Most Disappointing MU Recruits Ever

[Doo]

Walter Downing

I’ll second this!

[#UnleashSean]

Gotta go with Nick Noskowiak.  Top 100 recruit, signed LOI with MU, helped recruit the aforementioned HE, got in trouble, and never ended up setting foot on campus.  It seemed like things really spiraled for the kid from there.  Hope he figured it all out.

Hoooly, I forgot about him. This may be the answer.

[MUfan12]

Cheatham has to be in the mix in this discussion. Just never progressed.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

William Gates was much hyped. The next Isaiah Thomas was the word on him coming in.  Yeah, all they had in common was the same high school.  Think that started with a Chicago sportswriter who obviously had no idea what he was talking about. 

MU82?

[GoFastAndWin]

Zack McCall. Not so much based on recruiting hype, but more based on what I thought he could accomplish at MU. Built like a strong, sleek running back, with a quick first step, and a very good defender. He got into some sort of trouble if I recall, and was off the team by the end of his first season.

[muwarrior69]

I guess it depends on what you mean by disappointing. When Jim Chones went pro boy was I disappointed.

[bilsu]

Was this supposed to be in teal?  First, I don't think anyone expected much from Grosse when he was recruited (its not like he was Roman "biggest sleeper since Rip Van Winkle" Mueller).  And besides, he was a Majerus recruit that Dukiet inherited.

Gerald Posey and Corey Floyd are easily the two biggest disappointments of the Dukiet era--both were very highly rated coming in--Floyd never played for MU, and Posey had a run-in with Dukiet and quit.  I might add Charles Luter to the mix--highly rated in Wisconsin as a HS senior and never recovered from a pre-season knee injury before his soph year.

As I remember Rod Grosse was Dukiet's only top 100 recruit out of high school.

[dgies9156]

I mean, after reading the rest it's about what I expect from this guy. He clearly doesn't know ball.

Rather than resorting to ad hominum fallacies, one might look at the evidence for why BT was on the disappointment list. While he had a good senior year, BT was touted as more than good. He was touted in the same breaths as Bo Ellis, Earl Tatum and even Maurice Lucas. BT had some great games at MU but he wasn't what we hoped he would be.

Even St. Al said BT was one of the most wasted talents he ever saw.

All this said, I will concede that compared to Gerald Posey, Dean Marquardt, Tommy Copa, Dawson Garcia, the Moose and many other folks mentioned in this section, BT was head and shoulders above anyone. But I'm grading on a curve and expectations for BT were sky high.

As for Henry Ellenson, I'll concede he was an OK college player. I'll further acknowledge that Coach Wojo did as poor a job of coaching someone as I've ever seen. I was a regular in the BC that year and I was really disappointed at how selfish a player Ellenson was. There were times when I watched Henry play and thought, "I know this team is a bunch of stiffs and I know we need this guy, but Coach really needs to sit him down and remind him basketball is a team game."

Henry could have used a good dosage of "Relationships, Growth, Victory."

Ultimately Henry suffered from the same disease as the Baby Hauser. Both were big deals pumped up by their families, coaches and assorted hangers-on. They reached college and really didn't understand they weren't playing in the U.S. 53 Up North League anymore.

In short, Henry was a bust because I'm a Marquette fan, not a Henry fan.

[The Lens]

Wojo knew Henry was here for one year, that's it. And nothing was done to win in that year.  The way they no showed At Butler spoke volumes about what was to come with Wojo teams. 

The Henry experiment was an utter failure.

[swoopem]

Wojo knew Henry was here for one year, that's it. And nothing was done to win in that year.  The way they no showed At Butler spoke volumes about what was to come with Wojo teams. 

The Henry experiment was an utter failure.

We should’ve fired him after the Belmont game

[Coleman]

I disagree. His season with MU was disappointing.

The thing is, though, that it wasn't Henry's fault. It was Wojo's fault. It was my first glimpse of what MU had in Wojo: Someone that tries to ride his star player by giving them the ultra green-light instead of building an offense/defense around his star talent. Hero ball.

I've got nothing against Ellenson. Wojo wasted our time with Ellenson just like he wasted our time with Howard. Not playing team ball is really challenging to watch.

This is well said and I could not agree more. Nothing against Ellenson either but that one season was a major disappointment besides his stat line.

[withoutbias]

The ones we lost by not streaming our 40 point wins in Italy.

