Keaton Miles

[MarkCharles]

Not sure if he has any serious interest in us. He also has Wichita State on his list. (??) WVU thinks he is their's.

"Dallas (Lincoln) small forward Keaton Miles will announce his college decision on Wednesday afternoon, ESPN.com's National Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi has confirmed.

The 6-foot-6, 4-star Miles will choose between Penn State, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Houston, West Virginia, Arkansas, SMU and Marquette. He is expected to announce at 4 pm CDT/5 pm EDT."

[NersEllenson]

Don't think we've been involved with him for awhile..

[MarkCharles]

Picked WVU. They have a huge class coming in, 5 fourstars and a real sleeper in relatively unknown center Pat Forsythe. Huggins is really cashing in on their Final 4.

The positive spin on this is in regards to Mike Shaw. Their class is now full with 6 commits. Unless they plan on oversigning, I would say they are likely not in the running for Shaw.

[nyg]

WVU, St. Johns and Louisville are loading it up. 

[willie warrior]

WVU, St. Johns and Louisville are loading it up. 

All the more reason we need to be also.

[muarmy81]

Agreed.
This has got to help us with regards to Shaw...what's Illinois' situation with scholarships and incoming big men?

[4everwarriors]

Picked WVU. They have a huge class coming in, 5 fourstars and a real sleeper in relatively unknown center Pat Forsythe. Huggins is really cashing in on their Final 4.

The positive spin on this is in regards to Mike Shaw. Their class is now full with 6 commits. Unless they plan on oversigning, I would say they are likely not in the running for Shaw.

All good coaches cash in after their Final 4.......ah, then there was Crean.

[SalsaMan]

All good coaches cash in after their Final 4.......ah, then there was Crean.

That man was only interested in cashing in for himself.

[MarkCharles]

Agreed.
This has got to help us with regards to Shaw...what's Illinois' situation with scholarships and incoming big men?

Illinois has plenty of room for a couple more commits. One big man signed so far. They will be our toughest competition for Shaw, IMO

[Golden Avalanche]

All good coaches cash in after their Final 4.......ah, then there was Crean.

I thought the kids Crean recruited after the Final Four made the transition to the Big East relatively smooth for Marquette. Considering the excuses flying around this summer regarding how tough it is to recruit to a school like Marquette, that may be the best "cash-in" we could get.

[Canadian Dimes]

you must not remember the 2 or 3 classes that followed the Final 4....mid-major at best.

[ChicosBailBonds]

you must not remember the 2 or 3 classes that followed the Final 4....mid-major at best.

Moving up I see....not long ago they were dubbed "not DI talent". 

[ChicosBailBonds]

I thought the kids Crean recruited after the Final Four made the transition to the Big East relatively smooth for Marquette. Considering the excuses flying around this summer regarding how tough it is to recruit to a school like Marquette, that may be the best "cash-in" we could get.

A lot of that is because every expert in the land and every coach recruiting against us thought TC was leaving after the Final Four.  That didn't make things any easier.

[NotAnAlum]

A lot of that is because every expert in the land and every coach recruiting against us thought TC was leaving after the Final Four.  That didn't make things any easier.

Hard to beleive knowing how hard TC tied to discourage that speculation

[SalsaMan]

A lot of that is because every expert in the land and every coach recruiting against us thought TC was leaving after the Final Four.  That didn't make things any easier.

Gee, I wonder where that rumor came from??

[StillAWarrior]

you must not remember the 2 or 3 classes that followed the Final 4....mid-major at best.

The first class that followed the final four (03-04) season typically would not reflect the final four because most of the class was in place already.  I'll grant that the next class wasn't very good and didn't seem to capitalize on the final four success.  But the next two classes rewrote a lot of Marquette's record books and were very competitive in the Big East.  So, which is it?  Did Crean's recruiting suck after the final four?  Or was he an amazing coach that got a lot out of those "2 or 3" classes that were "mid-major at best?"

[TallTitan34]

you must not remember the 2 or 3 classes that followed the Final 4....mid-major at best.

I don't know if I'd call the three amigos mid-major at best....

[StillAWarrior]

I don't know if I'd call the three amigos mid-major at best....

