2019 Target List

#501
#501
AngryButchJones said:
Give me either Jones or McBride at PG and Jitoboh and I'll be happy. Would love to land James or Beran, but not holding my breath.
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The thing with landing James is that while it would be awesome it does nothing go give us depth at guard 2/3/4 years from now, and that’s what we really need. There are guys still on the board so it will be interesting to see where they turn, my guess is they turn things up on Lecque and McBride.
 
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#502
#502
There’s still a lot of good point guards who haven’t committed and we haven’t offered yet I think they should take a look at markese Jacobs just decommitted from Kansas and Joel brown he goes to same school as lecque Brewster academy and he’s the point guard
 
#503
#503
Losing out on Mann is disappointing. It looks like we will be getting a lot of second tier type recruits this year. So now we focus on how Barnes has and can develop these under the radar guys into high quality SEC players. He has certainly done well with Admiral and Kyle Alexander. Bone is a quality but not exceptional point guard. I think Grant was already a high quality SEC guy when he got here so I may not give Barnes credit for developing him but I will for identifying and recruiting him. This year we need to see how guys like Pons and Walker are developing. They will not be needed to step up this year to carry a heavy scoring load but hopefully we can see improvement. Next year they will need to be the guys. This may be how Barnes and UT finds continued success. I have criticized Barnes recruiting some in the past and may continue if we miss out on guys like Keon next year. But on court success speaks for itself and if he can continue to develop these 4 year players I will happily miss out on the 5 and high 4 stars every year.
 
#504
#504
Maybe it's a reach, but I wonder if Barnes is being honest when dealing with the recruits and is letting them know that they're all expected to work to earn playing time and he prefers players that will be here for several years. That would discourage the very best from attending UT and keeps from disrupting team chemistry which is as good as it's ever been.
 
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#505
#505
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Maybe it's a reach, but I wonder if Barnes is being honest when dealing with the recruits and is letting them know that they're all expected to work to earn playing time and he prefers players that will be here for several years. That would discourage the very best from attending UT and keeps from disrupting team chemistry which is as good as it's ever been.
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I’ve mentioned similar in the past, he’s not willing to lie/mislead recruits, nor is he willing to get dirty with recruits, this definitely puts them at a disadvantage for a lot of the top guys. They seemed to think relationships would win out with a guy like Mann but that obviously wasn’t the case there. As others have mentioned, the hope now is that they still land guys that they like long term and who are willing to work hard for 4-5 years and not always looking to transfer.
 
#506
#506
bleedingTNorange said:
I’ve mentioned similar in the past, he’s not willing to lie/mislead recruits, nor is he willing to get dirty with recruits, this definitely puts them at a disadvantage for a lot of the top guys. They seemed to think relationships would win out with a guy like Mann but that obviously wasn’t the case there. As others have mentioned, the hope now is that they still land guys that they like long term and who are willing to work hard for 4-5 years and not always looking to transfer.
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It's kind of a juxtaposition. Barnes seems to prefer a long term commitment, but no doubt his age is being used against him by competing schools. And never mind that most of the NCAAT finalists are north of 50, when you're a teenager anybody over 40 seems ancient.

I'd like to see a list of the coach's ages that won the close battles. Seems like the guy at Florida is under 40. Don't know about NC State's coach and I can't think right now where else we've lost battles. Maybe Penny at Memphis. The argument can still be made that, sure Barnes has put several players into the NBA, but what has he done lately? 17 year olds are easily manipulated and can't necessarily see who's lying to them and may not be capable of appreciating the ethical approach.
 
#507
#507
bleedingTNorange said:
I’ve mentioned similar in the past, he’s not willing to lie/mislead recruits, nor is he willing to get dirty with recruits, this definitely puts them at a disadvantage for a lot of the top guys. They seemed to think relationships would win out with a guy like Mann but that obviously wasn’t the case there. As others have mentioned, the hope now is that they still land guys that they like long term and who are willing to work hard for 4-5 years and not always looking to transfer.
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I was hoping that the FBI recruiting scandal would put us on a more level playing field in recruiting, but thus far I do not think has made enough of a difference.
 
