Recruiting '16 - '24 Classes

[spider23]

OK, have too much going on right now - so what do? Ignore it and write a book on Spidernation . Sorry for the length. We have a lot of discussion on things like: Our recruiting is better lately, or No it's not better, etc etc. So A) Only looking at HS recruiting, which I know is only part of the picture with transfers especially prevalent now, B) Weighted these based on actual production and my eye test more than rankings probably. I do like the '23 class and '24 so far - but it is easy to love guys based on highlights - but looking back there were some guys that we had that did not pop off the page, and that ultimately showed in lack of production, and transfer to lower levels.

Here goes:

16 Class
Sherod
Buckingham
Golden
Comment: Super Class, Sherod and Golden all time great players and scorers. Buckingham was a very good signing, though ultimately off court issue did him in.
Grade: A

17 Class
Bryce Schneider
Gilyard
Cayo (for the KO)
AJ Ford
Tomas Verbinskis
Comment: Gilyard - All time great, as much as I am huge fans of Kevin Anderson and K Atkinson, Gilyard probably greatest PG in program history. Cayo - very good recruit, improved every year. AJ Ford - he was a stretch and was proven out. Verbinskis - same Scheider - same. These were guys that did not pass the "97 smell test" based on who was recruiting and rankings, etc and were proven out. Great get in Gilyard, very good Cayo. Three misses that were stretches to begin with.
Grade: B+ , I know Gilly, Gilly,Gilly. But he pulls this class up from a much lower grade with three misses.

18 Class
Sal Koureissi
Jake Wojcik
Matt Grace
Andre Gustavson
Comment: Grace and Goose were solid role players. Grace with some of the clutchest plays down the stretch to help us win the A10 tourney and into the dance. Legend. Final season when he and Goose had to be "the guy" showed they were great role players, but not featured guys. Solid recruits. Wojcik, a bit of a stretch athletically for A10 - I did not mind the recruit, thought he could have been solid shooter off bench. Sal - fairly highly ranked, But late pickup and not having committed earlier seemed to raise flags, lacked + athleticism.
Grade: C


19 Class
Tyler Burton
Grade: A
Comment: All time great wing. Producer from day 1.

20 Class
Dji Bailey
Andre Weir
Isaiah Wilson
Grade: D+
Comment: This grade is mostly based on on the court production. Dji great pick up on paper. Mostly non productive due to injury problems. I loved the pick up and this grade can pull up if he stays healthy and produces winning basketball the next two years - and I think he can if healthy. I heard rumblings that Weir "did not have the love of the game" factor. He looked like he could be a monster. Has produced some at FGCU, but was a big miss for us in this class. Wilson - had offers and rankings - BUT - I never did see much offensive game. This was obvious in the aau/hs highlights - which typically are showing the best of the best plays, his game looked undeveloped. Great effort guy, but did not have the ability to be impact player in the A10.

21 Class
Noyes
Nelson
Dread
Randolph
Grade: D+
Comment: Nelson - we could write a book. I liked this pickup. He produced some early but had issues - on Defense, attitude, and decision making. Noyes - Looks good, time to prove his worth this year. Dread - Never sniffed the court. Randolph - solid role player off bench, but had limitations in ball handling which lessened his impact at 6'4. I think this was a pretty good effort by Mooney and staff, originally was going to give a higher grade. But like the class before, the production on court and fact that Noyes is only one left lowers this grade.

22 Class
Mike Walz
Grade - TBD - OK, I'll give a B at this point. Still like Walz as a prospect, story still to be written. Had Penn State offer I believe. Good size/athlete. If he can be a top line starter final two years can move up. Or if fades into bench player moves down.

23 Class
Mikkel Tyne
Trevor Smith
Collin Tanner
Ryan Soulis
Jack Graham
Grade A

Comment: Really like the looks of all these guys. Could see all of the 4 scholly guys with potential to be all A10 types (three teams). Trevor Smith, highest ranked guy - I do have a little concern his offense does not translate. But unlike Wilson, I see more potential - but have some concerns. Graham - I'll treat him as a walk on because that is what he is this year. First walk on I can recall with legit D1 offers, having already committed to High Point.
Easier to give an A at this point in time, but could come down if guys wash out or don't develop.

24
Bryson McGlothin -
Jaylen Robinson
Grade A so far.
Comment: Love the look of these two guys. McGlothin - eye test is very nice - really well rounded compared to a lot of guys. Great size/length/athleticism for his skill set. Robinson - a little raw, but great potential. Best athlete in these classes - other than Burton. Again, easy to give A now based on potential - but love what I see. Will see who else we land.

 

[RichmondNative]

Since this won’t be much of a thread without replies….

