2017 - C - Mo Bamba (Offer)

Plus we were absolutely competing with Kentucky lol. They were 2nd/3rd depending on who you ask.

Not to mention the other contenders for Brown were UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky.

Seeing what his personality is I almost would take that as he’s eliminating them.

I don’t really get you and LAWolv want to argue.

If you guys think that Beilein will never get a top 10 recruit and should not be bothered to recruit them, as Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA will always get involved, then you win.

Brown to Cal was mostly brokered by his mentor Sharif Abdur-Rahim, a fellow Wheeler High and Cal Alum. We didn’t really have a chance once he stepped in.

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Sounds like just random “Guess the blue bloods” type stuff. I’m not going to alter what I think our chances are based on someone like that.

Just in general, did anyone who watched the AA game see how Bamba did?

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Never mind, I found some clips (The guy’s account has more). I ummm… wow. Watch at your own discretion.

Full stats:

Bamba led his team in scoring (tied for 1st overall). Of note, 4 blocks and 2 steals, no turnovers in an all star game environment, he took 2 threes, and only 1 foul.

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I watched. Bamba is a freak of nature, man. Would start him from day one.

Would be unmatched in the p and r. No clue how the starting lineup would work out but damn that kid is talented.

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I would pay good money to watch Mo vs Moe go at it in practice. Can imagine both would annoy each other to the max and competition would be incredible

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watching Bamba reminds me those blue humans in the movie Avatar.

Any other clips of the game?

He looks like Mutombo out there with his build and length. Man he’s got length, you read it but can’t imagine playing against him in the paint

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I was arguing that what you describe as JB being “passive” and not making an “effort” likely did not significantly impact the likelihood of Brown (or Bamba) playing for JB.

Anyway, let’s hope we all win and get to see Bamba in the maize and blue next year.

the replay is on watch espn if you have cable sign in.
http://www.espn.com/watchespn/player/_/id/3008152/

Maybe not, but we would’ve got a better chance had Beilein engaged early on.

That’s your opinion. Only Bamba knows if that is true or not.

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There really isn’t any evidence of that. If anything Beilein’s approach made a favorable impression.

No, here is what I think.

Every coach has a limited amount of resources. You can’t recruit 100 kids at once. In fact, you probably can’t really recruit 10 kids at once (in the same class) and do it effectively.

When we have prioritized elite kids, we have generally swung and missed. McGary and Chatman were wins. Losses: Booker, Bates-Diop, Kennard, Brunson, Dozier, Blackmon, Thornton, Bridges, Leaf, Battle, Langford, Jaren Jackson, Looney, Ellenson, Swanigan, Bowen, Kris Wilkes. Obviously, we pursued some of these guys harder than others, but we did pursue them all.

When we have spent lots of resources chasing elite kids (2014, 2016), our fallback options haven’t worked out that great.

I believe our sweet spot is finding kids in the 50-150 range, and beyond, who we think are overlooked but very good. Morris, Burke, Hardaway, Robinson (when he committed), Stauskas, Levert, Wagner, Wilson - all fall into that category. What I like about our 2017 class is that all the kids fit that profile, and they are all Plan A guys we scouted and recruited extensively, which I think matters. To put the cherry on top (not unlike McGary), we are now pursuing a five star who is legitimately recruitable. That’s the exception, though, not the rule, and I would not spend my time recruiting multiple five stars if it means not having the resources to recruit the kids we really like in the 50-150 range.

Simply put, our rate of return on those kids is poor, and we have proven we can win Big with the pre-2014 strategy.

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I think Beilein felt burned by the number of blue chip prospects he lost out on after the Final Four/Elite Eight seasons. And as a result is re-focusing on his recruiting “sweet spot” to build the base of his recruiting classes ----- and after that is established then allowing himself to chase a 5* program changer.

If he can lock in the base of the class early, then maybe he’ll swing big earlier. For example, if Carmody or Ryan or Hunter were to commit this spring, I wouldn’t be surprised if Beilein uses the summer to take a shot at a 5* type — knowing he’d already have a strong foundation with DeJulius + ______ in the mix.