Recruiting Notes 5.0 (The Summer of the Hazmat Suit)

Mr. Basketball in some states doesn’t translate to anything higher than a 3 star in the recruiting rankings, sadly.

Solid players, sure. But every team in the top half of the Big East has similar or more talented players coming in.

 

I'd refrain from getting too caught up in stars or rankings. Guys can either play or they can't. While even others progress at different rates. BU like other teams have to rebuild at certain times. I doubt BU will ever challenge for a BE title year in and year out. With budget restraints and keeping the program clean we have managed to be competitive. This season the injury bug has surfaced and otherwise we could have expected more. That said, another mobile big would prove a welcome addition.

 

Another mobile big for sure and make sure our big is "BIG EAST" big!
Nobody could anticipate the sequence of events that impacted the size and strength of this team: Tucker left (kind of expected) Hodges steps in (no he doesn't) Scooby goes down, Thompson misses 5 games, Coles goes down, Bolden is being asked to contribute outside his normal role, Tate, Harris, Nze and Golden asked to do way more than expected, Wilmoth was going to redshirt, remember?) and Thompson is leading this "Battlestar Galactica" to wherever we go record wise.
Even with the full cast (less Tucker) we were small by Big East standards and that issue has to be addressed. I pretty much say this every year. AND we were left with only 1 proven 3 point shooter in Bolden going into the season. The good news is our recruits are showing well and shooting better than expected. As a team 36% from 3 this year. All 4 of them have potential to shoot well from distance.
This is an excellent recruiting class and we got a Tucker replacement in Hodges via transfer, that for whatever reason, did not work out. Recruiting well was not the issue this season which was expected to be a rebuild year. Many said, with Hodges, Scooby and Coles we're middle of the league (4-6). They're out. Probably accurate but we'll never know. For the remainder of this season, I'm looking to see continued growth from the 4 freshmen, a few surprise wins, and more of that classic Butler toughness as the season progresses.