Gueye to UAB

[Russ Wood]

Guess UAB was offering too much $?

Hahaha WAT?

I understand the need to diss the school a prospect selects when it is not your school but yeesh. UAB is a solid program. They're predicted to win their conference. The atmosphere at their games is terrific and if you are on the basketball team at UAB you are a celebrity on campus and in Birmingham.

Rutgers did a good job recruiting Gueye, but they were only recruiting him for seven months. So to be there in the end was big.

Also, HM programs were backing off this kid pretty fast. At one point UCONN and Florida, to name two, were on him then they weren't.

Pikiell will win his share of the kids that he targets and has time to build strong relationships with them and the decision makers close to that kid

 

[colbert17]

Can't figure why a kid would choose UAB over RU. (??) But it's a real loss, I fear. Thought we might have had another talented big man.

Wondering the same thing. Maybe he didn't want to pass up that twice a year battle with Old Dominion?
Boils down to the fact that we have to win some games. Perception is reality (in our case reality is reality) and until we put some Big 10 W's on the board kids are always going to be hesitant about us and our program.

 

[colbert17]

and the decision makers close to that kid

One of the big problems with D-1 basketball today. It use to be that it was said that you don't recruit the kid you recruit the mom. If you could sell mom on the school you got the kid. It was a family decision. Now it's "the decision makers" you have to sell. Sometime it's the freakin AAU coaches and hangers on that are "the decision makers". Along with these fake schools whose goal is to see that kids academicall qualify no matter what.I know that it's not 1970 anymore and I know that this is not a new complaint but I wish there were no such things as AAU teams.
Not saying that this is the case here. Just venting.

 

[drewbagel423]

Also, HM programs were backing off this kid pretty fast. At one point UCONN and Florida, to name two, were on him then they weren't.

Russ any idea why that happened?

 

[Bdodger2]

Colbert - it was never the way you portrayed it. Certainly not with kids from the big cities. Basketball recruiting going back way before 1970 was filled with all sorts of "characters" and the payment of money and other favors was the norm for many players and schools. There simply is more coverage today so it "appears" to be more rampant. The reality, however, that it has always been a factor. That is not to say every kid and school cheated. Of course that is not the case. But your perception of a cleaner, more innocent time is quite inaccurate.

 

[colbert17]

Believe me I know what you're talking about. There was a lot of cash flowing around NYC coming from coaches all around the country particularly from Tobacco Road. I personally know of a kid from Newark who went out west as a result of a payment. It just seems like these AAU guys have their hooks into these kids so deep and there are so many tournaments all around the country in the summer that it's become more and more of an accepted thing. It use to be that their HS coaches were the place where kids went to for advice. Now it's the AAU guys.

 

[Bdodger2]

Colbert - those are fair points to some extent. The AAU coaches and the organized AAU teams of today certainly did not exist back then. What you had were guys who traveled to all the main playgrounds in NYC (and other cities) and found players that were then sold to college bidders. The process was less organized but it existed. Indeed, an argument can be legitimately made that today things are cleaner than they were back then. As someone who grew up on the NYC playgrounds I knew who all the "characters" were and who they primarily worked for. Everyone did. It was open and notorious. Today it may be more covert, and the amount of money may be more substantial, but the cheating has always existed. Some of the blue bloods of today owe their "lofty" pedigree to the "system" in place in the 1950s and 1960s. I always laugh at their high minded and pretentious attitudes when it is well known how they built their reputations. Does anyone think all those terrific Jewish and Irish ballplayers from NYC and other northeast inner cities really had a burning desire to attend college in the south and Midwest during those years.

 

[colbert17]

Colbert - those are fair points to some extent. The AAU coaches and the organized AAU teams of today certainly did not exist back then. What you had were guys who traveled to all the main playgrounds in NYC (and other cities) and found players that were then sold to college bidders. The process was less organized but it existed. Indeed, an argument can be legitimately made that today things are cleaner than they were back then. As someone who grew up on the NYC playgrounds I knew who all the "characters" were and who they primarily worked for. Everyone did. It was open and notorious. Today it may be more covert, and the amount of money may be more substantial, but the cheating has always existed. Some of the blue bloods of today owe their "lofty" pedigree to the "system" in place in the 1950s and 1960s. I always laugh at their high minded and pretentious attitudes when it is well known how they built their reputations. Does anyone think all those terrific Jewish and Irish ballplayers from NYC and other northeast inner cities really had a burning desire to attend college in the south and Midwest during those years.

