Package recruiting?

[jesmu84]

Is this the next trend? Top tier recruits agreeing to play together at a single university?

http://zagsblog.com/articles/winslow-talks-uk-offer-package-deal-with-jones-and-okafor/

If so, is it good? bad?

I don't have nearly the expertise about recruiting like others on this board, so i'll defer to them. I just hadn't really heard about this before.

(could it be a trickle-down of the Heat trio joining forces?)

[Jay Bee]

No. Kids love to talk about doing it, seldom do. Tyus & Jahlil may wind up being an exception. Usually it's just talk to be largely ignored.

ZFB focuses on it though.

[Brewtown Andy]

I've heard story after story about kids who were friends in HS rooming together freshman year in college and then ending up hating each other.

Package recruiting might not be the best idea.

[We R Final Four]

See the Fab Five.

[seakm4]

See the Fab Five.

The fab five weren't a package deal.  They signed one after the other. (30/30 is pretty interesting if you haven't seen it)

This is more out of they Baylor page of signing Deuce Bello so they could get Quincy Miller.

It's becoming a trend, but not one that will be used a great amount.

I'm sure these guys become close through AAU tourneys, but IMO I don't believe that this will be a NBA situation where 3, or possibly 4  guys are go to the school and tell the school we're only going to your school if you take and start all of us next year.

[Sunbelt15]

I have no problem with it. The goal is tournament play and championships. Two or three stars together are better than one. Coaches are going to have to step up their recruiting process.

[hoops12]

Buzz has created a specific culture at Marquette within the basketball program. Most coaches do! If players like the culture, the team's style of play, the relationship with the coach, and ultimately the university they will come. If coaches get too caught up in package deals to get better players, they may soon lose that culture, and someone might be running the program other than the head coach. It can work, but I don't know if I would want to go that route. It should come down to each player's gut feeling on what is in the best interest for them and their family.

[Aughnanure]

No. Kids love to talk about doing it, seldom do. Tyus & Jahlil may wind up being an exception. Usually it's just talk to be largely ignored.

ZFB focuses on it though.

Goodman wrote an article about this couple weeks ago, basically saying that these statements happen every year or two by a few big-name recruits but it just never ends up being practical.

That being said, his article went on to say he thinks this deal could really be the exception.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/jeff-goodman/post/_/id/250/who-will-get-the-ultimate-package-deal

[Pakuni]

Will Gates and Amal McCaskill.

[jficke13]

If I recall Cordell Henry, Quentin Richardson, and some dude, all wanted to play basketball together. Henry comitted to MU. Richardson told us that he'd commit if that third dude got a scholarship. We didn't give him one, so Richardson and the other dude went to DePaul.

[Pakuni]

If I recall Cordell Henry, Quentin Richardson, and some dude, all wanted to play basketball together. Henry comitted to MU. Richardson told us that he'd commit if that third dude got a scholarship. We didn't give him one, so Richardson and the other dude went to DePaul.

I think the third member of that trifecta may have been Dennis Gates, who ended up at Cal, but later coached briefly at Marquette.

[ResidentBrown]

Didn't we lose out on Tarik Black because of some package deal?

[4everwarriors]

Mark Aguirre and Teddy Grubbs

[Coleman]

Not a "package deal" per se, but isn't this the mentality on which we are banking our hopes of signing Diamond Stone? Duane Wilson might be able to influence him over here?

I don't think package deals like the one UK is contemplating are all that common. But recruits do influence their high school teammates one way or another. Wes Matthews probably had some small role in Vander Blue winding up at MU.

[willie warrior]

Will Gates and Amal McCaskill.

Yeah and those guys were huge difference makers.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Didn't we lose out on Tarik Black because of some package deal?

yes, tarik and a wad of cash.

[Eldon]

The fab five weren't a package deal.  They signed one after the other. (30/30 is pretty interesting if you haven't seen it)

This is more out of they Baylor page of signing Deuce Bello so they could get Quincy Miller.

It's becoming a trend, but not one that will be used a great amount.

I'm sure these guys become close through AAU tourneys, but IMO I don't believe that this will be a NBA situation where 3, or possibly 4  guys are go to the school and tell the school we're only going to your school if you take and start all of us next year.

Did we watch the same special on the Fab Five?  They state explicitly that they made a concerted effort to all get together and play at Michigan (if I recall correctly, it was Howard and King).  That's why Webber wore #4 and Rose #5--Webber was the 4th to join the Fab Five and Rose was the 5th

[We R Final Four]

+1--that's what I've thought as well, even prior to the 30 for 30.

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

Yeah and those guys were huge difference makers.

McCaskill was a tremendous defensive center.  If the next center that Buzz recruits is the second coming of Amal, I would be very pleased.

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

Did we watch the same special on the Fab Five?  They state explicitly that they made a concerted effort to all get together and play at Michigan (if I recall correctly, it was Howard and King).  That's why Webber wore #4 and Rose #5--Webber was the 4th to join the Fab Five and Rose was the 5th

I don't think that is a "package deal."  A package deal is where the two players decide beforehand that they are going to the same place and then seek out that school.  In the Fab Five case, Juwan Howard committed first and then helped to recruit the rest of them to come.  The five of them didn't band together to seek out a school and then choose Michigan en masse. 

[Pakuni]

From the horse's mouth:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neumann/110311_fab_five_documentary&sportCat=ncb

Were Chris Webber and Jalen Rose definitely going to be a package deal for some college?

Rose: As far as me and Chris being a package deal, we thought we were going to go to the same high school. But his parents and my mother weren't having it. My mother wanted me to go to Southwestern and play for Perry. [Chris] had a great opportunity to go to Country Day and play out there. So it just really came full circle, the opportunity to go to Michigan. But he took visits I didn't take, like he went to Duke. I took a visit to UNLV. So he had other visits that he wanted to check out. I did also. And it just ended up that [Michigan] was the best decision for both of us. These three guys [Juwan, Jimmy and Ray] were already in tow, so they were recruiting us. We knew we had the opportunity to play with them. A lot of people don't know that when we were at the McDonald's [All-America] Game, we fixed it so we could share rooms. ... We talked about [playing together in college] the entire time. We recruited each other as much as we were recruited. And the first time we met on campus, we played basketball ...

[The Lens]

I think the third member of that trifecta may have been Dennis Gates, who ended up at Cal, but later coached briefly at Marquette.

If Q came to MU Gates probably would have followed.  I have heard it came down to MU & Kansas and KU started to look good so Gates took the Cal offer (bird in hand).  Then last minute something "funny" happened and Q ended up at DePaul.

Those 3 were on Wardle's AAU team.  They were up here all the time playing with MU guys.

[77ncaachamps]

Jeronne and Tim