every coach brings in multiple players each year that aren’t big 12 (or make your conference) quality basketball players. That’s the nature of the beast when you bring in 3,4, or more recruits every year. I think we’re probably getting at the same point that ultimately what you need is talent but I’m of the opinion that coaches probably need atleast one middle of the pack player and one dude each year to compete for a league title. At a minimum, probably two players that are of the caliber that can play and hold their own and in either instance it could be through HS recruits, JCs or transfers.
I don’t think Prohm fails at bringing talent in, it’s his in game coaching and management that has failed him.
I always thought the Haliburton-THT-Griffin-Conditt class would make or break Prohm.
Seems so far that it is breaking him.
Two of them were absolute studs with loads of potential... to the point they were too good for college ball.
The other two are total busts.
So we end up with 0/4 of them really being significant contributors as upperclassmen.
The vaporization of that class (from the perspective of Iowa State) is dooming us.
If we were playing this lineup right now...
Haliburton
Bolton
Horton-Tucker
Johnson
Young
...or something like that, then we're actually pretty good. But we're not.