Recruiting as of 5/15/25

[onepost]

Ever since Big Daddy got chased out of here because of dick-measuring "source" posters, this thread has really tanked.  Damn shame.
For the love of God, please stop quoting/engaging in conversation with Herman Cain and muguru.  None of us want to read their crap and it completely derails what we actually want to talk about.

It seems like Osa is ours to lose.  Getting one of Davis or Hoggard would be awesome, both would be a coup.
And I still think we land a surprise guy in either Garcia or Suggs, just a gut feeling.

[shoothoops]

I think what you are failing to recognize is that Wright came to Villanova with head coaching experience. Wojo had none when he came to MU. Wojo should be compared to O'Neal and Crean. Both of them started with MU being their first head coaching job. I think Crean had 4 NCAA wins (0-0-0-4-0) and O'Neal had 2 at 5 years (0-0-0-0-2). Of course 2 wins was enough for O'Neal to jump ship. Maybe Wojo would also of left if he won 2 NCAA games two years ago.

But I didn't initiate the comparison. Unfortunately perhaps for Wojo is he will be compared to past MU coaches as well as other programs that have had either comparable success, and/or expectations. I root for Marquette. My expectations in my opinion are fair, realistic. It isn't my fault Marquette hired someone without head coaching experience. Some respond poorly to that, some respond well, and some in the middle. It is fair to say Wojo is in the middle thus far.

I don't mind the idea of your comparisons. However, it's still apples to oranges because Marquette did not have a top 10 hoops budget when Kevin O'Neill was hired. They didn't have the chartered flights. They aren't playing in the same venue. They didn't have the practice facilities etc.. You literally had a hoops team in the back of a small low ceiling cramped basement sharing weight room time with several other sports teams at the same time. 

Buzz was absent from your list. So one year at New Orleans is more experience than being an assistant at Duke for a decade and a half? One year at New Orleans isn't all that much.

Tom Crean made two NCAA's in his first 5 seasons, same as Wojo. ...with one big, huge, difference...one of those was a Final Four team in his 4th season.

My expectations are realistic in my opinion: Make NCAA's almost annually, make the 2nd weekend every few years or so, make a deeper run once every longer while, compete for regular season league titles, top tier much of the time and winning it once in a while, be competitive against rivals and big game opponents, be competitive in conference tourney.

Wojo has had a meh 2 out of 5 NCAA's not too different than some others. Zero NCAA wins and blow out losses in both games It isn't the same Big East level overall as it was a few years back with some different programs. If he can now establish annual to almost annual NCAA's, great, knock that one off of the checklist. If MU can win some NCAA games, great, knock that off of the checklist. And so on...

It's year six, not year one or even five. What I am expecting to see, is turning the corner with a little bit better season results with more consistency. I don't believe it is too much to ask. I hope he can do it. I'm not going to say he is or isn't going to do it. But results will be more highly scrutinized moving forward until the success level is higher, more frequent, where having a down season is more forgiving.

[MuMark]

https://twitter.com/painttouches/status/1164175907084558338?s=21

[MuMark]

A few months ago RJ Davis wasn't in the top 150...Wojo offered him anyway.......now he's in be top 40 on ESPN.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/view/espnu100/sort/rank/class/2020

[4everwarriors]

Shirley ur knot creditin' Woj four his improved rankin', orr are ya, hey?

[Uncle Rico]

In past 24 hours, Hoggard was predicted to MSU and Davis was predicted to Pittsburgh by multiple reporters on 247.

Hoggard has been penciled in to Sparty for awhile.  Feel like he's a long shot but would be quite a steal by the staff if they did get him.

FWIW on the Davis "cristal bowels", Dain Ervin had Marquette a month ago, switched to UCLA and then to Pitt after he announced his visit schedule.  Classic case of JB's problem with it.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Shirley ur knot creditin' Woj four his improved rankin', orr are ya, hey?

Know, eye think dat hee meant Wojo kan spott talint, hey.

[The Sultan]

Know, eye think dat hee meant Wojo kan spott talint, hey.

Or that talent is judged by the coaches who are following and offering, and not by the ratings services having a complete understanding of how to judge one player versus another.

