1. I like Wagner...a lot. I think that the top 20-40 ranking relayed by rivals' Eric Bossi from an NBA scout is a bit high, but he's easily a top 100 kid (likely somewhere between 50 and 75), he's skilled, he plays hard and aggressively, and he's young, with a very large upside. It may take a bit of time, but IMO, he's going to be a keeper--6'9" kids with his skill set, motor and versatility are not easy to come by. I also like the beginnings of a European pipeline--it fits into JB's preferred playing style, and also into his potential sweet spot where recruiting is concerned.
2. I think the next several recruits we take will be guards, unless Jaylen Brown drops out of the sky. We have a lot of combo forwards and posts, especially for what JB likes to run, but only two natural guards who will have remaining eligibility after next season. One of our forwards may be able to make the shift to guard, but that still leaves us with a need for primary ballhandlers.
3. Kids are waiting longer these days to commit--sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Case in point--Seth Towns, a 6'8" kid out of Columbus in the class of '16, who received an offer on the first day we gave them out, waited for other offers, including one from childhood favorite OSU, got the OSU offer, and then continued to wait, despite the fact that those two appeared to be his clear favorites. With the commitments of Funderburk to OSU and Wagner to Michigan, there may not be room, or need, for Towns at either place. He's a good player, and will wind up at a good school, but it may not be where he really wanted to go.
4. I won't pretend that we've parlayed the FF into a recruiting bonanza--that would be silly. I'm also disappointed that we haven't gotten a top 25/sure thing recruit yet, despite having been in on a number of them. At the same time, I think the moaning about recruiting is over the top. In the two classes since we reached the FF, we have gotten 3 top 100 kids (counting Wagner as a top 100 guy, as he surely would be), Aubrey Dawkins, who played better than a majority of the kids ranked higher than he was, and has star potential, two guys who showed in their freshman seasons that they will be valuable contributors, and likely starters, and a transfer who has been judged by players in the program--several of whom are very good shooters in their own right--to be the best shooter they've ever seen. In '16, we already have a top 100 big. It's not Kentucky or Duke or Kansas, but we aren't exactly bereft of talent as a result of our recent recruiting efforts. And if we get just one of the superstars...
5. Kids below the top 25 or so tend to lack an element judged necessary to be elite--size, shooting and/or ball skills, great athleticism are the most common things of this type. JB always looks for skill set and usually for length--athleticism is nice, but it plainly falls third on that list. Others have different priorities--Louisville looks athlete first, North Carolina recruits size, etc. What matters is that you play to your system--what works in some systems doesn't work in others. Lourawls Nairn wouldn't see the floor at Wisconsin, and Ben Brust wouldn't have seen the floor at MSU. Both programs are very successful, albeit in different ways. There are lots of ways to succeed.
6. Unless there is attrition in the lower classes, either via transfer or medical status for Austin Hatch, we have one more scholarship available right now in the class of '16 (aside from Teske). JB won't over-sign in the fall--if he gets to the number limit and has offers out there, it will be because he knows that there is a scholarship in hand. Otherwise, he'll wait until spring. MAAR's versatility is going to be key--if we get a PG in '16, MAAR can play the 2, and someone from among the wings will also play there, while if we get a 2G, MAAR will be the other PG (alongside of Derrick). IMO, the first priority would be a PG--wings are generally more available, and can play earlier, and I think we have multiple candidates from the wings (Irvin, Chatman, Robinson, Dawkins) who could move, if necessary.
7. I think Caris is going to come back--he's dropping on draft boards, the risk, if he's not 100% in workouts, is too great, and he has never been a kid who looked like he was desperate to get to the next level. For those who somehow think that we wouldn't miss him...let's just say that I thoroughly disagree. Yes, he struggled some to adjust to his role as first banana, but he was more comfortable later (last 4 games, 44% from the floor, 43% from 3, 83% from the line, 3 assists per game, including 7 (!) in his final game against Northwestern), and he's going to have a lot more weapons this time around (a much improved Zak, a healthy Derrick, a seasoned and explosive Aubrey, etc.). Kids improve, and Caris is a kid with a ceiling which is still above the level at which he currently resides. That said, if he leaves, we're still going to be very good next year. It will be interesting if he does leave to see who shifts to guard (we'll only have 3 natural ones, and how that affects the rotation.
