the hard part done. Now 1 could also be a fluke, but if we happen to get 2 watch out. Obviously it's much easier to change around the fortunes of a basketball program, but there are some parallels out there between Cal/LSU, and Syracuse. We have a group of highly thought of friends, who have in the past expressed interest in playing together. It also doesn't hurt that our academics are strong. Maybe not as great as Cal, but it's a draw, especially since I saw a couple of the ones interested want to major in business. I'm not sure how close any of the guys we're after are to a decision, but if we can get another commitment relatively soon it could be an interesting Summer.