Cuonzo Martin is close to...

[zjcvols]

establishing a pipeline in Memphis.

Yes, I said it.

It's still early, but what Martin has done in a short time has been top notch in West Tennessee.

He gets Jarnell Stokes, a player Memphis really wanted, to come here, and this was a huge comeback. Memphis was the leader since April.

Austin Nichols is going to make his college decision soon, and we are right in the mix. Him and Stokes are good friends, and said that Stokes' decision is going to affect his. You can take that in many ways, but it could point to a good way. Either way, we are right in the thick of things.

Then, a top 20 player for 2013, Nick King, is very interested in us and we are in his top 5.

Oh, did I mention that top 10 recruit Jonathan Williams III, former teammates and very good friends with Jarnell Stokes, is considering Tennessee?

The next 9-12 months could be a new change for Tennessee basketball, and in a good way. Should be interesting to watch.

[Yankee_Vol]

Would be HUGE to finally start pulling talent from that area

[top5vols]

We still need to work the Atlanta area for players like Parker and Goodwin.

[ACvol3]

I wish he had an elite guard or center as a best friend... Nichols is another forward

[UTCVol]

I think CCM will pull some talent out of Memphis before he's done here.

He's doing his due diligence in getting early offers out to midwest kids as well.

[rickyyrs]

Originally Posted by zjcvols

establishing a pipeline in Memphis.

Yes, I said it.

It's still early, but what Martin has done in a short time has been top notch in West Tennessee.

He gets Jarnell Stokes, a player Memphis really wanted, to come here, and this was a huge comeback. Memphis was the leader since April.

Austin Nichols is going to make his college decision soon, and we are right in the mix. Him and Stokes are good friends, and said that Stokes' decision is going to affect his. You can take that in many ways, but it could point to a good way. Either way, we are right in the thick of things.

Then, a top 20 player for 2013, Nick King, is very interested in us and we are in his top 5.

Oh, did I mention that top 10 recruit Jonathan Williams III, former teammates and very good friends with Jarnell Stokes, is considering Tennessee?

The next 9-12 months could be a new change for Tennessee basketball, and in a good way. Should be interesting to watch.

Coach Martin has done something Pearl did not do. If he pulls this off with the players you talked about. I sure they follow their buddy Stokes to Tennessee. That would get us turned around real fast. We can make room for those guys.

[gorockytop101]

Originally Posted by rickyyrs

Coach Martin has done something Pearl did not do. If he pulls this off with the players you talked about. I sure they follow their buddy Stokes to Tennessee. That would get us turned around real fast. We can make room for those guys.

To be fair, CCM basically closed with Pearl doing a ton of work.

CCM deserves credit for sure, though. He definitely saved this recruitment and took advantage of his lucky break.

[Blake25p]

Originally Posted by gorockytop101

To be fair, CCM basically closed with Pearl doing a ton of work.

CCM deserves credit for sure, though. He definitely saved this recruitment and took advantage of his lucky break.

Didn't Stokes pretty much eliminate UT after CBP left? CCM did a great job getting back in it with Stokes.

[Bassmanbruno]

Originally Posted by gorockytop101

To be fair, CCM basically closed with Pearl doing a ton of work.

CCM deserves credit for sure, though. He definitely saved this recruitment and took advantage of his lucky break.

CCM had to start from scratch. Stokes pretty much said as much. We were all but out of it after Pearl was fired.

But I do agree we caught a huge break with him being an EE and schools not having a scholarship available mid year.

[esarmstrong]

Originally Posted by rickyyrs

Coach Martin has done something Pearl did not do. If he pulls this off with the players you talked about. I sure they follow their buddy Stokes to Tennessee. That would get us turned around real fast. We can make room for those guys.

One of the absolute biggest differences between hoops and just about any other sport: when you can only put 5 on the floor at a time, it is easy to turn a bad situation (talent-wise) around in a big hurry. Just look at Calipari at Kentucky. Every year it's a new team.

[driley3]

So technically isn't stokes opening a pipeline to Memphis? I'm kidding, mad props to CCM

[zjcvols]

Originally Posted by top5vols

We still need to work the Atlanta area for players like Parker and Goodwin.

Atlanta becomes much less important if Martin is going to pull two recruits a year out of Memphis like it seems he wants to do.

The reason Atlanta was so big when Pearl was here was because he couldn't get Memphis. Not too mention the absolute suckitude from Ga. Tech and Georgia.

And Pearl did a great job in that area. It was the smart thing to do.

While Atlanta will always produce good players, it's going to be harder to get them with the emergence of Georgia under Fox and while Gregory isn't a good floor coach, he's an ace recruiter.

[zjcvols]

Originally Posted by driley3

So technically isn't stokes opening a pipeline to Memphis? I'm kidding, mad props to CCM

If Martin is a quality coach, in five years we could say "December 22, 2011 changed Tennessee basketball" and I seriously mean that.

[BillBattlevol]

I like your attitude about our BB team's future, but I don't know if alot of kids will have the strength to leave "their home town" as they like to say. Alot of pressure is put on these Memphis kids to stay in Memphis and most do. Hope you're right and Martin does start working that area hard because it would help our team recover much quicker. A good point guard would be great.

[1SmokinVol]

CM's signature recruit, he has opened up the pipeline with Stokes to the most important recruiting are for UT. GO ZO!