Traci Carter (Committed to Marquette) | Page 22 | The Boneyard

Traci Carter (Committed to Marquette)

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Stairmaster said:
Alright fine, our recruiting sucks and isn't getting better. KO won't become a better recruiter before he sinks us down to the America East. You've convinced me. Are you happy now?
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Way to prove my point.
 
We have been on the final list or top 5 with about 20 guys, yet aren't even getting them on campus for visits. We have a new 40 million dollar practice facility, and it would be nice to show it to a few of them.
 
huskiesnyc said:
We have been on the final list or top 5 with about 20 guys, yet aren't even getting them on campus for visits. We have a new 40 million dollar practice facility, and it would be nice to show it to a few of them.
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Carter had a visit scheduled and he canceled it after he saw Marquette. That's not on our coaching staff. Take it up with the kid himself.
 
Is there anyone who thinks that getting an "ace recruiter" on the staff is a bad idea? Has anyone said that, anywhere? If so, I must have missed it.

Is there anyone who thinks that repeating the need for an "ace recruiter"
overandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoverandoveragain is going to make it happen? We get it. I am sure that the staff gets it, and if they don't, I am also sure that they are not reading this messageboard for ideas--although I am equally certain that there are many here who think that they should, which is perhaps the funniest part of the meltdown you all are having.

In response to this well-worn "ace recruiter" battle cry, I have asked--several times--exactly what specific acts and/or omissions our present staff is guilty of in terms of the myriad recruiting "failures" that have been cited; and what specific things an "ace recruiter" needs to do to change that. The replies have been very heavy on "sneaker money" and "AAU-connections" references and citation to various missed recruits, but very light on detail and reality. This tells me that people are merely judging the results--not on the court, but simply the fact that we didn't close the deal on [fill in name of recruit we missed] and some "lesser" school did.

Again, we get it. Results matter. No one disagrees with that. This season's results, not so good so far. Last season's results, very good. Next season's results, who knows? No matter how phrased, the vocal minority is really demanding a different result. We get that, too. It's called winning. We've all gotten used to it, and we'd all like to see it continue. But no amount of kicking and screaming here is going to change it. The temper tantrums are getting old.

Me, I'm counting the days until pizza thread season. That'll really explode some heads.
 
Stairmaster said:
Carter had a visit scheduled and he canceled it after he saw Marquette. That's not on our coaching staff. Take it up with the kid himself.
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Getting recruits we are actively going after on campus isn't on the coaching staff? Yea ok
 
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huskiesnyc said:
Getting recruits we are actively going after on campus isn't on the coaching staff? Yea ok
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Who's to say he hadn't already made his decision and informed our staff? If his family had already canceled their transportation, what was KO supposed to to?
 
Stairmaster said:
I don't think Ollie has fully established himself yet. He has a mere 5 years of recruiting experience, and that's a lot less than pretty much everyone else he's going against, whether it be the UK/Duke/UNC types or the VCUs and UNLVs of the world.

I agree that now that the sanctions are done there needs to be an uptick in recruitment. The difference between me and some people here is that I don't believe that we needed to bring in a Top 5/Top 10 class this year with Diamond Stone and multiple wings. Obviously that would have been phenomenal for the team and I would have gladly welcomed it, but I don't think the program is screwed because we didn't go from Hamilton/Lubin/SC2 to 1 5-star and 3 or 4 4-stars.

I will share your concern if recruiting stagnates or regresses next year. I am expecting and hoping that it will improve as Ollie gains more experience. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that given the improvement he has showed already (yes, this is an improvement).

Re. a top-notch recruiting assistant, I would welcome the addition of one to the staff. But I don't think it's going to be a cure-all, i.e. we can't say for sure that bringing our own version of Slice Rohrssen would have been the tipping point with Clarke, Mack, or Carter.

I can't say for sure whether or not we will be worse our better. I'll judge our incoming recruits once they step on the floor and show us what they can do.
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I do think KO will improve with more experience, but with all that's at stake I don't think we can afford to wait. Ollie shouldn't be the lead guy anyway, he should be the closer. I'd like to know what the other guys on the staff are doing, Hobbs for example is an experienced recruiter.
 
