Best recruit to get away from us

[MU82]

Let's see ... Scheyer, who mostly had played shooting guard his entire high school and college career, turned himself into one of the nation's most efficient point guards while at Duke. He was instrumental in Duke's run to the 2010 national title and graduated with a history degree.

Yep. Thank goodness Marquette didn't get stuck with a moron like that!

[drewm88]

Jamil Wilson. Call me crazy, but he could have filled in nicely when Otule and Gardner went down this season. Doesn't have the bulk, but I think we could have had a shot as an even faster team than we were with our top 2 C's.

[Dawson Rental]

John Shurna went to Glenbard West in west suburban Glen Ellyn. GW is in the West Suburban Conference so he played against the Provisos and Oak Park-River Forest and Iman Shumpert. Shurna did very, very well against top high school competition. He was tall, athletic, could shoot. He is from a good family and is a good student and a good kid. Marquette would have been very fortunate to have him. He was a good recruit who has a chance of getting drafted in June.

Story goes that Shurna was turned off on an MU recruiting trip, but was originally interested. That's just the way the story was told to me.

I'm not surprised that he was turned off on his recruiting trip because MU had little to no interest, and the recruiting trip was undoubtedly unofficial.  Shurna had a great career at Northwestern, and he has a decent chance to get drafted, and he would have been a good get for MU, but that's not how it appeared at the time.  

Let's not rewrite his HS history.  It appears that his only scholarship offer came from Northwestern.  His other suitors were Davidson, Penn State, Xavier, and Washington State none of whom got around to offering a scholarship.  He did commit to Northwestern in May of his junior year, so that kept him off the market during the summer recruiting period, but he probably realized that Northwestern was the only school for whom he wasn't a backup plan.  He was "honorable mention" all-state his junior and senior years, never making the 15 player Illinois all-state team.  Glenbard West, not exactly a basketball powerhouse, got to a Class AA supersectional with John his junior year for the first time since 1938.  Although ESPN.com ranked Shurna as the 53rd best high school basketball power forward in the national class of 2008, he was not among the ranked players by state or position according to either Rivals.com, Scout.com or ESPN.  His ESPN rating was 82.

[Dawson Rental]

LeDaryl Billingsley...

...kidding. But when I was at MU and he ditched us for Tulane, it was huge at the time.

I googled him and saw I LinkedIn that he works in HR for City Colleges of Chicago.

I remember he made a verbal commitment the same year as Brian Wardle, but come November, he wouldn't sign the LOI, although he continued to say that he was coming to MU.  Story was that his step-dad was pushing Marquette so hard that it turned him off on the school.

[MUMac]

Ricky Olsen...was thinking about him last night. Rick thought he had him and was big letdown for him

Ricky told me the story a few years back.  He had given Rick a commitment and asked that he not announce it yet.  He called back and asked him to wait the weekend.  While in madison over the weekend, he started getting pulled by everyone - from Andy North to his grandma.  His parents wanted him to go to MU, but in the end, he couldn't outlast the pressure.  He said the toughest call he ever made was to Rick.  Majerus said to him as soon as he asked for extra time he knew he lost him. 

While Ricky had a nice career at Madison, he could have had a better career and visibility at MU. 

[Mardukas]

Ricky told me the story a few years back.  He had given Rick a commitment and asked that he not announce it yet.  He called back and asked him to wait the weekend.  While in madison over the weekend, he started getting pulled by everyone - from Andy North to his grandma.  His parents wanted him to go to MU, but in the end, he couldn't outlast the pressure.  He said the toughest call he ever made was to Rick.  Majerus said to him as soon as he asked for extra time he knew he lost him. 

While Ricky had a nice career at Madison, he could have had a better career and visibility at MU. 

Andy North?

[Hards Alumni]

Jamil Wilson. Call me crazy, but he could have filled in nicely when Otule and Gardner went down this season. Doesn't have the bulk, but I think we could have had a shot as an even faster team than we were with our top 2 C's.

Wot?

[Dawson Rental]

Wot?

drewm88 just got back from a year long trip to the jungles of Borneo.

[mu-rara]

Andy North?

Yuuuuge Badger sports backer.  Sits right behind BoDiddly during games.

[🏀]

Andy North?

Two-time US Open champion Andy North.

[MUMac]

Yuuuuge Badger sports backer.  Sits right behind BoDiddly during games.

And is frequently interviewed on Badger football games, huge booster and freqeuntly "bumps" into recruits.

[cheebs09]

Also, pretty sure he does radio for the basketball team, at least he did to start out this season.

[warthog-driver]

And is frequently interviewed on Badger football games, huge booster and freqeuntly "bumps" into recruits.

How many recruits care about Andy North?

I can hear Bo, "Let's close this now. Unleash Andy North!"

