Agree with you wholeheartedly. That is why I have a natural concern and curiosity about why Trent has not been able to close on some of these guys. At the same time, we should not lose sight of the reality on the court. He won the SECC, he overachieves on the court. Now, the Tigers are stepping up in the schedule next year. They've earned a "high seed" (i.e., get to host two opening games) in the Preseason NIT, and will be on TV undoubtedly more next year. If you look at the team on paper, they'll be young, but also have the benefits of Tas and Bo back. They'll have the new practice facility in October and hopefully that will also have an effect on recruiting. So you're right, there's a lot of recruiting left to do, and the testament of CTJ's success is over years and not individual signings. :thumb:
Well, I disagree, anytime you let the MVP (Brian Williams) of both the 4A class & the all METRO team be wisked out of town by of all people, Butch Pierre - Something ain't right. DD says LSU is in great shape with three out of state players but it seems to me as mentioned earlier in this thread that LSU's main priority is to get Louisiana players first. The 2009 recruiting thread mentioned that Johnson was getting a late start & he should be given a pass on missing out on some Louisiana & out of state players for this year.. OK, I went with that but this is 2010 we are talking about now... Frankly I am a little concerned, now I tend to get worried to soon most of the time.. Heck, I was worried in the ninth inning of last nights ball game! I am wondering if we have any really big time recruiters on this basketball staff? I'm getting the impression that we just can't seem to close the deal when we need to. I know its early yet but as players commit to other schools our list of possibilities keep getting smaller & smaller similar to what happened last year.. This is Blaspheming is know but if Pierre is gonna out recruit us in Louisiana maybe we shoulda kept him?:huh: I have always heard that a coach is only as good as his players & this is especially true in basketball. Come On Coach Johnson - Push, Push, Push! Ok, Ok, I feel better now but I am still concerned, What say You??
Ii think there are a fair number of folks that would probably agree with you! It's hard to stay patient sometimes--it's hard to see LSU NOT get the players as a fan and you want so desparately for Trent to do well. I have some of the same concerns as well--i.e., what REALLY IS the perception that recruits now have of the head man? You hope that underlying the situation, it's not negative. I don't think that's the case given many of the reports from kids and parents--they all glow about Trent, but then again, things haven't worked out with some recruits. Look I think Galloway and Williams were probably tough sales to begin with, and even Dandy Don acknowledged this--these kids were largely rumored to want to go out of state. It does trouble me a little bit that Williams and Brown chose to go to Ok St (by no means an OOS "attractive" destination, i.e., second tier Big 12 school, with a head coach that LSU didn't want). So, there are some question marks there (honestly, it's one part Butch, one part simply that LA to Big 12 pipeline that sees a few recruits trickle that way every year--e.g., Baylor, and maybe one part this staff not being super high on these particular kids). I also do have my questions about the staff, as you say. I was a strong advocate on this board for example that we needed to make a run at Randy Livingston as an Asst Coach--not sure if that was ever a possibility or reality, but I think that this staff is missing the typical Butch type of recruiter. I don't think Richard, Coach G, or Brent Scott hurt LSU in anyway because they are probably great technical coaches, but they also haven't had the track record of great recruiting. YET. And, that's the key thing. I do think that it's hard to go with the sky is falling mentality just yet. As we've seen recruiting in hoops is a full year exercise (there's always a Noel Johnson type kid that's available even in the spring). I think that Trent gets some credit for helping Tas' to come back, signing Dotson and Ludwig, and getting White to transfer for 2009-10--to be fair, that's probably just a B grade (landing a big man or Noel Johnson would have given him a A). I think that 2010 obviously is full recruiting year left in terms of recruiting, and I'm ok with losing Galloway and Williams, IF it turns out that higher targeted prospects ultimately sign with LSU. But, of course, we won't know that until Fall signing... opcorn:
Another thing about this staff is that no one seems to know exactly who we are going after. Who is truly on the front burner that the (coaches) are doing everything they can to get them to LSU:huh: If the coaches thought that Galloway & Williams were not gonna come here anyway who have they zeroed in on?? The Louisiana recruiting fence when it comes to basketball seems to have some holes in it & I don't know why that is... I am still thinking that the coach knows best & has to center his efforts on players that are agreeable to coming here & can help us win. Just seems that list is really really small & very very secret..:redface: With LSU's recent success on the court both in the conference & the National Tournament one would think recruiting would be easier not harder.:geaux:
That is a great & very impressive list. How many are seriously interested in LSU? If LSU could get 4 recruits from that list we would be a awesome team. I know Miss State seems to get players from NY to California on a regular basic & I never could understand why they were so successful. If they can do it why can't LSU? Trent is gonna have to show me he can do it. I hope he has great success this year.. Oh, thanks for the list.:geaux:
You guys are missing the boat here. The reports that I've seen indicate that Galloway and Williams weren't high priorities for the staff over the last few months. The main targets for 2010 appear to be PG Andre Stringer from Jackson, MS (down to LSU and Bama), SG Ralston Turner from Alabama, and SF Matt Derenbecker from Country Day. If TJ can pull these three in, then it will be a great recruiting class and we'd be in really good shape for the future. :geaux:
What about a big man? Obviously, CTJ doesn't think we need one if he's not seriously targetting any in 2010. But when I look at the roster, I'm not seeing the shot blocking rebound machine. What am I missing?
Maybe TJ will only give 3 letters this year & save one for 2011 for a big man. Guess we are all in the waiting mode for now.. Time will tell.
Malcolm White is a very good player transferring in from Ole Miss, and commit Jalen Courtney will be a power forward. So that leaves us with Storm and Courtney at PF; and White, Garrett Green, and Dennis Harris at PF/C. Not great, but not horrible at all.
