New Basketball recruits?

[Johnny Rock]

Will someone tell me why Dement could not recruit some better players, other than those ranked in the mid 100s? I do not mean to disrepect the players that he signed, but SMU has not made the NCAA tournament under Dement. Isn't that why he was hired? I guess the new Commitment campaign was a bunch of crap, since SMU allows a coach to hang around that cannot make the NCAA tournament. If the Commitment is about winning, then Dement should be gone. I do not mean to sound negative, but the facts are the facts.

[PK]

What level of players is the rest of the W-A-C bringing in??? Not sure what our conference affiliation does to our ability to recruit...may not do anything one way or another, but then...

[PerunaPunch]

I know less than nothing about basketball, but I thought a couple of the WAC teams had fairly respectable basketball programs. Tulsa comes immediately to mind.

[PX]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by PK:
<B>What level of players is the rest of the W-A-C bringing in??? Not sure what our conference affiliation does to our ability to recruit...may not do anything one way or another, but then...</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This hasnt been a great recruiting year for the WAC in basketball, yet. Rice and Hawaii have both picked up a couple of very good recruits, Morris Almond and Bobby Nash were both highly sought recruits. Fresno State just recently picked up a commitment from Jack Marlow, a guy who was a major national recruit out of high school. Marlow spent his freshman year at Oklahoma State, and then transferred to a junior college in Utah. In high school he was a bulldozer, 6'11 and 300 pounds. I watched his AAU team play an exhibition game against the Chinese junior national team, and he tossed Yao Ming (first pick in this years NBA draft) around like a toy. I havent seen Marlow since he transferred, but if he has stayed in shape he could be a very big pickup for Fresno.
Tulsa signed 3 players, 2 from Dallas, that we were trying to recruit. On all the national lists (most of which I dont really respect) the guys they signed were ranked about where our recruits are. The most interesting may be Charles Ramdell, a 6'9" post who is also the Oklahoma high school high jump champion. He cleared 6'10 last year.
TCU is signing a nice class, and for a change its mostly high school players. Blake Adams is one of the states best players.

Originally, moving to the WAC was a big boost for mens basketball recruiting. When the WAC included UNLV, Utah, New Mexico and BYU as well as Fresno, Tulsa, and Hawaii, the league had a good contract with ESPN and was seen as a seriously competitive conference. We had 3 teams ranked in the Top-25 that first year, and all 3 made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. The WAC has lost several high profile teams, though and being snubbed by C-USA didnt help our perceived image, either. So, the conference isnt as good as it used to be, but I would blame the WAC, not while we are finishing consistently in 5th or 6th place. Right now the league is better than we are.

[PK]

But all in all PX, what effect if any does our conference have on our ability to recruit top 100 ranked kids in BBall given the current status of the WAC??



[This message has been edited by PK (edited 11-14-2002).]

[LA_Mustang]

Johnny Rock, where did all this come from? In the past ten years I believe we have signed only two consensuses top 100 national recruits in either football or basketball. (Bryan Hopkins and Marcus Mosley) And to do so in basketball is much tougher than football. As for us not making the tournament under Dement, why would you wait until one week before the start of the season to voice your displeasure with this?? We have a new PG that is arguably the best hoops recruit ever at SMU, several very good sophomores that are constantly getting better, and a savvy senior that is picked as the pre-season WAC player of the year by many publications. If you have seen them play, you would know this group has more potential than any team Dement has had at SMU.

[Charleston Pony]

I agree with LA Mustang. Why so negative? Do you expect us to suddenly be competing with the big boys for top 100 national talent? BHop's signing will pay dividends as better players wil take notice, but let's 1st try winning some games and attracting some fans. Big time recruits don't want to come play in front of 1,500 fans. The great thing about Division I basketball is that everyone has a chance to compete for the national championship. SMU needs to do it's part to elevate the status of the current WAC. Let's hope this is finally the year we win some games we are not supposed to and then let's see what happens next year with recruiting. I feel good about the fact we are able to fill out our class in the early signing period. Dement and his staff have done a good job of getting guys early so you don't run the risk of others getting them late.

Long live the 1,500!