There is something to be said for ‘being able to get the studs, if we want the studs’ and how that affects the perception of our program and its recruiting. Getting Winston would’ve been nice because it meant we beat Sparty for an elite recruit and because it means that a top player wanted to come here. But it’s too hard to look at 3rd and 4th degree aftermath effects of recruits’ decisions. There’s no way to know how Winston’s decision affects the other recruits. I think Izzo is just benefitting from being the coach of the best program in the state, during a year where Michigan HS talent is the highest it’s been in years.
Is it a known fact that Bridges would not have followed Winston to Michigan?
I follow recruiting, but not as avidly as others do. It is hard to make sense of what is true and what it rumor.
At least one site reported that we led for Langford, but basically told him we had no room for him after Battle committed. I really hope that isn’t true. That would be inexcusable. Langford is the type of player that you take regardless of what your roster looks like.
And I didn’t mean that we should have kept pursuing Winston just to prevent some sort of domino effect. There is no guarantee that we would have landed him anyway.
I think one thing that makes our recruiting and roster situation seem even worse is the fact that MSU is going to lend their best recruiting class in some time. It is just interesting to think about what things would look like if we had landed Langford and Winston.
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Langford hurts. It was my understanding that we could’ve landed him if we wanted him, just had to give him the green light. Im not sure if we ended up withdrawing interest because of Battle or if Izzo whispered the perfect sweet nothings to him on his visit, but losing Langford, especially to MSU and after losing Battle, really hurts. And he is such a luxury for MSU, considering the rest of their class.
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I read a news article in which Bridges said something to the effect that he thought Cassius was going to Michigan, and when Cassius decided on MSU, that is when he (Bridges) decided to follow.
I’ll see if I can find it.
Oh, to Michigan? I misread. I don’t think anyone believed we had a legitimate chance with Bridges.
I think we should re-examine JB as a coach, and the direction the program is headed under his watch.
Totally AGREE.
JB is probably the nicest and most honest coach you’ll find.
Totally AGREE. When does B10 and NCAA tourney performance start to matter? some of the losses have been just plain embarassing this year - AND AT HOME.
Consistent Quality Recruiting.
BIG concern, every year. Especially bigs.Eastern Michigan has a better center than all of ours combined. Seriously.
Duke, Kentucky, Maryland and many other big time programs had games this year when they were run out of the gym. And that was with their best players still on the court.
I thought Winston and Bridges were supposed to be a package deal. I didn’t realize this was on condition that Winston chose MSU. While Bridges probably would have chosen UK if Cassius came here, realistically I can see scenarios in which he would prefer playing with his longtime teammate rather than playing a less prominent role on a freakishly stacked UK roster.
On Langford, while we don’t have all the facts, everything points to a pretty big screwup. Even in the hypothetical situation that MAAR was literally our only PG for 2016 (say, if Walton’s turf toe didn’t heal), I would rather have Langford and Battle than have a normal roster without those guys.
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I agree, on Langford. I wish there was an explanation for it, but so much of recruiting happens without public knowledge. But I think we definitely messed up, somehow.
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The one thing Winston has going for him though is being surrounded by better players and we are talking elite level guys eg. Langford, Bridges, Davis(probably will be back), Jackson(maybe), Harris has shown he can be a very productive player if utilized correctly and we haven’t touched upon glue guys like Nairn/McQuaid/Goins etc…
The video of Simpson looks good but where are the elite level guys joining him to make him better. Take for example Tyler Ulis he’s improved a lot but he does anybody believe he would be putting the numbers up at say Michigan that he is now? Ulis has guys like Briscoe/Murray/Poythress and some good bigs.
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I’ve said this from the moment X committed. If we don’t pair an elite big/wing with him, he’s not going to do much.
I never said that we are in a better position than MSU, because we have Simpson and they have Winston. I just like our player more than theirs, at this point. You’re right, the difference in total talent is a problem and it’s big enough that one player isn’t going to fix that. But I also dont mind the little victory of preferring our point guard of the future.
Izzo’s approach to defense is much different than Beilein’s. I just can’t imagine that Izzo is going to be fond of Winston’s inability to stay in front of his man. Having Davis down low will help mitigate that, but Winston’s lack of athleticism is going to be exposed in college.
Not exactly a ground-breaking statement. Every player is better off playing with more good players. Obviously I wish Ibi was Battle and Teske was Ward. That’s still not a reason to not be excited about Simpson. And regardless of what he has to work with, he will make our team better.
Unfortunately, Izzo probably knows that he will be fielding his most athletic team ever, so there will be more than enough talent on the floor to make up for Winston’s defensive shortcomings.
I never said you did I am just saying Winston still has the advantage of being with a real good supporting cast.
Oh, then definitely. Winston will probably be the more productive player on the better team, just because he will be surrounded by better players. Man, I wish X could be dishing the ball to Langford or Battle.
Not to get too far off topic (probably too late), but I really think this year is Izzo’s best chance for a second title. Valentine and Forbes have been unreal this year. And Costello has been incredibly solid, despite being absolutely useless for his first two years. They can defend, rebound, run, slow it down, and absolutely shoot the lights out.
They’ll have more raw talent next year, but I don’t see them being as good.
100% agree. I wish I knew how Izzo manages to recruit talent, then stunt its growth until senior year, and then always field an experienced team whose best players are seniors. The work done on Valentine and Forbes is amazing. Costello shouldve been good years ago.