Post by mhbruin on Nov 20, 2024 9:52:52 GMT -8
There are many ways to build a roster. Here are two Top Ten teams who just met and neither of them had a 5-star player on the roster. While both of them have brought in transfers on occasion, neither has a transfer in the rotation this season.
Marquette
Purdue
UCLA
Comments
What's the difference between UCLA and these two teams? On paper, UCLA has a LOT more talent. I see two things:
Clearly Smart and Painter are good at recruting players who fit their system and are good at finding under-recruited prospects. With other coaches hitting the portal so hard and recruting the HS ranks less aggresively, there will be more opportunities to do this.
I think Cronin has shown an ability to do this too. Sebastian Mack and Eric Freeny seem like players who are quite a bit better than their rankings out of high school.
Perhaps the secret (if you are not Duke, Kentucky, or Arkansas) is to recruit lower-level 4-star players who are talented and will stay at your school for years.
Marquette
| Stars | Rank | ||
| Chase Ross | 4 | 135 | |
| Kam Jones | 4 | 107 | |
| David Joplin | 4 | 84 | |
| Stevie Mitchell | 4 | 115 | |
| Ben Gold | 3 | 198 | |
| Zaide Lowery | 4 | 105 | |
| Royce Parham | 4 | 93 | |
| Caedin Hamilton | Unranked | ||
| Sean Jones | 3 | 155 | Not playing due to injury, but would likley be starting. |
- No transfers
- No Top 50 players
- Only 2 of players are in the Top 100.
Purdue
| Stars | Rank | ||
| Braden Smith | 3 | 216 | |
| Trey Kaufman-Renn | 4 | 50 | |
| Fletcher Loyer | 4 | 111 | |
| Myles Colvin | 4 | 63 | |
| Gicarri Harris | 4 | 74 | |
| Camden Heide | 3 | 141 | |
| C.J. Cox | 3 | Unranked | |
| Daniel Jacobsen | 57 | ||
| Will Berg | Unranked | Unranked | |
| Caleb Furst F | 4 | 67 |
- No transfers
- One top 50 player
- 4 of top ten players are in the Top 100
UCLA
- One 6-star player
- 4 Top 50 players
- 10 Top 100 players
Comments
What's the difference between UCLA and these two teams? On paper, UCLA has a LOT more talent. I see two things:
- Continuirty: The core of both of these teams are players who have been at the schools for years.
- A star: Both schools have a player (Kam Jones and Braden Smith) who are being mentioned for national player of the year.
Clearly Smart and Painter are good at recruting players who fit their system and are good at finding under-recruited prospects. With other coaches hitting the portal so hard and recruting the HS ranks less aggresively, there will be more opportunities to do this.
I think Cronin has shown an ability to do this too. Sebastian Mack and Eric Freeny seem like players who are quite a bit better than their rankings out of high school.
Perhaps the secret (if you are not Duke, Kentucky, or Arkansas) is to recruit lower-level 4-star players who are talented and will stay at your school for years.