Since Buzz signing last week a number of things have occured lets first put them down on paper
-Nick Williams left
-Fulce and Otule recommit
-Scott Christopherson transfers
-Butler signed
-Erik Williams confirms Verbal Agreement
-Mbakwe recommits to MU
Wow thats a mouth full
So looking at the entire picture of it all - and hoping that is all the drama for a while - it is easy to say we could have been alot worse off.
When MU signed Buzz last week i groaned and thought this may be the end of MU as a top 25 program for the next few years. After seeing everything pan out I would like to get a early bird special on the Buzz Williams band wagon.
First the ugly. I won't pretend losing Williams and Taylor didn't hurt because they did. But honestly putting it in perspective they were our top two commits of a rather weak recruiting class. After all they are both three stars in most people's eyes. I really saw Nick as a good pick for the team but Taylor seems to me to be the product of a really good team. Now while both of these losses hurt I think Buzz did a few other things to patch up the open wound left by Tanning Crean.
First Buzz got recommits from Fulce and Otule. Honestly if i had my pick between these two and the other two we all know which i am choosing but to get back two is a decent job by Buzz.
Another good move was releasing Scott C. He never appeared confident in the Big East or anyone for that matter and he really just took up a spot on the team.
Next the Butler signing. He appears to be a fairly good player by the looks of things and I think the role he could play off the bench that disrupts people is the big three point shooter. Last year we desperately needed a sniper down the stretch and both Cube and Fitz choked last year leaving us up a creak without a paddle. Hopefully Butler can help fill that void.
Although recommiting Erik Williams seems trivial I believe it sets a precendent for all those looking at MU. Erik's stock is rising with Scout now ranking him as the #7 SF in the country and a four star prospect. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.
Lastly, getting Mbakwe back is huge. He helps to stregnthen a really weak front court. I really believed he was as good as gone so you may as well consider him a Junior college transfer considering we havent seen him play at all yet. For Buzz to get Mbakwe back after Tanning Cream hanged him out to dry is a good get. Lets not forget this kid's potential, he was a four star after all.
So looking at the picture as a whole i think we ended up much better than i originally thought. We got rid of someone who had to go, brought back a potential key player that seemed out of here, and stopped the bleeding by getting two recruits back, bringing in a new one, and recommiting one for the future. All in all, while i wish we could have kept one of the two, Buzz did a decent job at preserving our future.
