Originally Posted by C-time
A lot of where players will go depends on how big of a limb a coach is willing to step out on and go after 4 and 5 star kids. A lot of coaches easily accept their schools position in the hierarchy of college basketball and just go after players they think will commit to them. Others are willing to go after any player and do whatever it takes to get them.
The best example that has occurred recently has been our favorite coach Ray Harper and his successor Rick Stansbury at Western Kentucky. Harper seemed to settle for guys he thought were typical Conference USA 2 and 3 star players. On the other hand Stansbury has gone after 4 and 5 star guys and has the 10th ranked recruiting class in the nation for next year. (This is where the inevitable Stansbury paid them or hired the right assistant coaches(He did!!) line is inserted.) I hope CAG takes the Stansbury path and goes after the 4 and 5 stars and does whatever it takes to get them to UD. If Stansbury can get them to WKU then there is no reason CAG can't get them to UD.
One other WKU note. They have had more players drafted and actually play in the NBA than UD recently. Courtney Lee (who was recruited to WKU by Archie Miller) was drafted with the 22nd pick in 2008 and is still playing in the NBA. He actually started 74 games this year and made 11.2 million. His career earnings are around 38 million and he has 3 more years left on his contract that averages about 12 million a year. Jeremy Evans was drafted in the 2nd round in 2010 and spent 6 years in the NBA(only 6 D-league games ever) before going overseas this year. He won the dunk contest in 2012 and made 8.6 million in the NBA.
If those two guys can go to WKU and get drafted and earn that much NBA money without having to go overseas first or play in the D-league there is no reason UD can't have the same thing happen.
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RE your comment about AG taking the Stansbury path and "doing whatever it takes to get them to UD"...ain't gonna happen nor should it. This isn't WKU. Different philosophy, different culture. No one really knows how the talent of a 16-17 yr old will translate to the D1 college level, let alone the NBA. We don't even know if they'll keep their britches on or their sticky fingers to themselves. Harper and Stansbury are taking the sell-out approach and that's fine...for WKU. They can make their splash and move on. I'll take sustained success any day.
