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pono Offline
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top MAC recruits last decade
Toledo this year has the first Top 100 recruit in the MAC since Zeke Marshall, I believe. Steve Taylor was ranked around #60 in the nation at Simeon HS in Chicago before 3 years at Marquette. He is trying to will the Rockets into the top level of the MAC chasing Marshall's alma mater Akron. Taylor took a RS to work toward finishing his degree and fine tuning his game for 1 season as a go to guy w Toledo in the MAC. Next year, the rockets add in Tre`shaun Fletcher a similar Colorado transfer who is spending a year practicing as part of this year's team in order to have 1 final season in Toledo. He was a top 100 guy and the Washington state POY in HS.

Got me thinking about top recruits in the MAC. Could think of some guys who came to the MAC out of HS in that top 200-300 ranking lower blue chip ranking level. I'm thinking Seth Dugan, Lamonte Bearden, Thompson and Raven Lee at EMU A few transfers like Bassett? and Kenny Kaminski at OU, JD Weatherspoon Toledo, The big EMU transfer from Syracuse (name?)...

Next year, Toledo adds in Willie Jackson (highly recruited Cleveland kid and Missouri transfer) eligible in mid Dec 2017. The Rockets have found a niche bringing in guys looking to RS, improve and go from 6th man type roles on a roster full of big recruits to starting in the MAC (and add in Green Bay transfer Rian Pearson who was all-MAC for Toledo's last MAC champion team). So far they've been great teammates and helped the team gel. You might also say they've patched up recruiting potholes as well.

Ball St has had some good mid major transfers and JCs like MajokĀ² in recent years. Keene is killing it as a low D1 to MAC transfer. Kent has brought in a lot of transfers and JCs too.

and Akron keeps winning with decent high school recruits.
01-26-2017 02:43 AM
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H2Oville Rocket Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
Wasn't half of EMU's fourths pretty highly regarded? I thought Thompson was highly recruited, then dropped due to some legal issues in HS?
01-26-2017 10:13 AM
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EagleSam Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
I couldn't find James Thompson in Rivals, and he was a 2-star per ESPN. Even when he had signed at South Carolina. That's surprising to me.

Raven Lee was #147 in the nation (per Rivals in 2012) until he committed here, and then vanished off the top 150 list. Shocking, right? Both Da'Shonte Riley and Glenn Bryant were 3-stars in the top 150 of their respective classes, and believe it or not, so was Jodan Price, who could barely get off the bench for us after transferring here from DePaul.
(This post was last modified: 01-26-2017 10:26 AM by EagleSam.)
01-26-2017 10:25 AM
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george14 Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.
01-26-2017 11:25 AM
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emu steve Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 10:25 AM)EagleSam Wrote:  I couldn't find James Thompson in Rivals, and he was a 2-star per ESPN. Even when he had signed at South Carolina. That's surprising to me.

Raven Lee was #147 in the nation (per Rivals in 2012) until he committed here, and then vanished off the top 150 list. Shocking, right? Both Da'Shonte Riley and Glenn Bryant were 3-stars in the top 150 of their respective classes, and believe it or not, so was Jodan Price, who could barely get off the bench for us after transferring here from DePaul.

I think the issue with James Thompson is that he went to a prep school where recruits can get lost by the recruiting service.

There are players who were under the radar but develop. That was not JT4.

Anyone who saw him from day one knew he was a big time talent.
01-26-2017 11:32 AM
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H2Oville Rocket Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 11:25 AM)george14 Wrote:  I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.

Not even close to biggest in MAC history. Walter Luckett, of OU, was #1 recruit in the nation and an SI cover boy in HS.
Was Ziegler in the last decade? Seems like he was, just. Definitely one of the highest.
01-26-2017 12:18 PM
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
In the era of one and done for college, the schools themselves shouldnt mean a whole lot. Butler and Creighton gets as much exposure as Kansas. If I want to stay 4 years and I'm a top 100 guy. I'd be an all time leading scorer at Ohio or VCU instead.
01-26-2017 12:27 PM
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kreed5120 Online
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. There is just a lot of value in having players play together over a long period of time. A guy like Willie Jackson is great because he has 3.5 years of eligibility left, but I'm not a fan of grad transfers unless they are role players.

The key to building a successful MAC program (unless you can somehow turn into WKU and land 5* recruits out of nowhere) is to find undervalued players that fit your system and develop them into being the player you think they can be. Akron has 4 players where we were their only offer. All 4 of them play and 2 of them start. Big Dog might be the only player on our roster that had interest from high majors and even they pulled them after he broke his foot.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...s_big.html
01-26-2017 12:55 PM
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emu steve Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 12:55 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. There is just a lot of value in having players play together over a long period of time. A guy like Willie Jackson is great because he has 3.5 years of eligibility left, but I'm not a fan of grad transfers unless they are role players.

