Gary recruiting
by earlbadu on Feb 18, 2010 11:09 AM EST
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Last name's game made me realize something. Gary may take some heat for not getting many top 15-top 20 guys, but in a lot of ways he is smarter than the list makers out there.
On NC State, you had Deshawn Painter, a consensus top 100 guy that considered MD till the end but ulitmately went to NC State.
MD, of course, had already signed Jordan Williams, who was not a on anyone's top 100 list and ranked lower than Painter by all the services.
Now, Is Jordan Williams on of the top 100 freshman in the country? Absolutely. Is he in the top 30? You could make a good argument. And for good measure, he throws up 19 and 11 last night while Painter gets 2 points in 11 minutes. Williams has had a MUCH better freshman year than Painter.
Where are all the haters who get after Gary for not getting a "Top 100" recruit? Why don't they praise him for having the vision to see a player who was clearly going to he a Top 100 player as a freshman, which is what really matters.
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Hey not to rain on your parade but....
Jordan was ranked higher than Painter on rivals and in the top 100 on scout and rivals. But, this doesn’t take away from the fact that JWill is playing much higher than he was ranked.
i actually don't think so
i remember painter being a top 60-70 kid and JWill being a top 150 kid on rivals but maybe someone knows for sure
by tiimbitz4786 on Feb 18, 2010 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
you do realize they constantly update the rankings
right up to the start of the season
JWill was not as highly valued as Painter for much of the process
when painter signed he was considered a top 100 player and JWill was not
that’s what i’m saying
by tiimbitz4786 on Feb 18, 2010 2:12 PM EST up reply actions
When Painter signed to Florida, yes, he was top 25ish
Whereas JWill wasn’t even on most people’s radar. But when he was being recruited by Maryland he had fallen to the fringe of the 100 area, right around (maybe above or below) where JWill was. Regardless, when JWill signed he was not close to Painter, even what Painter finished in.
Jordan was 85th and painter was 127th according to rivals.com
by MurlandTerps on Feb 18, 2010 3:13 PM EST up reply actions
yes we know
but JWill was a riser and Painter was a faller—-see bbro above
by tiimbitz4786 on Feb 18, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
Padgett
But Painter was higher rated than Padgett, who I think we all agree will be a solid player/a quality 6th man by next year
I agree and disagree
clearly i agree that gary spots talent pretty well…
but i disagree that painter is not a good prospect…he was a guy that everyone knew had considerable upside but needed a ton of coaching
for some reason he chose NC State where there was absolutely no way he was going to get the coaching he needed…he made his bed…now he’s lying in it…
he must look over at the progress JWill made and be wondering about what might have been
Also i don’t think the gary haters would have been cheering painters commitment…for many of them it’s fill your class with 5 stars or bust
It's all about the type of player Gary likes
First, I’ll have a story up on Williams later today that you’ll all enjoy.
When I was at Gary’s post-game press conference after the UVA game Monday, I asked Gary what it meant to have 3 seniors on his team and asked if that was the main reason they’ve bounced back from a loss with a quality win every time this year, sans Maui. Here is what he said:
“They have been through the feeling of making the NCAA tournament last year [to]reading in the paper that they weren’t good enough to play in the ACC. So they’ve had every level that you could have of criticism and praise and the same people that praised them were the ones that criticized them so you learn that quick and it toughens you upThen you realize that our locker room determines how we play. That’s the only thing that determines how we play; the people in that room. We try to stick with that. We’ve stuck with that since about the middle of last year. It’s a great ride with these three seniors. I’m enjoying seeing them get what they deserve. A guy like Landon Milbourne averaged 1 point per game his freshman year, didn’t play much. He came into the office at the end of the year and I said “here we go, I’m sure he wants to transfer.” All he wanted to know was what he had to work on to play next year, to play more. You get guys like that, coaching is a tough business but it’s a very rewarding business when you have a guy like a Landon Milbourne playing for you."
I think that sums up Gary’s coaching and recruiting right there. He might not get a guy that’s a 5 star prospect; he’s going to go after a guy that he knows can BECOME or has POTENTIAL to become that good. Or if they already show their talent, they better have that work ethic to want to continue to listen and improve. If he does target a highly ranked person, he wants someone who is always going to want to be better and not be selfish and listen to his coaching. After speaking to Jordan Williams after the game, it’s clear he too is another person that fits that mold. Great talent and potential and extreme desire to work hard. And you’re already seeing him improve.
