'19 OH F Alonzo Gaffney

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Chad Brendel said:
I've survived multiple coaching changes in football and BCJ has still managed to thrive. I depend on my ability to build relationships and trust to thrive. That isn't specific to any head coach, assistant, athletic director and so on.

At this current moment in time, high end recruits are very hesitant to play in the conference from the word go. Those with opportunities in the B1G, SEC, ACC and Big 12 have been very hard to sway. A few have made the leap and in doing so helped UC get where it is. Many others have shut the door on that alone. It's on the staff to sift through it and land the guys with legit interest and talent...
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I'd agree on a top top talent. But if you asked a high school kid, they obviously know who Alabama and Ohio State are. But does a kid 16 years old even recognize the differences between the conferences. If there a four-star in basketball? With our success? We can't land a few more? I just be surprised that kids even understand conferences. I'd agree with protected one, they're into cool clothes cool cities winning games in March
 
ZCat said:
I'd agree on a top top talent. But if you asked a high school kid, they obviously know who Alabama and Ohio State are. But does a kid 16 years old even recognize the differences between the conferences. If there a four-star in basketball? With our success? We can't land a few more? I just be surprised that kids even understand conferences. I'd agree with protected one, they're into cool clothes cool cities winning games in March
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I know of five separate 4 star prospects in the 2018 class that told UC no thanks upon initial contact because they were in the AAC. One of them had an AAC school as his best offer and leader going in to July and dropped them from consideration completely as soon as the P5 offers rolled in.

Is that the case with every kid? No. Are a good number of 4 star prospects not even a remote option because of the league? Yes. Sifting through them and figuring out who will at least listen is the starting point. That's a less than ideal position to have to start from...
 
Chad Brendel said:
I know of five separate 4 star prospects in the 2018 class that told UC no thanks upon initial contact because they were in the AAC. One of them had an AAC school as his best offer and leader going in to July and dropped them from consideration completely as soon as the P5 offers rolled in.

Is that the case with every kid? No. Are a good number of 4 star prospects not even a remote option because of the league? Yes. Sifting through them and figuring out who will at least listen is the starting point. That's a less than ideal position to have to start from...
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In you opinion is it getting harder or easier for Mick to recruit in our conference? Can anything improve the external recruiting challenges outside of simply being in a different conference?
 
cincyguy13 said:
No matter how good your team is, talking about prospects and recruiting is fun for some. Talking about what kind of seed we will get if we ran the table is fun. Talking about line ups and what we could do differently is what fans do. None of it matters but we it’s ok for people to talk about
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I get it. I'm just saying the whole argument is predicated on the idea that our recruiting is subpar. And it needs to be tweaked. The tweaking already happened though. Years ago. That's why it's not a coincidence that we're good now. We started opening ourselves up to landing transfers and getting headliner HS kids with BB IQ and more offensive ability. We also started filling out the roster to build up the pipeline. So here we are. We're getting the production of a 5* from guys with over 100 games of experience. We have 4 guys who have scored over 1,000 points in D1. What more could you want? There's a misconception that all these other programs are rolling in McD talent. It's really only 2 places. That's why I brought up that interview with Self. Look at Purdue this year if you want, Florida when they won, UConn, Butler, Villanova, Michigan State, etc. Senior-laden teams are worth something in this sport. We have a system that builds to that. Obviously I'd like to make deep runs, send players to the NBA, and sprinkle in a top player who can put us over the top. But I just don't think we need to dream about it all day bc we're in some cold reality where we get scraps. That just isn't that case. We have players up and down our roster who would get snatched up in a second by proven winning coaches if they were to become available.