Why does it seem like people here think that recruiting is all about recruits committing to the biggest schools on their list? That is not the way recruiting works.


Based off of his comments, Traci Carter's number one priority seemed to be early playing time. Looking at Marquette's roster for next season, they only have one other point guard and no other incoming point guard commit. Meaning that without even stepping on the court, Traci Carter is most likely Marquette's first point guard off the bench for next season.

Then you look at our roster situation for next season and you have Samuel, Cassell Jr., and Jalen Adams all in the mix for playing time at the point guard spot. Carter wasn't coming here with that competition.

With those circumstances, it would have been a challenge for Ollie to get Carter to commit here.
 
upstater said:
Omar actually verballed after Calhoun step I just think the people jumping all over KO's recruiting should rememberped down. He was being recruited by Calhoun, but Calhoun stepped down in August, and Calhoun verballed in September. Nolan was a late addition.
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How many times did we hear Calhoun (not related)!
 
Stairmaster said:
I think that what we have now is preferable to the alternative of canning our coach, losing Adams and Enoch, and being left scrambling for guys.
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You are the undisputed kind of setting up false dichotomies. Literally no one is saying these are the two alternatives. You realize it makes your arguments vastly less compelling when you keep doing this?
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
You are the undisputed kind of setting up false dichotomies. Literally no one is saying these are the two alternatives. You realize it makes your arguments vastly less compelling when you keep doing this?
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It's not a compelling argument anyway -- it doesn't fit the narrative everyone's looking for this season. The team hasn't played well overall, there's been a lack of development among players, and people are noticing a decline in the quality of in-game coaching (substitution patterns, halftime adjustments, and playcalling). Nobody wants to hear that recruiting is going anything but poorly given those concerns.
 
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UConn990411 said:
Textbook strawman argument there. Nicely done.

A lot of people think a change in the staff is in order; haven't seen many people predicting the end of UConn bball, though.
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I don't see a straw man (or a tin man or lion). I see the truth. Somewhere between the craziness that we were going to win another NC this year and the pandemonium some express now, is the truth. Your idea (staffing change for recruiting) is reasonable. Some of the knocks to Ollie, the death sentence of the AAC, are not so reasonable and may not point to a solution.

PS I don't think there are many people here who don't think we have to do something about recruiting. I think the arguing is more about tone.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
The playing time argument can't possibly be true with Carter.

You're seriously saying he was scared off by T-Sam Cassell?
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I'm assuming you are replying to my comment.

Question: If you are a point guard recruit who highly prioritizes immediate playing time, where do you go? The team that will have one point guard for next season or the team that will have three including one that is also in your recruiting class?

I never said he was scared off by Samuel and Cassell Jr., but why compete for playing time when you don't have to?
 
Dynasty said:
I'm assuming you are replying to my comment.

Question: If you are a point guard recruit who highly prioritizes immediate playing time, where do you go? The team that will have one point guard for next season or the team that will have three including one that is also in your recruiting class?

I never said he was scared off by Samuel and Cassell Jr., but why compete for playing time when you don't have to?
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couldn't agree more.

does anyone remember when the recruiting of carter heated up, if uconn sent ollie to see him or glenn miller?
 
Dynasty said:
I'm assuming you are replying to my comment.

Question: If you are a point guard recruit who highly prioritizes immediate playing time, where do you go? The team that will have one point guard for next season or the team that will have three including one that is also in your recruiting class?

I never said he was scared off by Samuel and Cassell Jr., but why compete for playing time when you don't have to?
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I guess I'm saying that could very well be a legitimate reason for a kid. I just don't see how it applies to our situation at all.
 
Stairmaster said:
Of what I wrote, what exactly do you disagree with (if anything)?
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I didn't say any of what you said. I think that, currently, the recruiting is poor. We're not doing a good job of closing on kids who seem interested in the program. I'm not saying we should fire the coach, but something needs to change in recruiting.

