Who's Next

[Chicagojayfan]

Zach would be a great get but so would most on the offer list. I hope we can get two guys who really want to be Jays.

I like Zach because he could be the kind of presence Echinique has been for the interior of our defense. Big, physical guys inside who can match up against just about any center in college b-ball defensively are a key for us to keep extending our national reputation -- not to mention being a key for Mac's offensive and defensive sets.

[LJay]

This coaching staff ROCKS!!! Notice the systematic work at replacing players who are leaving?

GE = Hanson
DFresh = Henger
GG = Harris
JJ = ??

Now all we need is the athletic wing to replace JJ and the entire class is covered. You may notice I am assuming Dougie is gone after this year. He would be foolish to turn down 1st round $$ if that comes to pass. I can't imagine him playing poorly enough not to be a mid-1st round pick.

[ictjay]

Would you agree that Zach Hanson would be a "great get" ?

Atta boy Mac!

[fritzpointer]

So are Fuller,Martin,Edo, and Hammonds still in the mix or is it strickly a guard that we will be looking to land?

[hilltopalum]

I would venture to say: Foster, Martin, Fuller, Jok

[RxJay]

This is really putting pressure on the last of our offers. We are quickly running out of room. This could force a decision by someone soon.

[Trifecta]

I'm going to try and be as PC about this as possible...

But I can't be the only who has noticed how, ahem, "pigmentally " challenged our recruiting class is shaping up to be, right? Probably a coincidence--and of course you take the best players no matter what. But will the fact that we have no black coaches (Gordy isn't technically a bench coach) and that 80% of our roster in the next few years will be all white kids hurt our recruiting?

Just throwing it out there....*flame shield up*

[ictjay]

I'm going to try and be as PC about this as possible...

But I can't be the only who has noticed how, ahem, "pigmentally " challenged our recruiting class is shaping up to be, right? Probably a coincidence--and of course you take the best players no matter what. But will the fact that we have no black coaches (Gordy isn't technically a bench coach) and that 80% of our roster in the next few years will be all white kids hurt our recruiting?

Just throwing it out there....*flame shield up*

Check out '72-74 teams...

[Chicagojayfan]

This coaching staff ROCKS!!! Notice the systematic work at replacing players who are leaving?

GE = Hanson
DFresh = Henger
GG = Harris
JJ = ??

Now all we need is the athletic wing to replace JJ and the entire class is covered. You may notice I am assuming Dougie is gone after this year. He would be foolish to turn down 1st round $$ if that comes to pass. I can't imagine him playing poorly enough not to be a mid-1st round pick.

We really are doing a great job on the recruiting trail. Hanson is a key as he gives us a high level of assurance for having several more years of having the kind of bulk and physical play inside that a team like Creighton needs to play deep into the tournament. Like you, I want another athletic wing (we probably need 2 or 3 of those guys on the roster at any time to match up defensively and to give us a bit of room in case of attrition, injuries, etc.).

The coaches priorities seem to be:

- No holes on the roster. They look to fill upcoming holes and plan for the future in a proactive rather than a reactive way, AND importantly they are finding high character kids who are less likely to lead to emergency transfer/attrition problems that leave us in the lurch with less than a year to fill the void.
- Get in early on the high priority guys and sell them (Hanson, Talbert, Hegner are all guys who we were first to find or early targets)
- Sell the stadium, sell the success, sell the academics, sell the family atmosphere. I think Altman struggled a bit as the program became big because he sometimes focused on the things CU didn't have by playing in a BCS conference, but Mac does a great job of selling the things we DO have -- stadium, recurring success and ability to go to the tourney and to the NBA, and then the academics. I don't think it is a random event that so many of the recruits are really high achieving students, and going to CU is great for their academics while playing BBall. Finally, the team and staff really appear tight knit. Getting someone on campus (like with the elite camp) really shows them the relationship they can have with their teammates and coaches here. Most teams don't come close to that atmosphere.

They really are getting the guys to run the offense and the Defense we want - (Post offensive/defensive players (GE, Groselle, Hanson), skilled forwards who can stretch the D and post up (Doug, Hegner), Shooters (Wragge, Dingman, Zierden), skilled G/F's who can pass/create in the half court (Gibbs, Harris), slashers/wing defenders (Jones, Talbert, TBD), PG's who can control tempo, score a bit and break down a D (Chatman, Yates, Norton).

Obviously, you will always have guys who don't get to the level you think they can and then you have injuries and other things that can derail the best laid plans, but wow.. that is a very nice arsenal for us to take into battle for the next few seasons.

I think you might be right about Doug, but we'll see what happens. It may just come down to whether or not he feels he needs another year to develop the skills he'll need to be as good as he can on the next level.

[Ethanfor3]

I'm going to try and be as PC about this as possible...

But I can't be the only who has noticed how, ahem, "pigmentally " challenged our recruiting class is shaping up to be, right? Probably a coincidence--and of course you take the best players no matter what. But will the fact that we have no black coaches (Gordy isn't technically a bench coach) and that 80% of our roster in the next few years will be all white kids hurt our recruiting?

Just throwing it out there....*flame shield up*

I don't disagree with your assessment of our recruiting. I love each player on an individual basis, but without more athletic diversity we won't be able to compete on the highest level. Hegner, Harris and Hanson won't be confused with athletic slasher types anytime soon, but each could be a significant piece on a very good team.

I was holding out hope that our last 2 slots would be filled with high flying, cat quick forwards - one power and another small that could rebound and defend regardless of their pigmentation. Now I can hold out hope to fill the last spot with some pigmental flava.

Great teams need a balance of skill sets and athletic profiles to compete at the highest levels...give me some balance with the next recruit.

Peace