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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 2308445, member: 40"] I think the uptick is mostly about the engagement level of the head coach. Between the summer Olympics and the perceived transition with him ramping down, JB was somewhat disengaged a year ago [my opinion only, which I'll own]. I also think we'd lapsed into some bad habits with putting the eggs in one basket, assuming guys were in the fold when they were still actively shopping for more popular prom dates, etc. Behind the scenes [again, my opinion only], I believe that Hopkins also stopped working as hard when he realized that JB didn't intend to step down and hand over the keys. So the two principals both not working as hard as they should to be successful on the recruiting trail was a bad thing for our program. Even so, we still rebounded and put together a very solid class of 2017. Losing out on a shooter like Tucker sucked, but to land an international prospect with Dolezaj's skill set was a tremendous bounce-back, and I'm encouraged by Dasher's description of the coaching staff's assessment of Hughes recently. Boeheim made a good move bringing Griffin on board, and it paid immediate dividends with Bazley, who then blew up into a top 10-caliber recruit. The Hopkins departure also seemed to light a fire in the old man's belly, and he's working twice as hard as before, which is what has to happen to recruit successfully. I do agree with you assessment that landing a recruit like Bazley could have a cascade effect, especially with other recruits like Carey, hopefully. And I love the fact that we landed a guy from the class of 2019 that we are high on -- the start of the second "golden era" of our program was built upon lining up key pieces a year or two in advance and completing recruiting classes early, which in turn enabled the coaching staff to focus on building relationships with prospects a year or two in advance, which then fueled the cycle. I also agree with your point about going all-in on Carey, but hopefully things work out better this time. Fingers crossed. [/QUOTE]

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