8893 said:
In response to this well-worn "ace recruiter" battle cry, I have asked--several times--exactly what specific acts and/or omissions our present staff is guilty of in terms of the myriad recruiting "failures" that have been cited; and what specific things an "ace recruiter" needs to do to change that. The replies have been very heavy on "sneaker money" and "AAU-connections" references and citation to various missed recruits, but very light on detail and reality. This tells me that people are merely judging the results--not on the court, but simply the fact that we didn't close the deal on [fill in name of recruit we missed] and some "lesser" school did.
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I have no earthly idea what they need to do differently, but I'm not advocating for them to hire me to handle recruiting. This is the whole point: recruiting is hard and not just anybody can do it. The coaches we currently have on staff have seen some pretty poor results recently. I want to see them hire someone who could answer your question.
 
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CallMeBruce said:
I didn't say any of what you said. I think that, currently, the recruiting is poor. We're not doing a good job of closing on kids who seem interested in the program. I'm not saying we should fire the coach, but something needs to change in recruiting.



I have no earthly idea what they need to do differently, but I'm not advocating for them to hire me to handle recruiting. This is the whole point: recruiting is hard and not just anybody can do it. The coaches we currently have on staff have seen some pretty poor results recently. I want to see them hire someone who could answer your question.
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Hey, the recruiting season is not over.
 
What I find tiring about this discussion is that it is not a real discussion about recruiting and how it is going and if it should be better. What I find tiring is that the naysayers seem far more focused on whom we talked to and didn't get rather than who we got. It is totally irrelevant to the program who they don't get, and it makes not a whit of difference whether they don't sign a player because we never call him or because we spend time with him and lose him. So if you want to have a real discussion that isn't about venting, it has to be about the class we have and its strengths versus weaknesses.

It seems to me that the two players who we have are the makings of a good UConn class. Given that we have four open schollies and real performance issues with some of the returning players, failing to bring in at least a third on a project or role player level would be a failure. Which means that this year's class, at worst, would be somewhat disappointing because we didn't have enough depth in it, or, at best, if we sign a big man with promise or a Brown or a PG who gives out what Craig Austrie (who was not viewed as a UConn level recruit when he was brought in) gave us as a frosh (or better yet two of such players), the class is actually good.

But criticizing the class because you don't think Jr., Lubin, Nolan and Samuel are UConn level players, or because you have our conference situation, is irrational and what causes the reaction that the fire and brimstone people view as having their heads in the sand.
 
@businesslawyer You don't think it's fair to point out players in the last couple of classes, in what has evolved into a discussion about our overall recruiting trajectory, who have underwhelmed?

The debate on who we missed on I think is entirely fair. We're losing a lot of head to head battles for recruits and there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer why.

Aside from a couple lunatics, nobody has said were doomed or the whole staff needs to be turned over, but we're not getting the quality depth that were accustomed to and while against a Duke, UNC, UK its easier to understand, but Marquette, UNLV, VCU, VT beating us out, on top of bringing in some kids that can't even step foot on the court from day 1, has me and others rightfully concerned.
 
Does Ace Recruiter= Rip Hamilton in a kids living room with NCAA and NBA championship rings?
 
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ConnHuskBask said:
@businesslawyer You don't think it's fair to point out players in the last couple of classes, in what has evolved into a discussion about our overall recruiting trajectory, who have underwhelmed?

The debate on who we missed on I think is entirely fair. We're losing a lot of head to head battles for recruits and there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer why.

Aside from a couple lunatics, nobody has said were doomed or the whole staff needs to be turned over, but we're not getting the quality depth that were accustomed to and while against a Duke, UNC, UK its easier to understand, but Marquette, UNLV, VCU, VT beating us out, on top of bringing in some kids that can't even step foot on the court from day 1, has me and others rightfully concerned.
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1. You would apparently be more pleased with the staff if they didn't call Carter before he signed with Marquette. I find that not just illogical, but strange. The more people you go after, the more you won't sign. That is a fact. Get over it. All that matters is what your class is.

