Past recruiting

[AnnapSpider]

It would be a lot of work, so I'm not volunteering, but it would be interesting to know how many of this year's and last year's recruits got the "thumbs up" " great get" etc. by us on this board, only to have them sitting now.
Are we collectively good at seeing top recruits or bad, or just mediocre?

 

[Eight Legger]

It would be a lot of work, so I'm not volunteering, but it would be interesting to know how many of this year's and last year's recruits got the "thumbs up" " great get" etc. by us on this board, only to have them sitting now.
Are we collectively good at seeing top recruits or bad, or just mediocre?

Most of us have no clue how good or bad our recruits are, because all we see of them is a collection of highlights on video. How many of us have ever seen a recruit play multiple games in person? Hardly anyone. I could put together a highlight video of everyone on our current team from this season and convince you that we were a top-10 team based on that alone.

As 97 has said, I think the only way to really get a sense of how good a guy might be is to see who else has offered him. If it's Kansas and Duke, he's probably pretty good. If it's J. Sarge and Western Utah Tech, he's probably pretty bad.

 

[fan2011]

Most of us have no clue how good or bad our recruits are, because all we see of them is a collection of highlights on video. How many of us have ever seen a recruit play multiple games in person? Hardly anyone. I could put together a highlight video of everyone on our current team from this season and convince you that we were a top-10 team based on that alone.

As 97 has said, I think the only way to really get a sense of how good a guy might be is to see who else has offered him. If it's Kansas and Duke, he's probably pretty good. If it's J. Sarge and Western Utah Tech, he's probably pretty bad.

As long as you don't show any defense it should be really easy. Our offense 14th in the country right now according to kenpom, shouldn't be hard to make it look top 10.

 

[MrTbone]

There is an overwhelming positivity to the commits on this board and as noted, it's probably not that deserved. This is not to deride any of our recruits, it's merely a statement that you can't tell much of anything from a highlight reel recruiting mixtape which is intentionally designed to show someone's best side. I could definitely go back and see where people expected a freshman to get "immediate" playing time when the reality was in fact far from it (please refer to Pistokache, JulisJ, Khwan, Singleton, LukeP and a host of other guys).

fyi, I'm not advocating that we be crotchety pessimists, just that we temper our expectations.

 

[fan2011]

One thing I try to look at in highlight reels is what quality plays are shown and how many of the highlights are from the same game? Is each highlight from a different game implying the recruit averages 1 or fewer 'highlight quality' plays a game? Are they all from the same game, showing the recruit can consistently produce 'highlight quality' plays. I am probably overanalyzing, but it is something I look at to try and gauge the player's skill.

 

[MrTbone]

I've stopped trying to project, it's hard to tell if a guy is playing against weak competition, good competition, or having a career night, etc.

97's point holds merit, which is that a series of suitors equivalent or better than UR is the best indicator of talent, but there will always be exceptions.

I'm going to devise an intricate time machine that will allow me to go forward and see how good a guy looks in our upcoming games and if he's awesome/crappy, I'll post it here in this thread...

<right here>

 

[AnnapSpider]

There is an overwhelming positivity to the commits on this board and as noted, it's probably not that deserved. This is not to deride any of our recruits, it's merely a statement that you can't tell much of anything from a highlight reel recruiting mixtape which is intentionally designed to show someone's best side. I could definitely go back and see where people expected a freshman to get "immediate" playing time when the reality was in fact far from it (please refer to Pistokache, JulisJ, Khwan, Singleton, LukeP and a host of other guys).

fyi, I'm not advocating that we be crotchety pessimists, just that we temper our expectations.

Tbone- your last line is really what I was implying when I started this thread. You hit the nail on the head.

 

[spiders13]

You also can't be sure of the level of competition that the recruit is playing against in a particular game. I remember when I played HS hoops, the level of talent could be amazing against one school, then super bad against others. It's easy to look amazing against teams that suck

 

[spiderman]

schools offering isn't a great barometer either. Big Luke and Greg Robbins should have been studs. and no way would we ever predict KA, K0 and Gonzo to be 3 of the 6 highest scoring Spiders ever based on offers.

nothing wrong with being optimistic about each of our recruits. they all have potential. some will improve greatly. some will regress. I'll ere on the side of optimism, and downgrade later based on my own eyes. I won't rule a guy out if he hasn't had much opportunity, but I also feel that if you're good enough you force the opportunity.

as for what I look for, a highlight film of jumpers is meaningless unless there's stats or at least commentary about shooting skills. I can make a highlight film of Trey making ten 3 pointers. Doesn't make him a lights out shooter.
I look for athleticism and a quick release on a jumper. doesn't matter who you play against. if you're athletic, you have a chance. if you have slow feet you're have trouble at this level. if you're taking your time to get a shot off, you won't have that time in the A10.

the recruit who impressed me with the most "wow factor" this year was Miles Thomas, and he committed to Tennessee Tech in November, so what do I know. dang that was a great video.

 

[urmite]

schools offering isn't a great barometer either. Big Luke and Greg Robbins should have been studs. and no way would we ever predict KA, K0 and Gonzo to be 3 of the 6 highest scoring Spiders ever based on offers.

nothing wrong with being optimistic about each of our recruits. they all have potential. some will improve greatly. some will regress. I'll ere on the side of optimism, and downgrade later based on my own eyes. I won't rule a guy out if he hasn't had much opportunity, but I also feel that if you're good enough you force the opportunity.

as for what I look for, a highlight film of jumpers is meaningless unless there's stats or at least commentary about shooting skills. I can make a highlight film of Trey making ten 3 pointers. Doesn't make him a lights out shooter.
I look for athleticism and a quick release on a jumper. doesn't matter who you play against. if you're athletic, you have a chance. if you have slow feet you're have trouble at this level. if you're taking your time to get a shot off, you won't have that time in the A10.

the recruit who impressed me with the most "wow factor" this year was Miles Thomas, and he committed to Tennessee Tech in November, so what do I know. dang that was a great video.

And yet Verbal commits doesn't show him committing anywhere...