Rick Barnes is a witch

It looks like that Chris Ogden fellow is an ok recruiter.

Well that ain’t shit! Pat Knight just scored Theron Jenkins, last year’s 6th man at Itawamba Community College. The future is so fucked.

Barnes is starting to really get ridiculous.

Bejarano picked Texas over UCLA, Kansas and Indiana among others.
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That sentence says everything there is to say about the difference Rick Barnes has made in the men’s basketball program at Texas.

Todd Wright is a Warlock

It’s ironic that Barnes now wouldn’t touch Chris Ogden the player with a 10 foot pole.

Jesus Rick Barnes is not fucking around. Texas basketball is becoming bigtime. George Mueller is smiling.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/phx/articles/2008/10/23/20081023spt-bejarano.html

So did this come out of nowhere? Was I supposed to know this was coming?

Rick Barnes is unbelievable.

The Tristan Thompson commitment seemed to come out of nowhere also. Rick Barnes is very sneaky.

Since I know hardly anything about hoops recruiting:

Why is Barnes recruiting philosophy so different than Mack’s as far as recruiting at the flagship school in the state? Does Barnes not have to worry about pissing off Texas high school basketball coaches by taking all of these out of state kids like Mack does? I would think he has to be more careful about throwing Texas kids a bone since there are fewer spots on the team. Or is the football talent just that much more substantial as opposed to basketball in the state where Rick has to go out of state more?

Title might have more truth than most realize. Black magic tends to work in more areas than one would suspect, with recruiting most definitely being one of them.

Shock, among other things, the kids AAU coaches now have as much impact as the high school coaches—and frequently more.

It would be just about impossible to put together a recruiting class within Texas that could challenge for the national championship. In football, a case could be made, most years, that two such classes could happen. Different worlds.

“Shock, among other things, the kids AAU coaches now have as much impact as the high school coaches–and frequently more.

It would be just about impossible to put together a recruiting class within Texas that could challenge for the national championship. In football, a case could be made, most years, that two such classes could happen. Different worlds."

Thanks for the info. I love Rick Barnes. The man deserves a national title and he just may get one.

Barnes is not Fing around!

i think we are going to be good at basketball.

I would agree. Seems like a nat. title is written in the books for Barnes.

“I would think he has to be more careful about throwing Texas kids a bone since there are fewer spots on the team. Or is the football talent just that much more substantial as opposed to basketball in the state where Rick has to go out of state more?”

He’s looking for the best players he can get, wherever they live. As Kevin says, the AAU system is fundamentally different from football.

Barnes will sign Shawn Williams, but he’ll take players from Turkey. If the best players are here, he’ll be in the middle of it. If not…

BBall recruiting and Football recruiting are entirely different animals. In basketball, top players are identified as early as 8th and 9th grade. If Mack had the luxury of knowing a kid was going to be an NFL superstar, he would no doubt target him, no matter where he lived.

Additionally, Texas has only recently become a hot recruiting territory for basketball, but Texas is and has been the most talent-rich recruiting territory for, well, forever. As such, it is important for anyone coaching in the area to maintain solid relationships with the high school coaches. Exhibit A: Art Briles’ recruiting at Baylor vs. Mike Sherman at aggy. He’s already stolen Ivory Wade. He was president of the TX H.S. Coaches Association, and, by all accounts, was beloved by his peers. If he stays at Baylor and Sherman at A&M, he will completely bury them within 5 years.

With Les Miles, Bob Stoops, and poachers like Urban Meyer doing everything they can to get a foothold, it is critical for Mack to maintain dominance in the most talent-rich area in the nation. Mackovic and Slocum would agree with the strategy, I’m guessing. Protect your assets. It’s what good CEOs do.

I see your ‘players from Texas’ with Harrison Smith. Checkmate.

The roster for this season will have 7 Texas kids out of 12. The other 5 are from all over teh map. Literally.

Olson steps down as Arizona’s head coach after 24 seasons

By Marlen Garcia and Jim Halley, USA TODAY

Lute Olson, Arizona’s longtime men’s basketball coach, is leaving the program he shaped into a national powerhouse.

The school confirmed the departure in a release Thursday night. Athletic director Jim Livengood said a national search would begin immeidately.

“This was not a decision that was made lightly,” Olson said in a statement released through the school. "I’ve had a wonderful run at The University of Arizona. I leave with a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished here.

