Sean Miller offered Chatman. Bad evaluations happen to every one, period. Not saying Brooks is that, but offers are not the end all be all.
True, but I’m responding to those who are puzzled by the offer due to limited film. Jay Wright especially knows guards.
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Yeah, I readily admit that the limited film just isn’t a large enough sample size. That said, if that’s a highlight film, it isn’t terribly impressive in my opinion. I sure hope he is better than that
Eastern can’t shoot. If he’s athletic enough to overcome that, fine. If not, he could be Kam Chatman, part 2.
You keep saying your opinion is “uninformed,” because you haven’t seen Brooks’ recent film. Why not leave it at that until you do?
Rivals at La Lu Combine, list cut coming.
Five-star small forward Brian Bowen told Rivals that he plans to cut his school list – which currently sits at 12 – down to five or six schools next week or so. The 6-foot-7 wing had Michigan State, Arizona (including head coach Sean Miller), Creighton and Kentucky among the crowd to see him.
Would Sparty take Jackson, Bowen and Tillman? They certainly seem to be the favorites for the last two, but I wonder if they can make all three work. Must be nice to have that kind of “problem”
Not sure about Tillman they would certainly take Eastern though. Izzo has always recruited well but he’s on a totally different level right now.
https://twitter.com/20tugs/status/781286068930940928
Final 6. No Kentucky/Duke offers I assume so does this mean MSU lock?
Conventional wisdom has always been Michigan State… Don’t see why that would change, unless there’s something that happens to make MSU less likely, right now I think that’s a safe bet.
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So no top 5 for Jaren Jackson, Kris Wilkes or Brian Bowen.
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Let’s just go after Tillman again
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To whom are you directing that. I haven’t seen anyone go beyond hoping that he might come here. Don’t think that he’s ever been more than lukewarm re: Michigan.
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Its MSU or Texas. His connection to Eric Davis makes the Longhorns the only real threat to Sparty.
There wasn’t a person in Saginaw who ever thought he was seriously considering M.
I think you’re conflating the decision to move away from guys like Smith, Cain and Eastern with a thought that Bowen was a likely, or even reasonably possible target. Nobody I have ever seen, from fans to site moderators to analysts to recruiting experts, has ever predicted that Bowen would come, or even that there was much of a shot that this would happen. Unless you think the staff is stupid, it is impossible to believe that they thought differently, especially given the fact that John Beilein, in particular, has had a tendency to move on from guys who aren’t “busting down the door” to come to Michigan.
I think, instead, that circumstances had much more to do with the decisions than did waiting for Bowen (or Jackson or Wilkes). In Eastern’s case, a combination of strong belief in Simpson and the difficulty of playing him and Eastern together, both with respect to the meshing of their games (need for the ball, questions about shooting) and the insistence that Eastern play exclusively at the point left him on the outside once Brooks fulfilled the need for another guy who could play point guard. In Smith’s case, the staff saw him as a prime athlete without great shooting or ball skills and slotted him as an undersized 4 (ala GR III), and once Livers committed, he was out. Cain was a victim of the sudden Bamba interest, and the desire to hold a scholarship for him. Frankly, once Bamba entered the picture, I think anyone, including Bowen, was SOL in terms of a committable offer. Instead, they’re going to hold a spot for him, and count on being able to get someone in the spring if needed, whether a guy like Douglas, or someone who comes to the fore.
In the end, I think the staff thought they had enough “legitimate B10 caliber” players,but not enough great players, and wanted to swing for difference makers, whether in this class (Bamba) or ones to come, rather than guys they regarded as good, but not great. Their evaluations, calculations, conclusions and future recruiting efforts can be second guessed now, and will be evaluated going forward. However, the notion that the staff turned away guys because they thought they were going to have a great (or even a serious) chance to get Bowen seems really misplaced to me.
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Beilein has said that he’s not recruiting players, he’s recruiting a team, which goes to your point about Eastern and X.
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I agree with the way you are framing the issue, Bleedblue.
If the odds of getting Bamba are 5 percent or better, then you obviously go all in on Bamba, in my opinion. He will be one of the most dominant players next year and he might want to stay for more than one year…No brainier.
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I have no idea what the staff thought with respect to Bowen so I won’t judge them on their approach, and I agree with most that he’s probably a bit overrated. Not a huge loss, though admittedly if he ends up at MSU, he will be yet another addition to their daunting arsenal.
That said, at this point, I think it’s Bamba or bust. It’s hard to deny Matt’s point they had a good shot with both Cain and Eastern and chose to roll the dice. If they end up with a no-name late add next spring, it will be another questionable decision in terms of roster management and talent acquisition.
And, while I really like some of their early targets for 18 as excellent role players (Carmody and Hunter), I’m kind of disappointed that they aren’t even looking at any guys on the tier of Wilkes/Jackson/Bowen for that year. I know it’s still early but with the possible exception of Matthews (and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt here), they haven’t added an All Big Ten caliber athletic Alpha Dog since 2012. Weems may change that in 2019 – yes I am getting my hopes up for Weems – but seven years without a stud is a long time.
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I agree with Sly.
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Please, we all know that Beilein is really bad at identifying and developing guards and also doesn’t like multi-skilled players. Can’t you guys just admit he’s the worst!
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