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Message: [QUOTE="Antiprodigy, post: 2064007, member: 582"] My post made no implication of an SU fan inferiority complex on my part. I simply stated that SU does not get the top players. It never has. SU gets its share of top 100 kids, but The top kids are top 10, maybe top 25. And historically, SU does not get these kids. On the occasion, they may get a kid or 2 from the elite, but not on a regular basis. This isn't pessimism on my account, that is historical fact. It also doesn't overly concern me, just like it didn't overly concern me that SU lost out on the possibility of a truly great recruiting class this year. History showed the odds were stacked against it happening. Yet the chicken little's of the board (including some really highly respected posters) were ready to dump JB in the (has)bin. Despite my repeated reminders of the penalties levied against the program. People have continued to underestimate their affects. But JB has usually worked his magic with the top 25-75 kids and sprinkled in a few diamonds in the rough. That has always been his sweet spot. Grab the occasional top player, and now the formula seems to be including grad transfers, and you have the formula. The key is, he has recruited kids who are ideally suited to play the zone for quite some time now. He has proven that he is willing to give up getting a higher ranked player to get one suited to the zone. The zone works. The game hasn't passed it by. It's only a matter of whether the kids are able to learn how to play it, as it isn't a question of whether the coaches are able to teach it. The have proven that to all but the people with an agenda. And recent years results have shown that it is a method that works. The interesting thing is that years ago everyone used to complain how the team would peak early, then fade as the year went along. It now seems that he is getting more players who are not quite ready at the beginning of the season, but grow into the team and the defense as the year goes along. Fans used to complain about having such a good team, and going out early. If only JB could get a team to peak later in the year and be ready by the time the tournament comes around. So, SU has started having those teams. The beginning of the season has not looked pretty for several years, yet there they are at the end, going deep into the tournament. Of course, what that means, is we have short-sighted posters. Posters who write off the team in November. Posters who blast the players and the coaches. Posters who down every aspect of the program at times. I've seen this all. I may not post much, but I have been a lurker for many years and many iterations of this board. The posters names change, but the theme stays the same. Yet we will all be very sad when JB finally hangs it up. A level of consistency never before seen, and a level of excellency only few have ever achieved. [/QUOTE]

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