What to expect with Kruger's recruiting: A fans' guide

[KBaden145]

...they totally gut the inside and make the seats come to the floor like Texas did with the Frank Erwin Center...

This exactly plus close off the concourse from the seating bowl to better keep the crowd noise in. I also think, if they got a wild hair, there is room for 8-10 suites with 4-5 on each side. Expensive yes but it needs to be done. The arena itself hasn't had anything major done to it since it was built.

 

[mict085]

There are a lot of talented players out there. With only 13 scholarships, there's plenty of talent to go around. I love and respect the way Lon Kruger goes about his business. Integrity matters. Look at all the teams still in the tourney. Lots of overlooked players making a big impact. I'm glad Kruger is building the program for long term success, not cutting corners and not cheating. I'm excited about the future of OU basketball.

 

[Sam]

Coach Kruger would do well to lay down some good ties in Texas. Only one Texas high schooler in two classes so far. Right now, Texas high school basketball has more talent than any where in the nation.

 

[Darwin]

Coach Kruger would do well to lay down some good ties in Texas. Only one Texas high schooler in two classes so far. Right now, Texas high school basketball has more talent than any where in the nation.

Excellent thread BigTime and good point Sam. North Texas does needs to be home territory for the program along with Oklahoma. The highest ranked player/burger boy types that Lon chooses to pursue will likely be from there. This program can be very successful with only the occasional top 20 type kid. I am thrilled with the redshirting approach and maturity of the roster it will achieve. That is not to say most should redshirt but certain kids contribute more as 5th year players than most freshmen.

 

[WTSooner]

Coach Kruger would do well to lay down some good ties in Texas. Only one Texas high schooler in two classes so far. Right now, Texas high school basketball has more talent than any where in the nation.

He has been recruiting the heck out of Texas. Check out the offers for the last year or two, and the offers for 2014. List of kids from Texas offered over that time frame is probably 20+. Randle, Shephard, Smart, Hornbeak, the pg that was at the ISU (?) game. Just hasn't really paid off for us yet.

 

[bocabull]

The role players are fine but you have to sprinkle in a few top 75 recruits too or you have little to no chance of competing with real teams in the dance.

Osby & Cam were top 75 leftovers from Capel. In 3 years Kruger has yet to sign a single one.

 

[pnkranger]

The role players are fine but you have to sprinkle in a few top 75 recruits too or you have little to no chance of competing with real teams in the dance.

Osby & Cam were top 75 leftovers from Capel. In 3 years Kruger has yet to sign a single one.

How many top 75 players were on our 2002 Final Four team?

 

[WTSooner]

How many top 75 players were on our 2002 Final Four team?

2-3

I know Hollis was. I think Ere was coming out of HS. Ace might have been. Both Ace and Ere were certainly of that caliber coming out of JUCO, so even if they weren't out of HS, that is a bit misleading.

 

[DenverSooner]

Also, the best OU teams had stars who were Oklahoma HS players: Wayman, Stacey, BG. (2002 was the exception but Ere was an ex-Oklahoma kid but wasn't on the level of the other guys mentioned; maybe Stacey as far as rankings but Stacey had something you can't teach: height).

So, when the state of Oklahoma has those special players, mix them in with who else we have on scholarship and maybe a special (final 4) season, or 2, can come.

One of OSU's final four teams (the recent ones) had Reeves and Rutherford who were both local players.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Clearly there are a lot of good basketball players out there. You see that in every NCAA tournament game. I like the players Kruger has brought in so far but I am not sure that he has landed a big impact player yet. And I agree that the first one will be someone from in state or north Texas. I believe he will eventually spread his influence beyond the state lines. I think both Woodard and Booker will be really good but probably not first round draft choices.

We will be fine and have a strong team every year. We almost got there this year. It is a little frustrating not to be playing on an even field when it comes to recruiting.

The NCAA needs to take on the AAU coach/agent/sponsor stuff and the AAU needs to clean up their program. Something is seriously wrong when Kentucky gets 5 of the top 10 players every year and when great players end up at Baylor with their mediocre coach. That doesn't quite pass the smell test.

Also we need some heros who will step up, take a risk and demand that things be right. I know coaches are reluctant to rat on fellow coaches but in not blowing the whistle they are perpetuating the madness.

 

[KBaden145]

Watching this KU-UNC game reminds me of what you can do with several 4/5 year seniors with 1 or 2 top 50 talents mixed in. KU's talent doesn't overwhelm you but their ability to guard and their experience can. Lon has the ability, the plan, and the resources to put this type of team together at OU.