Regarding the characters back in the day, let me throw out two names to you and see if they ring a bell. They're both long gone so it doesn't matter.
Did you ever hear of either Rodney Parker or Mike Timeberg???

 

[MADHAT1]

I remember UAB starting their MBB program and having Gene Bartow as their AD & HC build it. Always thought he left UCLA for UAB and building that program because he was tired of the Wooden comparisons even though after replacing Wooden he was dong a good job in those two years Following a legend sometimes is harder than building a program from scratch.
UAB might not be considered a powerhouse but it's a solid program in my opinion

 

[Russ Wood]

Russ any idea why that happened?

NGE @drewbagel423 NGE

My "decision makers" comment was intended to be all inclusive: parent(s), girlfriend, HS & AAU Coaches, uncle(s) etc., etc.

With some kids, and the way they transfer to different HS and change AAU programs it is hard to tell who the decision makers are.

 

[Bdodger2]

Colbert - I knew Rodney well. A legend in Brooklyn in particular. I played a great deal at Foster Park in East Flatbush. Rodney lived in the Vandeveer Estates, the housing complex where Foster Park was located. Rodney was a true character. He was always getting kids into various colleges. The general impression is that Rodney did not make any money from the colleges - he simply loved basketball and had a good heart. His real source of income was as a well known ticket scalper.

Rodney came along in the late Sixties when Foster Park was initially gaining its City wide basketball reputation. He worked really hard to get kids out of Brooklyn and on to college. He was colorful and a true nut, but warmhearted and not a prick like so many of the other leeches out there.

I can imagine someone like Kevin Hart playing Rodney if a movie was ever made about his life.

 

[Russ Wood]

Can't figure why a kid would choose UAB over RU. (??) But it's a real loss, I fear. Thought we might have had another talented big man.

Don't over think it @Hope4RU it could be as simple as the kid felt more comfortable at UAB and that goes to the relationship he established with the staff there.

Remember, the HC that left UAB & the new HC both came from ACC schools. They know how to recruit. They got another kid to pick UAB over a Big 12 school.

 

[colbert17]

Colbert - I knew Rodney well. A legend in Brooklyn in particular. I played a great deal at Foster Park in East Flatbush. Rodney lived in the Vandeveer Estates, the housing complex where Foster Park was located. Rodney was a true character. He was always getting kids into various colleges. The general impression is that Rodney did not make any money from the colleges - he simply loved basketball and had a good heart. His real source of income was as a well known ticket scalper.

Rodney came along in the late Sixties when Foster Park was initially gaining its City wide basketball reputation. He worked really hard to get kids out of Brooklyn and on to college. He was colorful and a true nut, but warmhearted and not a prick like so many of the other leeches out there.

I can imagine someone like Kevin Hart playing Rodney if a movie was ever made about his life.

Rodney was the first ticket scalper I ever used. With all these ticket exchanges and stuff on the internet I miss the the guys hawking tickets outside of the Garden. Rodney was always the go to guy who had tickets for anything and he gave you a fair price.. He must had made a ton of money during that winter of 69-70.
I was from Elizabeth and when we got off the train Rodney was the first guy to look for if we needed "ducats" as he called them. He was a character and Kevin Hart would be perfect for that role.
Mike Timeberg was one of Al McGuires guys who recruited a lot in NYC. Helped get guys like Butch Lee and Dean Meminger out to Wisconsin.

 

[drewbagel423]

NGE @drewbagel423 NGE

My "decision makers" comment was intended to be all inclusive: parent(s), girlfriend, HS & AAU Coaches, uncle(s) etc., etc.

With some kids, and the way they transfer to different HS and change AAU programs it is hard to tell who the decision makers are.

NGE??

I was asking about why some high major programs were onto him and then started backing off.

 

[Russ Wood]

NGE??

I was asking about why some high major programs were onto him and then started backing off.

NGE=Not Good Enough

 

[RU85inFla]

Maybe he like Jim and Nicks. I love that place.

 

[RutgHoops]

Coach Pikiell spent a bunch of years under Jim Calhoun as did Coach Hobbs. If there have been two coaches at Rutgers who completely understand the landscape of college basketball recruiting better than those two I would be hard pressed to name them.

I feel quite comfortable giving this staff more than 7 months to build the relationships that will bear recruiting fruit at Rutgers.

 

[CPCU]

I think we are over thinking Gueye's decision. It is all about playing time. If I recall correctly UAB depth chart screamed for Gueye as a stretch "power" forward & we had a few other options.