More and more I see Tulsa's ability to recruit as self limiting. Very few high level athletes even qualify academically. Average recruits have a difficult time when a large number of credits are being automatically disqualified. I think the revenge of Donaldson is still in effect. He got exactly what he wanted. If he wasn't able to eliminate athletics all together. Then make it as difficult as possible for all athletic sports to recruit. Its really too bad considering the conference Tulsa is now in. I don't see Tulsa being able to recruit the better high level athletes because of this being one huge factor. It doesn't even seem to matter what coach at Tulsa you are talking about either. They all seem to be having a difficult time recruiting. I don't have an axe to grind either being very neutral in my standing as a fan.
Yes and no on this from my seat. I think our FB recruiting so far is a bit disappointing on face, but if the coaches like it, thats all that matters. But your point is well taken if TU no longer can get the kind of athletes that will compete at this level and consistently win. But I think its too early to panic right now. I will say this though, I'm fairly happy with the way our recruiting is going in MBB at this point.
Generally speaking though, if you want better recruits you must build better and more impressive athletic facilities that attract both fans and recruits. An example is OSU who would still be a bottom feeder in the Big12 right now if it weren't for 'Ole T-Bone. Their well thought out facilities improvements are what drives the athletic programs today.
TU has probably the best and most impressive on campus MBB arena in the state and that's why the recruiting will always be 'at least' - good in MBB! But in the end, Chapman is just OK to the recruits if they compare. But the good news is if we keep winning, all those negatives can be improved and I even have some very cost effective ideas to do that (improving Chapman) even though I'm just John Q Public typing on a keyboard. That later.
I don't think anyone is in panic mode, just stating the facts as I see them. Difficulty in recruiting high level athletes is hard for any small private school, Tulsa is not alone in that. Some do a better job it of though. I do have to agree though that MBB has the highest success in recruiting at least 3 star players recently. Just points out how difficult it is to recruit in football. You need so many more players to be good in football. Tulsa also has always been better setup to have success in basketball than football.