I've been reflecting lately on the issues that the team is facing this year, the discussions on this board, the players we appear to be recruiting, and the history of the program. My opinion, and I know Matt your opinion, is that CBB is about guard play. However in the recent past, JD appears to have been targeting the very top big men rather than the very top guards/shooters. Really this goes all the way back to Blair in 2007 but I'll give him that one since he was local and go with Taylor in 2009. I think JD has done an excellent job at finding wings throughout his whole tenure, so that position isn't really part of this discussion.
This year our current top guard is Wilson (#93) . Our previous highest guard was Robinson (#59). Both are big, conservative, solid guards but neither are considered extremely athletic or have an elite skill. The last guard Pitt had with an elite skill was Gibbs, who shot the lights out (save for his senior year).
For big men, Diallo (#6) and Swanigan (#16) are still on the board. Both are obviously Top 20, athletic, and considered to have elite skills. Of the previous highly recruited big men with elite skills, maybe Blair was the only program-changing big and it's even hard to judge because he had Fields and Young to complement him.
So all this is to ask, should JD continue to recruit the highly rated bigs each year as he appears to have been doing, or should he focus more on the highly rated guards/shooters with elite skills?
My opinion is that Diallo or Swanigan would obviously help next year's team but the marginal improvement you gain from elite big man recruits, compared to a big who has developed in the program for 2-3 years, is less than the marginal improvement you gain from the same relationship when it comes to guards. I think guards in general are more impactful in the short- and long-term, so I'd like to see JD target more elite guards/shooters. What do you guys think?
This year our current top guard is Wilson (#93) . Our previous highest guard was Robinson (#59). Both are big, conservative, solid guards but neither are considered extremely athletic or have an elite skill. The last guard Pitt had with an elite skill was Gibbs, who shot the lights out (save for his senior year).
For big men, Diallo (#6) and Swanigan (#16) are still on the board. Both are obviously Top 20, athletic, and considered to have elite skills. Of the previous highly recruited big men with elite skills, maybe Blair was the only program-changing big and it's even hard to judge because he had Fields and Young to complement him.
So all this is to ask, should JD continue to recruit the highly rated bigs each year as he appears to have been doing, or should he focus more on the highly rated guards/shooters with elite skills?
My opinion is that Diallo or Swanigan would obviously help next year's team but the marginal improvement you gain from elite big man recruits, compared to a big who has developed in the program for 2-3 years, is less than the marginal improvement you gain from the same relationship when it comes to guards. I think guards in general are more impactful in the short- and long-term, so I'd like to see JD target more elite guards/shooters. What do you guys think?
