Explain to me when any top ranked big man came to Illinois. I believe Kane is as going to be as good as anyone we have had in the last 30 years other than maybe Augi. I wish all the naysayers on this sight would give the coach a chance.
Dont really understand that first sentence, but Egwu was a top 100 guy (heck, Mav was around 150 IIRC). If Samba wants to be one of the best in the past 3 decades, he's got a few other hurdles than just Augie, though he probably is the largest.
I am giving BU a chance, and I'm optimistic on guys like Kane, Griffin, and Higgs, and taking into account that in most cases you gotta walk before you can run, we are going to need recruiting to take a bump in the right direction. Put me under the camp of (over) analyzing what BU has already done, but getting clear plan C and below guys isn't how you build a successful program. I still would give his 2018 class a B, the guys he pulled in the spring period were impressive, however the fact remains that if you're filling 5+ scholarships in the spring, you're not recruiting well (in most cases).
Missing on guys like Castleton in a vacuum isn't program ending (and franking if one recruit ever is, theres much bigger issues present), but eventually, we have to start landing plan A/B recruits, and in a class of almost half your team, you'd hope more than 1 was that kind (and while Jones might end up becoming a guy that should've been prioritized, he was not a 1/2 option). This years class will be telling whether or not this turnaround will take 2/3 more years, or 5/6. I'll easily give BU a 2/3 year window to make things work. I still dont think it wrong to criticize and examine what's happened since he's arrived, without immediately calling for his head. I think too many on this board think those two are always cause and effect, when they don't need to be linked at all.