Per Mark Miller... Matt Heldt just committed to MU

[NersEllenson]

This entire black/white argument is dumb...beyond dumb.

Buzz emphasized different basketball skills than Wojo seems to.  Buzz emphasized getting the ball into the lane and attacking the basket.  If how Duke recruits is any indication, Wojo puts a preference on outside shooting. 

We shouldn't care how the team looks or what kind of balance we have.  I am pretty confident that good basketball coaches don't care.  Just recruit players who can put the ball in the basket and prevent the other team from doing the same and we'll be fine.

The black/white thing isn't an "argument."  It is simply an observation.  But I do agree with you, it is important to recruit players who can put the ball in the basket and defend.  It doesn't have to be a one or the other proposition.

[bilsu]

This entire black/white argument is dumb...beyond dumb.

Buzz emphasized different basketball skills than Wojo seems to.  Buzz emphasized getting the ball into the lane and attacking the basket.  If how Duke recruits is any indication, Wojo puts a preference on outside shooting. 

We shouldn't care how the team looks or what kind of balance we have.  I am pretty confident that good basketball coaches don't care.  Just recruit players who can put the ball in the basket and prevent the other team from doing the same and we'll be fine.

+1

[muwarrior69]

As many have said, star ratings don't mean squat. Watching us play many mid major schools in the tournament over the years there were players I wish MU had that were on the the opposing team; especially the bigs. Watching MU play under both Crean and Buzz has had its ups and downs. For me there have been more ups than downs. Now we have a coach that has actually played the game who may just teach a kid to maximize his strengths and and improve where he is weak. We finally land a kid taller than 6-6 or 6-7 and we are complaining that he is not a high 4 star. Let's complain about the coach and the player if they don't perform on the court, not before. Welcome to MU Matt.

[MU82]

There is only one real benefit to recruiting a white guy vs. a black guy:

Signing the white guy, no matter how talented, drives ThatDude nuts!

[tower912]

Sad that the melatonin content of a new MU hoopster matters to anybody.   Kind of pathetic, actually.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

This entire black/white argument is dumb...beyond dumb.

Buzz emphasized different basketball skills than Wojo seems to.  Buzz emphasized getting the ball into the lane and attacking the basket.  If how Duke recruits is any indication, Wojo puts a preference on outside shooting. 

We shouldn't care how the team looks or what kind of balance we have.  I am pretty confident that good basketball coaches don't care.  Just recruit players who can put the ball in the basket and prevent the other team from doing the same and we'll be fine.

Amen

[Silkk the Shaka]

Amen

...coming from the guy that started the whole sh*tstorm in reverse. Oh the HYPOCRISY!!!!

[Texas Western]

Marquette isn't in the headline but is mentioned (with Duke, Notre Dame, Carolina, Michigan and "a myriad of others") in the text of the article.

Duke and Carolina put him on hold pending evidence that he is not damaged goods. I have heard that he is keen on those two . If those two decline then we are competing with Notre Dame. Neon in the conversation is a good thing .

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Sad that the melatonin content of a new MU hoopster matters to anybody.  Kind of UNBELIEVABLY pathetic , actually.   

Fixed it for you.

The Patron Saint of MU basketball, Al, never cared about it, and he always went for the most talented kids he could find.

That seemed to work out pretty well for everybody.

[MUWarrior4Life]

This entire black/white argument is dumb...beyond dumb.

Buzz emphasized different basketball skills than Wojo seems to.  Buzz emphasized getting the ball into the lane and attacking the basket.  If how Duke recruits is any indication, Wojo puts a preference on outside shooting. 

We shouldn't care how the team looks or what kind of balance we have.  I am pretty confident that good basketball coaches don't care.  Just recruit players who can put the ball in the basket and prevent the other team from doing the same and we'll be fine.

+1000

[MUWarrior4Life]

Welcome Matt to Warrior Nation!!!!

[brandx]

As many have said, star ratings don't mean squat. Watching us play many mid major schools in the tournament over the years there were players I wish MU had that were on the the opposing team; especially the bigs. Watching MU play under both Crean and Buzz has had its ups and downs. For me there have been more ups than downs. Now we have a coach that has actually played the game who may just teach a kid to maximize his strengths and and improve where he is weak. We finally land a kid taller than 6-6 or 6-7 and we are complaining that he is not a high 4 star. Let's complain about the coach and the player if they don't perform on the court, not before. Welcome to MU Matt.

I understand the point that you are trying to make - that it is not necessary to be a 4 or 5-star player to be a very good college player, but I think it is going way, way, way overboard to say that "star ratings don't mean squat".

I would venture a guess that if you looked at the top 50 ratings for any year, that there would be at least twice as many guys in the NBA from the top 25 than from from the next 25.

But if you were trying to emphasize how much of an inexact science these rating systems are, I would tend to agree. How do you differentiate between the 45th and 75th rated player? The rating, in that case, really doesn't matter. It is all about the system that you are running.
 

[Lennys Tap]

I understand the point that you are trying to make - that it is not necessary to be a 4 or 5-star player to be a very good college player, but I think it is going way, way, way overboard to say that "star ratings don't mean squat".