 

[oSuJeff97]

One of OSU's final four teams (the recent ones) had Reeves and Rutherford who were both local players.

The '95 Final Four team had Reeves, Rutherford and also Chianti Roberts, who was freshman.

 

[campbest]

The NCAA needs to take on the AAU coach/agent/sponsor stuff and the AAU needs to clean up their program. Something is seriously wrong when Kentucky gets 5 of the top 10 players every year and when great players end up at Baylor with their mediocre coach. That doesn't quite pass the smell test.

Also we need some heros who will step up, take a risk and demand that things be right. I know coaches are reluctant to rat on fellow coaches but in not blowing the whistle they are perpetuating the madness.

Kentucky has an advantage because it puts players in the pros. Getting to the NBA is the goal now, not spending 2-3 years and college and playing for a national championship.

 

[bocabull]

How many top 75 players were on our 2002 Final Four team?

Hollis & Ace were solid top 50 recruits coming out of high school. Borderline McDonald's AA's. Johnnie Gilbert was a top 75 recruit. Ere most certainly was though his academic issues dinged his rating.

I failed to mention Fitzgerald as a top 75 recruit leftover from Capel.

People can poo-poo recruiting rankings all they want, but on a macro level they tend to be very accurate. Sure there are outliers but even look at this past class, Buddy was the highest rated guy and shows the most potential. Osby was the second highest rated guy on the team out of high school and in his 5th season showed why.

If we can have another season like this year I don't see why some top 75 calibers guys wouldn't show enough faith in Kruger to sign on. I just think it's going to be an uphill battle based on the talent we return/add.

 

[vbdad]

Number two is the big one. He will not deal with players that have handlers etc. or parents who want payouts. Also they had better be respectable and show up for meetings etc. He isn't going to deal with the headaches.

Let Travis and Scott Drew have those guys on their teams.

 

[soonernutt]

Thanks for the info BT. Although, I think some OU fans sell OU short on who we can get. Even though Lon doesn't pay recruits like other schools, OU should be able to get top level recruits. OU has the name, even though we aren't a "Basketball Blueblood", and lots more tradition in BBall than alot of people give it credit for. I expect Lon to year after year get better and better recruits. Yeah we need butts in the seats but winning and scheduling around the Thunder should take care of that to a large extent. If in fact, though, college basketball recruiting has digressed into the type of sliminess to where Lon can't compete, then why can't he start blowing the whistle on people ala Eddie and Shawn Sutton? It seems to be widely accepted that OSU and Baylor's coaches cheat at recruiting. Why do other schools allow it, if it is in fact happening? I don't understand...

I think when coaches do report other coaches for such things, they do it quietly. I would guess the NCAA get a bunch of such tips. But we all know that the NCAA doesn't have the manpower to go out and investigate everything. They probably focus more on the ones where they are handed something close to "caught red-handed" status so they don't have to dig too much.

The other thing is, when a coach reports another coach in-conference, there becomes some bad blood, not just between the two teams, but all over. Teams share in revenue, and when a good team goes on probation, it is seen by some in the conference as a devaluation of the brand. Remember a few years ago the SEC conference boss flat-out told coaches to stop reporting each other because it's bad for the conference. Of course, I think rampant cheating is worse, but what do I know? The SEC is winning all the football championships and getting all the recruits, and the conference is OK with the cheating as long as everybody knows not to blow the whistle.

 

[oSuJeff97]

Number two is the big one. He will not deal with players that have handlers etc. or parents who want payouts. Also they had better be respectable and show up for meetings etc. He isn't going to deal with the headaches.

Let Travis and Scott Drew have those guys on their teams.

I'm curious...How are Ford and Drew grouped together in this respect?

Ford has recruited exactly one player whom you could reasonably classify as a "high-maintenance/high-profile" type - Nash.

His only other really high-profile recruit is Smart, who, by practically every account, is an A+ teammate and citizen.

Here's a list of the rest of Ford's major contributors he recruited -- is this a list of guys with handlers/high maintenance, etc?

Markel Brown
Michael Cobbins
Brian Williams
J.P. Olukemi
Philip Jurick
Phil Forte
Kamari Murphy
Kirby Gardner

Not exactly a list McDonald's AAs there... Certainly not the level of consistent talent that Scott Drew has been pulling into Baylor over the past 5-6 years.

Brown is the only one of those guys who'll even sniff the NBA... and I wouldn't classify any of them as "headache" type guys.

 

[sdcloud9]

Rose played for Calipari at Memphis

Sorry, you are right, my bad.