The key to building a successful MAC program (unless you can somehow turn into WKU and land 5* recruits out of nowhere) is to find undervalued players that fit your system and develop them into being the player you think they can be. Akron has 4 players where we were their only offer. All 4 of them play and 2 of them start. Big Dog might be the only player on our roster that had interest from high majors and even they pulled them after he broke his foot.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...s_big.html

"Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. "

I think the opposite because redshirts aren't as common in basketball as football.

Any time a player takes a redshirt that does, or should, pretty much preclude a transfer (who wants to sit out 2 of 5 years, and maybe two consecutively, or two of the first 3?)

I think a frosh player (hoops) can decide if the school/program is right from him and decide after his frosh year to transfer and sitout and then have 3 to play 3.
01-26-2017 01:33 PM
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kreed5120 Online
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 01:33 PM)emu steve Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 12:55 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. There is just a lot of value in having players play together over a long period of time. A guy like Willie Jackson is great because he has 3.5 years of eligibility left, but I'm not a fan of grad transfers unless they are role players.

The key to building a successful MAC program (unless you can somehow turn into WKU and land 5* recruits out of nowhere) is to find undervalued players that fit your system and develop them into being the player you think they can be. Akron has 4 players where we were their only offer. All 4 of them play and 2 of them start. Big Dog might be the only player on our roster that had interest from high majors and even they pulled them after he broke his foot.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...s_big.html

"Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. "

I think the opposite because redshirts aren't as common in basketball as football.

Any time a player takes a redshirt that does, or should, pretty much preclude a transfer (who wants to sit out 2 of 5 years, and maybe two consecutively, or two of the first 3?)

I think a frosh player (hoops) can decide if the school/program is right from him and decide after his frosh year to transfer and sitout and then have 3 to play 3.

What I was getting at is more upperclassmen transfers. If you're getting frosh transfers, that is almost the equivalent to a hs recruit. You can easily plug a DE transfer into your starting lineup to fill a hole and it isn't going to kill your flow. In basketball asking a grad transfer senior to come in, learn your style of play, and build chemistry immediately with his teammates is asking a lot. Even if he does pan out it was a short-term fix and you'll need to find another.

I just think there is a lot of value in continuity in basketball as players interact a lot with one another more than a lot of other sports. Kwan, Big Dog, Antino, and Noah have all played with one another for 3 years and I feel Akron is better because of it.
01-26-2017 02:14 PM
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george14 Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 12:18 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 11:25 AM)george14 Wrote:  I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.

Not even close to biggest in MAC history. Walter Luckett, of OU, was #1 recruit in the nation and an SI cover boy in HS.
Was Ziegler in the last decade? Seems like he was, just. Definitely one of the highest.

It's a good find. I didn't even know rankings were a thing back then. Not at least as mainstream as they are now. But yeah, Zeigler was recruited in 2010 I believe.
01-26-2017 04:37 PM
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
Keno has had good luck with transfers here. Kyle Randall came as a grad transfer and led the MAC in scoring while helping to develop Fowler. Keene has 2 years to play, he's done all right.

(01-26-2017 12:55 PM)kreed5120 Wrote:  Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of transfers in basketball as I am in football. There is just a lot of value in having players play together over a long period of time. A guy like Willie Jackson is great because he has 3.5 years of eligibility left, but I'm not a fan of grad transfers unless they are role players.

The key to building a successful MAC program (unless you can somehow turn into WKU and land 5* recruits out of nowhere) is to find undervalued players that fit your system and develop them into being the player you think they can be. Akron has 4 players where we were their only offer. All 4 of them play and 2 of them start. Big Dog might be the only player on our roster that had interest from high majors and even they pulled them after he broke his foot.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...s_big.html
01-26-2017 05:16 PM
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H2Oville Rocket Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 04:37 PM)george14 Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 12:18 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 11:25 AM)george14 Wrote:  I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.

Not even close to biggest in MAC history. Walter Luckett, of OU, was #1 recruit in the nation and an SI cover boy in HS.
Was Ziegler in the last decade? Seems like he was, just. Definitely one of the highest.

It's a good find. I didn't even know rankings were a thing back then. Not at least as mainstream as they are now. But yeah, Zeigler was recruited in 2010 I believe.

One of my favorite UT moments: after a CMU men's game Ernie, Sr. showed up for the UT-CMU women's game the next day. He sat behind me and when the UT women hit the floor for pre-game the pep band struck up the fight song and Ernie was belting it out with the rest of us. I turned around and said"Uh, wrong team" to which he replied (looking slightly embarrassed) "Hey, it's a catchy tune!" Ernie was OK in my book.
01-26-2017 11:08 PM
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perimeterpost Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 04:37 PM)george14 Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 12:18 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 11:25 AM)george14 Wrote:  I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.