2016 - A, no doubt. Was the foundation for the “rebuild”.

2017 - B. Sure the class had Gilly, but 3/5 misses does not put this in the B+ range for me.

2018 - C+. I’m giving some extra credit for fit and team chemistry.

2019 - A-. The reason for the minus is that this was a one player class and at least one other spot was available. Granted better than reaching for a player, but I have to dock the staff for not landing another quality piece.

2020 - D+. We agree.

2021.- D+. Agree, but do think the class may have worked out better if it weren’t for the extra Covid year being granted. Three redshirts was incredible really.

2022 - C. Hard to give a grade with so little to evaluate, but can’t give anything higher than “average” at this point.

2023 - TBD. I can’t make an evaluation before the season even starts, but I do like the makeup of the class and appears to be the best “large”
class ever for Mooney.

2024 - TBD. Like the way the class is trending.

 

[spider23]

Good feedback Native. There are a lot of outside factors this does not take into account, like covid, like transfers. I know 4700 has pointed out difficulty recruiting when you have 4 year starters like Golden, Gilly, Sherod in place etc. With the Burton class I could not remember if we left a slot open so assumed we only had one. Agree that not filling it should knock it down a tiny bit.

 

[8legs1dream]

Appreciate you taking the time to write all that up, really enjoyed the read and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter

Only thought I had concerning the last two classes being A's, I think it is really easy for all of us to overvalue the unknown quantity of a new incoming class. I bet if you went back in time there were a lot of people handing out A's for other classes that would eventually be C's and D's before they had an opportunity to prove it (or not) on the court.

 

[spider23]

Agree on that point about over valuing the current - unseen to D1 level of play - classes. Based on clipping, the 20 and 21 classes would have started with higher grades for instance. The Sherod/Buck/Golden probably held value the most over time, with Buck having some productive years before off field got him.

 

[MDspider8]

Great post. Figured I'd expand it a bit to include transfer portal recruits (sorted by season they were brought in). Obviously as 23 mentioned the portal has become infitnitely important since 2016-2019 time frame, but still worth looking at:

'16-'17: Kwesi Abakah

Grade: D-. Had no impact that season, but it's not like he was brought in to be a key piece.

'17-'18: Jordan Madrid-Andrews

Grade: D-. Exact same as the above. Had even less of an impact than Abakah.

'18-'19: Blake Francis, Noah Yates.

Grade: A. This is all Francis, who was one of the most gifted isolation scorers we've ever had under Mooney and was an underrated defender. Might be the second best transfer of the last ten years after TJ. Yates didn't have much of an impact, but at least finished 3rd on the team in 3P makes.

'19-'20: None.

'20-'21: Connor Crabtree

Grade: C-. This is a tough one since he fought through many injuries, but he never really found his footing at UR. Made some nice plays when healthy, but could never carve out a true role for himself due to all the missed time.

'21-'22: None

'22-'23: Jason Roche, Isaiah Bigelow, Neal Quinn:

Grade: B. Three major contributors to last year's team but I think all of us thought we would be getting a little more production from each guy going into last season. Still, Roche shot 38.5% from 3PT, Bigelow was a critical rebounder and defender, and Quinn averaged 9.5/4.5/2.9 in his first season. Each guy obviously has a great chance to improve this season and raise this grade.

'23-'24: Jordan King, DeLonnie Hunt, Tyler Harris:

Grade: TBD. Based on "prospect pedigree," this is probably somewhere in the B/B- range, but obviously have to see what happens on the court. I think King will be as advertised, Hunt will be a great spark plug & defender, and Harris will provide much needed frontcourt depth behind Quinn & Bigelow alongside Walz. Excited to see what each guy can provide.

Let me know if I missed anything.

 

[spider23]

Good stuff MD, solid grading IMO

 

[VT4700]

Wow, that was really impressive 23. I don't have much to add because I agree with all of your grades, and you described the classes and guys really well. Solid, solid post.

About the comment about difficulty in recruiting when u have starters set for years, I was mainly talking about a big like Grant. With Grant having such a good year as a freshman, and the fact that you really only want to play one big at a time, a really good big expecting 25+ minutes a game likely would see that was not going to happen here. I would add the same thing at PG with Jacob if we are talking another under 6 foot true PG, but 2 guards like that would still be able to play more together than 2 Grant types. Any other position should not matter as much because you will always have multiple non PG and non bigs out there.

 

[spiderman]

I expected a lot more than we got from the '20 and '21 classes.
but I don't think either looked as promising as the '23 class.
and the '24 class has the potential to blow the doors off.
I'm really excited for how good this team will be ... in November of 2026.
hopefully much sooner.