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[QUOTE="supp, post: 2645940, member: 702"]
He doesn't really qualify as an under-the-radar kid.  He goes to a big Houston high school that's carefully  picked over by Texas schools and even invites the attention of the national programs.  A number of explanations for taking him come to mind.  One is that he's a bit of a reach but is higher on the coaches' list than the other kids they feel they have a realistic shot at...for now.  That could change a la Jack Smith.  The second is that he's a reach but they feel he gives them a foothold in a high school and area that they plan to recruit heavily in this and future cycles.  He could be, as you imply, a pied piper-type guy who could help to bring better prospects to Syracuse over the next few years.  The third possible explanation is that he's not a reach and other schools know that too but grades complicate his recruitment.  Again, here the coaches are taking a flyer with the hope that he pulls off a miracle in the classroom or that he remembers the gesture when he gets cleared after a spell in prep school/juco.  The fourth explanation is that everyone missed on the kid except us.  This explanation will be easy to prove if he blows up in the Fall.  But if he does, I think the odds of him making it to campus reduce dramatically.

All in all, it's hard to either get terribly excited or terribly down about this kid just yet.  We've been down this road a bunch of times before with this staff and with previous ones.  Remember Xzavier Gaines?  We will probably always take some flyers.  The key is to make sure you put enough talent elsewhere on the roster so that you're not over-reliant on those gambles.  And if they do pay off, the odds are that it's going be to be a special year or couple of years.
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