Did Yankuba Sima already enroll at OK St? Would love another rim protector.
I have great confidence in Underwood as a basketball coach. This will be his first test as savvy recruiting operator.
If he gets depantsed on Tilmon after keeping Walker, that would not be a great start. I don't expect that, but I always brace for the worst.
Agree with this. You keep Walker and you hope that Tilmon decides to stay, but you're making uncertain decisions and recruiting isn't always linear. Connections in St Louis and throughout Illinois/Chicago is one reason to keep Walker, continuity for current players is another, connections with Mark Smith and Tilmon are others. Let's hope all of this works out, but it's all fluid with no guarantees...I don't get why you think Walker was only kept to get Tilmon. Whitman personally recommended to keep Walker, and we all know Whitman is a smart guy. Walker was kept because Whitman and Underwood think he has long term value.
And we all know recruiting is chaos. Even though Walker is staying, anything can happen with these recruits. IMO Underwood shouldn't be judged, at all, on who he keeps from this class. Keeping them all doesn't mean he's some amazing recruiter and losing some of them doesn't mean he's a bad recruiter.
Ironically, I can recall this being one of the first things Groce addressed (or, complained about) right after he got the job. "We've got to fix class balance," he said.Roster management got Groce in trouble, don't think we'll see that from BU.
Agree with this. You keep Walker and you hope that Tilmon decides to stay, but you're making uncertain decisions and recruiting isn't always linear. Connections in St Louis and throughout Illinois/Chicago is one reason to keep Walker, continuity for current players is another, connections with Mark Smith and Tilmon are others. Let's hope all of this works out, but it's all fluid with no guarantees...
Even if Walker did not secure Tilmon (reason he was kept-partially), nothing would still not apply. Walker is the 2017 version of Collins with inroads to all areas and gyms...he even without Tilmon is far from a "nothing" retention.
Why include this little snippet? It has nothing to do with your point. First of all, it wasn't his work with "just" Tilmon. He was also the main recruiter with Smith, Liddell, and others. So can we stop with everyone's personal expertise and enlightening the rest of us that "after all, that's the only reason he was kept."
BTW: That wasn't the only reason! He has inroads with coaches & recruits throughout Illinois, which BU and the rest of his staff does not. IMO, that's the reason he was kept.
Why include this little snippet? It has nothing to do with your point. First of all, it wasn't his work with "just" Tilmon. He was also the main recruiter with Smith, Liddell, and others. So can we stop with everyone's personal expertise and enlightening the rest of us that "after all, that's the only reason he was kept."
BTW: That wasn't the only reason! He has inroads with coaches & recruits throughout Illinois, which BU and the rest of his staff does not. IMO, that's the reason he was kept.
Why include this little snippet? It has nothing to do with your point. First of all, it wasn't his work with "just" Tilmon. He was also the main recruiter with Smith, Liddell, and others. So can we stop with everyone's personal expertise and enlightening the rest of us that "after all, that's the only reason he was kept."
BTW: That wasn't the only reason! He has inroads with coaches & recruits throughout Illinois, which BU and the rest of his staff does not. IMO, that's the reason he was kept.
Really good point. There's no good reason to assume BU is ineffective and/or gullible on the recruiting scene based on the bad arses he has worked for.Agreed with everything you said. Fortunately if I had to win a recruiting scrum that is "exotic" so to speak Bob Huggins and Frank Martin would be two of the first guys I would turn to to win a street fight like this. Underwood has seen these up close
Who made those comments other than posters on this board? Lots of people were speculating, but we don't know it to be a solid fact....
The ONLY facts are that comments were made that if Walker goes, Tilmon goes, he was retained, they are making direct contact with next year's signed recruits and Smith. Those are the only facts to go on. Anything other than those facts are purely conjecture. One can reasonably deduct why Walker was hired based on the nature of their actions, while the remainder of the staff has yet to be filled out.
Who made those comments other than posters on this board? Lots of people were speculating, but we don't know it to be a solid fact.
Per Derek Piper Brad Underwood & Jamall Walker will visit Mr. Basketball Mark Smith on Sunday - he tells me. He's headed to Kansas State today.
This is great, now I hope we hear about something set up with Da'Monte soon. :thumb:
Thanks for elaborating. I really appreciate it.We do.
Would've rather he cancelled his KSU visit, but so long as he doesn't commit before Sunday, I will consider this good news.
As long as Jerrance and Self don't intercept him en route to or from the visit I'm good.Per Derek Piper Brad Underwood & Jamall Walker will visit Mr. Basketball Mark Smith on Sunday - he tells me. He's headed to Kansas State today.
KSU will never scare me with basketball recruits, at least with Weber at the helm. I'd be much more worried with a blue blood visit. Hopefully Walker and BU can get him on board... we could actually be really good in the next 1-2 years with Smith, especially if the rest of the class stays together.
And on top of that, the only reason they are a presence with so many Illinois kids is again because of Weber's connections in state. A different coach at K-State may have no connection in the area and not in on as many kids. Either way, I like our chances going forward.KSU will never scare me with basketball recruits, at least with Weber at the helm. I'd be much more worried with a blue blood visit. Hopefully Walker and BU can get him on board... we could actually be really good in the next 1-2 years with Smith, especially if the rest of the class stays together.
Your point is well taken, but there were probably 20 other assistants with those same inroads in the state....Especially with the pool of money that was provided to Underwood to spend on his Assistants. However, that pool was whittled down to one as respects to the incoming class. He's the only candidate who offers the ability to keep the 2017 class together and has to be the differentiator in hiring him vs an Assistant from another program.
So....To say that Tilmon, Williams, Pickett and Smith weren't the main reasons.....Is crazy. If this class falls apart, he's sent scrambling for transfers. He knows it, Whitman knows it, those kids know it....And next year, as well as the following year could be really rough. If he keeps it together, with development, this is potentially a tournament team. It's a HUGE swing based on comments made by some parents about retaining Walker.
So....There's a lot riding on this hire and to think it's not about next season is really just trying to cushion yourself for a potential punch in the groin.
Groce was very proactive right away. He was able to get in with Nunn (that was a surprise), was able to keep Hill, and signed Colbert (highly regarded) and Mav. Also brought Rayvonte Rice who ended up a very good player. He also was able to get in the recruitment of DJax, Snider, and Cliff although he missed. His failure was that he was not able to get a B1G PG, even later with Brunson and Evans, nor a B1G post player (other than developing Mav). But he was very proactive, I do not believe one can say that Groce waited until year 2.
That is what I was saying. It was his body of work with multiple recruits, not just Tilmon.