Long-time readers at this and the other place will remember that I am, as far as I know, one of the few posters that have followed Blue Raider BkB recruiting from the Trickey/Earle days and should know that following recruiting is huge to me, realizing that recruiting is the life-blood of a program. Readers will also note that I will never be satisfied with a class unless it is rated #1 in the nation and we beat out UK, UNC, and Duke for each of our signees (LOL). Closer to home I compare our BkB program to the "big 3" programs in the state and especially the school on West End. As an aside: considering our excitement with this class: If the VU class pans our this year as Dore fans are hoping (potentially top 5 nationally) our class will be very mediocre in comparison.
As for this class there is much to be excited about: Assuming that Sims is placed on scholarship, King doesn't get a 2nd year, there are no defections, and there are no more signees our 13 man scholarship roster is set for the '18-'19 year.
The most exciting possibility for me is that we will have four freshmen (Davis announced that Massenburg will red-shirt) and two sophomores next year who could be playing core roles well into the future. Stability and the ability of fans to identify with players over their careers is vital to the growth of a program at our level IMHO.
Assuming this class is complete I am very pleased that this small class is made up exclusively of high schoolers. It has been a very long time since neither a transfer or JUCO was in a class (I wonder just how long?) This shows that we have reached the reload stage of the program's development, that we are more attractive to high schoolers with our recent successes, and presumably there will have to be a real need or a truly attractive player for us to go the transfer/JUCO route.
Additionally, this is the first class in memory with all signees having been given firm offers from schools in "power" conferences. It's much easier to get excited about recruits when they have been offered by ACC and $EC schools.
As stated I have been following MT recruiting since the days when the only sources were lists of high school players in pre-season magazines such as "Street and Smith", conversations with local high school coaches, and a subscription to "Basketball Times". With the net there are so many more sources for info and I spend way too much time on all the free sites I can find. I'm well aware there are both fans closer to the program and those who frequent "pay" sites who probably have more info than I have but I try to keep up.
A favorite site, although not infallible, is VerbalCommits.com.
For last year's class ('16-"17) VerbalCommits.com had MT as having offered 13 players with over a 2 star (the minimum) rating. We didn't get any of them but it was clear we were, at least, going after higher-level recruits.The ones we missed on signed with schools from Duke and UK to No. Ky (?). We lost one to a school we hope to emulate (VCU) and one to a conference rival (ODU).
This year we, once again, were "in on" and according to VerbalCommits.com we had offered 13 recruits rated over 2 stars. Similarly, we didn't get any of the nine (four still haven't committed) who have committed. (VerbalCommits.com didn't have MT "in on" Buffen until he committed) With one exception we lost them to schools which would be known as BkB schools but none as elite as UK and Duke from the previous year. We lost a player to Wichita State (a school we hope to become - rated 7/8 this pre-season) but none to a conference rival. (The loss which really hurt was losing 4 star MT legacy Duane Washington, Jr. to Ohio State but at least we went after him - other legacies recently I'm not so sure).
One thing I've noticed is that many of the 2 star players we had offered went to "power" schools (UGA, Ia. St., Ole Miss, etc.) which tells me, if memory serves, than many more of the lower ranked players we are going after are being recruited by "power" schools.
I'm not sure we have that Sweet 16 and above talent on the roster yet but we have young players who have the potential to become major contributors on such a squad. No doubt we are recruiting in a bigger pond with bigger fish to catch. The staff is to be commended for their efforts. Next year's class with four to sign is huge. VerbalCommits.com has MT with 20+ offers on the table. While not yet rated these players have quality offers (surprising how many have FGCU and UAB offers along with "power" schools). The announcement that Keishawn Davidson has committed to the "19" class is a huge positive - as local as one could be and a player expected to blow up over the next two seasons.
We're really close to becoming that "National Program" that Davis keeps mentioning. Could we be only one class away? Fun watching MT BkB moving toward that goal.
Crossposted to "BlueRaiderZone.com"
As for this class there is much to be excited about: Assuming that Sims is placed on scholarship, King doesn't get a 2nd year, there are no defections, and there are no more signees our 13 man scholarship roster is set for the '18-'19 year.
The most exciting possibility for me is that we will have four freshmen (Davis announced that Massenburg will red-shirt) and two sophomores next year who could be playing core roles well into the future. Stability and the ability of fans to identify with players over their careers is vital to the growth of a program at our level IMHO.
Assuming this class is complete I am very pleased that this small class is made up exclusively of high schoolers. It has been a very long time since neither a transfer or JUCO was in a class (I wonder just how long?) This shows that we have reached the reload stage of the program's development, that we are more attractive to high schoolers with our recent successes, and presumably there will have to be a real need or a truly attractive player for us to go the transfer/JUCO route.
Additionally, this is the first class in memory with all signees having been given firm offers from schools in "power" conferences. It's much easier to get excited about recruits when they have been offered by ACC and $EC schools.
As stated I have been following MT recruiting since the days when the only sources were lists of high school players in pre-season magazines such as "Street and Smith", conversations with local high school coaches, and a subscription to "Basketball Times". With the net there are so many more sources for info and I spend way too much time on all the free sites I can find. I'm well aware there are both fans closer to the program and those who frequent "pay" sites who probably have more info than I have but I try to keep up.
A favorite site, although not infallible, is VerbalCommits.com.
For last year's class ('16-"17) VerbalCommits.com had MT as having offered 13 players with over a 2 star (the minimum) rating. We didn't get any of them but it was clear we were, at least, going after higher-level recruits.The ones we missed on signed with schools from Duke and UK to No. Ky (?). We lost one to a school we hope to emulate (VCU) and one to a conference rival (ODU).
This year we, once again, were "in on" and according to VerbalCommits.com we had offered 13 recruits rated over 2 stars. Similarly, we didn't get any of the nine (four still haven't committed) who have committed. (VerbalCommits.com didn't have MT "in on" Buffen until he committed) With one exception we lost them to schools which would be known as BkB schools but none as elite as UK and Duke from the previous year. We lost a player to Wichita State (a school we hope to become - rated 7/8 this pre-season) but none to a conference rival. (The loss which really hurt was losing 4 star MT legacy Duane Washington, Jr. to Ohio State but at least we went after him - other legacies recently I'm not so sure).
One thing I've noticed is that many of the 2 star players we had offered went to "power" schools (UGA, Ia. St., Ole Miss, etc.) which tells me, if memory serves, than many more of the lower ranked players we are going after are being recruited by "power" schools.
I'm not sure we have that Sweet 16 and above talent on the roster yet but we have young players who have the potential to become major contributors on such a squad. No doubt we are recruiting in a bigger pond with bigger fish to catch. The staff is to be commended for their efforts. Next year's class with four to sign is huge. VerbalCommits.com has MT with 20+ offers on the table. While not yet rated these players have quality offers (surprising how many have FGCU and UAB offers along with "power" schools). The announcement that Keishawn Davidson has committed to the "19" class is a huge positive - as local as one could be and a player expected to blow up over the next two seasons.
We're really close to becoming that "National Program" that Davis keeps mentioning. Could we be only one class away? Fun watching MT BkB moving toward that goal.
Crossposted to "BlueRaiderZone.com"