2. How poor Lubin played this year has zippo to do with this year's recruiting. Zippo. Nilch. Nada. He was a young man we did want last year (he wasn't an April signing IIRC) and we may have missed on an evaluation (although, with bigs, you won't truly know that until their third year. Look how many all conference centers Pitt had who only blossomed 3 or 4 years out of high school). Cassell Jr. was heading to Maryland before grades interfered. Maryland, if you hadn't noticed, is in the Top 10. Maybe the whole recruiting community was wrong about the young man -- maybe he really was bothered all year by the foot and we haven't seen him yet. But what does that have to this year's recruiting? I'm not even sure it had anything to do with last year's recruiting as opposed to taking a young man that doesn't live up to his potential (see, e.g., Hazelton, Scott or Coombs-McDaniel, Jamaal).

3. Nolan and Samuel were each material contributors to a national championship team. Period. So I don't know how bringing in people who truly contributed to a national championship can in anyone's world be a mistake that reflects poorly on our recruiting. How many players did UNC bring in recently who did that? Duke? Kansas? That would be zero, zero, and zero. Did both of their play seem to regress this year? Samuel's clearly seemed to when he was asked to do more. Nolan's inarguably did for reasons that I can't understand. But what does their regression tell you about our recruiting? They were both good recruits because they were pieces of the puzzle that helped us win it all.
 
Horatio said:
Does Ace Recruiter= Rip Hamilton in a kids living room with NCAA and NBA championship rings?
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No... Just b/c someone was a great player; even an NBA player, does not mean that they have the ability to convince a player and parent that a school is right. Ricky was a great player for us. But I'm not sure what kind of true connections he has within the high school and AAU system. That is truly the most important thing.

Another thing t is that perhaps we are casting too wide of a net. I know KO is not JC; never will be. But JC (to our knowledge) didn't offer every player he came across and throw such a wide net. JC seemed to identity a select few and then would go all in for them. If he didn't get them, then he'd find a plan B (or C) and go all in there too. The story of the Tevin Mack recruitment when VCU sent their whole staff to close and we sent Ricky really bothers me. Mack also stated that the VCU staff "believed in him" implying that the other schools did not give that total impression. The fact is despite our success, we've still got to outwork other programs for recruits. Relying on the fact that KO was in the NBA for a while and that kids like him is just not enough.
 
businesslawyer said:
1. You would apparently be more pleased with the staff if they didn't call Carter before he signed with Marquette. I find that not just illogical, but strange. The more people you go after, the more you won't sign. That is a fact. Get over it. All that matters is what your class is.

You find it strange that myself and others are concerned that we're in desperate need for another ball handler and coming off likely 5 straight NBA PGs, two titles in four seasons and a new practice facility that we can't even get a visit from Carter, in addition to the other kids we were in on and didn't land?

2. How poor Lubin played this year has zippo to do with this year's recruiting. Zippo. Nilch. Nada. He was a young man we did want last year (he wasn't an April signing IIRC) and we may have missed on an evaluation (although, with bigs, you won't truly know that until their third year. Look how many all conference centers Pitt had who only blossomed 3 or 4 years out of high school). Cassell Jr. was heading to Maryland before grades interfered. Maryland, if you hadn't noticed, is in the Top 10. Maybe the whole recruiting community was wrong about the young man -- maybe he really was bothered all year by the foot and we haven't seen him yet. But what does that have to this year's recruiting? I'm not even sure it had anything to do with last year's recruiting as opposed to taking a young man that doesn't live up to his potential (see, e.g., Hazelton, Scott or Coombs-McDaniel, Jamaal).

I never said Lubin or Cassell had anything to do with this year's recruiting class. What I am saying is that on a whole, bringing in kids who shouldn't even sniff the court from the jump is a reason for concern. It's our staff that's recruiting these kids and it's our staff that should be to blame if they don't pan out. Lubin and Cassell have a lot of time left to improve and injuries have derailed their season, but I was not impressed with what I saw.

3. Nolan and Samuel were each material contributors to a national championship team. Period. So I don't know how bringing in people who truly contributed to a national championship can in anyone's world be a mistake that reflects poorly on our recruiting. How many players did UNC bring in recently who did that? Duke? Kansas? That would be zero, zero, and zero. Did both of their play seem to regress this year? Samuel's clearly seemed to when he was asked to do more. Nolan's inarguably did for reasons that I can't understand. But what does their regression tell you about our recruiting? They were both good recruits because they were pieces of the puzzle that helped us win it all.

