Are you kidding? You know our best player, only NBA prospect and key to our entire season is from Chicago....right? You do know that Chicago is one of the top one or two recruiting areas in the country, right? This program will never ever be able to sustain, what used to be, an elite tradition without recruiting this state and recruiting it well. Between Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, Peoria, East St. Louis, Belvidere, etc....there is a riches of talent unlike most other states and over the last five years....outside of Ayo, we've gotten none of it and have sucked each and every year.
Our last decent teams were led by Illinois based talent, Paul, Richardson, Egwu, Abrams....all Illinois kids. You look at our roster now....less Ayo, nothing.
There's a reason why we're at where we're at. We don't get our piece of the pie in our own state. For the flagship school to continually be left in the cold is a pure failure on behalf of the staff and the results back that up.
They can continue to scour all four corners of the US and the globe, but until they stop losing 3 of the top 5 recruits in the state to the likes if Iowa State(two years ago)....expect nothing but the same. To think it doesn't matter is pure lunacy.
You are on the money here. In order to play for it all, we have to have Kenny Battle, Kendal Gill, Nick Anderson, Deron, Luther type players. Do we have those type of players now, and will this kid even make it to the Jack Ingram level?
I don’t know the answer to the second question, but the first is a for sure no. Love Ayo (have no real good past player to compare him to?), think GB could be better than any player we ever have had with a 3 point shot (think Dirk). I really am high on AG as he looks like he can really score and has size. If TJ has a Luther Head moment and realizes he has to work and not just “party” he has the skill set, but let’s face it do we known if he has Luther’s work ethic? I have no idea?
So the question is, is nexts years team able to “play for it all”? I don’t see it? Now before i get my !!! chewed for being “glass half empty”, answer the next question what would it take to get there? I say 3 to 5 more Ayo/GB type players? Are we adding that type of players at the “ratio” we need presently? I don’t think so. If BU does not start hitting on class strings of 3 to 4 four star HS players or better year to year, we will never get much better than where we are now - thinking a 4th or 5th place finish in the B10 is good.
Fire away say, hey when your 14th in the league 5th is a hell of an improvement, but does it get us to 89, the early 2000’s or the 2005 teams? It does not. It is simple, BU has to start hitting on his Fall targets. If he does not, we need to realize we are now (just like football) hoping to get to the level of Iowa or Wisconsin. Very good programs, but I really don’t see either (I know Wisconsin has been to the final 4) as truly nation title contenders. This filling empty seats 10 days before class starts stuff is very new to us long time fans. Look back at any of Lou, Lon, Bill, or even Bruce’s HS classes (3 to 4 four star HS players) each and every year, and most from Illinois. We simply will never win without being able to get (not the superstars Duke will take those) but the Shannon’s, the Okoros, the 4 star players we seem to only have a pipe dream with now.