2015 PG Traci Carter (Marquette Commit)

[ZMagic30]

Our coaches just can't land the big ones right now. Simple as that. Has nothing to do with lack of interest on our end - we need talent upgrades. The talent just isn't interested in us at this point in time.

So the recruits coming in next year have no talent?

Yeah, that's exactly what I just said. Thanks for simplifying it.

[AttyAlum]

Looks like I'm in the minority with my opinion. There are no scholarships open right now. We all know that might change after the season ends. If you look at the 2015 recruiting efforts, Creighton seems to have a number of offers still out. Why haven't any of these 2015 offers been on visits? Why was Dillard planning on coming end of the month, after the season? Why didn't Carter get on campus? The JUCO guys are planning on taking visits after the season.

According to twitter, we are still offering 2015 kids as recently as yesterday. It seems that if we are still offering kids, we would let kids accept those offers.

[Jeremyhauer]

Looks like I'm in the minority with my opinion. There are no scholarships open right now. We all know that might change after the season ends. If you look at the 2015 recruiting efforts, Creighton seems to have a number of offers still out. Why haven't any of these 2015 offers been on visits? Why was Dillard planning on coming end of the month, after the season? Why didn't Carter get on campus? The JUCO guys are planning on taking visits after the season.

According to twitter, we are still offering 2015 kids as recently as yesterday. It seems that if we are still offering kids, we would let kids accept those offers.

I think there is a difference between offering and recruiting kids hard. I think the offers are out there as a base and as a point to pick up from in case a spot opens up. If a spot opens up, the staff won't have to start from square one. They can just pick up the recruiting to an offer that is already out there. Obviously Creighton can't afford to have every current offer commit. They have a handful of offers out.

[Jeremyhauer]

Verbal Marquette. Wojo is killing it.

[cujaysfan]

Wojo is killing it

but - for those of us that have been around for awhile - it looks awfully familiar to tommy amaker at seton hall

turned loose by K - recruits like a madman signing guys unprecedented there

and it all fell apart so quickly with no real results to show for it

just sayin...

[Chicagojayfan]

Our coaches just can't land the big ones right now. Simple as that. Has nothing to do with lack of interest on our end - we need talent upgrades. The talent just isn't interested in us at this point in time.

So the recruits coming in next year have no talent?

The two players we faced stiff competition from recruiting-wise are both transfers. Transfers might be our best bet to acquire talent at this point, because there appears to be a stigma amongst talented high schoolers with heavy scouting that CU is still a small-time program. Butler suffers from the same problem if you look at the players they've secured. When a Mich. State comes knocking for a guy like McQuaid, well there's not much the coaches can do other than sell their own pitch. All three 4 year players we signed had zero interest from other schools when we signed them. My advice to the coaches is to continue to scour for high quality D-1 transfers. Those guys are no nonsense when it comes to picking a new school. They don't get caught up in the romance of the recruiting process; they know exactly what they want. Huff turned down a legit offer from Michigan to come play for us. That's the type of recruiting battle the coaches should strive to win every year

Great points. We did a tremendous job of recruiting Watson and Huff. They had offers from tons of top 25 programs and the coaches landed them. You are correct that the mentality of HS and JUCO/Transfer kids is much different.

HS kids love the big names, they are more likely to want to stay home, they don't look as objectively at playing time and competition at their positions or at historical oversigning/transfer rates. They put a lot of emphasis on their coaches to give them advice, HS in some part, but even more from their AAU coaches. Look at where the big relationships are with college coaches and AAU coaches and you see where kids are likely to go. Huff is a good example. He was originally slated to go to San diego State, but when they recruited a couple of similar players, his AAU coach was a big reason he ended up switching out of HS.

JUCO's and Transfers are more objective. This isn't their first rodeo -- they want playing time, they want a role and they want a good place to fit in and develop. Some of our current limitations are mitigated by recruiting JUCO's and transfers.

I do like what we are doing to work within our limitations:

- find kids early. We have a good track record of evaluating talent and offering first (or at least first among BCS programs). Harrell was someone we found first. We were early to Patton; Early to Stewart (at least his first high major offer); Early to Martin K. We seem like a possibility to get a visit from Mulder due to our early interest and offer. Some of these kids will take the big offer if it comes from a name program, but some won't.. and others may come back around as a transfer when they realize they were always slotted to be a role player at best in the big program's eyes.

