Ray Lee close to committing?

[mug644]

Having made the comparison between Dunn climbing rapidly and Roseboro "soaring" I take all the good points and pull back completely on it.

Doesn't change my hesitation with such a quick climber (though the Wade example most certainly should convince me), perhaps simply because I think these things are better looked at with a long-term perspective.

It also reiterates what disaster the Roseboro signing was. And reaffirms was a good choice all the way around it was to have him leave before even getting into his freshman year.

[bilsu]

I think that where the coaches made the mistake and Roseboro was his work ethic. They knew he was a project. A 6'10" player who had an outside shot. However, when he got here he did not show he had the dedication to work as hard as Buzz wants and they both quickly realized it was a bad fit. I think Yous also did not want to work as hard. That is what happens when you take projects. The coaches look at potential and that potential only has a chance to be reached if the player works hard. Both Otule and Gardner are hard workers, if they were not they would of flamed out also.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

That's Dunn, not Lee. And Dunn is different from Roseboro in my opinion because he's been doing it against all the best. The general consensus is that he's the best point guard in the class. And he has scoring chops to boot. He's been in Andre Drummond's shadow, which is why he wasn't as highly rated. But since he's realized a bit how good he actually is, he's taken off. Totally different than the Beast.

He was Connecticut State Player of the Year and lead his HS team to the state championship.  Here's an article from thi spast April.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/04/17/sports/high_school/doc4dab533461b0d756371457.txt

[MUMac]

Doesn't change my hesitation with such a quick climber (though the Wade example most certainly should convince me), perhaps simply because I think these things are better looked at with a long-term perspective.

Without investigating, I would suspect that the percentages are on your side of that argument.  The difference for me with Dunn is that I know MU was very high on him and wanted either York or Dunn prior to Dunn's rising up the charts.  Otherwise, if we were new to the game, I would have the same gut feeling that you stated.

[Earl Tatum]

Like Boone said earlier, Get a good big, don't want this to be an ongoing problem.
Hope Ray Lee is as good as Butch Lee.

[mug644]

I think that where the coaches made the mistake and Roseboro was his work ethic. They knew he was a project. A 6'10" player who had an outside shot. However, when he got here he did not show he had the dedication to work as hard as Buzz wants and they both quickly realized it was a bad fit. I think Yous also did not want to work as hard. That is what happens when you take projects. The coaches look at potential and that potential only has a chance to be reached if the player works hard. Both Otule and Gardner are hard workers, if they were not they would of flamed out also.

Very insightful comment, and related to the recent thread on Goodman's article on the 2002 McD's class. Guys that are not as good naturally as others MUST have the internal drive to work hard and improve. It is tougher for highly ranked guys to find that internal motivation, hence too many flameouts.

Back to this thread (though wasn't it originally about Ray Lee?!), maybe Dunn has and had demonstrated that work ethic, justifying a jump in his rankings. Let's hope so, and hope that Buzz can land him...and that his higher ranking doesn't diminish his commitment to hard work and improvement.

[bilsu]

MU still has the same problem it had under Crean. Crean and Buzz both identify players they see have great potential and are the first after them.
Dunn and McGary have both blown up. McGary who oringinally had great interest in MU is no longer considering MU as the elite programs are now afer him. Dunn does not have the elites after him, but his suiters are rising and that puts MU at risk of losing a player they felt they had a great shot at.

[oldwarrior81]

ESPN's updated rankings have Dunn as the #2 PG in the class.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/110410/kris-dunn

[GGGG]

MU still has the same problem it had under Crean. Crean and Buzz both identify players they see have great potential and are the first after them.

It seems like Buzz has better back up plans however.

[MUMac]

It seems like Buzz has better back up plans however.

Agreed.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Dwyane Wade "exploded" in Bob Gibbon's rankings (unranked to #55 with a bullet) and he worked out ok. Roseboro never really soared up the rankings. He had a couple of good showings in AAU tourneys and was 6'9'', but never sniffed the top 100.

the Beast dominated J may in a tournament, and buzz offered.

[avid1010]

the Beast dominated J may in a tournament, and buzz offered.

and both turned out to issues with their head.  i think both of those players could have been solid contributers at mu had they worked hard and done what buzz asked of them.  the toughest part of buzz's recruiting has to be trying to figure out what kids are going to be hard workers and what kids aren't mentally strong enough to make it.