CMG's Recruiting Philosophy?

RedStar · April 11th, 2007, 01:31 PM

Does anyone know why CMG doesn't recruit height? We haven't signed a player taller than 6'9" since 2003!!! And the last class we had with anyone that was over 6'9" 2 of those guys never saw the court, Akini Adkins and Shawn Taylor (if they did, it was never more than a couple of minutes) before transferring! Does anyone have any idea? I mean just look at the teams who advanced to the final 4 this year, and basically every year. I know everyone talks about how important guard play is, but I think you have GOT to have a physical presence down low or you'll never get anywhere. What Gives???

TideRoller · April 11th, 2007, 02:08 PM

	Quote:	Tider@UNA
	Does anyone know why CMG doesn't recruit height? We haven't signed a player taller than 6'9" since 2003!!! And the last class we had with anyone that was over 6'9" 2 of those guys never saw the court, Akini Adkins and Shawn Taylor (if they did, it was never more than a couple of minutes) before transferring! Does anyone have any idea? I mean just look at the teams who advanced to the final 4 this year, and basically every year. I know everyone talks about how important guard play is, but I think you have GOT to have a physical presence down low or you'll never get anywhere. What Gives???

I'm not sure why being taller than 6'9" is the definition of "height." Who decided that 6'9" wasn't tall enough? I missed that message. CMG has recruited "height"...however 2 of those guys didn't get it done, and ultimately left the program. Additionally, you can have a physical presence down low without that presence being 6'10" or taller. Look at Glen Davis and Richard Hendrix. Justin Knox will be playing for Alabama next season. He's reportedly 6'9" and growing. Perhaps this recruit will satisfy your requirement of taller than 6'9".

rtr1973 · April 11th, 2007, 02:41 PM

	Quote:	TideRoller
	Justin Knox will be playing for Alabama next season. He's reportedly 6'9" and growing.

Justin was measured at roughly 6-9 last spring/summer (height listed by all the recruiting sites). He was measured a month or so ago at 6-10.5 and is still growing.

BigAL413 · April 11th, 2007, 05:52 PM

	Quote:	Tider@UNA
	Does anyone know why CMG doesn't recruit height? We haven't signed a player taller than 6'9" since 2003!!! And the last class we had with anyone that was over 6'9" 2 of those guys never saw the court, Akini Adkins and Shawn Taylor (if they did, it was never more than a couple of minutes) before transferring! Does anyone have any idea? I mean just look at the teams who advanced to the final 4 this year, and basically every year. I know everyone talks about how important guard play is, but I think you have GOT to have a physical presence down low or you'll never get anywhere. What Gives???

Alabama was lucky to have Chuck Davis and Jemereo Davidson in a such a short time period. It isn't a given to be able to recruit and sign 6-10 and taller guys every year. It is also not worth signing a guy who is 6-10 and cannot play - there are very few solid 6-10+ guys out there, and surprisingly they don't all want to play for the Tide.

TideRoller - 6-9 is far too short to dominate consistently. It's only one inch, but it does make a huge difference. Davis routinely struggled against Davis and Davidson due to their height and length. Hendrix and Glenn Davis are solid players, but they are no threat to block shots and dominate down low on defense.

Bama-94-00 · April 11th, 2007, 06:45 PM

More height and reach can really help, but that's not absolutely required for a post player to dominate.

It'd help Glenn Davis to lose more weight and improve his jumping.

TideRoller · April 11th, 2007, 09:57 PM

	Quote:	BigAL413
	TideRoller - 6-9 is far too short to dominate consistently. It's only one inch, but it does make a huge difference. Davis routinely struggled against Davis and Davidson due to their height and length. Hendrix and Glenn Davis are solid players, but they are no threat to block shots and dominate down low on defense.

You are right...6'9" is too short to be a consistent shot blocker. However, being able to block shots is only a small part of being a dominate post player. At only 6'9", Glen Davis has been the SEC Player of the Year, a top rebounder, and a constant defensive presence. Being a good post player and playing good defense is more about knowing how to effectively utilize your body.

You're going to have to remind me about all the games in which Glen Davis "routinely struggled" against Alabama. Best I remember, he routinely scored 15-18 points per game, and had at least a couple of double doubles.

TIDE-HSV · April 11th, 2007, 10:15 PM

Position and body control are important at the post, but reach is equally important. I don't know if you could really call Noah "dominant" because of his slight build. But, Lord, those long arms can really snag the rebounds...