“At this stage in my life, I want to devote my time to my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family and friends. I look forward to watching Wildcat basketball and visiting with my colleagues in the coaching profession. It is time to pass the program on to a younger staff, to transition the university to the next generation of basketball.”

No further reason for his departure was given by the school. A top prospect, however, told USA TODAY that Arizona assistant coach Reggie Geary called him to say Olson’s decision was health-related.

“He (Geary) said that Coach Olson was stepping down because of health reasons,” said 6-6 forward Solomon Hill of Fairfax High in Los Angeles. “I kind of knew it might happen because of what happened in the past. The big thing was that Coach Geary would still be there because he was the one who recruited me. We talked about it, but the news wasn’t supposed to come out until Friday.”

Olson took a leave of absence right before the start of last season for undisclosed personal and medical reasons. He also went through a very public and contentious divorce in the spring. Then this fall was he was engaged to a 47-year-old woman from Tucson, according to The Tucson Citizen.

Hill, ranked 28th among recruits in the class of 2009, has given a public commitment to Arizona. Signing day is Nov. 12.

The Tucson Citizen reported that Solomon Crawford, Hill’s father, said Geary told him that Arizona associate head coach Mike Dunlap would take over for Olson on an interim basis. But the release from the school did not address who would run the team in the short term.

“Reggie gave me a call, and said Lute wasn’t going to be there,” Crawford said. “I don’t know if he is sick. There’s been no specific reason (given).”

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale first reported Thursday that the 74-year-old Olson would step down. Olson coached the Wildcats for 24 seasons.

According to the Citizen, players’ families didn’t know what to think as the story unfolded during the day, and some parents were upset having learned about Olson’s situation on the Internet or from friends. The players did gather for practice Thursday afternoon, and Olson was not present.

Debbie Withey, mother of freshman center Jeff Withey, said she received word by text message.

“That’s how I find out?” she asked. "The mother of one of the top players. … To find out this way is unbelievable.

“I just got done crying to my husband,” said Debbie Withey, a local teacher. "I feel totally stupid that we stuck it out (when Olson took a leave of absence last season). And we’re the stupid ones. We listened to people.

“Every coach we dealt with is gone” from the previous regime, she added.

“I feel totally betrayed. That’s me personally. I have no clue how Jeffrey feels right now. He probably is just concerned with playing. He doesn’t care about this stuff. But that’s why we’re the parents.”

Olson missed the annual Rotary Club luncheon Wednesday. Geary spoke in his place.

The 74-year-old Olson, who has a 589-188 record with the Wildcats in 24 seasons, took a leave of absence 2007-08, citing medical and personal reasons.

During media day Tuesday, Olson said, “Energy is not a problem.”

Wildcats sophomore forward Jamelle Horne told the Citizen earlier this week that Olson looked fine in practice.

“You’re constantly bumping into him during drills, because he wants you to realize he’s back,” Horne said. “He’s getting after it. He’s been yelling at everyone.”

Olson, a member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, came to the Wildcats in 1983, after coaching stints at Long Beach State and then Iowa. His overall coaching record is 780-280.

We are concerned he may be too tall to play shooting guard for Texas.

JP:
 
I think you could actually field amazing teams with just Texas kids in basketball, but you’re going to have uneven years of position distribution. Throw in the fact that Texas AAU coaches hate us for not playing their game and/or giving them jobs, it’s better we exhibit a national scope.
 
In any event, these are good times with the best yet to come.

You could definitely win a national title with just Texas kids if you got all the best players, but why limit yourself if you are more likely to field an elite team by recruiting all over the country?

You only have to recruit 3 or 4 players per year in B ball vs 20 to 25 in football. This means you can afford to spend more per player and to put much more effort per player than in football.

Because of 1 and done in B ball, there is an annual need to recruit a big star. You are not always going to find the big star you need in Texas.

Also Texas high school football provides enough 1st class talent to staff several football teams.

As JP said, every Texas 4 or 5 star recruit that UT football gets is one less for the other Big 12 schools or LSU to get.

Basketball is an international sport while football is played only in the USA. Getting to play college ball in the USA is very atractive to a lot of foreign players.

Number 8 pre-season. Going to be a great season on the hardwood I think. Hook Em.

I’m Rick Barnes and I approve this post.