First of all,it was just a really weak recruiting class over all. There were maybe a dozen or so NBA caliber guys out there and we got two of them, and I think Matthews could eventually develop in to a third after a couple of years.
Of those NBA prospects, you had two guys in Newman and Brown who were somewhat "unique" personalities, and I think ultimately both those guys made the best choice for their particular personality. Newman will be the center of attention and "the man" at Miss State next year, and Brown will get to hang out at a hip, liberal, free-spirited college community for a year - while playing a little basketball.
What ultimately derailed our recruiting is the fact that I think Zimmerman probably gave the staff some false assurance that he was coming here - and therefore we didn't prioritize Diallo until it was too late. No indictment of Zimm - he's a teenager with a lot of people tugging at him, and has a right to be conflicted - but I think the staff was a little overly complacent.
The second thing that derailed us is the fact the - other than Brown - the only great SF available out there was Ingram - a guy who was going to be almost impossible to dislodge from North Carolina.
Next year will be different, and all of the negative types out there just need to be profoundly grateful that Briscoe had the balls to sign with us without knowing who would be leaving, Skal was loyal to us despite all the people trying to push him to Memphis, Matthews wanted to play with his bud, and Mulder was still available late.
Of those NBA prospects, you had two guys in Newman and Brown who were somewhat "unique" personalities, and I think ultimately both those guys made the best choice for their particular personality. Newman will be the center of attention and "the man" at Miss State next year, and Brown will get to hang out at a hip, liberal, free-spirited college community for a year - while playing a little basketball.
What ultimately derailed our recruiting is the fact that I think Zimmerman probably gave the staff some false assurance that he was coming here - and therefore we didn't prioritize Diallo until it was too late. No indictment of Zimm - he's a teenager with a lot of people tugging at him, and has a right to be conflicted - but I think the staff was a little overly complacent.
The second thing that derailed us is the fact the - other than Brown - the only great SF available out there was Ingram - a guy who was going to be almost impossible to dislodge from North Carolina.
Next year will be different, and all of the negative types out there just need to be profoundly grateful that Briscoe had the balls to sign with us without knowing who would be leaving, Skal was loyal to us despite all the people trying to push him to Memphis, Matthews wanted to play with his bud, and Mulder was still available late.