SJ will never make a run at any tourney without 4 or 5 star recruits. That much we have learned from past history. This staff was specifically tasked with getting recruits to sign....not justshove us cursory interest as with Kyle Anderson. Nor were they paid their lofty salaries as coaches to bring on players with questionable academics like Pelle and Sampson, as was eluded to in Hoops Weiss article the other day. Sidiki Johnson would add to that group as players with work ethic issues.
I will not say that Lindsey has no BB IQ as suggested above but he is far from the impact guard that Lavin had alluded to and we, as fans, may have been just a little misled in his talent level. However, he is also a player that once he finds the mojo that he had while in high school and learns the Lavin system, can be a surprise and pay dividends by next season. We, the jury, are still out on him.
Harkless and Pointer will develop into stars once their bodies fill out further because they have the natural physical attributes to go along with quickly developing skill sets. Phil also falls into that category. D'Angelo is a little further behind the learning curve like Nurideen but if he and NL ever get their heads and hearts into their game, they will be different players next year.
The fact remains Lavin needs to sign at least three top recruits for next year to continue the talent-building process. There are no days off in recruiting. Getting a 5 star by 2013 would be a must for him to put SJ in a position for a title otherwise we will forever be watching Duke, UNC and Kentucky in the Elite 8.
As far as McDonald All-Americans, SJ cannot seem to sniff one. In the past 10 years we have had 3 or 4 while Kentucky and Carolina have had 30 or 40. They do not take time off in pursuing the top 50 and neither should we.
I would contend that 4 of the last 8 FF teams were not stocked with 4 and 5 star recruits; Butler twice, VCU, and West Virginia. Those types of recruits are desirable, no doubt, but there are many great college players who were never ranked that high. Funny, talking to a buddy of mine who recently observed a Pitt practice; he commented that they probably have never had a higher ranked group of players in the Jamie Dixon era and yet he is having trouble getting them to "put on the hard hat" and play Pitt basketball. As for Lavin, I am amazed that he is being criticized on the board, even politely and softly. The man brought in a class that is more than just competitive in terms of upside against all odds considering his hire date and it is still not enough. Not to mention the inevitable effect on a completely brand new team team not having their coach to begin the season.....just amazing to me.
