I just think that’s pretty bold of the staff to be confident Smith would be visiting/committing in 2 weeks, then take a commit from Livers. They’re basically saying they like Livers more than Smith.
It also says to me they either thought Smith was a 4 or really like their chances chasing other players.
We turned down a Top 75 player. We better get something good for that spot.
audentes fortuna juvat (fortune favors the bold) - Virgil
I could only imagine this is a good thing. No way they turn down smith without knowing their in good shape for a couple guys. I actually think it’s Wilkes and possibly eastern. I don’t think they’d turn down smith without having a couple tricks up their sleave. It cant just be their banking on Wilkes.
Honestly I have a weird feeling about Wilkes, in a good way. I also think maybe they have some ideas of fall back guys. Much like our Ibi pick up. Gaines for instance.
Hope it works out because honestly I really liked smith too. I would have been ok with that pick up, even if it ended our class. He was that 3/4 we needed positionally. Great athlete. Played real well late. Very solid class.
Again, I think it’s very possible they carry over the scholarship to 2018 where they seem to be in great standing with Ryan, Carmody, and Johns. That’s if they can’t get Wilkes.
You think their banking it? I can’t see that. Maybe a grad transfer Donal fifth year. The 18 class is supposed to be weak. Do you think carmody and are much better than Cain smith or Gaines?
If we strike out with our last scholarship, I think we will either keep Donnal or go after a transfer. It depends on how Donnal/freshman bigs look. Either way, 12 scholarship players is plenty to play with. We’ll be playing with 11 this year.
I guess the spacing makes sense as we took four last year, then essentially four this year. I think I’d still like to grab another 17 kid. I keep asking it but I wish someone really would know are we giving up on eastern? I get why people think brooks sealed the deal but eastern at 6 5 could guard wings along with bringing an interesting skillet to the team. I’d prefer him to Ryan or carmody. I’d love to pursue him along with Bowen and Wilkes, with Gaines as the back up.
Gaines is interesting to me because he just gets things done. Plus we could always use a strong rebounder regardless of position.
Recruiting folks have been very adamant than Eastern wants to play point (which Michigan promised he would play at). That’s not possible anymore. So it’s more of a lack of interest on Eastern’s side now.
It is still possible as we’ve had plenty of guys that were “point guards” run our offense. Nik and Caris are not what you think of when you picture a PG in your head, but that’s essentially what they were. Eastern could do that here for sure. Brooks and X are good enough shooters to play off the ball like Walton did his freshman season.
I can understand why Eastern would have reservations about it, but the coaching staff really needs to pound this point home if we want to stay in it.
If we strike out it will be Donnal, late sleeper or banking the scholarship. I don’t see us ever taking a grad transfer.
I agree it is bold but I can’t say I disagree with the strategy. I like Smith but is he really that much better than guys we would have a good shot for in 2018? If not then why not wait on the 2017 5 stars and see what happens? I think the chances we get one are low but I can see it being worth the risk
Yeah, true. It helps that we have Matthews in the fold as well. That gives us an athlete in the “class”.
There are definitely a lot of good reasons to bank the scholarship or at least wait until Spring options. Allows our '18 offerees to commit before then. Saves it for a guy more likely to step in and start. We don’t really need a 3 like Cain or Smith at this point, but if we can get a guy to come in and allow Robinson or whoever to come off the bench. Increase the average talent level on the team, etc. Cain and Smith could become very good players at some other school, but I still don’t think they would make a huge difference on the outlook of '17-'18 and I’m definitely at least as excited about Johns, Carmody, and Ryan in '18.
just adding on…
can also know/infer if DJ is going to be a real solution at the 4 in 2017-18 or not, can at least see more of Matthews in practice to know if he can be legit 2/3/4 and thus know where need is strongest
Why? We were going hard after Grant Mullins this offseason. I don’t think we have an issue with taking grad transfers.
For the rankings mean everything guys (ahem… John Miller) - Amauri Hardy is now top 100 on ESPN. Is he better than Eli Brooks now? Shows you just how skewed that 247 composite really is
I like Hardy and think he’s an interesting player. But how does this ranking from one source prove anything about the 247 composite? Scout and Rivals consider him to be a generic 3-star and don’t even assign him a rank. The 247 composite lists him as a 3-star and the #260 player in the country. His offer list seems about on par with that ranking. Outside of the GA Tech offer, it’s all MAC.
To give this some more context, Livers is ranked a 4star on their composite ranking. However, his rankings are as follows:
ESPN - #76/4star
Rivals - #114/3star
Scout - #173/generic 3star
247 - #136/3 star
3 of the 4 sites that 247 accounts for have him as a 3star (including its own database), and yet somehow he’s a 4star composite…yeah, that makes a ton of sense.
Additionally, Livers is NR on both Hoopseen and Future 150. The 247 composite is SEVERELY flawed in every sense of the word. Selection pool of ranking sites accounted for does not capture even 75% of available mainstream sites, and star allocation not congruent with other sites.
Also, just for clarity, Brooks is N/R in terms of the 247 Composite, and #113 for their internal rankings. A lot of folks around here fail to make that distinction. Hardy is actually #260 in the composite 247, but NR in 247 internal rankings
Livers is ranked #121 in the composite, which roughly aligns with the average rankings from the 4 services. Some services award 4 stars to more players than other services do. For 247, it appears that the cutoff for 4-stars in the composite is a score of .9200. That score is based off of rankings and ratings from the 4 main sources.
It’s obviously not perfect, but it’s certainly not “SEVERELY flawed in every sense of the word.” What is severely flawed is you picking and choosing with services you think are accurate based on how they rank players that you like/interview.
I haven’t seen anyone here fail to make the distinction for Hardy’s and Brooks’s rankings. People have noted the differing offer lists, however, which is valid.
Also, you are the only person I have see who regularly cites Future150 and Hoopseen. That’s like referring to the Bleacher Report Top 25 to validate your favorite team’s ranking.