Here’s one thing you (and others) consistently overlook about the 2014 class.
We landed Chatman, who was always slated to play the four, because it was a foregone conclusion Glenn Robinson would be leaving after his sophomore year.
Our major wing targets in that class were Booker, Blackmon, Vince Edwards (who is a decent player - not an NBA talent and not a guy who would have changed our fortunes much), and Blueitt for a time.
Five star kids like Booker and Blackmon expect to be immediate starters.
In the fall of 2013 - when those guys were picking a school - we had Nik, Caris (who had shown some real ability on a big stage in the 2013 NCAA tournament just a few months earlier), and freshman five star Zak Irvin (who had yet to play a game, so at that time it was fairly safe to assume he was more or less as good as advertised). It’s fair to say we had a logjam at the wing position, and no one had any idea Nik would blow up into a lottery pick and leave school after his sophomore year.
At Kentucky (where Booker committed), in the fall of 2013 (again, before any games had been played), the Harrison twins were top 10 recruits and considered sure one and done talents.
At Indiana, Blackmon could walk right into a starting role.
For the lesser rated guys, there were different issues. We cleared a weekend for Blueitt’s official visit, where we were set to roll out the red carpet for him, and he cancelled to visit UCLA, where he committed (for about a month). That turned the staff off, and they never pursued him again. There was also a longstanding rivalry between the Irvin and Blueitt families, dating back years, and that was an issue.
Edwards seemed to always slightly prefer Purdue, and that’s where he ended up - maybe due to a logjam at the wing, maybe not, who knows.
The point is, the five star kids no doubt wanted to be guaranteed starting jobs, and Booker at Kentucky (due to their constant cycle of one-and-one guys) and Blackmon at IU had better shots to start immediately. Getting one of Blueitt or Edwards would have made the class better, but would hardly have been a game-changer. I don’t think either guy is an NBA talent.
The same is somewhat true for 2015. Walton is your starting PG. A guy like Jalen Brunson wasn’t going to take away his job, yet walked into a starting job at Nova (and won the title, so good choice anyway). Assuming a healthy Irvin and Levert, was Jalen Coleman or Luke Kennard going to step in and start? Unlikely. Jaylen Brown? Yeah, they probably make him a starter for sure, but I question whether we really ever had a legitimate shot at him. PJ Dozier? I liked his talent a lot, but the dude averaged like 5 points a game this year, so again, not a real difference maker.
2017 actually represents a great opportunity, as Irvin, Walton, and now Chatman, are gone. We have our point guard, but JB always likes to have two. Poole likely starts at the two in 2018 (and again, I see that as a great backcourt), and the three and four positions are wide open. I don’t know if we can grab some elite talents (though Cain seems very talented and we made a favorable impression), but I do know there is immediate playing time available that hasn’t been there in awhile. Come 2018, Robinson will also be gone, leaving only Ibi Watson at the 3/4, and only Poole at the 2.