[BCHoopster]

Andy, donated the basketball floor to UW, see him at every away game, great supporter to the basketball program.  Andy was a great athlete, All-State basketball player, won 2 majors in golf, pretty good!

[warthog-driver]

Andy, donated the basketball floor to UW, see him at every away game, great supporter to the basketball program.  Andy was a great athlete, All-State basketball player, won 2 majors in golf, pretty good!

I sure he is a stellar man but the question is how many recruits give a sh1t about Andy North? I'll bet 99.9999% would ask, "Who?" North is an old retired PGA Tour pro who played HS BB more than 50 years ago. I cannot see him as a weapon in the recruiting wars.

[cheebs09]

He's a mainstay on the ESPN golf coverage. I'm 23 and the first time I heard of him was watching on ESPN. With the Tiger-factor, I wouldn't be shocked if some recruits had at least a passing interest in golf, and many times it was within Sportscenter, so not hard to figure that recruits would know who Andy North is.

[BCHoopster]

I sure he is a stellar man but the question is how many recruits give a sh1t about Andy North? I'll bet 99.9999% would ask, "Who?" North is an old retired PGA Tour pro who played HS BB more than 50 years ago. I cannot see him as a weapon in the recruiting wars.

Does not mean a thing for recruiting, nor do kids who want to play a uptempo game, Uthoff probably needed to go up and down.  I do have one question who has seen Uthoff and Juan Anderson, both top 100 kids, whom was better?  Juan does not impress me at all playing the 4, out of position and all I saw a kid who works hard once on the floor, but all he did offensively was make a lay-up once in awhile.  Can somebody compare both?

[Mardukas]

Two-time US Open champion Andy North.

I know who Andy North is. He's about as irrelevant has a two time major winner can be. Just wondering why a basketball recruit would care what Andy North says. Seriously, would somebody go to Marquette if Lee Janzen was one of our supporters? Janzen had a better career than North!

[warthog-driver]

I know who Andy North is. He's about as irrelevant has a two time major winner can be. Just wondering why a basketball recruit would care what Andy North says. Seriously, would somebody go to Marquette if Lee Janzen was one of our supporters? Janzen had a better career than North!

Which is a more compelling greeting?

"Hi, I'm Andy North. Welcome to the Kohl Center. I paid for this floor."

or

"Hey, I'm Dick Strong and this is my hardwood."

[Avenue Commons]

Its because I actually know the kid. My dad coached against him in High school and I knew one of his sisters friends. She said he was not intelligent at all. Being from Northbrook just means you have money.

Did his sister's friend also tell you she saw Ferris pass out in the 31 flavors last night?

[warthog-driver]

I played baseball against Nimphius and got to know him through beer parties on the beach at Grant Park (we used to roll those quarterbarrels down the cliff; surprised nobody was killed doing that.)He said Majerus was on him in a big way. Kurt was a major stoner and often played ball after a couple numbers. I recall him saying he was going to play at ASU for three reasons: Righteous Poon, Ganja, and Climate. In retrospect I guess I really cannpot argue with that logic.

[Dawson Rental]

I know who Andy North is. He's about as irrelevant has a two time major winner can be. Just wondering why a basketball recruit would care what Andy North says. Seriously, would somebody go to Marquette if Lee Janzen was one of our supporters? Janzen had a better career than North!

Remember we are talking, what, 25 years ago.

[warthog-driver]

He's a mainstay on the ESPN golf coverage. I'm 23 and the first time I heard of him was watching on ESPN. With the Tiger-factor, I wouldn't be shocked if some recruits had at least a passing interest in golf, and many times it was within Sportscenter, so not hard to figure that recruits would know who Andy North is.

I would submit, Mr Woods' influence not withstanding, that the Golf Channel targets a very different demographic than the readership of Slam.

I work in Corporate Strategy at T-Mobile and review the demographic profiles of the various media all the time. We spend more than a $B a year on Above the Line. Given our skew towards young, urban, ethnic we spend more on Slam, NBA, etc...than we ever will on The Atlantic Monthly or Golf Digest. Just sayin

[Mardukas]

I actually like Andy North, too! I think he's a good announcer...for golf!

[MUMac]

I sure he is a stellar man but the question is how many recruits give a sh1t about Andy North? I'll bet 99.9999% would ask, "Who?" North is an old retired PGA Tour pro who played HS BB more than 50 years ago. I cannot see him as a weapon in the recruiting wars.

What does 50 years ago have to do with Ricky Olson?  He played 30 years ago, in the same era that Andy North had his golfing success.  I mentioned Andy North, though, for a reason.  Not one based on speculation or conjecture either.  You don't think he was a factor, fine.  Ignorance is bliss, I guess.