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#508
#508
Maybe part of it is coach Barnes being honest and looking for kids to buy in but I also think he will not connect with a lot of recruits at 65 like Penny will at Memphis or the new Vanderbilt coach will. Lots of big time programs in football and basketball are taking chances on younger coaches because of their ability to connect with recruits. I think Coach Pruitt is the opposite of Coach Barnes in terms of age and ability to connect with this generation. We see the success Pruitt as a first year coach with no background and no winning season's to point to is having. Barnes will have to rely on his ability to develop and having 4 year kids stay with him. Think Bill Snyder at K-State.
 
#509
#509
LeannaVol said:
Maybe part of it is coach Barnes being honest and looking for kids to buy in but I also think he will not connect with a lot of recruits at 65 like Penny will at Memphis or the new Vanderbilt coach will. Lots of big time programs in football and basketball are taking chances on younger coaches because of their ability to connect with recruits. I think Coach Pruitt is the opposite of Coach Barnes in terms of age and ability to connect with this generation. We see the success Pruitt as a first year coach with no background and no winning season's to point to is having. Barnes will have to rely on his ability to develop and having 4 year kids stay with him. Think Bill Snyder at K-State.
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But with someone like Barnes, it should come back to development. Do you think K or Roy Williams can "connect" like Penny or Drew? No, but they have shown that they can develop players (if you call one year at Duke being developed), and Barnes has shown this, too.

Penny is a different story because he is a former NBA All-Star, started coaching in middle school, and has grassroots connections. But guys like Drew, White, and Wade don't have those things. White at least had a EE run, but I still question what they are doing other than being young coaches that can "connect."
 
#510
#510
VolGee4 said:
But with someone like Barnes, it should come back to development. Do you think K or Roy Williams can "connect" like Penny or Drew? No, but they have shown that they can develop players (if you call one year at Duke being developed), and Barnes has shown this, too.

Penny is a different story because he is a former NBA All-Star, started coaching in middle school, and has grassroots connections. But guys like Drew, White, and Wade don't have those things. White at least had a EE run, but I still question what they are doing other than being young coaches that can "connect."
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I agree that some of these young coaches are going to struggle when they don't have the background or ability to develop at the highest levels. I thank Paster at Memphis and now at Tech is a great example of a young coach that can recruit but lacks any ability to develop, teach or even strategize. Coach K and Coach Cal are a couple of older guys that have shown they can still get it done in recruiting. They have a stronger foundation at UK and Duke then we do. Maybe if Barnes has another strong year we can raise our profile with these kids and pull in some higher quality talent. I like what Coach Barnes has done but I still think we should be able to pull in some top 50 guys to UT on a regular basis and I think we will need to to compete for championships.
 
#511
#511
I have no BTO like connection to the program, but from my perspective CRB needs to look hard at his staff and consider adding or replacing someone with an assistant who's an elite recruiter. Its hard to imagine he can continue enjoying the same level of success by continually recruiting diamonds in the rough and developing them. Hope he can but it doesn't seem likely.
 
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#512
#512
walkenvol said:
I have no BTO like connection to the program, but from my perspective CRB needs to look hard at his staff and consider adding or replacing someone with an assistant who's an elite recruiter. Its hard to imagine he can continue enjoying the same level of success by continually recruiting diamonds in the rough and developing them. Hope he can but it doesn't seem likely.
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I agree. He can’t be the only coach keeping it 100. It just needs to be sold and handled better. imho
 
#513
#513
walkenvol said:
I have no BTO like connection to the program, but from my perspective CRB needs to look hard at his staff and consider adding or replacing someone with an assistant who's an elite recruiter. Its hard to imagine he can continue enjoying the same level of success by continually recruiting diamonds in the rough and developing them. Hope he can but it doesn't seem likely.
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I’m not sure that is fair, the same people saying he can’t continue to do it are the same ones a year ago saying you can’t make the dance or win big recruiting this way, they were proven wrong already so who’s to say they won’t again?

