Aaron Wheeler
- Thread starter Monk1014
- Start date
That's not what was said. He said, "We wrote the book on attrition." That suggests that we either 1)invented attrition or 2)have taken attrition to heretofore unknown heights. I think both count as hyperbole.
That is better. Ryne Smith/Lewis Jackson/VE range. Hope it works out for him and he can be even better than VE.
No offense, but I had to laugh at this. He was unacceptable 5 minutes ago. Suddenly we have learned he has moved up in the latest rankings, so now he is worthy of a Purdue scholarship. I'm glad the coaches aren't relying solely on the judgement of the web recruiting experts.
I know right? It's amazing how much better he just got as a player.
Who said he is or isn't worthy? I do wish we would have gotten at least 1 or 2 of the top 50-60 types we were looking at that and that Painter poured his time into, but I'm glad at least glad this guy is ranked at an OK spot and getting recognition. Why you ask? I'm glad you asked, Andy. Recruiting services get it right WAY more often than not. Here are Painter 3 star guys in the 120 range vs. unranked/200+ range over the past 5-6 years:
Weatherford- unranked, transferred
Cline- 141, solid freshman year
PJ Thompson- unranked, decent backup after 2 years (best unranked on this list)
Taylor- unranked, nothing yet, still time but most consider him a long shot to be more than an average backup
VE- 124, good starter with good upside
Mathias- 147, solid reserve or ok spot starter with chance to improve
Jay Simpson- 112, showed potential, but we never got to see how good he could be due to a medical issue
Lawson- unranked, poor B1G player, transferred
Hale- unranked, poor B1G player, transferred
Tacos- unranked, below average backup, stayed all 4 years
Hmm.. almost like there is a theme here. Oh wait, I know! All of the ranked players have been solid contributors outside of Jay who had potential but never fully got the chance due to a heart problem. And look Andy, there is a pattern amongst the unranked too! Weatherford never played, Taylor has done nothing so far, Lawson, Hale and Tacos were all poor B1G players. PJ Thompson, who is an ok backup with low TO's but a lack of being able to create, is the best unranked guy we've had since Chris Kramer committed 10 years ago, which certainly tells you something. What an interesting correlation with rankings and how the guy turns out! Now Andy, not all ranked guys turn out great and some unranked become special, but those are the exceptions, not the rule. I hope you've learned something here today!
I quite frankly don't care what you or I or GBI see in a youtube video. I'm happy to see the professionals who spend time analyzing talent say this guy is pretty decent. Seems like an easy concept to grasp, but understanding how simple things work like rankings isn't always a strong suit of fans on this board.
As you proved in your quick flip-flop on whether or not he meets your standard as a good player.
Are you saying there is no correlation between rankings and production with regards to Painter recruits?
If you just look at Purdue data, I am not certain if the correlation would be statistically significant. Anecdotally, Mathias and Cline were rated much lower than Stephens and PJ was rated much lower than RJ and Scott. Travis Carroll was rated in the top 60 or so at the time that he committed and Vince Edwards was rated much lower than Rapheal Davis and even Smotherman, at the time of Smotherman's commitment.
Obviously, there will be some correlation with rankings if a larger set of data is analyzed, but I'm not convinced that it is all that significant. The differences between players are subtle when comparing players between 100-300 and any observation based on seeing a player play a few times is bound to have a large margin of error. I also think that players from Indiana tend to be more closely scrutinized early than players from other parts of the country.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what Wheeler can do and I am certainly not writing him off because of his ranking.
Where could you have possibly read that in my post?
Are you saying that this afternoon a kid is a much better player ranked 150 than he was this morning ranked 200?
Painter has recruited 4 All B1G players. All were top 100 players. That's a correlation in my book.
Not writing off Wheeler at all, just making the point that recruiting rankings DO MATTER, in the aggregate. See: Purdue Football.
If you are saying that rating one kid #87 and a second kid #102 obviously makes the first kid better, then no, I disagree with you. And that is what it appears you are claiming.
I have seen too many kids "blow up" their senior year, going from unranked to top 100. Sometimes it's because they truly grew up and their skills and bodies caught up with their talents. Other times it's because the recruiting gurus saw them for the first time.
Not disagreeing that rankings do matter, but the example you give doesn't prove much. I could name many First Team All Big Ten players from the past few years who were not ranked in the top 100. I think it's just a matter of time until Painter has one. Obviously, there will be some correlation with rankings, but I am not convinced that it is as strong a predictor as some here seem to think it is.
Never said that. Taking issue with your insinuation that a prospect ranking going from outside the top 200 to 123 is insignificant.
I am going off of Painter's track record. Crean has had more success finding "diamonds in the rough" than CMP has thus far, with VO and OG.
Thus far, I agree, but Painter does a nice job of developing players and it is just a matter of time, IMO, until he has a First Team All Big Ten player who is ranked outside of the top 100 in high school. Perhaps, it will be Vince Edwards, who was ranked outside of the top 100 by most services. It might be Haarms or Wheeler, for that matter.
I liked some things about OG early in the season before I think he gathered some interest. However, I don't think he is "there" yet. I think what you are indirectly saying is the ceiling is higher for athletic players. It may be easier to develop some skills in an athlete than making a skillful player more athletic...which we know is true. I also think that pushing the ball and getting into an up and down game like Crean's favors the athlete and favors the athlete on a college court over a high school court. I could change the effectiveness of many teams by changing the court dimensions...let alone rules.
This is not to say that only athletes should be recruited as a good mix is always desirable.
I wouldn't bet against Vincent Edwards ending up all-conference before he leaves....JMO.
We shall see.
This is a good point. Painter hasn't brought in a lot of lower ranked, long, athletic wings like Crean has, based on potential, but Wheeler seems to fit this description. Painter likes his wings to be complete players, so hopefully Wheeler can develop his all around game.
I wished there were more video on Wheeler. That said I think he will end up being a very solid player for Purdue
Right. I can't really tell far along he is from a skills standpoint, although some reports are encouraging. One thing that is clear is that he needs time in the weight room.
That is Aaron Wheeler from Charleston Southern University.
Nobody is saying 87 and 102 are huge differences. Wheeler jumped over 100 spots.
That is a huge difference. I'm not really into the different rating services but for a kid to jump that much that quickly is a big deal. Looking forward to seeing how he does this year and hopefully there will be some more video on him so we can see his progress.
Sounds like he just started getting a lot of attention due to his play in July. Apparently, a lot of coaches travelled to Brewster this fall to evaluate him.
One thing I like about both our commits is both have NBA height and length for their positions. They have to add strength, skill, etc, but you can picture both of them in the league, if they do so. If we are going to take a risk, these are types of athletes to do so with.
I am sure you guys all remember all the hand wringing and regrets around our "failure" to recruit Big Dog's son, G-Rob III, right? He was a quickly rising player who exploded his senior year. Sounds like Wheeler might be on the cusp of doing something similar. I am glad he committed to Painter and Purdue. Welcome Aaron!