Not even close to biggest in MAC history. Walter Luckett, of OU, was #1 recruit in the nation and an SI cover boy in HS.
Was Ziegler in the last decade? Seems like he was, just. Definitely one of the highest.

It's a good find. I didn't even know rankings were a thing back then. Not at least as mainstream as they are now. But yeah, Zeigler was recruited in 2010 I believe.

small correction on Luckett- his SI cover was not in HS, it was his freshman year at OU just before the season started.

[Image: WalterLuckett2.jpg]
01-26-2017 11:11 PM
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pono Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
Yup totally spaced on Ziegler. He was actually an effective player in the MAC, just not the superstar his rankings suggested he would be. I think he was slightly higher than Zeke, although Marshalls recruiting got more attention because he was a big and maybe the top HS shot blocker in the nation.

I'm mixed on the grad transfers but really like the 4th year guys who RS become a key part of the team then play their final 5th year. Tend to be mature motivated guys.
01-27-2017 02:08 AM
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H2Oville Rocket Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-26-2017 11:11 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 04:37 PM)george14 Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 12:18 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  
(01-26-2017 11:25 AM)george14 Wrote:  I know this is only 2 posts long but I can't believe no one has mentioned Trey Zeigler. That has to be the biggest signing in MAC history. HE came here because his dad Ernie was the coach. He was #33 on the ESPN100 and other sites had him around #25 in the nation.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/baske...ey-zeigler

And he was absolutely average. Transferred to Pitt then TCU.

Not even close to biggest in MAC history. Walter Luckett, of OU, was #1 recruit in the nation and an SI cover boy in HS.
Was Ziegler in the last decade? Seems like he was, just. Definitely one of the highest.

It's a good find. I didn't even know rankings were a thing back then. Not at least as mainstream as they are now. But yeah, Zeigler was recruited in 2010 I believe.

small correction on Luckett- his SI cover was not in HS, it was his freshman year at OU just before the season started.

[Image: WalterLuckett2.jpg]

04-bow
01-27-2017 07:46 AM
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george14 Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
(01-27-2017 02:08 AM)pono Wrote:  Yup totally spaced on Ziegler. He was actually an effective player in the MAC, just not the superstar his rankings suggested he would be. I think he was slightly higher than Zeke, although Marshalls recruiting got more attention because he was a big and maybe the top HS shot blocker in the nation.

I'm mixed on the grad transfers but really like the 4th year guys who RS become a key part of the team then play their final 5th year. Tend to be mature motivated guys.

I remember when Zeigler came here, I was convinced we would win the MAC. Basketball is a sport where obviously one guy can take you far and completely change your team. Number wise, he was a decent player. At CMU, he averaged 16 and 6 for his 2 seasons. However, the one major stat that sticks out:

53% FROM THE LINE!!!!

Seriously, that has to be some type of record. He was a guard and shooting 50% from the line. I wonder how many G in the history of D1 basketball shot 50% from the line. He could have been a 20 ppg scorer had he shot a mediocre 75%.
01-27-2017 08:39 AM
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pono Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
Doug Gottleib of ESPN was a solid pg at Ok St who shot about 40% from the line
01-27-2017 03:30 PM
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eich41 Offline
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
I forget the game I was watching but there is a guard right now who was shooting 45% on threes and 38% from the line... Seton Hall maybe?

As for top recruits to hit the MAC (at least directly out of HS, transfers don't really count IMO) Ziegler is the highest I know of in modern times at least. Was not aware of Luckett but that's impressive too.

Ziegler's problem at CMU was simply that he was playing for his dad, and he was so much more physically gifted than anyone else on the floor that he never had to develop. If he had to eat with his left hand he would have starved to death. Because he was so much better than the opponents though, he could simply overpower you going to his right and score. He would have been so much better off going somewhere else where he would have been forced to work on his game and play under a coach who knew what he was doing and wasn't his dad.
(This post was last modified: 01-27-2017 04:00 PM by eich41.)
01-27-2017 04:00 PM
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RE: top MAC recruits last decade
I didn't think of Ziegler because of the special circumstances surround his choice to play in the MAC. It wasn't a "normal" recruiting process.

along those lines, one of the casualties of Ohio's 3 coaches in 4 years patch was that nobody in Athens took a serious run at Gary Trent Jr. Now I'm not saying that a 5 star, top 10 recruit would sign with Ohio but given the special ties he has to OU with his Dad I think he would have at least given it serious consideration. Its frustrating that, to my knowledge, nobody even tried to get him.
01-27-2017 10:28 PM
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