I'm not saying the rating services are crap - they clearly have a decent understanding of a top 20 player versus a top 200 player.  But I'm pretty sure a great deal of their "analytics" is based upon which coaches are sitting in the gym.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Or that talent is judged by the coaches who are following and offering, and not by the ratings services having a complete understanding of how to judge one player versus another.

I'm not saying the rating services are crap - they clearly have a decent understanding of a top 20 player versus a top 200 player.  But I'm pretty sure a great deal of their "analytics" is based upon which coaches are sitting in the gym.

I think there's truth in both points.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Just be real and call things what they are..

[BCHoopster]

It will probably be a good year for grad transfers as there will be openings to play next year or regular transfers.  I do not want Wojo to
take to many secondary players if he can not close the deal on a few of these kids.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I always trust people who say "Trust me".

"A lot of people are saying..."

[jonny09]

Yes, because they got their coaching chops at smaller schools while Wojo didn't....something you want to ignore for some reason.  MU chose to go with an assistant, and in doing so you have to also except that they come in never running their own program and cutting their teeth for the first time at high D1.  It amazes me when people compare a coach like ours to Wright or others that were allowed to cut their teeth elsewhere, but then when someone actually does a real comparison to same coach now all of a sudden their early years are to be ignored.  Classic, and talk about bush league....that's exactly what you are doing. You are picking and choosing what part of Wright's resume you want to use and not allowing our current coach to have the same on the job training or years under his belt.  How convenient.

And yes, I am taking Few, K, Wright, Izzo, etc, etc words on the tournament as a crapshoot over yours, Lenny's or anyone else here....they have lived it....you haven' and you never will.

Let me check......nope...Still a terrible argument.  What else ya got?

[duanewade]

In past 24 hours, Hoggard was predicted to MSU and Davis was predicted to Pittsburgh by multiple reporters on 247.

Recruiting would be a lot easier if Wojo could promote his great coaching track record of Sweet 16 appearances like Buzz could.  Of course he can't do that as he's been below average thus far and was borderline horrendous in his first two years.  However in spite of this he was able to land Marcus Howard before the start of his third season and has recruited well since then (due in no small part to Stan Johnson of course).   

However all these kids above have scheduled official visits which is key in getting MU more than a fighting chance.  I'll argue that the Fiserv Forum will be the greatest closer Marquette has in this recruiting cycle.  Having access to the Fiserv, as one of the anchor tenants, to show recruits and their families at anytime is huge!  During the recruiting tour we get to show recruits and their families our own/permanent Blue and Gold draped/decorated locker and training room.  I'm sure they also play some videos on the scoreboard as well to give the full visual sales effect to simulate what the game atmosphere is like and to further widen eyes of recruits.  This is further backed up by a top 10 in gross attendance for the 2018-2019 season with at least four sellouts in this last season. 

Add this to the Al McGuire Center, the amount of staff support MU has (with Barb Kellaher and her daughter doing a great job), the commitment to academics/graduation with numbers to back it up, the convenience of everything where campus is a 15 to 20 minute walk to the Fiserv, Mitchell Airport being a short bus ride for away game travel, away game travel always on private/chartered planes that come back after the night of away games to minimize lost class time.  Further add this to our strong history of sending players to the NBA, our contract with Fox Sports 1, adding UConn to the Big East, etc., etc. 

All of the above is expensive but since we make $25MM in annual revenues we in turn spend more money on our men's basketball program than every Div 1 basketball program except Duke.  It's also no surprise that other schools like St. Thomas are looking at Marquette and saying we want in on the "party". 

Marquette is an enigma in that we are private/Jesuit school with 10,000 students yet run circles around Power 5 schools who can't compete with all our above spelled-out advantages.  The above is no secret to coaches either who overtly gush about Marquette when our head coaching vacancy is available like Ben Howland did before we opted for Wojo. 

So as long as we can get kids on campus we'll never be out of it.  Finally if Wojo can't cut it then we'll have a long line of good coaches lined up outside on Wisconsin Avenue to choose from. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yUH7_cBpwc

[MU82]

82, I know that at worst, "dribble" was a typo, as you are an esteemed former journalist....
However, I think you have purposely coined a new term to express disdain at basketball-related "drivel."
Genius. Is being forced to listen to two Scoopers spewing verbal diarrhea "double dribble"?