I get that people just love to talk about it. It just seems like it is discussed at times as if it is separate from what we actually see on the court. I mean, for 2018, I don't give a crap how many stars Logan Johnson is...it seems the sites can't even agree on that. He looks like a beast athlete who will be a pest in the AAC for years, especially as he fills out. His brother is in the NBA on a big contract, so who says he can't make it there too? And factor in that he is in a culture where every player is motivated and pursuing their dream. It's a healthy environment to work on your craft. So I'm just using him as an example...but is he a one and done? No. But spending a year with 2 SR PGs and a long list of guys who have won a hell of a lot more than they have lost in the locker room has to make him better. Practicing with these guys every day has to make him better. Working as hard as our guys do with Rehfeldt has to make him better. So by year 3, who gives a crap how many stars he was coming out? He'll be a seasoned winner with all the support and tools he'll need to succeed.

I'm to the point where I'll just trust who we get bc I know that every player we offer has winning traits and is being brought in bc there is a clear path to a shot at a successful career. Evans even said it himself in a video..."It's weird how our coaches can find guys that all fit in and have the same goals" or something like that. The more I see how our program operates, the more I believe that culture transcends any rating system.

So long story short, I don't think our recruiting is broken so I apologize if hat I go back to one thing when I see the strategies being discussed on how we can be better or why we simply can't be.
 
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Mcginnjw said:
In you opinion is it getting harder or easier for Mick to recruit in our conference? Can anything improve the external recruiting challenges outside of simply being in a different conference?
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It's been the same for a while. The league has no juice and simply isn't a destination spot for national level recruits. Can it get there? Maybe but I have my doubts. If you aren't in the P5 the deck is stacked against you, and I don't see any change in sight there...
 
cincyguy13 said:
No matter how good your team is, talking about prospects and recruiting is fun for some. Talking about what kind of seed we will get if we ran the table is fun. Talking about line ups and what we could do differently is what fans do. None of it matters but we it’s ok for people to talk about
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Absolutely agree, it is just fun to have a hyped player every once in awhile. Getting a highly touted prospect like Gaffney would be tremendous for program and conference hype. Program hype and buzz seems to have much bigger impact to recruiting success due to social media than it once did.
 
My issue is so much of the conversation is centered around we should get this guy and that guy. Some even go so far as saying we used to get better guys refusing to understand where we are as a program. They also hold the staff accountable using standards that do not apply now. Fact is we are a very good program and Mick and company do a excellent job putting a team on the floor we can all be proud of. 7 and soon to be 8 years running in the tourney is nothing to sneeze at.
 
WAITE HOYT 2 said:
My issue is so much of the conversation is centered around we should get this guy and that guy. Some even go so far as saying we used to get better guys refusing to understand where we are as a program. They also hold the staff accountable using standards that do not apply now. Fact is we are a very good program and Mick and company do a excellent job putting a team on the floor we can all be proud of. 7 and soon to be 8 years running in the tourney is nothing to sneeze at.
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I'm very happy with the state of our program. That being said.....I would love to see a five star recruit who is also a legacy Bearcat play here. I would hate to see him play somewhere else....especially OSU.
 
Chad Brendel said:
It's been the same for a while. The league has no juice and simply isn't a destination spot for national level recruits. Can it get there? Maybe but I have my doubts. If you aren't in the P5 the deck is stacked against you, and I don't see any change in sight there...
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Ok, so knowing that and knowing mick wants to compete. What is UC’s best chance/tactic to get a 5 Star?

1) Wins in the tournament?
2) players to the nba?
3) style of play?
 
cincycpaw said:
Ok, so knowing that and knowing mick wants to compete. What is UC’s best chance/tactic to get a 5 Star?

1) Wins in the tournament?
2) players to the nba?
3) style of play?
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Xavier just had an elite 8 run with plenty of playing time to offer and they struck out on every recruit they wanted and settled for 3 star guys
 
Chad Brendel said:
Go look and see how many top 75 players you can find in the entire conference. Do you think it's because A) coaches in the league want less talented players or B) high end guys aren't interested in playing in the AAC? That has nothing to do with any bias you think I might have. It's fact. Go count. I'll wait...
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Wait all you want, it's a stupid question. You really think those are the only two possible reasons for why teams aren't getting top 75 recruits? You think it might have something to do with the fact that the teams in the AAC suck? Stick ECU in the Big Eas and their recruiting will still suck. If Calhoun was still at UConn he'd still be reeling in recruits. They still got a 5 star in Jalen Adams. They aren't getting them now because everyone knows Ollie sucks. Memphis had been getting tons of top 100 recruits with Pastner. He can't coach a lick but that's a different story.

