Kalscheur,
I disagree. With the exception of Royce who was a certifiable head case, I don't think that argument carries water. You're trying to make an apples to apples comparison between transfer players and two 4 star HS kids who haven't stepped on the court. The expectations of Babb, Allen, and Lucious were higher than Brockington, Kalscheur, Lipsey, King, and Hunter? No way.
I probably should have used the word character rather than culture. But that doesn't take away from the fact that TJ still got his players without having to make the reaches Fred did. Nor is it saying Fred only recruited kids of questionable character. He had some great ones. Babb is one example. And it has nothing to do with a coach getting a recruit to "buy in." I'm sure Cameron Lard had bought in the day he stepped on campus, and we all know how that worked out. TJ hasn't had to recruit those kind of players, and it's quite possible that he learned under Fred that it's better to avoid them if you want to build a sustainable culture.
Say what you will about Campbell's "bath water," but that's the difference between kids being gym rats on a Saturday night versus partying off campus and getting in trouble with the law. It's paying dividends today, and that winning has led to higher quality recruits in each of his subsequent seasons here. It may be easier to build a winning team in basketball than football, but it still works.
As for all of Fred's having to sit, well...IDK. Everyone was in the same boat then as everyone is in the same boat now. Immediate eligibility would have led to more competition. Gotta imagine more programs would have been more likely to take a transfer knowing you didn't have to use a scholarship on a kid who couldn't play for a year. Fred's performance thus far in Lincoln seems to back that up. But as a comparison, I was comparing the groups as a whole, treating King and Lipsey as "sit-outs." I can only imagine what dealing with Royce during his sit out year was like.