[Jay Bee]

The ones we lost by not streaming our 40 point wins in Italy.

Maybe we were just ashamed of the other team. Truth be told, “withoutbias” never comes up in MU Scoop in person discussions.

[Hards Alumni]

Rather than resorting to ad hominum fallacies, one might look at the evidence for why BT was on the disappointment list. While he had a good senior year, BT was touted as more than good. He was touted in the same breaths as Bo Ellis, Earl Tatum and even Maurice Lucas. BT had some great games at MU but he wasn't what we hoped he would be.

Even St. Al said BT was one of the most wasted talents he ever saw.

All this said, I will concede that compared to Gerald Posey, Dean Marquardt, Tommy Copa, Dawson Garcia, the Moose and many other folks mentioned in this section, BT was head and shoulders above anyone. But I'm grading on a curve and expectations for BT were sky high.

As for Henry Ellenson, I'll concede he was an OK college player. I'll further acknowledge that Coach Wojo did as poor a job of coaching someone as I've ever seen. I was a regular in the BC that year and I was really disappointed at how selfish a player Ellenson was. There were times when I watched Henry play and thought, "I know this team is a bunch of stiffs and I know we need this guy, but Coach really needs to sit him down and remind him basketball is a team game."

Henry could have used a good dosage of "Relationships, Growth, Victory."

Ultimately Henry suffered from the same disease as the Baby Hauser. Both were big deals pumped up by their families, coaches and assorted hangers-on. They reached college and really didn't understand they weren't playing in the U.S. 53 Up North League anymore.

In short, Henry was a bust because I'm a Marquette fan, not a Henry fan.

Oy vey.  This is a strange hill to die on.

[WarriorFan]

Charles Luter... the kid was amazingly athletic, nice handle, would occasionally accidentally hit his head on the rim he could jump so well.  MU doc botched the knee surgery and I don't think he ever played again.  I knew his PT.

Nethan, Candelino and the other stiffs of the Dukiet era.  Ugh... the mere fact that they were actually recruited!   They couldn't even hold their own in pickup games at the rec center. 

Ellenson - nah, he did what he was asked to do.  All deficits on that team are Wojo, not hank.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Joe Nethen and Tony Candelino met my expectations.

[oldwarrior81]

As I remember Rod Grosse was Dukiet's only top 100 recruit out of high school.

Consensus rankings were a bit more difficult to find from the 80's but both Corey Floyd and Gerald Posey were named to top 100 lists.

Posey was prop 48 and expected to run the show as a soph.  Instead left the court prior to the St. Thomas(?) game, and although starting several of the following games, was gone by January.  He moved to D3 Trenton St and led them to a national runner-up spot, losing the championship game to UW-Whitewater.   Posey passed a couple years back.
Floyd also had grade issues and ended instead going the juco route.  He ended up at Providence, where his son is currently a reserve player.

[Markusquette]

Jamil Wilson. Good player, but never developed that next gear to fulfill the hype and potential he had.

So that makes him one of the most disappointing MU recruits ever? He was a big reason why MU made it to the elite 8 ten years ago. Most disappointing are complete busts. Jamil was a very good player.

[WhiteTrash]

Wade. No National Championship. Slacker.

[MU82]

William Gates was much hyped. The next Isaiah Thomas was the word on him coming in.  Yeah, all they had in common was the same high school.  Think that started with a Chicago sportswriter who obviously had no idea what he was talking about.

MU82?

Nah, back then I was a Minneapolis sportswriter who obviously had no idea what he was talking about.

[21Jumpstreet]

Carlton Christian (aka The Shuffler) for me only because I most likely drunkenly at one point anointed him the next big thing at MU

[Lennys Tap]

It's almost like two things can be true at once.

Every coach who’s around for more than a cup of coffee “knows how to recruit some real winners”. No reason to single one guy out unless you just want to be an asshat.

[🏀]

So that makes him one of the most disappointing MU recruits ever? He was a big reason why MU made it to the elite 8 ten years ago. Most disappointing are complete busts. Jamil was a very good player.

I guess that’s just like your opinion, man.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Every coach who’s around for more than a cup of coffee “knows how to recruit some real winners”. No reason to single one guy out unless you just want to be an asshat.

It's like both of Lenny's sentences are correct.

[NCMUFan]

Only disappointing ones are the ones that were recruited and never stepped foot on campus.
If they decided to come to Marquette, they were winners.
No?