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http://www.trussvilletribune.com/?p=7151

early projection for the following season:
verbals in green
the article hypes up those in yellow

PG Frazier, Watts, Coleman
SG Brown, Whitaker, Rideau, Calhoun
SF Washinton*, Madison, Sullivan, Norris
PF Mehetni, Lee
C
* VerbalCommits has Washington as a SF, but at 6'8" he's probably gonna play the 4

Calhoun wants us to have Coleman, Norris, and Lee as the final 3 (according to the article)



I'd prefer to have Haas just for having more size and I think Haas makes the team that much better. I would not however, mind having the team Calhoun wants.

without Haas our tallest player would be 6'9" in Mehetni, if he doesn't grow. We've seen that before and it was painful to watch.

With only 3 scholarships left to give and 4 recruits being talked about:

Haas
Lee
Coleman
Norris

You have to wonder who would be the odd man out if all 4 wanted to be at UAB. A lot of speculation, but it sounds like we have a chance with every one of them.

If I were KC Whitaker I would be doing my best to get back out there ASAP or we may have an extra scholarship afterall.

If they all want to come. A spot will open up. Players transfer almost every year at every program now....

I'd be very disappointed if we cut a guy loose due to an injury.

Lee & Haas would be great.

Anyone else would be icing on the cake.

I get the feeling that Coleman may not head this way & Norris may look at other options.

Just a feeling.

Now, what if Mitchell decides to head here?

We should have such problems to figure out.

I think Haas would be one to commit earlier than some of the others.

Almost all of the others would probably make their decision in the fall.

Coleman said last month he was gonna wait until Spring. Today, on the 6PM broadcast, however, he said it was fun at first, but now its getting old. He may make a decision within the next month. Likes the idea of his family seeing him play in person rather than on TV. Kinda seems like an Alabama lean...

BTW - the reason for the interview was his being invited to the Lebron James Skills Academy to be held soon(80 college players, 20 college players)...

(07-05-2013 11:30 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  With only 3 scholarships left to give and 4 recruits being talked about:

Haas
Lee
Coleman
Norris

You have to wonder who would be the odd man out if all 4 wanted to be at UAB. A lot of speculation, but it sounds like we have a chance with every one of them.

If I were KC Whitaker I would be doing my best to get back out there ASAP or we may have an extra scholarship afterall.

If Quincy Taylor would have stayed here we would have had 6 scholarships open up and not 5.

(07-05-2013 11:14 AM)Dracorex Wrote:  early projection for the following season:
verbals in green
the article hypes up those in yellow

PG Frazier, Watts, Coleman
SG Brown, Whitaker, Rideau, Calhoun
SF Washinton*, Madison, Sullivan, Norris
PF Mehetni, Lee
C
* VerbalCommits has Washington as a SF, but at 6'8" he's probably gonna play the 4

Calhoun wants us to have Coleman, Norris, and Lee as the final 3 (according to the article)



I'd prefer to have Haas just for having more size and I think Haas makes the team that much better. I would not however, mind having the team Calhoun wants.

without Haas our tallest player would be 6'9" in Mehetni, if he doesn't grow. We've seen that before and it was painful to watch.

Although we would have a small front court in this scenario, we would have a lot of size and depth at all the others positions.

That being said, I don't think there is a chance that this is the roster we wind up with. I'm certain Haase will want at least 3 bigs, and probably more likely four, moving forward. If we don't get Haas, I'm sure he has a couple of other options available.

I'm happily anticipating who we're going to sign instead of waiting until the very last minute to see who we can get. It is wonderful!

(07-06-2013 10:11 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  I'm happily anticipating who we're going to sign instead of waiting until the very last minute to see who we get. It is wonderful!

Amen to that! This is much better than the previous way of recruiting.

The two early commits are 2* whereas the other 4 are 4*

Did they see the writing on the wall and want to get I'm early?

Not that I'm complaining but I am wondering if that played in at all about their early commit status

Trying to be as unbiased as possible here--if a recruit wants to stay in Alabama, UAB is the best choice far and away during the next 2-3 years (which was not necessarily the case over the last two years of Davis).

The wheels are coming off for Grant in Tuscaloosa, and if we were to start taking names off their board, that will be the end of him. I don't even have to go into why we are a superior choice vs Auburn.

(07-06-2013 11:16 AM)FNblazer Wrote:  Trying to be as unbiased as possible here--if a recruit wants to stay in Alabama, UAB is the best choice far and away during the next 2-3 years (which was not necessarily the case over the last two years of Davis).

The wheels are coming off for Grant in Tuscaloosa, and if we were to start taking names off their board, that will be the end of him. I don't even have to go into why we are a superior choice vs Auburn.

Is UAB not good enough to stand on it's own merits? Why do we have to depend on the demise of others? Is this a good model to follow, they are down so we are better?

Maybe not to us, but that is the perception. The perception is it is better to play in the SEC and get exposure than playing in CUSA.

(07-06-2013 11:39 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Maybe not to us, but that is the perception. The perception is it is better to play in the SEC and get exposure than playing in CUSA.

Yep. Auburn and Alabama have been living on that for years with nothing to show for it. It takes a while, but HS players notice this, too. Add to that the style of play and the instability of the programs(as well as many other SEC programs) and UAB becomes a more viable option. Players give UAB a 1st and 2nd look that they might not have before and like what they see...

(07-06-2013 11:39 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Maybe not to us, but that is the perception. The perception is it is better to play in the SEC and get exposure than playing in CUSA.

It seems to me that Coach Haase isn't relying on perception but rather is going out and selling the university and his program. Perception isn't reality, reality is. We had a coach that believed the perception and recruited accordingly, the new guy seems to be more focused on selling the reality, so far so good.

I think that Coach Haase sees UAB as a chance to shine rather than as a waystation to somewhere better. His attitude is completely different. He knows that if he takes some time and builds a Butler style basketball power here, he can take his choice of better jobs later.

If you look at the timing, the weakness of basketball at UA and AU hoops now, you see us with a chance to be the top team in the state. Many of us have said for years that if we could just snag a couple of the best guys in state each year we'd do very well. Haase and his assistants are doing exactly that.

There is no reason whatsoever that we can't be in the top echelon of C-USA Basketball. Not if the coach has the kind of belief, character and work ethic that Haase has shown so far.