In addition to Point Guard U deleting its 3 tweets Chatman tweets, 10 out of the 17 on 247’s crystal ball either switched or added a Chatman to Arizona prediction since the weekend based on . . . what, exactly? According to the Chatmans (if I’m reading Joe’s article correctly), they spoke to no members of the media during or following their trip to AZ.
Here’s the thing. We are pretty much obsessed with Michigan hoops, recruiting is a big part of future success, and we’d like to have info. But there are very few people who know anything about most recruits. Unless someone indicates they’ve spoken with a recruit, his parent, or his coach, or unless you know an analyst with a history of being connected, a la Sam Webb – and even he will often admit he doesn’t know for a particular recruit – I wouldn’t take much from it. If some random guy trying to get exposure for a site “hears” something that happens to go along with what someone else “hears,” don’t get too up or down. Listen to Webb, maybe Balas sometimes, listen to Dylan and Joe (who may not always be in the know but don’t claim to be when they’re not) and take everything else with a large grain of salt.
Anything dealing with 15-18 year olds is an inexact science. They are naturally indecisive. I’m 24 and I’m still incredibly indecisive. I don’t get my hopes too high or too low in the recruiting game.
Webb gets it wrong sometimes, for sure. I didn’t listen to the podcast yesterday, but usually he gives pretty good hints (if he doesn’t come right out and say it) if he’s talked with the recruit recently or someone close to the recruit or is just kind of guessing. He also has times where he (unless he’s flat out lying) talks to recruits, a la some of the guys in football with the interviews, etc. On the other hand, plenty of guys on the internet claim to “hear” things or make strong predictions when they are just speculating with no more information than provided via internet research.
As for bacon141, I’m several (to put a kind spin on it) years past 24 and am still indecisive, so don’t count on age magically changing that. A good further point, though, about why to keep an even keel while observ
Arizona Rivals recruiting “expert” posted an article yesterday morning discussing the Chatman recruitment. He mentioned USC and Oregon as competitors but didn’t even mention Michigan. Unreal.
I know I am a broken record, but I will continue to reiterate that these recruiting analysts or recruiting websites do not know what a teenager is going to decide. It is nothing but a guessing game. I agree with UMHoopsFan completely.