I like Arizona's model of building up their 3-4yr guards like Johnson/McConnell, getting stable 3-4y play out a big like Zeus, and then filling in wings who may be 1-2y guys but not being reliant upon them to do more than give an athletic edge in spurts. If we could construct this within our superior offense (and some of the pieces are there), I think we could sustain a nice period of sprinkling in NBA type wings who will want to join what will hopefully be a consistent SW16/E8 threat, and provide F4 upside. Its nice to be a "hat on the table" for guys like Thornton, Jaylen, etc, but getting that foundational engine running is probably the right first step, and 2015 should provide a good arena to showcase it with Caris leading the charge.
(If its not obvious, i’m really trying to find a silver lining/rationalization out of this less than ideal situation.)
I think we’d all love to follow Arizona’s model but they are able to recruit at an elite level that is only matched by a handful of schools (none of which are in our conference or region).
So frustrating to see this happen. I think it’s hard to put any blame on JB and Co. Tyus was obviously able to convince his parents that Michigan was important to him and that he valued the school and team and coaching staff more than his parents being able to see him more than a handful of times each year. But then his family was able to convince him that proximity was more important.
I don’t really know what we could have done better without using retrospect.
So frustrating to see this happen. I think it's hard to put any blame on JB and Co. Tyus was obviously able to convince his parents that Michigan was important to him and that he valued the school and team and coaching staff more than his parents being able to see him more than a handful of times each year. But then his family was able to convince him that proximity was more important.
I don’t really know what we could have done better without using retrospect.
We couldn’t have done anything any better, that’s what makes it so devastating. Unfortunately his “commitment” probably cost us Langford in retrospect. He’s not going to “recommit” in the future either, Daddy ain’t gonna allow that. He’s gone bye bye.
Maybe he continues the wishy-washy commitment model in college the way he was transferred multiple times in high school. Maybe if his first year in college doesn’t go as planned his parents convince him to transfer in college too? I know nobody knows, but the way the kid moves around it doesn’t seem reassuring for anyone. I just don’t know what goes through the minds of these kids and families. They are like farts blowing in the wind, who’s gonna get the next whiff is anyone’s guess.
This is an example of why Beilein is picky with which 5 Stars he goes after. The parents of some of these kids are sometimes more who you are recruiting.
Didn’t mean to say it as though it was easy to replicate, but I would think our offense would be able to create better 3-4 year guards, and/or get us by with less than 5 star talent in some cases to get to their same level of success. If you had to pick an archetype out of the top 10 programs to follow, I would think its one of the better ones.
So frustrating to see this happen. I think it's hard to put any blame on JB and Co. Tyus was obviously able to convince his parents that Michigan was important to him and that he valued the school and team and coaching staff more than his parents being able to see him more than a handful of times each year. But then his family was able to convince him that proximity was more important.
I don’t really know what we could have done better without using retrospect.
The staff was really in a tough spot. It was a surprise commitment and they can’t say no. I suppose the only thing the staff might have done differently was to ask Battle to take some other visits to make sure his commitment was firm before accepting, but that is obviously a huge risk. Bottom line is the kid and his family did not do Michigan any favors with the way this has played out.
Not much revelatory on Sam’s WTKA segment this morning. Barely touched on Cumberland, but basically said that typically there are “things you do” when you’re getting to know someone. And he implied that Michigan is likely in the process of that right now with Jarron and “vetting” him more now that things are “heating up.” So, not much movement, but sounds like the staff is still moving.
Daily WTKA update, Sam indicated Brian Snow of Scout said not to expect a decision from Cumberland until after July. Also said he thinks that may be more from Michigan’s side than Cumberland because Michigan seems like such a huge favorite for him. Went on to say he thinks the July evaluation period may reveal more targets.
That to me makes me think of the DJ Wilson identification and recruitment. So maybe something to watch going forward.
Well Michigan never offered Cumberland so apparently Beilein wasn’t ready to pull the trigger even on his visit. Maybe there were academic concerns, Beilein wanted to evaluate him further or see what the other options were. Not really sold on Cumberland as a college player but he seems like a Cincy player based on his rugged style of play.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Huerter. There’s a lot of competition for him.
Well Michigan never offered Cumberland so apparently Beilein wasn't ready to pull the trigger even on his visit.
Seriously this. Don’t understand how this can be a miss by the staff on recruiting if they didn’t want the kid enough to offer him a committable scholarship on his visit. Still an interesting curveball.
So aside from Huerter, who else is out there that Michigan is targeting on the wing?
Sam strongly reiterated this morning on WTKA that there’s a good chance for some major recruiting board movement in the July evaluation period. So I guess we’ll have something to follow this month.
EDIT: More directly to your point right now, I think the only names that come to mind are Huerter and Miles Bridges. Bridges would be a good get, but I’m not expecting that to happen right now.
I am not frustrated at losing out on Cumberland. I think he’s a good fit for the offense because he’s a good shooter but we can find other good shooters in this class.