Where we were and where we are now, some thoughts
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:54 amOne thing that I think really indicates where we were and where we are now is the number of top 100 guys we get (Personally I don't see a huge amount of difference between a 25+ guy to the ones in the 50 - 100 range. The top 25 are pretty clear cut most years and include many sure fire NBA guys, after that, it's less clear cut, but a top 100 to top 150 range indicates that we're getting the kind of athletes we need to compete in the BE
When we joined the BE we had ZERO top 100 recruits (Doug in hindsight should have been, but wasn't). For reference Echinique was listed at 94 by someone, but he'd graduated by the time we started the BE
Harrell was 75th and joined us in 15/16. Didn't work out, but you can see the projection there
16/17 added Patton along with Harrell
17/18 Had Harrell, Joseph as a transfer, Epperson, Alexander, and Ballock
18/19 had Joseph, Epperson, Alexander and Ballock (and Marcus depending on which rating we look at)
another way to look at it is the top 150. I like that because it stretches the grouping a bit, but you also see more variability.
Classes from 247rankings (but I have to add in Rivals to get some of the signings):
2019: Jones was 106 as a Frosh recruit, Mitchell was 206 (but our success with Omaha kids speaks for itself. Thomas was 326 on 247sports!), Windham was a late riser who is listed at 284, but likely not re-evaluated due to his early commit elsewhere)
2018: Marcus 110, Froling 142, Bishop 162 (really a pretty nice class. Froling's gone, but he had the raw talent to compete and Bishop and Marcus may have been too low, IMO)
2017: Epperson 77, Ballock 94, Alexander 113 (other list Alexander as top 100)
2016: Mintz 410 - Lowest ranked guy in recent memory, but has turned into solid contributor: Paras 137 and previously committed to UCLA -- goes to show that recruiting is an art and not a science!
2015: Patton 85, Stewart 292, Thomas 326, Martin (not even listed on 247) Obviously Thomas wasn't correctly evaluated. Stewart was. One miss and 2 NBA guys in this class +Martin
2014: Harrell 84, Gilmore 136 (Wow, two good athletes, but both guys were both evaluated way too high),
2013: Hegner 385 with some good offers, Hanson 524, Harris 580, Milliken 93, Brooks 94 (were Milliken and Brook just in JUCO rankings?) In retrospect a good valley recruiting class with 2 JUCO's tossed in for the move to the BE
2012: Zierden 269, Yates 294 (barely remember Yates). Zierden was a solid guy
2011: Dingman 170, Nevin Johnson, Chatman, Groselle (very good MVC class)
2010: Doug McDermott 155 (nice!), Manigat, Artino (good MVC class, Doug made it a great class)
Didn't list our transfers, but obvious MO was the big one, but Huff was good, Jefferson showed promise prior to the ankle injury as well. We've done good work there. For HS recruits, we still have to depend more on player evaluation than some of the big programs we go up against.
Personally, I like the trend... I think we've come a long way since our first days in the BE and it shows in the type of national rankings most of our kids have these days. We now have numbers in the top 100 and top 150 that look like BE programs in general and are better than some of our peers.
When we joined the BE we had ZERO top 100 recruits (Doug in hindsight should have been, but wasn't). For reference Echinique was listed at 94 by someone, but he'd graduated by the time we started the BE
Harrell was 75th and joined us in 15/16. Didn't work out, but you can see the projection there
16/17 added Patton along with Harrell
17/18 Had Harrell, Joseph as a transfer, Epperson, Alexander, and Ballock
18/19 had Joseph, Epperson, Alexander and Ballock (and Marcus depending on which rating we look at)
another way to look at it is the top 150. I like that because it stretches the grouping a bit, but you also see more variability.
Classes from 247rankings (but I have to add in Rivals to get some of the signings):
2019: Jones was 106 as a Frosh recruit, Mitchell was 206 (but our success with Omaha kids speaks for itself. Thomas was 326 on 247sports!), Windham was a late riser who is listed at 284, but likely not re-evaluated due to his early commit elsewhere)
2018: Marcus 110, Froling 142, Bishop 162 (really a pretty nice class. Froling's gone, but he had the raw talent to compete and Bishop and Marcus may have been too low, IMO)
2017: Epperson 77, Ballock 94, Alexander 113 (other list Alexander as top 100)
2016: Mintz 410 - Lowest ranked guy in recent memory, but has turned into solid contributor: Paras 137 and previously committed to UCLA -- goes to show that recruiting is an art and not a science!
2015: Patton 85, Stewart 292, Thomas 326, Martin (not even listed on 247) Obviously Thomas wasn't correctly evaluated. Stewart was. One miss and 2 NBA guys in this class +Martin
2014: Harrell 84, Gilmore 136 (Wow, two good athletes, but both guys were both evaluated way too high),
2013: Hegner 385 with some good offers, Hanson 524, Harris 580, Milliken 93, Brooks 94 (were Milliken and Brook just in JUCO rankings?) In retrospect a good valley recruiting class with 2 JUCO's tossed in for the move to the BE
2012: Zierden 269, Yates 294 (barely remember Yates). Zierden was a solid guy
2011: Dingman 170, Nevin Johnson, Chatman, Groselle (very good MVC class)
2010: Doug McDermott 155 (nice!), Manigat, Artino (good MVC class, Doug made it a great class)
Didn't list our transfers, but obvious MO was the big one, but Huff was good, Jefferson showed promise prior to the ankle injury as well. We've done good work there. For HS recruits, we still have to depend more on player evaluation than some of the big programs we go up against.
Personally, I like the trend... I think we've come a long way since our first days in the BE and it shows in the type of national rankings most of our kids have these days. We now have numbers in the top 100 and top 150 that look like BE programs in general and are better than some of our peers.