Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas don't have anybody committed for 2017, either. Not saying we're Kentucky, Duke, or Kansas, but if we were, this is what it looks like this time of year. Only 7 or 8 of the top 40-50 kids are committed - if you're going all in for major talent, stretches of uncomfortable waiting are inevitable.
I look at it this way: we have four 4-star kids committed for 2016 in Gilbert, Durham, Jackson, and Diarra, in addition to rising sophomores Adams and Enoch. 4-star kids tend to stay three or four years, so if the 4-star kids in 2017 aren't demonstrably better than the ones we have signed, it makes little sense compile a second straight heavy class. For one, it risks redundancy, and secondly, it potentially creates logjams/chemistry problems. Doling out 2017 ships to 4-star kids simply wouldn't be an efficient use of assets, practically speaking (now, we do have needs, and if there is a kid you really like, you grab him; but my hunch is that if Ollie was in love with the 72nd ranked player in the country, he'd have him).
Unless you're Kentucky or Duke, you're looking to mend traditional team building - bringing in group of diverse players expected to form the nucleus of the next 3-4 years - with the type of gold mining that elevates the overall talent of the roster (Bamba, Richards, Diallo). Provided the nucleus is (hopefully) in place, it makes sense to recruit in a manner more akin to Kentucky or Duke this year.
I'm out, sorry Dave.