NDC, I'd love to claim credit for "dribble," but I've seen it used here before (either on purpose or via typo), and this was just my homage to that. Like you, I think it's a pretty cool thing to call "drivel" on a basketball fanboard.

Back on topic, I hope 247 is wrong about Davis going to Pitt. Sounds like the kind of player who would be a fine get for Wojo.

[Jockey]

"A lot of people are saying..."

Well done, sir.

[Skip Intro]

Back on topic, I hope 247 is wrong about Davis going to Pitt. Sounds like the kind of player who would be a fine get for Wojo.

Capel did an incredible job developing his freshman guards, particularly Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens.  Johnson was an under-the-radar 3 star, and McGowens barely cracked the top 100.  One (or both) of those guys could enter the draft this year, and I'm sure Pitt is selling that to Davis. 

Granted, we have a Markus-sized hole to fill next year, but it's hard to argue with what a PG may see in Pitt at this point. 

[muguru]

RJ moved up to #39 in the ESPN top 100.

[jonny09]

There's always Darlinstone Dubar.  🙄

[BM1090]

RJ moved up to #39 in the ESPN top 100.

Osa moved up to 56 on 247. Still don't want him?

[Uncle Rico]

Osa moved up to 56 on 247. Still don't want him?

As long as he doesn't drop below 70

[WhiteTrash]

So as long as we can get kids on campus we'll never be out of it.  Finally if Wojo can't cut it then we'll have a long line of good coaches lined up outside on Wisconsin Avenue to choose from. 

This is so untrue. I have read on MUScoop that we can't fire Wojo because there is nobody worthwhile who will want the job.

Don't you know that wins don't matter at Marquette?

As long as Wojo shows up for work, he's here for life because no decent coach would work for MU. (I read that here so it must be true)

[wadesworld]

This is so untrue. I have read on MUScoop that we can't fire Wojo because there is nobody worthwhile who will want the job.

Don't you know that wins don't matter at Marquette?

As long as Wojo shows up for work, he's here for life because no decent coach would work for MU. (I read that here so it must be true)

It depends on how you define "nobody worthwhile."  If you're included in the guys who have a list that starts and ends with Kelvin Sampson, Chris Beard, and Tony Bennett then yes, you're right, nobody worthwhile wants to Marquette job.

If you're okay with a quality mid major coach or a well thought of high major assistant, then somebody "worthwhile" will want the job.

[WhiteTrash]

It depends on how you define "nobody worthwhile."  If you're included in the guys who have a list that starts and ends with Kelvin Sampson, Chris Beard, and Tony Bennett then yes, you're right, nobody worthwhile wants to Marquette job.

If you're okay with a quality mid major coach or a well thought of high major assistant, then somebody "worthwhile" will want the job.

My post was sarcastic. I was poking fun at the buffoons who have tried to advance the idea that Wojo is untouchable because nobody has listed the exact candidate to replace him.

When the day come to replace Wojo I don't expect MU to hire away Virginia, TT or Huston's coach (nor would I expect those schools to hire away MU's coach) unless there was some unique situation involved.

Schools like MU are similar to say Illinois, Iowa, ND, Mizzu, etc. when looking for new coaches. Hot assistants from a blue blood or up and coming mid-major coaches or possibly underpaid coaches from a major conference like Bennett was.

I have zero worries that MU will not have plenty of terrific candidates; will they pick the right one is another question.

I hope MU does not have to pick a new coach for a long time because Wojo is doing great. 

[wadesworld]

My post was sarcastic. I was poking fun at the buffoons who have tried to advance the idea that Wojo is untouchable because nobody has listed the exact candidate to replace him.

When the day come to replace Wojo I don't expect MU to hire away Virginia, TT or Huston's coach (nor would I expect those schools to hire away MU's coach) unless there was some unique situation involved.

Schools like MU are similar to say Illinois, Iowa, ND, Mizzu, etc. when looking for new coaches. Hot assistants from a blue blood or up and coming mid-major coaches or possibly underpaid coaches from a major conference like Bennett was.

I have zero worries that MU will not have plenty of terrific candidates; will they pick the right one is another question.

I hope MU does not have to pick a new coach for a long time because Wojo is doing great.

Got it, didn't pick up on the sarcasm. Sorry.