# First Surname Scout Rivals
00 Rick Jackson 4 3
1 Andy Rautins 1 NR
3 Mookie Jones 4 4
4 Wesley Johnson 2 2
11 Scoop Jardine 4 4
21 Arinze Onuaku 3 3
24 Brandon Reese NR NR (Former Walk On Awarded Scholie)
25 Brandon Triche 3 3
32 Kris Joseph 4 3
33 DaShonte Riley 4 3
43 James Southerland 3 3

Not one Mickey D or 5 star on the roster...in fact Syracuse has had only 4 Mickey D's this decade.

Boeheim has built this team out of basically 3 star players. I'm not saying a player like Carmelo is bad...on the contrary he played well within the team. However, I think too many 5 star players are not usually going to yield you a Final Four. Too many egos and they bolt to the NBA after 1 or 2 drama filled seasons.

If you get intelligent kids who have some talent and drive, then teach them how to play as a team, you will win consistently with those kids once they learn how to play together...

Bottomline: 1 or 2, 5 stars can add value...however, most 5 stars are just auditioning for the NBA.

I don't put a whole lot of stock in the rankings, since most players who verbal to WVU immediately drop in the rankings. Once you get past 3 stars, the talent level isn't as widespread as people think, except in a few cases...

Althought basketball ranking is a little better than football there is no gurantee of success.

Example of low ranked players: Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Hilton Armstrong. All 3 are now playing in the NBA. I will trust coaches like Calhoun and Jimmy B to decide who they want to recruit vs. rankings at Rivals/Scout.

You've got to be kidding me. Syracuse's roster is filled with top recruits. They may not be 5 stars or McD's AAs, but they were still top recruits (two of which are Philly guys that Temple very much wanted). Try Temple beating Villanova's McD's AA-filled roster with TWO 3 star recruits...

(12-16-2009 11:17 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  You've got to be kidding me. Syracuse's roster is filled with top recruits. They may not be 5 stars or McD's AAs, but they were still top recruits (two of which are Philly guys that Temple very much wanted). Try Temple beating Villanova's McD's AA-filled roster with TWO 3 star recruits...

You missed the point...

(12-17-2009 10:13 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(12-16-2009 11:17 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  You've got to be kidding me. Syracuse's roster is filled with top recruits. They may not be 5 stars or McD's AAs, but they were still top recruits (two of which are Philly guys that Temple very much wanted). Try Temple beating Villanova's McD's AA-filled roster with TWO 3 star recruits...

You missed the point...

What else is new?

(12-17-2009 10:13 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(12-16-2009 11:17 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  You've got to be kidding me. Syracuse's roster is filled with top recruits. They may not be 5 stars or McD's AAs, but they were still top recruits (two of which are Philly guys that Temple very much wanted). Try Temple beating Villanova's McD's AA-filled roster with TWO 3 star recruits...

You missed the point...

Not seeing much of a point; it's not a Duke or UNC recruiting class, but it's still a 'top' recruiting class and better than what 90+% of teams have...

(12-16-2009 02:17 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Althought basketball ranking is a little better than football there is no gurantee of success.

Example of low ranked players: Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Hilton Armstrong. All 3 are now playing in the NBA. I will trust coaches like Calhoun and Jimmy B to decide who they want to recruit vs. rankings at Rivals/Scout.

Good point but Ben Gordon was extremely highly recruited. Everyone wanted him.