Booker to MSU
- Thread starter mathboy
- Start date
I am assuming he is a millionaire now
I'm guessing he's a real softie and all the tear stained ribbons on Whizzo's jacket swayed him.
Well something must have happened to speed up his decision. He literally just announced his top 10 a week ago…
Good luck to him.
Not 23, but Boilers have some great options in 24 to fill our needs. Any 3 of Burgess, Perry, G. Harris, Catchings & Rock will make a good class. Rock, Harris, & Catchings in particular, to go with Benter would be just exceptional.
Not 23, but Boilers have some great options in 24 to fill our needs. Any 3 of Burgess, Perry, G. Harris, Catchings & Rock will make a good class. Rock, Harris, & Catchings in particular, to go with Benter would be just exceptional.
Which says a lot...
Who announces a top 10 list and less than a week later announces their decision?
I may regret it, but, I am not losing sleep over it and am not that disappointed about him specifically...I am disappointed that Izzo continues to dominate here for some of the best/elite/premier talent, and, that Purdue still does not resonate, but, not sure that it does not say more about the kids though, at least in some cases (including this one).
Glad that he got it out of the way so the staff can focus on 2024 and 2025.
He would have been a great talent that you always add, but like others have stated there would be a log jam at the 4 with Furst, Gillis, and Kaufman still on the projected roster and Booker having no interest in playing the 5.
Long term need another true 5 to go with Berg. In '24 Bidunga looks like what the roster needs, but not sure what in the world is going on with that recruitment with the hesitancy to offer so late when the staff was in on him early.
He would have been a great talent that you always add, but like others have stated there would be a log jam at the 4 with Furst, Gillis, and Kaufman still on the projected roster and Booker having no interest in playing the 5.
Long term need another true 5 to go with Berg. In '24 Bidunga looks like what the roster needs, but not sure what in the world is going on with that recruitment with the hesitancy to offer so late when the staff was in on him early.
I’m thinking Booker didn’t really want to play the 5. And the 4 was already crowded at Purdue.
In the end I have to believe we lost out on Booker because we already have Furst and Tkr
In the end I have to believe we lost out on Booker because we already have Furst and Tkr
Good player with tons of talent but he has a lot to prove to earn his ranking from what I’ve seen so far in high school games. His body screams top recruit but his motor/drive does not!! Watched the state game and he didn’t impress me at all as a top talent in the country so I don’t know how he jumped up in the rankings so high so fast! I like the Furst/TKR combo going forward anyways.
Agree wholeheartedly and have said much the same...I admittedly have not seen him play AAU, and, he has to be a completely different player to have the ranking and interest, as, it does not translate to HS for/with him.
Bidunga has a long way to go. Maybe he will get there, but it’s to early to tell right now. He hasn’t played basketball for very long so he’s learning.
As far as Bidunga goes, I believe he's ranked #4 nationally in his class. I'm buying season tickets for KHS basketball as soon as they go on sale.
Class of 2024 mystery man Flory Bidunga drawing interest from Kentucky and other high-majors | Zagsblog
By ADAM ZAGORIA After the first day […]
www.zagsblog.com
Flory Bidunga is a big man who's rising fast in the Class of 2024. Where will he land?
A few months ago, Bidunga was an unranked and relatively unknown prospect from the Congo. Now he's near the top of the 2024 rankings.
theathletic.com
The ties to/involvement with Adams is definitely a concern, and, a potential red flag.
Based on video and a few televised games last year, I'll say this about Bidunga. He is strong, quick, and a freak athlete with reflexes you can't teach. Booker has not yet dominated in high school like Bidunga did as a sophomore. I half expected Painter to offer last year.
In this crazy time of NIL’s, the Transfer Portal and until a committed recruit ACTUALLY signs, I for one would not give up contact/recruiting him! Today’s Coaches, Alumni, etc still change a few minds and poach a player or two!
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I don't think it's surprising at all. Close geographically with a history of regular and post season success. Makes sense some good Indiana kids would end up there. I hate it but not surprised by it.
Maybe not as much talent in Michigan recently? Izzo has poached a few from Illinois (Christie) and Ohio (Ward) but quite a few from Indiana over the years (Randolph, JJJ, Dawson, Harris, and now Booker). How many years does he have left coaching? MSU didn’t have much in the post last year and this year is looking about the same for them. I doubt Booker plays the 4 there.
Traditionally, he wins with (and by playing through) dominant guards.
That said, he knows how to land good bigs and has had great success with landing them from IN...he certainly knows how to appeal to them, and, he has a long line of guys that he can point to that have been successful there and in getting to the next level. Purdue has that as well though and it is just surprising to continue to see guys from Indiana choose MSU rather than Purdue from that standpoint, more so in that Purdue has showcased those guys more than MSU generally has/does.
Much greater success at MSU especially in the post season. I hate Izzo and have said so many times on this forum over the years. But as long as he is there, he will be a thorn in our side when it comes to recruiting. His multiple FF's and attention from the media helps him recruit. Because Indiana has a lot of talent year in and year out it makes sense that some of the good ones want to go there. As I said earlier, geography helps him also. EL is not very far for family and friends to travel to. Hopefully we will get some of that post season success in the coming years and parlay that into even better recruiting.
I don't follow the NBA much but I just did a quick Google search and going into the 2021-2022 NBA season there were (9) former MSU players on NBA rosters. No denying Izzo has put more players into the league than CMP. Another reason kids from IN want to go there.
