Is that for real? Unbelievable.
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Not sure if this was posted or not, Bamba is officially down to Michigan, Texas, Kentucky, duke.
Well to be fair, there are definitely some prospects out there where âcaringâ is something that is important to them. Perhaps this year one of them just happens to be a top 5 player?
[Edit: Just saw this on an article about his recruitment: âMichigan is still involved, I talk to the coaches every now and then.â Good to see weâre talking to such an enormous talent âevery now and then.â Somehow in an article about him dropping 3 schools to put us in his top 4 I am more pessimistic than before]
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Mo cares about those who care.
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U still feelimg confident? I actually am worried about Kentucky when I wasnât previously,
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Iâm not as worried about Duke as I am Kentucky. Who knows whatâll happen with Coach Kâs back, plus their forwards from the last two classes are not exactly lighting it up right now.
Harry Giles - #2 in the 2016 class
Javin DeLaurier - #40 in the 2016 class
Chase Jeter - #15 in the 2015 class
Marques Bolden - #15 in the 2016 class
All four of those players combined go for 12.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. For comparison, DJ Wilson and Mo Wagner alone average 22.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Now obviously Bamba isnât gonna choose a school because of something like that, but my point is that while Giles will likely go pro solely because of potential they only lose him plus the senior Jefferson in terms of post players. With Wendell Carter already committed there Iâm guessing theyâll only have room to take one more 4/5. Iâm not sure who their other targets are but with Bamba committing pretty late in the process youâd have to think Duke would at least consider taking someone earlier if theyâre highly rated enough.
Yeah, caring is for suckers.
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And yet there are still folks on here who will deny any and all evidence that JB and his staff donât recruit as hard as other Power 5 staffs.
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Thank you. I completely agree. Mo Basically put it in there because he visited us. He is the one that contacted the Michigan staff to show interest in the school and they still do not put the full court press on a kid that contacted you. I am a little confused on how Coach Bs recruiting philosophy and direction is now. The 5 star recruit came to you and showed YOU he was interested and you kind of recruit him. I mean every now and again says to a player that I mean we will take you if we have to. Yea do not place anymore hopes on this one signing with us. If it happens I will eat crow with hot sauce. I doubt there will be a need. I actually see him ending up at Texas.
Just playing devils advicate here, but he may not be pushing AS HARD for Bamba to not upset Wagner.
Truthfully, I believe if we got Bamba then he would leave and head back to Germany. Heâs too good to come off the bench as a Junior. Not saying heâs necessarily better than a Freshman Bamba, just saying if Bamba started heâd go to the bench.
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Why is it unbelievable, Beilein is regularly criticized here for not showing kids enough love. I could just as well argue that a kid who wants to expand his game, doesnât see himself as a traditional center and values academics/networking might think âcaringâ is much more important than a basketball factory not particularly concerned with development or his wide interests.
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Agree. I think Bamba meant each of those comments as a compliment to the coach.
If that is the thought process of the staffâŚIâm not too happy about that. They should be getting the most talented players that they can. Period. Upsetting Wagner or DJ or whoever else should never be a concern. Bring in the most talent you can. Have them compete. Best players play. Simple if you ask me.
SKnight
I agree with you for the most part but Wagner is a bit different. He has the option to head back to Germany, not transfer and sit out a year.
I honestly have zero idea if he would, but itâs possibly a choice of Bamba for one freshmen year vs a jr/sr Wagner. Like I said just playing devilâs advocate on it.
Truth be told any D1 player could go to Europe and join somebodyâs A team or academy and do better for themselves than by going to college and getting a sham education. There are high school players going straight to Europe, so why not college kids?
With Wagner, he is showing enough potential that he neednât be bothered by the Bamba talk. It would actually make a nice succession plan. DJ Wilson could be Bambaâs running-mate and teach him the system.
As for the now and then talk, he talks to Capel ânow and thenâ as well. Bamba is clearly someone who is not caught up in the celebrity of top-tier basketball recruiting. Heâs not some vain/superficial kid invested in the love and hype.
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The interesting comment to me from that interview was his family âwasnât very happyâ with him for removing Harvard from his list. At least publically, he seems serious about an education. I still think itâs Duke to beat but the Coach K health issues could be a factor
Roster balance and cohesion is always important (see the glut of forwards Fisher recruited in 1994 and 1995), but the reality is Wagner is not nearly good enough for us to pass on Bamba for that reason. And you should only pass on a five star big man if you have like 3-4 more of them already, and plainly we donât.
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This would never work offensively but how fun would a 2-3 zone with MAAR and Matthews up top, Wilson, Bamba and Wagner down low be? Seems like a Syracuse lineup
I think this whole Wagner vs Bamba thing is a false premise. Not worth discussing.
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