Texas lands PF Mike Williams from the state of Alabama. IT gives UT 3 players in the top 16, according to rivals. Looks to be the #1 class.
Fortunately for UT, Barnes is > than Mack Brown. So the talent that UT is amassing for the future, will actually come to some fruition.
you think, gr8-1? Gibson, Aldridge, Williams, Dowell all locked in, provided no early defections which applies to LaMarcus. That is one sick recruiting class. Plus buckman, yikes, big 12. Here we come. We continue to be a leader in all sports. Easily a top 5 sports college and probably number 1 if you ask me. UT has very few sports that arent competitive, actually I thnk there are none. In fact, better here than never. Time to give props to Cat Osterman and UT softball as they are 2-0 in the CWS, and looking to bring another title to the 40 acres. And the guys are looking to lock up a super regional in defense of their baseball title last year.
Horns eliminated Aggies 13-4...will face either Baylor or Nebraska tomorrow for the tournament title at 1 PM on Fox Southwest.
Holy sh*t. This guy is supposed to be a total badass. This is getting ridiculous. Let's just hope he sticks with his verbal. The sky's the limit for this class. Look for the '04 class to be better than last year's team. The University of Texas is no longer a football school. Hook Em.
The key for UT will be whether or not they can recruit like this on a somewhat regular basis. By this, I mean 2 out of every 3 years. This is essential because of early departures. Guys like TJ Ford leaving early, may become commonplace for UT in the future. Therefore, UT must be able to recruit their a$$es off year in and year out ala Arizona or Duke. If those guys in the 04 class live up to their hype, possibly 2 of them could leave early. If UT can weather the storm next year, and be a top 15 or so team, then they should have a fairly good 2005 class as well. If UT bombs out and is back down to a top 25-30 program, then it might give recruits second doubts.
The word is "potential." I remember the Mouton/Thomas class. That quartet (along with TJ) led us to one sweet sixteen and a final four, and I think on "potential," this class surpasses it. I knew that noone in hte Mouton class would turn pro early, this class I don't know.
It goes to the age old question... Do you recruit the top dogs who could bolt after their Fr, Soph, or Jr. years? Or do you recruit the 2nd/3rd tier recruits who will progress in their 4 years. Keyword being 4 years. As you mentioned with the Mouton/Ivey/Thomas class, that was a class that was solid since you knew they would play together for 4 years. This current class, who knows. We shall see if the risk outweighs the rewards.
I was fortunate enough to have caught Daniel Gibson play and the only thing I could say after seeing him perform was "damn".
Go UTEP!! #13 recruiting class (according to HoopScoop.com) which is absolutley amazing for us. Fili Rivera and Omar Thomas are two of the top JUCO's in the country and they're coming to El Paso. Look for UTEP to be back in the big dance very, very soon...
I'm getting less and less excited about college basketball w/all the early departures. Part of the fun for college athletics, for me at least, is identifying w/the players to an extent. Maybe you don't know them - but they go to your school, take some of the same classes, and you feel some sort of common bond through the school. With the 1 and done wonders... I just don't feel it. College football is mostly ok - almost all stay at least 3 years, and many good players stay 4. Something needs to be fixed. I think that if the NBA created a *real* developmental league, then it might discourage many of the marginal players from going pro so quickly... while filtering others who never even want to go to college the ability to earn an (albeit small) paycheck right after high school. The players union really needs to give in on that one.