He's being selective and he'll almost certainly say that is 2 or 3 is actually just two.  He's counting 03-04 (which you would not necessarily expect to reflect a March run to the final four) and 04-05 which admittedly wasn't very good (Ooze, Amo, Fitz transfer).  That third class was a great recruiting class, and Lazar came the next year.

I think it's fair to say Crean screwed the pooch and failed to capitalize on the final four on the 04-05 class which is when you'd expect to see a real benefit (like this year with WVU).  But to suggest that the next "2 or 3" classes after the FF were "mid-major" talent is revisionist history.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Gee, I wonder where that rumor came from??

Back at that time of his career, it came from the press and was conventional wisdom.  Take little old Marquette to the Final Four...where are you going next?

Go back and read the Tom Izzo comments from 2003 where he says he had personal conversations with TC and he wants to stay at MU because we gave him his first coaching gig.  He also comments about some of the other job opportunities that TC was saying no to.  Now, was Izzo lying?


FROM ESPN

At Marquette ... Tom Crean was lying low after signing his contract extension, apparently not interested in seeing if Illinois was interested in his services. But a few details are emerging as to why he took the deal. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said it was hard for Crean to turn down a chance to be secure financially from a school that had taken care of him. The new Al McGuire center, set to open in the fall and the love fest that a Final Four can deliver were too hard to ignore. "The AD and the school had been very fair to him," Izzo said. "All of those were big factors."



TC started leveraging the "I might go" game about a year later, but not in 2003.

So there's your answer if you must know.

[jmayer1]

Back at that time of his career, it came from the press and was conventional wisdom.  Take little old Marquette to the Final Four...where are you going next?

Go back and read the Tom Izzo comments from 2003 where he says he had personal conversations with TC and he wants to stay at MU because we gave him his first coaching gig.  He also comments about some of the other job opportunities that TC was saying no to.  Now, was Izzo lying?


FROM ESPN

At Marquette ... Tom Crean was lying low after signing his contract extension, apparently not interested in seeing if Illinois was interested in his services. But a few details are emerging as to why he took the deal. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said it was hard for Crean to turn down a chance to be secure financially from a school that had taken care of him. The new Al McGuire center, set to open in the fall and the love fest that a Final Four can deliver were too hard to ignore. "The AD and the school had been very fair to him," Izzo said. "All of those were big factors."



TC started leveraging the "I might go" game about a year later, but not in 2003.

So there's your answer if you must know.

I have some land I'd like to sell you.  TC definitely was more than interested in the Illinois job and probably would have taken it if the interest was mutual and they would meet what MU was willing to cough up.

[Canadian Dimes]

my 2 or 3 referred to the fact that Cream was not done recruting after the final 4.  His final four momentum allowed him to cash in on Karon bradley after the Final 4.  Hit one out of the park on that.

His next two full classes consisted of 7 recruits.  That again were mid major at best and yes possibly not even D1 worthy.  In fact abyssmal to dredful considering the Al was up and running, the Final 4 etc.  Of the 7 recruits Cream signed 1 top 100 player in Dameon MAson.  Four of the 7 transfered and of the 3 that did not 2 were Jucos.

Read the boards today...could you possibly imagine the angst if Buzz signed 7 kids in 2 years of which 1 was atop 100 kid!!??  And the classes consisted of guys like Brandon Bell, Mike Kinsella, etc. etc.

Those two classes were freaking terrible. indescribebly terrible.  then throw in the fact that we had the Al, DWade, and the Final Four.  Only a terrible recruiter could turn in those two stinkers.    

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

my 2 or 3 referred to the fact that Cream was not done recruting after the final 4.  His final four momentum allowed him to cash in on Karon bradley after the Final 4.  Hit one out of the park ont hat.
 

Wait, didn't Karon Bradley play on the final 4 team?

[Golden Avalanche]

Wait, didn't Karon Bradley play on the final 4 team?

Yes.

[reinko]

Facts are overrated in world of MR.HAYWARRRerp...I mean Canadien Dimes.

[Canadian Dimes]

i may be wrong i thought he signed someone in the spring after the final four.  completely regardless tho his next two classes were freaking terrible and led to two completely pathetic years.

Wonder if Buzz does what cream did in years 5 and 6 of his tenure how people would feel.  Luckily we wont have to worry about it.  Buzz understands great players make coaches great, Others write books about how great of coaches they are...and then go sign classes like his last two at indiana.  Or like 7 of his 9 at MU.