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[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 1731253, member: 40"]
Yup.  It comes down to who made a bigger impact on the program:  Johnny Flynn or Scoop?  Donte Green or Rick Jackson?  The former in both matched pairs were McD's all americans, but left quickly.  The latter, who were part of the same recruiting class as Flynn / Greene, stayed all four years and turned into legitimate difference makers by the end of their careers.  They also were guys who were key contributors on two of the best teams in program history.

Recruiting elite talent is awesome.  But you need to catch lightning in a bottle for elite recruits to elevate a program in their first year.  The recruits we tend to get can't [or don't] generally do that.  Fab is a great example.  So is McCullough, Greene, etc. And then those guys are gone because they have loads of potential, but they're in the NBA before they actually actualize it -- and SU never receives the full measure of benefit.

That's why it is important for us to recruit program guys with upside who turn into very good players over the course of their career.  Duke landed the #1 freshman in the country three years ago in Jabari Parker.  We countered with senior CJ Fair, who was every bit as good.  Did he have the same upside / NBA potential as Parker? No--but he was just as good at that point of his developmental curve, compared to where Parker was on his.

The key IMO is getting the right system fits to compliment the top end talent we bring in.  The Fairs, the Southerlands, the Scoops, the Jacksons, the Keitas, the Rautins.  These guys get overshadowed by flashier recruits, but are often vital cogs in our team's performance--even more so than the higher rated guys.
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