I think there could be a very strong argument that Mick is recruiting better now than he did when he was in arguably the best conference ever.
 
TheLongHaul said:
Wait all you want, it's a stupid question. You really think those are the only two possible reasons for why teams aren't getting top 75 recruits? You think it might have something to do with the fact that the teams in the AAC suck? Stick ECU in the Big Eas and their recruiting will still suck. If Calhoun was still at UConn he'd still be reeling in recruits. They still got a 5 star in Jalen Adams. They aren't getting them now because everyone knows Ollie sucks. Memphis had been getting tons of top 100 recruits with Pastner. He can't coach a lick but that's a different story.

I think there could be a very strong argument that Mick is recruiting better now than he did when he was in arguably the best conference ever.
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Yeah and that argument would go like this. You're crazy if you think we are getting higher quality players in terms of rankings now, over when we were in the big east. Go and look at some of our old recruiting classes. Now if you wanna talk about the type of players we are getting, then yes he is doing much better now. Before we would get long athletes, no we get smarter guys who may be a little underrated but ones who can buy into our system and grow every year. Which goes right into what jake has been saying. We have found a really good niche, getting quality guys to come play and it's really starting to pay off. Of course a top guy is great every now and then if we can get them (Cumberland #52) but I'll take 100-150 players all day.
 
TheLongHaul said:
Wait all you want, it's a stupid question. You really think those are the only two possible reasons for why teams aren't getting top 75 recruits? You think it might have something to do with the fact that the teams in the AAC suck? Stick ECU in the Big Eas and their recruiting will still suck. If Calhoun was still at UConn he'd still be reeling in recruits. They still got a 5 star in Jalen Adams. They aren't getting them now because everyone knows Ollie sucks. Memphis had been getting tons of top 100 recruits with Pastner. He can't coach a lick but that's a different story.

I think there could be a very strong argument that Mick is recruiting better now than he did when he was in arguably the best conference ever.
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You would be incredibly wrong based on recruiting rankings, which is the topic at hand.

The staff is doing a fantastic job identifying who they can land, and closing the deal on those guys. Some want them to spend a ton of time on guys that express no interest when contact is made instead. If that's the hill you want to die on, have at it...
 
Protected1 said:
I wouldn't call Our roster loaded. It's good but not loaded. And nobody said we weren't good. We are but we have good rosters before. Last yeAr and the year before. The reason we complain about recruiting is because we haven't on anything. Zilch zero, nada. One co-championship with Louisville when the ACC first started but nothing else. No conference tourney championships, no conference championships and 1 freakin sweet sixteen. 1 in 10 years!! Some of us are asking for a game changer, something to get us over the hump to true greatness. I swear if I see another 28 game winning season with no banner to show for it I'm gonna lose it. As for national perception, here in Atlanta not a blip. I still wear my UC shooting shirts and bobbit and Levette jerseys and people swear my jerseys are still righteous. But ask what happens to you guys! Who's the coach?
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Atlanta?? Is this bulldogs long lost brother? Talking bout seag, getting to the league and uni's.
 
Chad Brendel said:
I know of five separate 4 star prospects in the 2018 class that told UC no thanks upon initial contact because they were in the AAC. One of them had an AAC school as his best offer and leader going in to July and dropped them from consideration completely as soon as the P5 offers rolled in.

Is that the case with every kid? No. Are a good number of 4 star prospects not even a remote option because of the league? Yes. Sifting through them and figuring out who will at least listen is the starting point. That's a less than ideal position to have to start from...
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Thanks Chad
 
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