I would venture a guess that if you looked at the top 50 ratings for any year, that there would be at least twice as many guys in the NBA from the top 25 than from from the next 25.

But if you were trying to emphasize how much of an inexact science these rating systems are, I would tend to agree. How do you differentiate between the 45th and 75th rated player? The rating, in that case, really doesn't matter. It is all about the system that you are running.
 

Yeah, having multiple McDonald's All Americans on the team doesn't mean you won't suck (see Indiana last year or North Carolina a few years ago) but in general the top teams have some pretty highly ranked players.

[4everwarriors]

IU is easy enough to understand, hey? After all, even several lottery picks on the roster doesn't guarantee nothin'.

[Black Swan]

What happens if the former Black Swan is the former Blackswan \ AhoyaBallscout \ Mr. Hayward \ Canadian Dimes ?

Not sure if this is directed at me but I can assure you that I have never posted on this board until recently. I chose the Black Swan name because as a kid I thought that Lackey was the scariest dude I had ever seen and despite being in a Notre Dame house, I did like watching MU.

[MU82]

I understand the point that you are trying to make - that it is not necessary to be a 4 or 5-star player to be a very good college player, but I think it is going way, way, way overboard to say that "star ratings don't mean squat".

I would venture a guess that if you looked at the top 50 ratings for any year, that there would be at least twice as many guys in the NBA from the top 25 than from from the next 25.

But if you were trying to emphasize how much of an inexact science these rating systems are, I would tend to agree. How do you differentiate between the 45th and 75th rated player? The rating, in that case, really doesn't matter. It is all about the system that you are running.
 

Serious question because I don't know the answer and am curious  ...

Whenever we recruit a guy, lots of folks who sound like they know what they're talking about say something like, "Even if he's not in the top 100 now, he will be by midway through next season." How do you know this? Do guys ever go from, say, #52 to #92 (without getting hurt)? Has a guy ever been labeled a 4-star only to be downgraded to 3-star six months later?

I am just not enough of a "recruit-nik" to know these things.

Thanks.

[keefe]

Not sure if this is directed at me but I can assure you that I have never posted on this board until recently. I chose the Black Swan name because as a kid I thought that Lackey was the scariest dude I had ever seen and despite being in a Notre Dame house, I did like watching MU.

What the hell! So, you're not Bob Lackey?

[Black Swan]

My concerns: 1. He is not athletic 2. Plays against poor high school competition.  3. Doesn't pass the eye test ( I seen him play in person). Im not impressed

Lets look at this one by one....1. While I agree that Matt is not an explosive player he does run the floor well and shows very good hand-eye skill. He finishes around the basket with both hands and seems to understand the game at a high level. His shooting will also be a plus. I don't know if you have noticed but not everyone is Shawn Kemp...2. This one shows you are clueless. If Heldt plays against poor high school competition what do you have to say about Stone and Ellenson? The FVA may not be as tough as it was during the stretch of Secker, Wade, Dieners and Tigert and Butch but it is still one of the top 2 or 3 conferences in the state...3. I would agree with you if you are basing this on his Soph year but as he has matured he is getting better and better. Let me tell you about the eye test...I watched Frank Kaminsky score 5 points against a Wisc HS team that had a 6' 1" post player. I watched Butch score 5 points against a HS team that had a 6'3" post player. I would suggest that you take another look at Heldt. Will he be a star? I won't go there but he is a very nice get that has a chance to be a major contributor at the High D1 level.

[Black Swan]

What the hell! So, you're not Bob Lackey?

If I was I would be coming back from the grave and putting a beat down on a few posters...Ha!

[4everwarriors]

Not sure if this is directed at me but I can assure you that I have never posted on this board until recently. I chose the Black Swan name because as a kid I thought that Lackey was the scariest dude I had ever seen and despite being in a Notre Dame house, I did like watching MU.

Y'all ever seen Maurice Lucas?

[Lennys Tap]

Serious question because I don't know the answer and am curious  ...

Whenever we recruit a guy, lots of folks who sound like they know what they're talking about say something like, "Even if he's not in the top 100 now, he will be by midway through next season." How do you know this? Do guys ever go from, say, #52 to #92 (without getting hurt)? Has a guy ever been labeled a 4-star only to be downgraded to 3-star six months later?

I am just not enough of a "recruit-nik" to know these things.

Thanks.

Of course. Guys move up, guys move down. there's only 100 slots in the top 100. If a guy has shown particularly well on the AAU trail between ranking periods people will surmise (usually correctly) that he will move up in the next rankings. If he's played poorly or was injured or didn't play for some reason he goes down. We have some people (most notably Jay Bee) who know what's happening on the AAU circuit.

[keefe]

If I was I would be coming back from the grave and putting a beat down on a few posters...

This would not pose a problem for the Bob Lackey I knew. People fell over themselves concerning the alleged toughness of Trevor Mbakwe. He had nothing whatsoever on the Black Swan. Nothing.

[bilsu]

There are very few athletic 6-10 players. Defense is a skill that can be taught. It is mostly being in good postion and blocking out for rebounds.

[Black Swan]

Y'all ever seen Maurice Lucas?

No. But Dean The Dream doesn't look great.

[keefe]

there's only 100 slots in the top 100.

You sure about this math, Lenny?