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Kevin Rogers of SOC (6'8", 220) has us listed in his top 3. He is the 44th ranked player by Insiders and ranked 35th by Rivals. We are in a battle with the heavy-weights of college bball for this young man. He already has offers from Georgia Tech (9/4 visit), Kansas (9/24 visit), Arizona (9/17 visit), UT, Florida, SMU, and UNC. According to Insiders, he has high interest in GT, Kansas, and SMU, with no interest in the other schools. Not sure how he can be visiting Arizona this weekend and have no interest in them??? But who cares, we're in the game!

We are getting attention from a level of players not seen here in a long time, maybe ever, and its for one reason: Jimmy Tubbs (and his staff)

Kevin Rogers is a beast. He would be a great pickup. I'd love to have both Rogers and Gary Flowers from Lincoln. How strong would that frontline be? Needless to say it will be tough to beat out Kansas for anybody, but at some point programs like Kansas don't have enough scholarships or playing time to offer. Lets hope some other big name commits to KU sooner than later giving us a better chance. Rogers would be a great fit in Tubb's program.

LA_Mustang wrote: .... Not sure how he can be visiting Arizona this weekend and have no interest in them??? ....

Maybe he told the UA staff they could try to change his mind, in exchange for a free weekend in the 'Zona sunshine. Can't be all bad, from his perspective.

Go get him, Coach Tubbs!

It sounds to me like Rogers is a package deal with his best friend Calvin Miles from Skyline. It appears Miles is listing Kansas, Georgia Tech and Texas as his leaders. If Rogers is listing KU, GT and SMU, it sounds like a long shot for us on Rogers and a longshot for UT on Miles. I have read before that Kansas really wants Miles. We'll see, but if Tubbs could somehow get both Rogers and Miles to come his way....

Yeah, Miles stock has risen faster than any other player in Texas. Insiders have him as the 10th best player in the country. Your right about both listing the same schools. If they are a package deal, one school is going to be very lucky. It is a long shot, but Coach Tubbs has us in the mix. BTW, in both players profile, it says they are very good students.

HF, let me ask you, outside of Hop, do you remember us ever being on a 4 or 5 star recruit's list in the last ten years? I cant remember any. Off the top of my head, we are being considered by four this year: Eaton (5 stars), Flowers, Woods, and Rogers (4 stars). Hopefully, we can land one or two of these guys and watch this program take off. Either way, just being considered is a sign of progress.

I just posted this on b'ball but KU signed a guy who would preclude them from signing Rogers. Miles is their top target but Miles has said that he and Rogers want to play together although he didn't make it seem mandatory. If Bhop has any pull with theses guys and Tubbs can do a little magic, this would be the best get ever for SMU. BHop, Miles and Rogers together next yezar would make SMU Dallas's team faster than anything ever could. We are talking top national recruits who can get us to the next level quickly. Come on Jimmy.

Dement or Shumate never had us in on these kind of top prospects thats for sure. Before that, I'm not sure it would be relevant now anyway. Clearly, the indications are that Tubbs is doing just what some of us thought he could do, which is give us a legit shot at top area talent. Some people would argue only signings on the dotted line matter, but you have to be able to get your foot in the door before you can fully open it. Jimmy Tubbs has his foot in the door. Its only a matter of time before it pays off.

OP, thanks for the info on Kansas. Maybe thats why Rogers added us to his short list. Lets hope Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech has a couple of east coast prospects that he just cant say no to.

Hoop- I appreciate your thoughts but I don't think being close will count for much. In fact, this is probably the best year for Tubbs to be able to do some serious getting. The HS coaches who backed him and the pride of having "one of their own" at SMU will wear off quickly unless there is quick success in recruiting or on the floor. I think it is imperative that we hit a big time recruit this year and that SMU demonstrate that we can get the best of the local players- or at least among them. Tubbs is as strong right now as he ever will be without proving some major success on the court.

I dont mean to suggest that there are any moral victories in recruiting. Being close on Kevin Rogers ultimately means nothing, except that it indicates you probably also have a much better chance at the next level of recruit out there than you had before also.

Tubbs doesnt have to make us a national top 15 program in short order to be considered successful. An NCAA appearance in the next 3 years would probably do it for most people. While I agree that Tubbs is in a honeymoon period that would be ideal to capitalize on, I absolutely do not think it means he is either ineffective or cant land the big fish in the future if he doesnt get one this year. Every kid is different, just because you dont get one of three or four top guys in this crop to sign, doesnt mean you can't click with one next year. Cough, cough, Darrell Arthur.

I think Tubbs has to demonstrate some form of success this year. That doesn't mean go to the dance or even the NIT but he needs to be close. This is a mature team with a lot of playing experience. If he isn't close to post season, that success could come in the form of a really good recruit or 2 but he has to show something this year. We heard nothing but how poorly Dement coached and how good his players were. While I was, in the end, for losing Mike, I don't think he forgot how to coach but for some reason lost the team last year after a great start. Tubbs needs to do SOMETHING to keep up his momentum. We will start hearing what a mistake he was in 2-3 years if he doesn't. You know well how patient SMU fans are.

People, people...let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's celebrate when the recruit actually commits to SMU.

Who’s celebrating? We're simply stating that a top-flight national recruit has us in his top 3, which is very big news. And we're discussing that for the first time years we're being considered by several top tier recruits. This IS the recruiting message board and that is generally what’s discussed here. Anyway, when you’ve lost 14 football games in a row it is nice to discuss something positive. Sorry if that doesn’t help your doom and gloom message.

Just ignore all posts by jRock and pSnob.

Dear IKUS- We will never win again. We ought to go to Div 2. The sky is falling. Love, Johnny Rock
I thought I would just give his tired old "answer" to everything.

OldPony wrote:I think Tubbs has to demonstrate some form of success this year. That doesn't mean go to the dance or even the NIT but he needs to be close. This is a mature team with a lot of playing experience. If he isn't close to post season, that success could come in the form of a really good recruit or 2 but he has to show something this year. We heard nothing but how poorly Dement coached and how good his players were. While I was, in the end, for losing Mike, I don't think he forgot how to coach but for some reason lost the team last year after a great start. Tubbs needs to do SOMETHING to keep up his momentum. We will start hearing what a mistake he was in 2-3 years if he doesn't. You know well how patient SMU fans are.

yep, I agree with that, but that really goes for any new coach. Its definitely up to him to turn in results. Still, the guy has already put us in the hunt for higher caliber players, particularly big men. Dement was never able to even get in on state and local big guys. Clearly he developed a reputation for being extremely guard oriented and I think big men avoided him to an extent. The most talented Texas power forward/center he got was probably DeWayne Floyd and Floyd thought he was a 3 point specialist and eventually transferred. I'm glad to see some big guys from around here showing interest in SMU. And I'm not celebrating...yet.