- hit the JUCO's and Transfers hard. We're very active here.. and I think it continues. Tough to give up a year scholarship time for transfers, but if it is a Huff or Watson, I'm more than happy to do it.

- continue building relationships with HS and AAU programs. A couple of years ago we were close to the KC Run GMC program, but we are out across the country now looking for new programs. It takes time, but we are doing it. A lot of the offers in the past couple of years weren't so much that we expected to land them as we wanted to meet and greet and get to know the programs those kids were in. That will pay off in the future.

I like where we are headed, but recognize that we won't turn into a recruiting powerhouse overnight... and may never be that kind of recruiting school given the fact that we will do things in an ethical way.

[JayPak]

- continue building relationships with HS and AAU programs...

I like where we are headed, but recognize that we won't turn into a recruiting powerhouse overnight... and may never be that kind of recruiting school given the fact that we will do things in an ethical way.

One AAU program we have developed a good relationship with is Omaha Crusaders, which is paying off. Nice thing is that they teach the fundamentals well.

In regard to ethics, I would hope Marquette and our other conference brethren who are killing it on the recruiting trail are doing things ethically, even if I have little confidence in the Kentuckys and Syracuses of the world.

[Chicagojayfan]

- continue building relationships with HS and AAU programs...

I like where we are headed, but recognize that we won't turn into a recruiting powerhouse overnight... and may never be that kind of recruiting school given the fact that we will do things in an ethical way.

One AAU program we have developed a good relationship with is Omaha Crusaders, which is paying off. Nice thing is that they teach the fundamentals well.

In regard to ethics, I would hope Marquette and our other conference brethren who are killing it on the recruiting trail are doing things ethically, even if I have little confidence in the Kentuckys and Syracuses of the world.

Very true, and this is a good time for talent in and around Nebraska so the Crusaders are a great relationship for us including kids who live elsewhere during the school year, but who are here for the AAU Season...!

And for Marquette, I wouldn't think that Wojo would be doing anything wrong. But I don't see them becoming a recruiting powerhouse either. Wojo has some great relationships to build upon from his years at Duke that open doors at the best schools and best AAU programs, but that class is also built on the local pool of talent in WI being way up this year. Guys like Ellenson don't pop up very day in Wisconsin, and he'll have to show he can land them from all around the country.. and I don't see that happening that regularly. Take him away, and their highest ranked guy is 70th, although I like the center they got and like Carter as well. It's a good class but not great without Ellenson, a class I'd probably rank behind ours.

I think most of the school we are with run good, clean programs, but I think hiring an AAU coach is pushing the boundaries.

[JayPak]

It's a good class but not great without Ellenson, a class I'd probably rank behind ours.

No way! You must be counting Huff and Watson as 2015's, then. Even so, that's a stretch. Per Rivals, even without 5-star Ellenson, they've got 2 4-star and 2-3 stars to our 1 4-star and 3 3-stars. Per ESPN, Marquette's advantage is much wider, with 4 4's to our 1 4 and 2 3's (ESPN doesn't rate Krampelj).

Also, keep in mind that Marquette gets every one of those 5 guys for up to 4 years, while we get Huff and Watson for 2.

Marquette's class is 9th in the country per ESPN and you say it's "not great" without Ellenson??

[Chicagojayfan]

It's a good class but not great without Ellenson, a class I'd probably rank behind ours.

No way! You must be counting Huff and Watson as 2015's, then. Even so, that's a stretch. Per Rivals, even without 5-star Ellenson, they've got 2 4-star and 2-3 stars to our 1 4-star and 3 3-stars. Per ESPN, Marquette's advantage is much wider, with 4 4's to our 1 4 and 2 3's (ESPN doesn't rate Krampelj).

Also, keep in mind that Marquette gets every one of those 5 guys for up to 4 years, while we get Huff and Watson for 2.

Marquette's class is 9th in the country per ESPN and you say it's "not great" without Ellenson??

no time to break it all down, but with Watson and Huff it isn't even close. They only have one top 150 guy in their class. It's a good class, but not extraordinary. Adding Ellenson makes all the difference.