The Groce era was peppered with big name guys coming for visits and then always ending up 2nd or 3rd in the running. Obviously this feels different, but other than maybe Duke, we aren't going to bring in 3-4 five star guys in one year, but we still have to close the deal with 1-2 guys. That's what Groce couldn't do. He couldn't point to the success that he had. Underwood can simply say, we put players in the NBA each year and we make deep tourney runs. That too me is the difference.
I know it's been repeated so many times, but Ayo's commitment to us when we were on the bottom was really what started this all. His success allowed the next wave to come, which allowed the next wave to come, and so on. I know its more than just one player or one coach, but that kick started this run.