That’s why I think Gary is either the best or second best coach in the ACC. I’m talking coaching. Not recruiting; coaching. Gary’s coaching makes players better. And I think that’s why he goes after the guys he does. As he said when he answered my question, that’s what is so rewarding to him – seeing people with the raw talent get better over their careers at Maryland. And that’s a direct reflection on Gary’s coaching abilities.
Coach K does that too. Roy Williams isn’t half the coach Gary and Coach K are. And I think the drop off from Gary and Coach K to Roy isn’t huge, but there is a difference. And once you get below Roy, there is another big drop off. I’ve always been a Gary defender. I’m not really worried about his critics. As far as I’m concerned, they can go cheer for another team. If you don’t love Gary as a Maryland fan and appreciate what he’s done, you’ll never be satisfied unless you travel back in time to the 70s and 80s and become a fan of UCLA.
well said dave....
the only place i’ll disagree is that I don’t think gary avoids recruiting top talent…he does go after top 100 kids every year with a lot of rigor..
I think the shake and bake stuff has more to do with the fact that we don’t land the top 50 kids with regularity…
I mean Ross—don’t be shocked if he ends up at Oregon with T. Jones on the Nike express—-makes me sick
by tiimbitz4786 on Feb 18, 2010 12:43 PM EST up reply actions
Oh, I agree
Sorry if I made that unclear. Gary goes after top guys. But I think he’d strongly prefer the top guys who still want to work to get better.
top talent
yea i gotta agree with timmy on this one. gary goes after these top kids but he’s not going to sacrifice who he is or the players who are already playing for him just to land a top recruit.
look at dirty calipari – he got wall and bledsoe with the promise to make bledsoe the #1 guy in his sophomore year. but what is he doing now? hes going after knight as hard as he can with no regard to bledsoe.
gary isnt scum like calipari. and i am happy with the results. b/c they’re earned honestly.
by word2bigbird on Feb 18, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
Great Read Dave
If Gary got the national attention of being one of the best coaches, not recruiters, in the country, you might see more top kids coming to MD. I just don’t see what Kansas, Ketucky, Duke, UNC, and UCONN have that MD doesn’t. You see alot of highly rated recruits go to these big schools and just never develope because of coaching. They all have great recruiters just not great coaches(except Duke) If Gary was consistantly landing top 5 or 10 recruiting classes he would be pumping players into the NBA regularly. Just to be clear in no way am I knocking Gary’s recruiting, but I just don’t see that top recruit from outside MD growing up saying I would love to play for MD and Gary. It just will never happen. So Gary puts NCAAT teams out regularly with mid-level talent and great coaching.
Kansas Kentucky and Duke
are on another level in terms of prestige and history
and UConn doesn’t have anything we don’t have…they just cheat…
by tiimbitz4786 on Feb 18, 2010 2:02 PM EST up reply actions
Anyone Remember Joe Smith?
exactly the same low/under the radar recruit Gary got who just happened to win the Naismith…
If Williams continues his exponential development, there is no reason to think he can’t win it.
Excellent post.
It’s obvious Jordan Williams has exceeded expectations and is already a much better player than the “experts” predicted he would be. It just goes to show you people put too much emphasis on hype and stars. After all, it’s easier to have someone tell you how good some high school player is or how good some schools recruiting class is. But it doesn’t automatically translate into performance on the collegiate level or in wins. There are other intangibles that determine an athletes success (and for that matter, success in any arena).
But it’s not just about the kind of plaer Gary William’s recruits. A certain kind of kid comes to Maryland. If you’re a five star player with a big ego looking to get paid and pampered, it ain’t happening at Maryland. The kids know that by the 8th grade. And Gary is an in-your-face coach who doesn’t cut anyone any slack. Those five star players don’t want to hear it. So they go elsewhere.
It’s their loss. Just look at the improvement Jordan Williams has made in less than one season. That’s coaching. That’s teaching. That’s making a young player better. I’m not sure there’s a better combo of coaching and teaching in college basketball than Gary Williams.
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