If you talked to basketball fans throughout the country very few outside of Iowa would have a clue who Fred Hoiberg is. Almost everyone would know MJ, G. Hill, C. Boozer, Laetner(sp), Hurley and many others. I would think that having a chance to win a national championship would be a major goal of any top player. This alone makes it difficult for a school like ISU to recruit a top ten player. The only chance I would think a local school would have in keeping a top ten player is if the parents wanted to see their kid play and encouraged them to stay home.
Though I agree in principle with your first couple of sentences, (and I realize you are using Fred as an example because many posters have said that Harrison could be the next "Mayor" if he stayed here) I find it ironic that Fred Hoiberg has become a part of a professional basketball team's front office after an 8 year career in the NBA. Someone thinks that he has the talent and intelligence to do that, Tim Floyd did, even though Fred was not a household name. Walk-on Jeff Hornacek, who averaged 15 points a game for 14 years in the NBA was not a household name. Neither was Victor Alexander, 10 years, Kelvin Cato, 11 years, Don Smith, 9 years, Jeff Grayer, 9 years, Jamaal Tinsley, 7 years, Marcus Fizer, 6 years, Mike Taylor ............. none of them, household names.
And ......... I would be willing to bet, that more than one of the aforementioned players actually said to themselves, "Hey, they NEED me here at ISU," before deciding to come to Iowa State to play basketball.
They didn't say, "I want to go where I can play for a national championship." And yet we almost got there.
You will never convince me that the national championship game was not played on Michigan State's "home floor" in the regional final.
Yes, ISU had a chance to win a national championship in 2000. Iowa State University.
My point in replying to your post, Harry, is that while every single player who is fortunate enough to be able to play basketball after high school may wish to play for a national championship, only a select few get to do so, ......... one team in fact, regardless of whether an individual attends one of the top 20 or so college basketball perennial powers.
Does it increase the odds of winning a championship by attending a UNC or a TU, ...... without question. Does it increase the odds that you will go to the NBA? ..... No.
Trying to pick a school from the "top twenty" in the hopes of securing a national championship, and being 100% sure about it, is an excercise in futility. Otherwise, there would be many wealthy people who successfully bet on the eventual winner each and every year. So, if you can't be sure, (and you can't), I would be far more concerned about my development as a player and my NBA potential, and as a person. If that is indeed, Duke, or Cinncinati, fine. But I think a case can be made for staying at home. Coach McDermott is known all over this country as a developer of big men. That is why Craig Brackins came to Iowa State.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to say I wish some people here would quit talking out of both sides of their collective mouths. (This is not intended for you, Harry)
You want recruiting to improve, but if we don't get better players we criticize the coach and staff for not doing their job, and if we do get better players, they won't stay because we are ISU (or the classic, he must not be any good because he came to ISU), if we try to recruit top ten players, they won't come here because we are ISU and my gosh if given the chance ........ YOU wouldn't go to ISU, ......... you'd go to Duke. If YOU would go to Duke, how then can you possibly rationalize being critical of a recruiting staff and the coaches trying their best to strengthen the roster??????? Absolutely amazing.
For those of you to which this applies, let all of us know beforehand whom you deem acceptable to recruit to ISU, so if we don't get them to come here, we can expect you to be critical of the basketball staff. Is it anyone over three stars, or three and a half, or four stars, or guys from Ames or Iowa City? Or just five star guys? Be sure to post long and hard about how you would go elsewhere, so when it does happen, we don't have to be surprised when you are critical of the coaching staff. Then the recruit can come on this board and read about how he made the right decision, because we are ISU, the coach sucks, the assistants are terrible and and we have a terrible basketball history.
I choose not to be a part of anything that may be detrimental to the future of the Iowa State Cyclone basketball program.
And please don't tell me recruits don't read message boards and if they do read them, and take anything posted seriously, you don't want them as a part of the ISU family because they must not be strong or must be stupid, or both. If you choose to respond to this, and post a reply in hopes of convincing me otherwise, then one or both of us must not be strong, gullible in fact, and it follows then, that both of us, of course, must be stupid.
Just my opinion of course.
I apologize for the length and for the Cardinal and Gold glasses.
Go Cyclones :yes:
