A little offseason boredom, but I got to thinking the other day about some of my favorite Bobcat recruits that didn't end up panning out for whatever reason. Who were yours?

Ryan Taylor - excellent Freshman season and would have been an amazing Robin to Tony Campbell's Batman in the next two seasons after that. A Saul Year 2 lineup could have looked like this:

G: Simmons
G: Dartis
G: R. Taylor
F: Kaminski
F: Campbell
Bench: Setty, Block, D. Taylor

Jaaron Simmons: He's been discussed at length on this board and often overlooked as a great Ohio PG because he transferred, came after DJ Cooper, but before Jason Preston. All I'll say is that he led the MAC in assists two years in a row and has the Ohio single season assist record. Love him or hate him, the dude could play.

Zach Butler - Came from a championship pedigree in high school and we were in desperate need of PG help after Jaaron's departure. Teyvion Kirk took most of the minutes mostly out of desperation, but we needed a do-it-all type guy which Butler was in high school. His 6-3 frame would have caused fits for smaller guards in the MAC. Turns out the guy I was really waiting for was Jason Preston who came in the next season and Butler transferred out prior.

Wadley Mompremier/Khari Harley - Lumped these two together because from what I remember they both had loads of potential but could just never stay healthy.

James Kinney - He was averaging about 10 ppg during his Freshman season before he got busted and dismissed from the team. A trio of he, Basset and Cooper would have been lethal the later that season went on - not that it ended up mattering in the long run since we still won an NCAA Tournament game. His per 40 minutes scoring stats are outstanding for this day and age of college basketball.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/james-kinney...

Steven Coleman - Stevie Fressssshhhhhh could ball back in the day, man. How in the hell did we win a tournament game in 2010 with that turmoil? Jesus.

Jeremy Fears - This one is pretty self explanatory. Took us to a MAC title and took Florida to the brim in the NCAA Tournament. Had mostly everyone coming back the next year and it just completely fell apart. Fears was the perfect compliment to Leon Williams, Mychal Green, Sonny Troutman and a young Jerome Tillman. A lengthy PG who could defend, drive and distribute - something we definitely need now.

Then there's also a different category of guys who finished here and you wish we had more than a couple years of: Walt Offutt, Bubba Walther, Travis Wilkins, Justin Orr, Maurice NDour, Jason Carter

Rio Adams?

I know he was mentioned on another thread in jest, but there was some major buzz around that signing. Had the profile of an Armon Bassett--combo guard, not many minutes on a P5 team, and yes, some off-court baggage. He and Mo could've been a freakish combo...but then again, can you imagine a backcourt of Bean and Rio together? Yikes!

I'm still amazed at how little Ike Cornish has done in college ball after being such a heralded h.s. player. Picked Maryland over Georgetown, St Johns, Xavier, etc. I really thought we had found a diamond in the rough but it wasn't to be.

TyQuane Goard (better at Marshall)
Kadeem Green (had real potential)
James Gollon (loved him but always hurt)
Alex Kellogg (never did suit up)
Torey James (had potential)
Antonio Cowart (thought he'd be a great MAC player)
Marvin Price (thought he would be something special)
Lunden McDay (Great unknown)
DJ Wingfield (heart condition?)

Not necessarily the Dustin Ford part, but this is still the biggest "what if" in Bobcat Hoops history for me.

Great thread idea. Ryan Taylor and Linden McDay would top my list. Just loved the way both of them played the game every night.

Mike Haley, great SF on the Elite 8 team. I'll always remember after his Portsmouth team won the state championship the interview he had on the floor of St. John's Arena with our very own Crummy Jim, who asked him how'd he'd like to play for OSU in this great arena. Mike politely, but firmly, informed Crummy that he was going to play for the Ohio Bobcats. At this point Crummy almost swallows his mic, stutters a little, and says, Oh that's a great decisions. That's my alma mater. Jim Snyder's a great coach. Blah, Blah, Blah. He was just so shocked that this elite player didn't want to play for Crying Towel Taylor and his Mighty Buckeyes.

Edit: Crummy Jim is my nickname for Jimmy Crum, Ohio alumnus and longtime TV sports dude in Cowtown.

Am I imagining things, or did Fears return for an alumni reception game a few years ago? Maybe oldkatz or someone else close by can confirm. I think the beginning of the end was the Kentucky game in Cincinnati. He was pretty giddy that he did indeed clamp up Rondo despite committing a ton of turnovers. Be sure to watch the NBA draft because his son Jeremiah is probably a lottery pick.

Remember Tariq Owens? Even if he arrived in Athens I don't think he was staying long. Perpetual one foot out the door player. Holds Texas Tech's single season blocks record.

Jeremiah Fears could go top 5 in next month's draft.

Interestingly, another former MAC player's son, Dylan Harper, could be the top pick of any player in this year's draft not named Cooper Flagg. Dylan's dad, Miami's Ron Harper, was quite possibly the top 2 or 3 MAC players I've seen in over 45 years.

Dylan Harper and Jeremiah Fears also both have siblings that could join them in the NBA. Ron Harper Jr. is in the Detroit Pistons' organization while Jeremy Fears Jr. started for Michigan St. last season.

Curtis was as talented a basketball player and as athletic as anyone who wore the green and white. Just could never escape his own vices. Good person overall, just couldn’t get out of his own way.