Nolan and Samuel were tremendous for us in the title run, there is no doubt about it. They are complementary pieces though and we haven't recruited well enough to keep them at their given roles. If Samuel and Nolan are your energy, defense and hustle guys it's good, but do I want Samuel as my primary or secondary ball handler or Nolan being pegged for major minutes going into next season? Not particularly.

In total, we are still getting studs class in Hamilton and Adams, but the other pieces have fallen way short of the expectations we have at UConn.

Not sure why it's so strange to see it that way.
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ConnHuskBask said:
@businesslawyer You don't think it's fair to point out players in the last couple of classes, in what has evolved into a discussion about our overall recruiting trajectory, who have underwhelmed? The debate on who we missed on I think is entirely fair. We're losing a lot of head to head battles for recruits and there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer why. Aside from a couple lunatics, nobody has said were doomed or the whole staff needs to be turned over, but we're not getting the quality depth that were accustomed to and while against a Duke, UNC, UK its easier to understand, but Marquette, UNLV, VCU, VT beating us out, on top of bringing in some kids that can't even step foot on the court from day 1, has me and others rightfully concerned.
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Facey and Samuel came under unique circumstances - a sudden coaching change and an unproven coach on an interim contract. Facey was a pretty good signing under those circumstances and we probably don't win the title without Samuel so I'll always be glad he came. Cassell seemed like a great pick up - a JuCo A-A who was once a Maryland commit and had three years left and not two. So far, anyway, that was a whiff, but we'll see what happens next year. Lubin was a reach, but primarily just to get a physical body since our bigs are all pretty thin - I understand why we thought some extra size/depth there was needed.

We've had some misses, but typically they have been efforts to get someone in behind a young top tier guy at the same position. It makes it a bit harder to get Mack/Clarke/Jones when they play the three and you have a top 25 three already in as a freshman. Perhaps we'd have a better chance now that Hamilton has proven to be an elite rebounder who can slide to the four a lot, but I'm sure that wasn't in our plans back then. I know people get all in a snit when I point that out, but it's one thing to recruit a wing behind Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker, another to recruit one behind a guy who could be in the way for 2-3 years. When we had Caron Butler, the 3 we got in the class behind him was Chad Wise. When Sticks and Dyson were freshmen, we only got Donnell Beverly.

My criticism with the staff is on their self-analysis of their own team, and who they then prioritized. Having seen this team all year our weaknesses are pretty clear in the backcourt past Boat. Just not enough playmakers. Purvis belongs at the 3 in college. So does Hamilton and so does Omar. I think Cassell belongs there too (he's 6-4 but lacks the foot speed to deal with guards). And we went after wings - mostly non-shooting wings other than Mack - as if our backcourt was in great shape. Now that we are into the spring and we've seen our team in action, we are trying to address our needs, but too late in the game. I think they really mls-evaluated Purvis as someone who was a 2 who could be a playmaker/ball handler and maybe slide over to the 1. But he's got a three's game - he can catch and shoot or slash to the basket in a straight line, but he can't handle the ball or make decisions at an elite level.

If our 2016 class underwhelms, I'll probably join folks in thinking more towards there's a long-term problem. But some mistakes were made in this class, starting with Ali/Jackson, that don't necessarily have any deeper meaning than just mistakes or misses we can learn from.
 
Gurleyman said:
When Sticks and Dyson were freshmen, we only got Donnell Beverly.
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That wasn't the only reason.

The roster in 2006-2007

Sophomores
1. Jeff Adrien
2. Craig Autrie
3. Rob Garrison
4. Marcus Johnson
6. AJ Price

Freshmen
7. Jerome Dyson
8. Ben Eaves
9. Gavin Edwards
10. Curtis Kelly
11. Jonathan Mandeldove
12. Stanley Robinson
13. Hasheem Thabeet
14. Doug Wiggins

We lost Garrison mid-year, so I think that was our only actual scholarship to offer. I think that played a pretty large role in only getting one new player.
 
Rip has a gazillion aau plugs. First off he has his own jordan brand sponsored team, he is also close with a bunch of nike folk like WWW. Having said that, he aint coming here to coach/recruit. He just retired to spend time with his kids, not move to storrs and work.
 
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