but it is not going to be easy. I have a friend who is fairly big on the AAU basketball scene, and is a large carolina fan. 5 years ago he saw Roy Williams and Steve Robinson t an AAU game. He went up to them, shook their hands and pointed to a player on the court. He said "Listen to me, if you get that kid, you will cut down the nets with him". The kid was Danny Green, and by his senior year, they were doing just that. Now the point here is not that my friend is some type of basketball profit. It's North Carolina. There is something like a 50% chance they will cut down the nets once every four years. The point is more that he called out Danny Green, as opposed to Ty Lawson, or Kevin Durant, or Branden Wright, who were all UNC targets in that class.
Recruiting has become an entirely different game with the one and done rule. There are really two sections of high school players that come out every year. There is the top 10, and then there is the top 10 that could theoretically graduate. If you were to have somebody like John Wall in college for 4 years, and then have him feeding the ball to a senior Demarcus Cosuins....Well Tennessee might as well just quit now. But the one and done rule has proved to somewhat of an equalizer. That is really what Bruce Pearl has to capitalize on. We tried out the Josh Selby's of the world. Truth is that it just is not meant to be. Tennessee will never be a home to the one and done prospects. Too many influences telling these kids to look elsewhere. Im not referring to money or gifts, but there are just a lot of people talking to those kids. The key for Tennessee is to get some grittier 4-year players. Truth be told, when it comes to the front court, those are the types of players that fit pearl's system better anyway. If Tennessee is able to recruit the top level of the second level, they can compete with anybody. These kids Kentucky is getting right now, are excellent players. It all depends on the player, but the #25 player in country, in his senior year, can go up against any top recruit. Bruce should not even spend a minute on a Lance Stephenson type. Not worth the trouble, and not really a bruce type anyway. Give me a Levance fields or a Dajuan Blair any day of the week, and you will find Tennessee grinding out games against teams like Kentucky. We can be competitive, without competing on the recruiting trail.
What does that mean for now? I think that it is really important that Bruce Pearl land Jayvaughn Pinkston. You might see Jay in the 40-50-60 range in a lot of these rankings. But i promise you that there are not 25 better HS basketball players out there. These rankings factor in pro-potential and a lot of things like that. Pinkston has gone up against Lance Stephenson, an he ripped him to shreds. He is an undersized 4 who can run the floor, and play on the outside some. He will rip you on the inside. Pinkston as a senior, will be able to compete with any one and done freshman.
Next task, a Point Guard who is tough and can defend. Vander Blue looks like a more realistic option than Joe Jackson at this point, but neither would be easy. This is a tough one right now. Its a tough task, but if Bruce can land either of those two I can see Tennessee keeping pace with Kentucky for the most part over the next 4 years. Bruce would probably also bring in another player, most likely a true big, but the two spots i mentioned, to go a long with McCrae would really be key. KY is bringing in some fab 5 type talent, it is important for Tennessee to get some really solid 4-year players just to keep up.
Recruiting has become an entirely different game with the one and done rule. There are really two sections of high school players that come out every year. There is the top 10, and then there is the top 10 that could theoretically graduate. If you were to have somebody like John Wall in college for 4 years, and then have him feeding the ball to a senior Demarcus Cosuins....Well Tennessee might as well just quit now. But the one and done rule has proved to somewhat of an equalizer. That is really what Bruce Pearl has to capitalize on. We tried out the Josh Selby's of the world. Truth is that it just is not meant to be. Tennessee will never be a home to the one and done prospects. Too many influences telling these kids to look elsewhere. Im not referring to money or gifts, but there are just a lot of people talking to those kids. The key for Tennessee is to get some grittier 4-year players. Truth be told, when it comes to the front court, those are the types of players that fit pearl's system better anyway. If Tennessee is able to recruit the top level of the second level, they can compete with anybody. These kids Kentucky is getting right now, are excellent players. It all depends on the player, but the #25 player in country, in his senior year, can go up against any top recruit. Bruce should not even spend a minute on a Lance Stephenson type. Not worth the trouble, and not really a bruce type anyway. Give me a Levance fields or a Dajuan Blair any day of the week, and you will find Tennessee grinding out games against teams like Kentucky. We can be competitive, without competing on the recruiting trail.
What does that mean for now? I think that it is really important that Bruce Pearl land Jayvaughn Pinkston. You might see Jay in the 40-50-60 range in a lot of these rankings. But i promise you that there are not 25 better HS basketball players out there. These rankings factor in pro-potential and a lot of things like that. Pinkston has gone up against Lance Stephenson, an he ripped him to shreds. He is an undersized 4 who can run the floor, and play on the outside some. He will rip you on the inside. Pinkston as a senior, will be able to compete with any one and done freshman.
Next task, a Point Guard who is tough and can defend. Vander Blue looks like a more realistic option than Joe Jackson at this point, but neither would be easy. This is a tough one right now. Its a tough task, but if Bruce can land either of those two I can see Tennessee keeping pace with Kentucky for the most part over the next 4 years. Bruce would probably also bring in another player, most likely a true big, but the two spots i mentioned, to go a long with McCrae would really be key. KY is bringing in some fab 5 type talent, it is important for Tennessee to get some really solid 4-year players just to keep up.