TideRoller · April 12th, 2007, 09:07 AM

In an article in the Tuscaloosa News today, Cecil Hurt mentions that Alabama is recruiting Josh Sain, a 6'6" forward from Liberty Tech High School in Jackson, TN. He has attracted more attention from big time programs since a huge performance in his team's state championship victory.

Josh Sain Information at bottom of link

RedStar · April 12th, 2007, 09:15 AM

	Quote:	TIDE-HSV
	Position and body control are important at the post, but reach is equally important. I don't know if you could really call Noah "dominant" because of his slight build. But, Lord, those long arms can really snag the rebounds...

Exactly, and this is what I'm talking about. Height is everything for some people. If Shaq were a foot shorter (6'2") He wouldn't be in the NBA, if Kevin Garnett were a foot shorter (5'11") he's fast enough and athletic enough that I thnk he would still be a guard in the NBA. Height makes a huge difference. Just look at the players who dominated this year, they were all tall guys, basketball is a tall sport. I don't see why that is hard to understand TideRoller. You do have to be tall to a dominant team. Just look at when Ole Miss was at their best, they had Raheem Lockhart down-low, and he was a beast, since he's been gone, they've been mediocre (until a decent run lat year). All I'm wondering is why it seems like he refuses to recruit tall guys.

BigAL413 · April 12th, 2007, 09:21 AM

[QUOTE=TideRoller;571776]You are right...6'9" is too short to be a consistent shot blocker. However, being able to block shots is only a small part of being a dominate post player. At only 6'9", Glen Davis has been the SEC Player of the Year, a top rebounder, and a constant defensive presence. Being a good post player and playing good defense is more about knowing how to effectively utilize your body.

You're going to have to remind me about all the games in which Glen Davis "routinely struggled" against Alabama. Best I remember, he routinely scored 15-18 points per game, and had at least a couple of double doubles.[/QUOTE]

He only scored above his season average once against Davis and Davidson...but that isn't the point. Hendrix and Davis are awesome players, but they cannot do it without the help of another presence down low. Glenn Davis had Bass and Thomas, and Hendrix has had Davidson.

Your point about rebounding is a good one, but being a defensive monster is much more than rebounding. Even if you are not blocking shots, if a player is intimidated by you that can be enough....players like Davis and Hendrix don't do that...I think you are right about losing weight and being more agile, an athletic 6-9 guy is much better than and slow, big 6-10+ guy..

TideRoller · April 12th, 2007, 09:30 AM

	Quote:	Tider@UNA
	Exactly, and this is what I'm talking about. Height is everything for some people. If Shaq were a foot shorter (6'2") He wouldn't be in the NBA, if Kevin Garnett were a foot shorter (5'11") he's fast enough and athletic enough that I thnk he would still be a guard in the NBA. Height makes a huge difference. Just look at the players who dominated this year, they were all tall guys, basketball is a tall sport. I don't see why that is hard to understand TideRoller. You do have to be tall to a dominant team. Just look at when Ole Miss was at their best, they had Raheem Lockhart down-low, and he was a beast, since he's been gone, they've been mediocre (until a decent run lat year). All I'm wondering is why it seems like he refuses to recruit tall guys.

He doesn't refuse to recruit "tall" guys. Even your own initial post proved that. Justin Knox is coming this fall. Justin fits your criteria. I know several people use this board to complain, but in this case, your complaint is without much merit. CMG has recruited guys 6'10" and taller. Does he do it every year? No. He can't. It would be pointless to spend every recruiting year signing the same type of player.

CornBiscuit · April 12th, 2007, 09:30 AM

Arm length is way more important than height...along with quick leaping ability.

And Glen Davis is average at best on defense when he plays a long opposing player.

TideRoller · April 12th, 2007, 09:34 AM

	Quote:	BigAL413
	He only scored above his season average once against Davis and Davidson...but that isn't the point. Hendrix and Davis are awesome players, but they cannot do it without the help of another presence down low. Glenn Davis had Bass and Thomas, and Hendrix has had Davidson.

I know this isn't your main point, and I think we both can agree that Glen Davis didn't struggle against Alabama because he "only" scored his season average. A little FYI: Glen Davis only went up against Chuck Davis twice when Glen was an out of shape freshman. Thanks to a clumsy and clueless Justin Jonus, basketball fans were robbed of the opportunity to see a much improved Glen Davis go up against a Senior Chuck Davis.