A little update on Keels and Kaufman. My favorite line in there was, “the thought has been the Hoosiers would be tough to beat here. With that said, the other programs continue to make this very difficult on Indiana, especially Virginia.”
8 Likes
From what I’ve heard from different recruits, this seems to be a real strength of Tony and the staff.
Sounds like they do a really good job of showing on film how they want to use guys and how they want them to grow their games. And with more guys graduating to the pros out of the system, you can anchor it using ex-players who are now in the NBA
6 Likes
TB reputation in the Grassroot community is NOTHING but positive. But the thing that really resonate with prospects is UVA ability tu DEVELOP their players AND get the most out of their talent. Marial transferred, but he continue tu tell my people how TB played a big part with his current success and being a Pro. Even the guys who left still consider UVA their school and hold the staff in high regards.
30 Likes
That’s huge right there Tu. As you know. Having that reputation as a guy who can build and develop, and then having people who are living proof of it is huge.
5 Likes
Honest question… if CTB is held in such high regard…Why don’t we close on more high end recruits more often… I suspect it is style of play… but with the W’s piling up at some point you gotta think to hell with style of play…
3 Likes
These dudes don’t really care about the Ws, or we’d be as difficult to recruit against as Dook. They care about building their brand and getting exposure so they can look good in draft grades. Lots of shots, lots of opportunity, accolades, etc. We don’t promise any of that; and it’s even more likely that your average stat line won’t be as impressive as other high major schools because of our pace.
Our rebuttal, obviously, is ‘Hoo cares’. Dre averaged 15 last year and went top 5. Of course, just my opinion.
5 Likes
By high end I assume you mean top 25 or 5 stars…the development is way less important to them and many don’t want or plan on staying for more than one season. With that being said, I consider Morsell, Shedrick, Huff, Beekman, JAR, Guy, Jerome, Hunter, and Diakite high end recruits.
5 Likes
Other coaches tell recruits what they want to hear, and CTB is honest… Probably off putting for some of the egos out there. But, IMO, it weeds out the guys who wouldn’t have bought into the 5 pillars.
1 Like
He is brutally honest. I was fortunate tu be close tu four recruits that UVA was recruiting. I think he could also word things better. For example, Instead of telling a kid we dont need a starting pg because they have kihei. I think this will be recieved better. Our starting PG is returning and it will be very difficult tu take his spot. BUT, we will give you every opportunity tu fight for it. See how I did that.
Now for my haters. Im not saying TB told a recruit they dont want him because of kihei. Im not even saying this is a true incident. Im showing how you can make the same point without pushing a kid away.
15 Likes
That a very slight subtly but it totally makes sense. That little change you made conveys a lot of unspoken info
2 Likes
On the flip side, what a kid hears and remembers may be totally different than what the coach actually said. Remember the old telephone game?
7 Likes
Hey Tu how old are ur kids? Any future Hoos?
Did you just say that Kihei is going to transfer because a better PG is coming in? This will be all over the internet soon! 
2 Likes
This is exactly right. Ok if you wanna compete lets go. When I was offered by Virginia I said “if I beat out Crotty will I start?”. I think they all laughed at the concept
14 Likes
Super Maaaaaarial!
I figured it was more along the lines of telling a player that wants to be a 3, he has to be a 4 in college… because we’ve actually seen this. On your point, I, honestly would have expected TB to word it the way you mentioned, that kind of seems like common sense … so, yeah, he should work on that, lol… I imagined he would have broken down what the recruit needed to improve for that to happen, and some recruits don’t want to hear that kind of criticism.
2 Likes
No offense to anyone but I find it hard to believe that Tony phrases it that way while recruiting a kid.
2 Likes
Agreed. Sounds like something you’d say to someone you aren’t recruiting very hard. And Tony is too smart to say that to someone he’s interested in.
2 Likes
I don’t think it’s what tony is actually saying word for word but it might be how some recruits feel the message is being relayed and what they tell others (like tu) what they think they heard or interpreted
Harrison Ingram announces he is committing tomorrow (did say he would commit whenever he felt like it). May this be the beginning of the second wave of commitments that hopefully includes Keels and Kaufman
1 Like
Honestly hope he goes to UNC. Love when UNC gets elite players, makes our victories even sweeter and the ACC MUCH better
6 Likes