jwinslow;1442798; said:
Congrats to PSU. Glad to hear they are continuing to add pieces for the future. As for 2010, PSU will have their work cut out for them against:
Starters: Sr Lighty
Sr Diebler
, Fr Thomas
, Sr Lauderdale
...
Bench: Jr Offutt
, Sr Kecman
Frosh: Fr Sullinger
, Fr Smith
, Fr Sibert
And these two will have eligibility remaining:
Sr Turner
, Jr Buford
Thanks for the congrats JWINSLOW. I notice you make your way around on numerous board...no doubt tOSU/Thad recruit lights out. I definitely noticed that while checking out some of the '10 kids you've got committed. PSU BBall will never be able to beat tOSU, MSU, Illinois, Wisconsin (prolly a few others) when it comes to BBall recruit rankings, but having gotten:
-Brooks (4* - Mr. Basketball runner-up in Kentucky - has yet to put it together)
-Talor Battle (3* - ankle injuries kept him down the rankings as a high schooler, averaged better then 29 a game as a HS JR while returning from a very serious ankle injury, and had tons of big-time BBall school interest, broke his other ankle and BBall programs started acting like flakes...but he healed and turned it on his senior year so teams like GT, Alabama, Marquette and others came calling again)
-Chris Babb (3* SG - FR at PSU)
-Tim Frazier (3* point from TX)
-Taran Buie (4*)......
Is definitely a step in the right direction. It obviously means very little to a BBall program like tOSU, as you'll get better then that in one class...but for PSU it means something. The ship for Buie leaves us with 1 more that we had saved from this year, but the following year we'll have a handful and a program in much better standing.
Perception is the biggest issue, because fans weren't coming out, and people weren't believing in the HC. The NIT means little to the collegiate BBall enthusiast, but you can't tell me it doesn't mean anything to a guy like J. Cornley!
Getting the NIT title undoubtedly got us more exposure, changed the perception of the program a bit, and got Joe out to NY for a few games which just added to the articles, PSU BBall being talked about, etc. Albany City Rocks is one of the best AAU teams in the nation, and PSU has done everything the right way and has went above & beyond for Talor Battle...coaches really respect that in NY.