re: Basketball Recruiting Thread

Me personaly i woukd like to know a lil more about y tranfering playing time bad teamate etc.

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But it seems that transfers, even though incredible talents individually, weaken teams because of the disruptive nature of bringing them in.

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This statement, especially the second half, is propped up by stereotypes, assumptions, small sample sizes, inconclusive anecdotal evidence, and faulty logic.

I wholeheartedly disagree that the current Missouri basketball team would be better without Clarkson and Brown and the other transfers. I will not make a prediction on whether their chemistry would be better as I am not even in a knowledgeable enough position to judge their current chemistry. I would hazard a bet that they have much better chemistry than they are currently getting credit for in this thread.

I have a serious problem with the statement as it was made, completely ignoring the situation that Frank Haith inherited that required him to put greater emphasis on transfers than I believe he plans to in the future. And, it's not as if it hasn't worked. Frank Haith inherited a team with no recruiting class and maintained it a high level by bringing in transfers. I can't wait to see what he does after a few recruiting classes like the last one and the current one.

Next, I disagree with the unproven hypothesis that bringing in transfers is in some way disruptive. In most cases, transfers have to sit out a year. This fact alone alleviates any disruptive factor. During that year, the player practices with, goes to class with, eats with, hangs out with, travels with, rooms with, etc. his teammates.

The problem this year isn't that the transfers don't have enough chemistry. It's that Mizzou doesn't have a deep team. Mizzou gets >90% of its production from 3 players and is near the bottom of Division I teams in bench minutes and bench scoring. Mizzou just isn't all that talented after the first 6. And, when you depend on such a small number of players for the majority of your production, you are guaranteed to fall victim to the swings of inconsistency.

I agree with most everything you say STL. I completely get that Haith, when he first came on board, had to go the transfer route to balance out the classes. I also get that the transfers that have come in have been great talents. It's just my opinion that guys playing together for 4 years develop better chemistry than someone who transfers in, sits out one year and plays one year. That doesn't mean they aren't great players or that I would want to go without them. I just don't expect them to have the same chemistry as if they've played years together. That is what I meant by disruptive too, by the way. I didn't mean to imply they were bad eggs in some way.

The more I'm thinking about it though, it might have less to do with transfers and more to do with Haith. Regardless of the cause, I just don't see last years team nor this years team playing very well together as a team.

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A one point loss to Illinois on a neutral floor and suddenly all the transfer players are disruptive forces hurting team chemistry. Knee jerk reaction much?

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This team has played one solid half of basketball (2nd half of UCLA game) all season. Otherwise they play in spurts. And Illinois was not good the other night. We were just worse. Doesn't mean they won't improve or get things turned around, but reality is that the team hasn't looked like a team that will make a tourney run so far(if they even make the tourney).

As to transfer players, it's not the players themselves that I was referring to. I just think it's the nature of the beast when you rely so heavily on transfers(and I get why Haith had to at one time). I suspect this team would be that much better if Ross, Brown, Clarkson and Criswell had been playing together for the last 3 to 4 years instead of just 1 or 2 years. So yes, I'd prefer to get quality players that come in as freshmen and stick around (and I think we have started doing that JWIII/Jone/Clark/Wright/Gant) and would just as soon pass on a ND transfer in exchange for getting a kid who will be in the system the full 3 or 4 years.

Those days are gone in college basketball. If you're talented and good, you are not sticking around for 4 years. Getting talented transfers, most that sit out a year and get accustomed to the program is a necessity these days for programs not named UK, Duke, NC, etc.

Plus, look what UK did a couple years ago--put a bunch of 5-star freshman together with very few seniors or juniors and win it all. That goes against the argument of building team chemistry over multiple years is required.

Mizzou might just get lucky one of these years in that they don't get players that are so talented that they automatically leave after the first year. If they can strike the jackpot with the right mix transfers and home grown talent that have been in the program a few years, we could get to celebrate our first final four appearance.

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As to transfer players, it's not the players themselves that I was referring to. I just think it's the nature of the beast when you rely so heavily on transfers(and I get why Haith had to at one time). I suspect this team would be that much better if Ross, Brown, Clarkson and Criswell had been playing together for the last 3 to 4 years instead of just 1 or 2 years. So yes, I'd prefer to get quality players that come in as freshmen and stick around (and I think we have started doing that JWIII/Jone/Clark/Wright/Gant) and would just as soon pass on a ND transfer in exchange for getting a kid who will be in the system the full 3 or 4 years.

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This transfer obsession Haith has is getting old quick

Transfers are a big part of college basketball now and will continue to be. If they can contribute bring them on.

Early indications are that Biedscheid may end up at Mizzou. It appears he could fill a need as a small forward. Because he committed so early in high school to ND I didn't pay any attention to his HS career. Anyone have a scouting report on him? He would be eligible for the second semester next season. It would be nice to add another Missouri/StLouis kid.