Nah, the only thing that helps Izzo are those big tears he sheds when a recruit commits. Those precious tears are indeed a mighty weapon!
I don't know how much the post-season success is a consideration...there is not a lot of recent post-season success.
Perception vs Reality to an extent, but, no doubt that the success that he had and the media attention he garners works in his favor...and, to your other point, easy to show the number of guys in the league as something to appeal as well/further to prospective recruits.
At this point, I am not even sure Izzo coaching there in 2023 is a definitive. But they probably figure they can just commit some where else if that happens.
Izzo gets higher rated players in the first place compared to Painter. That is probably why he has more NBA players. Izzo is just a better closer than Painter. Most of the highly rated players over the years aren’t buying what he’s selling. Painter just has to do more with less.
I just figured Painter wanted to red shirt him. 🤤🤐
Even Zo is a better closer than Painter. Painter is possibly the best talent evaluator of all college coaches. But he can’t seal the deal.
maybe the problem is not Painter, but rather the school and the community. Purdue does not offer the typical degree most athletes want to pursue. I don’t know of any NBA stars with agriculture, vet science, pharmacy, or engineering degrees! And Lafayette isn’t exactly a city with a lot of action/activity. There’s the zoo and the feast of the hunters moon festival. And the dog n suds. And the Purdue library. And for night life, you have the Taco Bell. But what else is there?
All things being equal, maybe these players want to go to a place that offers more than just basketball practice. I’ve been to Duke and Madison. And a few other college towns. Purdue is kind of a boring place.
maybe the problem isn’t Painter. Maybe it’s an outside of the basketball program issue!
maybe the problem is not Painter, but rather the school and the community. Purdue does not offer the typical degree most athletes want to pursue. I don’t know of any NBA stars with agriculture, vet science, pharmacy, or engineering degrees! And Lafayette isn’t exactly a city with a lot of action/activity. There’s the zoo and the feast of the hunters moon festival. And the dog n suds. And the Purdue library. And for night life, you have the Taco Bell. But what else is there?
All things being equal, maybe these players want to go to a place that offers more than just basketball practice. I’ve been to Duke and Madison. And a few other college towns. Purdue is kind of a boring place.
maybe the problem isn’t Painter. Maybe it’s an outside of the basketball program issue!
I always wonder about the disclaimer that “he got better players so my guy is a better coach” for both Keady and Painter. They are/ were both great coaches ( though their methods get banged pretty hard on these sites). They certainly are/ were as good or better at game prep, strategy, player evaluation and player development then Izzo and most college coaches. But this is college basketball, recruiting is part of being a college basketball coach. I agree the town comes into play. I also think program success builds on itself. MSU and other programs that Purdue competes with have won national championships, been to multiple final fours and place many players in long careers in the pros.
It can be said that painter recruits some of the best players in the country and that Purdue is one of the best teams in the country.
I have often wondered when I see the profile of a top 25 player what was their deciding factor in choosing the college they chose. Was it the coach? Team success? Academics? Community? Playing time? Zone defense?
I also wonder when I review a top 25 player’s profile, why so few reflect receiving an offer from Purdue! We all know Painter is one of the first coaches to make offers. It makes me wonder. Is Painter that selective about the players he recruits? Do players tell him upfront, don’t bother trying to recruit me?
take a look at the top 50 recruits in the nation. How many of them have offers from Purdue? 5 at most? Why is that?
I have often wondered when I see the profile of a top 25 player what was their deciding factor in choosing the college they chose. Was it the coach? Team success? Academics? Community? Playing time? Zone defense?
I also wonder when I review a top 25 player’s profile, why so few reflect receiving an offer from Purdue! We all know Painter is one of the first coaches to make offers. It makes me wonder. Is Painter that selective about the players he recruits? Do players tell him upfront, don’t bother trying to recruit me?
take a look at the top 50 recruits in the nation. How many of them have offers from Purdue? 5 at most? Why is that?
Maybe that’s what the players want! Lafayette is nothing to brag about! Let’s all hang out at Best Buy or Rorhman’s auto dealership and eat at red lobster. Let’s go to the market on Saturday in Lafayette by the court house. We can pass the time away shopping at Meyers!
Have you been to East Lansing or maybe Lawrence KS? Guys go there because of the coach, winning and playing on the big stage. They aren't going there for the night life.
Oh God....not this again....
1) There are plenty of majors athletes can take at Purdue that aren't engineering or the most rigorous academically (supervision, criminal justice, etc, etc, etc.). I bet if you look at the majors of all 85 football players, 70% are similar.
2) Night life and things to do? Come on... This isn't the 80's when Luther Campbell and 2LiveCrew was taking the U football team clubbing in Miami. And if it were, you'd think U Miami would be dominating recruiting (they're not).
When these guys aren't with their tutor, they're at the gym or training table or BB/FB facility or resting in their apt. And if they do want to socialize, there's plenty of places to go to grab a bite, watch a game, or have a beer. You ever been to East Lansing? It's a dump.
The problem is definitely Painter. It's always the HC. Look at what Bryce Drew has done at Baylor? You don't think if Purdue could hire Drew away, that he would elevate Purdue in recruiting?
They hang out at house parties and bars. Every college campus has those.
Maybe players want to be near heavily armed religious cults. Who knows!?!
Are you suggesting we emulate the Tom Crean approach? Mail out 50 offers every year to each of the top 50 guys. SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THAT APPROACH.