I’m with you that recruiting has lost its luster a bit with this staff, it’s not as enjoyable to pay attention to, but I would rather win ball games than recruit well and not win. The next 2 years should answer the question as to if they can continue to recruit lower ranked guys and win, until then not sure there’s a definitive answer.

I will also add I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pursue more international guys, they don’t tend to be “corrupted” by the handlers etc and are typically hard working type guys.
 
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#514
#514
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Maybe it's a reach, but I wonder if Barnes is being honest when dealing with the recruits and is letting them know that they're all expected to work to earn playing time and he prefers players that will be here for several years. That would discourage the very best from attending UT and keeps from disrupting team chemistry which is as good as it's ever been.
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I’m sure elite coaches and recruiters tell them, “come here and you don’t have to work hard.”
 
#516
#516
bleedingTNorange said:
I’m not sure that is fair, the same people saying he can’t continue to do it are the same ones a year ago saying you can’t make the dance or win big recruiting this way, they were proven wrong already so who’s to say they won’t again?

I’m with you that recruiting has lost its luster a bit with this staff, it’s not as enjoyable to pay attention to, but I would rather win ball games than recruit well and not win. The next 2 years should answer the question as to if they can continue to recruit lower ranked guys and win, until then not sure there’s a definitive answer.

I will also add I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pursue more international guys, they don’t tend to be “corrupted” by the handlers etc and are typically hard working type guys.
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I don't post that often so you wouldn't likely know where I stand, but I've never been one of the "nega - Barnes" types who critiques his every move. Personally, I enjoy watching players develop over their college careers more than watching the one and done types.

That being said, are the odds in CRB's favor to have the same level of success in the future as he did last year or was last year's performance about the best anyone could have expected based on the collective recruiting rankings of the team? Its anyone's guess at this point but I'd sure like to see what he could do with a bit more raw talent to work with which I suspect you would also?

Like you stated, as long as they're winning ball games then its all good and I expect them to win a lot of games this coming season.
 
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#517
#517
FWIW VQ saying...

-Vols and Duke lead for Josiah James, obviously that’s gonna be a tough get but in talking to multiple people they feel those 2 are at the top.

-Vols will likely pick things up a bit with Lecque, never have stopped recruiting him but likely take it to another level, likely to get an OV from him.

-Issac McBride wants to visit, staff will probably try to get an OV scheduled for him for later in the fall.
 
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#518
#518
bleedingTNorange said:
FWIW VQ saying...

-Vols and Duke lead for Josiah James, obviously that’s gonna be a tough get but in talking to multiple people they feel those 2 are at the top.

-Vols will likely pick things up a bit with Lecque, never have stopped recruiting him but likely take it to another level, likely to get an OV from him.

-Issac McBride wants to visit, staff will probably try to get an OV scheduled for him for later in the fall.
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Refuse to get my hopes up. Tre Mann has scarred me.
 
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#521
#521
cncchris33 said:
I was speaking specifically to the Josiah James news. Awesome that we are considered top 2. I'm just tired of finishing 2nd.
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I agree, and like I’ve said I’m not sure James does much for us after next year...may be better off long term to land Lecque or McBride.
 
#523
#523
Per VQ Josiah James has cancelled his OV to Michigan State, so he will visit Tennessee(this weekend), Clemson and Duke over the next 3 weeks and then likely decide before October.

Jalen Lecque has scheduled an official visit to Tennessee for next weekend.
 
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#525
#525
bleedingTNorange said:
Per VQ Josiah James has cancelled his OV to Michigan State, so he will visit Tennessee(this weekend), Clemson and Duke over the next 3 weeks and then likely decide before October.

Jalen Lecque has scheduled an official visit to Tennessee for next weekend.
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These next few weekends are gonna be huge.
 
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