When we play NCSU on Wednesday, it will be easy to think of what could have been. Dixon is 0-3 recruiting against Gottfried and those 3 players play important roles for the Wolfpack.
There seemed to be some thought that, early on, Anya could wind up at Pitt. Then it was IU with Crean. Then, Gottfried seemed to come out of nowhere to get him and in the end, I'm not sure he considered Pitt a great deal so it may not be fair to say that this was a Dixon vs Gottfried recruiting battle. When we started recruiting Anya, Gottfried was working for ESPNU.
Slice had a relationship with Lacey but it wasn't enough. Gottfried sold "style of play" I'm sure and the rest is history.
Freeman WAS the prototypical Pitt player. New Jersey kid, gritty, hard-working, lightly recruited, undersized power forward. I think most people thought we would land him, but to Raleigh he went.
To add insult to injury, Newkirk grew up a stone's throw from NCSU's campus and Gottfried didn't feel he was Wolfpack material and never offered him a scholarship, opting for Cat Barber instead. We had to resort to signing a player that not even NCSU wanted.
I know Anya gets made fun of a lot and his numbers arent great but he's a presence in the middle and leads the league in blocked shots. He takes up space and intimidates. Throw him in at the 5, slide Young to the 4, and insert Lacey at the 2 and this is a Sweet 16 caliber team. Freeman leads NCSU in rebounding, averaging 5.6 in only 18 MPG for an oustanding rebounding rate. He would be a good player off the bench for us. Perhaps as the backup 5 to Anya. His 4 offensive rebounds in the final 3:00 of the 1st half against us at the Pete last year turned that game completely around.
None of us expect to beat out Duke or UNC for recruits and probably not Syracuse or Louisville. But, we have to start beating out NCSU, Maryland, Villanova, Gtown, St. John's, etc.........instead of low-level Power 6 programs and mid-majors.
There seemed to be some thought that, early on, Anya could wind up at Pitt. Then it was IU with Crean. Then, Gottfried seemed to come out of nowhere to get him and in the end, I'm not sure he considered Pitt a great deal so it may not be fair to say that this was a Dixon vs Gottfried recruiting battle. When we started recruiting Anya, Gottfried was working for ESPNU.
Slice had a relationship with Lacey but it wasn't enough. Gottfried sold "style of play" I'm sure and the rest is history.
Freeman WAS the prototypical Pitt player. New Jersey kid, gritty, hard-working, lightly recruited, undersized power forward. I think most people thought we would land him, but to Raleigh he went.
To add insult to injury, Newkirk grew up a stone's throw from NCSU's campus and Gottfried didn't feel he was Wolfpack material and never offered him a scholarship, opting for Cat Barber instead. We had to resort to signing a player that not even NCSU wanted.
I know Anya gets made fun of a lot and his numbers arent great but he's a presence in the middle and leads the league in blocked shots. He takes up space and intimidates. Throw him in at the 5, slide Young to the 4, and insert Lacey at the 2 and this is a Sweet 16 caliber team. Freeman leads NCSU in rebounding, averaging 5.6 in only 18 MPG for an oustanding rebounding rate. He would be a good player off the bench for us. Perhaps as the backup 5 to Anya. His 4 offensive rebounds in the final 3:00 of the 1st half against us at the Pete last year turned that game completely around.
None of us expect to beat out Duke or UNC for recruits and probably not Syracuse or Louisville. But, we have to start beating out NCSU, Maryland, Villanova, Gtown, St. John's, etc.........instead of low-level Power 6 programs and mid-majors.