Duke1Agn wrote:I still think this is a bad, bad loss for the Jays. Ezra's stock has been seemingly skyrocketing. He was named a top performer at the Jayhawk Invitational this past week. He is a 6'8 three guard/hybrid four. We need one after Doug leaves.
And according to twitter, since his de-commitment, he has already received contact from several high-major programs. Out of all the recruits coming in (13 and 14), I felt he was the best fit for the Big East. But, then again, that's why I'm not the coach. We shall see how this all plays out.
The “bad, bad loss” and “skyrocketing” parts of your post are a bit over the top. The notion that we do not have other guys with his size or skill-set on the roster or in our sights seems incorrect.
I was excited about the commitment last summer, when our future was as a MVC team. After the move, I still felt like Talbert had a high ceiling. That said, most everything I’ve read about him suggests that he is an upper level mid-major guy. Indeed, one of the first recruiting expert tweets I saw after he decommitted was from Dave Telep, who said “Look for MVC teams to be interested.” If his stock was truly skyrocketing, I doubt Telep types that. As for high major interest, committable offers and an eventual commitment speak much louder than "contact" or “interest”. We will see where he ends up. It’s just unfortunate that a couple of 2014 guys committed to Creighton months before the Big East move.
I am guessing that the decision was somewhat mutual, like Nevin’s departure. Presumably, Talbert and his family and coaches saw some writing on the wall and wondered whether Creighton was still a good fit. Presumably, since the time that our coaches have known about the conference change, they’ve wondered a bit about all five guys who verballed last summer. If the Talberts were feeling a little less loved than they’d felt in the past, a decommitment after some good AAU/travel team play might seem like a good idea. Or, maybe it was blunter than all that. And, how much of this is the kid and how much of this is dad or someone else, we’ll never know.
I think he’ll have a good college career at the right level. He might have been a really solid Jay, but it seems more likely that he’ll succeed in the Valley, C-USA, A-10 or the right MWC school.
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 9:30 pm