Calling it - this kid is going to have academic problems wherever he lands.

Calling it - this kid is going to have academic problems wherever he lands.

PLEASE ... quit posting such uninformed comments.

So if JC had NEVER recruited this kid you'd be happy? Your logic (or lack thereof) eludes me and I suspect MANY others. But keep posting ... I enjoy a good laugh on a Friday evening.

Further, this is not about you .. and your blaming someone else (JC). This is about some 18-20 year old 'kids' deciding where the best fit is as far as furthering their college career, both on the court and academically. Saul had his opportunity to 'sell' the 3 who apparently have decided to consider other opportunities. What I conlude from all this is that JC was in fact a good salesman. So why you want to attack him is illogical.

When are we going to realize that this gift wrapped Sweet 16 team had a nice run, but wasn't as good as the Sweet 16 season led us to think they were?

Jeff,

There is a big difference between Groce leaving us with 12 scholarship players returning after a 4 year stint, and JC leaving us in a position where we have 5 scholarships to fill in late-April, after a 2 year stint. Groce left the cupboard full. JC left us with zero returning minutes at the 2 and 3. Huge difference, in my opinion.

I understand why people don't fault JC for leaving, even though I personally disagree. What I don't understand is why some people (not necesarily you) think that JC shouldn't be criticized for an inherently selfish (even if arguably understandable) act, but then become indignant when others selfishly complain about the utterly predictable state he left our program in. Again, JC has largely derailed much of the momentum we had from the Sweet Sixteen run. I think we have a right to be upset about that, even if some don't fault him personally for taking the BC job.

Here's what JC inherited by class-

2013- 4 (Cooper, Offutt, Keely, Baltic)
2014- 4 (Kellogg, Smith, Johnson, Hall)
2015- 2 (Taylor, Green*)
2016- 0
open- 3

*Green never played for Groce, played just 64 minutes for JC.


And here's what SP inherited by class-

2015- 3 (Taylor, NDour, Willis)
2016- 1 (Setty)
2017- 2 (Campbell, Monpremier)
2018- 2 (Harley, Crute)
open- 5

JC's biggest recruiting need on day 1 was beefing up the '15 and '16 classes. This is a mark against Groce for leaving us that unbalanced. If JC doesn't fix Groce's error we're starting next year with Stevie Taylor and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. He used his 3 open scholarships to add transfers to the '15 and '16 class (Willis, Setty) and a JUCO to the '14 class (Wilkins). The following year NDour is added to the '15 class. So basically JC took Stevie Taylor and 3 open scholarships and turned it into Stevie, Bean, Setty and NDour. And if he wasn't totally insane Rio Adams would have been in there as well. I don't think JC could have done a better job addressing the problem he inherited from Groce than what he did.

That leaves the '17 and '18 classes. With 4 openings for '17 I though JC did a decent job. No need for a PG yet and with a strong SG like Wingfield this was a good class. The '18 class had just 2 (Crute and Owens) as the other 2 scholarships went to the '16 class. Again, not a bad move with only 1 other player in that class.

If JC doesn't leave this is what we look like next year

2015- 3 (Taylor, NDour, Willis)
2016- 3 (Setty, Wigginton, Morillo)
2017- 2 (Campbell, Monpremier)
2018- 3 (Harley, Crute, Owens)
open- 2

That's a very balanced roster, the only concern, and its a big one, is no PG in the '18 class. With a PG and a healthy Wingfield (unfortunate) this is a rock solid roster, but even with 11 and 2 open its not a concern.

John Groce left our roster in worse shape than Jim Christian did, the only difference is Groce only had 1 recruit that could back out. If Groce had done a better job at balancing the roster he would have left more openings too.

Time to move on...

EDIT: updated w/Harley in correct class. h/t bigtilly

I don't think I've ever criticized Christian's coaching. I thought he was an odd choice following Groce, to be sure, but I also think he did about the best he could have with the hand he was dealt. I do think Groce would have gotten more out of the 2012-13 team (from a post-season perspective, at least), as Christian never seemed to be a good fit with that group. But I thought he did a very nice job this year given the injury situation, especially down the stretch, aside from a couple games we really should have won earlier in the season (BG & Akron at home, in particular). Although I did find the unevenness of our play within the course of a game this year to be a bit perplexing...

At the end of the day, though, the program is undeniably in worse shape now than when Christian took over two years ago. If I'd told you two years go we'd already be on our second coach post-Groce, that we wouldn't have returned to the NCAA Tournament yet, and that wewould be sitting here on April 26th with five open scholarships and no returning wing players, would anyone have signed up for that? That in no way was a successful maximization of our Sweet Sixteen run. Even the 2013 regular season title comes with a huge asterisk given that we were swept by Akron and only tied them because Abreu was arrested for drug trafficking a day or two before their final regular season game.

Christian is a very good coach. He did some good things here. But he screwed us over royally when it was all said and done. Some don't fault him for that. I do. Reasonable minds can differ, I guess. My only disagreement here is with those who suggest that this was just a normal occurrence and one that we should just be content with. Coaches rarely leave after two years with as little post-season success as Christian, or leave the program in the shape JC did.

No one would have signed up for this two years ago, so we have a right to be disappointed today.

To Buffalo! Cant believe no restrictions were placed on this.

looks like he's joining a good looking class on paper

I...just...don't...get it.  I know a lot goes into these decisions but how can you run to Buffalo when you're all set for Athens?  I question your sanity.