8. JB has enough genuine players to radically expand the rotation next year. He'll do so in the pre-conference games. I'll believe a regular 9 or 10 man rotation in Big Ten games when I see it. Somebody who is a good player is just not going to see the floor. I don't know who that will be--in contrast to many, I do not think it will be Kam, who I believe will take a giant leap forward next season.
2. I think the next several recruits we take will be guards, unless Jaylen Brown drops out of the sky. We have a lot of combo forwards and posts, especially for what JB likes to run, but only two natural guards who will have remaining eligibility after next season. One of our forwards may be able to make the shift to guard, but that still leaves us with a need for primary ballhandlers.
3. Kids are waiting longer these days to commit--sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Case in point--Seth Towns, a 6'8" kid out of Columbus in the class of '16, who received an offer on the first day we gave them out, waited for other offers, including one from childhood favorite OSU, got the OSU offer, and then continued to wait, despite the fact that those two appeared to be his clear favorites. With the commitments of Funderburk to OSU and Wagner to Michigan, there may not be room, or need, for Towns at either place. He's a good player, and will wind up at a good school, but it may not be where he really wanted to go.
4. I won't pretend that we've parlayed the FF into a recruiting bonanza--that would be silly. I'm also disappointed that we haven't gotten a top 25/sure thing recruit yet, despite having been in on a number of them. At the same time, I think the moaning about recruiting is over the top. In the two classes since we reached the FF, we have gotten 3 top 100 kids (counting Wagner as a top 100 guy, as he surely would be), Aubrey Dawkins, who played better than a majority of the kids ranked higher than he was, and has star potential, two guys who showed in their freshman seasons that they will be valuable contributors, and likely starters, and a transfer who has been judged by players in the program--several of whom are very good shooters in their own right--to be the best shooter they've ever seen. In '16, we already have a top 100 big. It's not Kentucky or Duke or Kansas, but we aren't exactly bereft of talent as a result of our recent recruiting efforts. And if we get just one of the superstars...
5. Kids below the top 25 or so tend to lack an element judged necessary to be elite--size, shooting and/or ball skills, great athleticism are the most common things of this type. JB always looks for skill set and usually for length--athleticism is nice, but it plainly falls third on that list. Others have different priorities--Louisville looks athlete first, North Carolina recruits size, etc. What matters is that you play to your system--what works in some systems doesn't work in others. Lourawls Nairn wouldn't see the floor at Wisconsin, and Ben Brust wouldn't have seen the floor at MSU. Both programs are very successful, albeit in different ways. There are lots of ways to succeed.
6. Unless there is attrition in the lower classes, either via transfer or medical status for Austin Hatch, we have one more scholarship available right now in the class of '16 (aside from Teske). JB won't over-sign in the fall--if he gets to the number limit and has offers out there, it will be because he knows that there is a scholarship in hand. Otherwise, he'll wait until spring. MAAR's versatility is going to be key--if we get a PG in '16, MAAR can play the 2, and someone from among the wings will also play there, while if we get a 2G, MAAR will be the other PG (alongside of Derrick). IMO, the first priority would be a PG--wings are generally more available, and can play earlier, and I think we have multiple candidates from the wings (Irvin, Chatman, Robinson, Dawkins) who could move, if necessary.
7. I think Caris is going to come back--he's dropping on draft boards, the risk, if he's not 100% in workouts, is too great, and he has never been a kid who looked like he was desperate to get to the next level. For those who somehow think that we wouldn't miss him...let's just say that I thoroughly disagree. Yes, he struggled some to adjust to his role as first banana, but he was more comfortable later (last 4 games, 44% from the floor, 43% from 3, 83% from the line, 3 assists per game, including 7 (!) in his final game against Northwestern), and he's going to have a lot more weapons this time around (a much improved Zak, a healthy Derrick, a seasoned and explosive Aubrey, etc.). Kids improve, and Caris is a kid with a ceiling which is still above the level at which he currently resides. That said, if he leaves, we're still going to be very good next year. It will be interesting if he does leave to see who shifts to guard (we'll only have 3 natural ones, and how that affects the rotation.
8. JB has enough genuine players to radically expand the rotation next year. He'll do so in the pre-conference games. I'll believe a regular 9 or 10 man rotation in Big Ten games when I see it. Somebody who is a good player is just not going to see the floor. I don't know who that will be--in contrast to many, I do not think it will be Kam, who I believe will take a giant leap forward next season.
