Anybody else feel like our recruiting is not what it could be?

And I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t even know whether to think it was ‘good recruiting’ that coach had the big names that wound up defecting to NBA/Europe early. Is it? I mean, I can’t think of any recent years articles on big names that had committed to Roy or Calipari that later changed course for early NBA/Europe. It seems like their big bames stick one committed.
And secondly, and just as important, it seems like their big names always pan out into lottery picks — whereas most of Ricks’ big names fizzle or flop.

in some ways, the hiring of Calipari will probably rev up the recruiting at U of L. I too am a big fan of RP and glad we have the ORIGINAL on our bench (rather than the knock off) but we don’t seem to get those big kids to commit and if they do they either fizzle or (Tyler) jump somewhere else. It is going to be a recruitment frenzie with Crean in the mix – going to be very interesting.

I’m not worried at all. Most of these “big name” recruits have dollar signs in their eyes and dreams of superstar status. Let’s see how Calipari can handle rebuilding year after year with these one-and-done players. Rick has said in the past he wanted to recruit players with a true passion for the game. I would much rather see the Cards get the student-athletes that will stick around for at least three years and have a cohesive “team” rather than players looking to showcase their individual talents for the NBA. Yes T-Will and Andre will be missed as much as David and Tello were, but the current nest looks very favorable to make another solid run.

Lorenzo Wade, arrested for burglary in San Diego in October, isn’t on any mock NBA draft lists I’ve seen. As a matter of fact, he’s considered a zero star rating on a six star scale of potential picks. No six stars are listed and Blake Griffin is the only five star. Dwayne will be the only Wade mentioned inside NBA circles next season.

1. Calipari has Worldwide Wes. That’s how he gets the big name lottery one-and-dones. I’d rather not be caught up in that time bomb.

2. There are two ways to look at Pitino. Either you think “He’s been to the NBA, he knows what it takes, and he can prepare me,” or you think “Yeah, he went to the NBA, fizzled, and now plays defense-oriented basketball that is not what the NBA plays.” Despite what the media and people on camera say, I’m more inclined to believe most recruits think the latter. That’s why they end up going to run-and-gun, superstar, up-tempo offense teams like UNC.

3. Pitino doesn’t go for a mix of one-and-dones and a bunch of 2 and 3 stars as supporting roles. He goes for 3, 4, and the occasional 5 star recruit that’s willing to play on a team. Why do you think nobody has averaged more than 14 PPG on this team since Garcia?

4. Pitino is getting solid recruits. Samuels was the #1 recruit last year. Jennings was a 5 star, and has proven to have tons of upside. If he has a breakout year next season, expect to see him in the lottery or first round in 2010. Earl Clark is a lottery pick. Siva is a 5 star recruit. Buckles is a solid 4 star that has a lot of upside.

I’ve always said that Pitino recruits good teams, not just good players. He’s still reeling from an NIT berth in 06 and a lackluster 07 season. I think those set us back a couple years in recruiting. It’ll be interesting to see how the next few classes progress. They were looking pretty good until Tyler jumped ship.

and let players play. We’re getting the players we need. I think the coach Cal thing has got you guys worried that Coach P can’t recruit against him The cards are getting high rated players to stay 3-4yrs and not 1 and dones. You can’t win it every year.. Two elite 8’s with a final four in the last 5 years is pretty damn good. You should be kissing Pitino’s ass not kicking him in the head. It’s been since the early 80’s that we’ve had this kind of success and you want to complain. True Pitino has his flaws but what coach doesn’t. We are going to be very good next year and maybe more successful. From what I can tell we have a top ten recruiting class coming in next year. I don’t understand the logic about down recruiting. I like last year’s class and this year’s class. Just because nobody is talking about our next recruiting class doesn’t mean it’s not great. Please tell me you guys aren’t serious. It depresses me when UofL fans act like UK fans. I remember a time when I was proud that Cards fans didn’t want to run every coach off like UK fans did. I love the fact that we have had two Hall of Fame coaches coach our great program. We are not falling, the end is not coming. Just let coach coach and let the payers play and be a fan and enjoy the ride.

IS this- Louisville isnt really a “household name” when it comes to College sports. Think about it-if you asked 100 foreigners if they knew who we were Id say 20 of them might actually know. Of those same 100 I would say that 98 would know who UNC is, 80 for UCLA/Kansas, 60 for Kentucky..etc. I would even be willing to wager that 90% of this nations population doesnt really know about us. The media constantly shoves UNC, Kansas, UK, UCLA, etc down everyones throats. I think that in itself weighs heavily on what recruits we get. These superstars come out of HS and want to show off, and what better teams to do it for? We have had success as of late, but nowhere near the level of the four I listed above.

Also-Rick has to compete with our in state rival for recruits, and he doesnt believe in a team chocked full of one and done players.

All that being said-I think RP has done a good job in luring recruits here. If they defect for the NBA or abroad-how can you blame him?

And DANCARD I really dont think anyone is “trying to run every coach off” just because a discussion about recruiting came up. Remind me-how many different coaches have we had in 38 years (and counting) now?

Im proud of our basketball team and very excited about the future. I think the NIT days are behind us folks!

that we are turning into how UK fans act now. Listen to them and then listen to some of the people that post on this site. I’m not going to point any fingers but there are people that post on this site that want a different coach for what ever reason. They don’t think Coach P is getting it done. I just don’t see it.

Frankly when we brought Pitino in , we were “co-branding” with him. Pitino himself—his name/rep— was the stronger brand at that time frankly, and it has helped us regain our national prominence both from a symbolic as well as practical (Final 4, Elite 8’s) standpoint.

Pitino clearly did not understsnd how college recruiting had changed his first few classes. Recruits like Telfair just used Pitino and his name.

Now, the new 1 yr rule has helped Pitino and other high profile coaches begin to stockpile talent again somewhat. Whether this new European challenge will break that again remains to play out.

I’m satisfied with the recruits we are getting now. I’m very satisfied with the results—but obviously not thrilled yet.

Pitino was one of the first to figure out how to really use the “new” 3 pt shot — what it truly meant from a statistical value standpoint. He is still one of the top 5 coaches IMO but others are his equal now. He doesn’t hold all the fire in the bottle.

I have mixed feelings about the Big East. It was the right move for U of L and has paid big dividends all around in all sports. But it’s basketball is too thug-and-mug for me. The quality of play is very high and I truly enjoyed this past season.

But the overly physical play disrupts offensive flow. And it is not rewarded post-season, since refs call it tighter, and offensive flow is rewarded more.

Of course, it would help if we had some true shooters. Our Garcia Final 4 team was not a great team, but it had 3 legit offensive threats.