Too late.
I think recruiting is dirty everywhere. Honestly, I don't think MSU is doing anything everyone else isn't doing. That national title they won all those years ago (honestly, it's been more than a decade now, hasn't it? Still better than a mythical championship in '32 though
) had some players who arrived on campus under "suspicious circumstances" as I recall, but who really remembers that? Go big or go home, I guess
. As an aside, what did MSU ever do in hoops before Magic Johnson? Really, what did they do, other than that team, under Heathcote? It's not like they were a "blue blood", but they certainly are now - which is all the more impressive, because...
...the problem with college sports (other than the total farce of "clean recruiting") is it's totally inequitable. The same teams get the horses over and over again. It makes me kind of laugh at these guys who puff their chest out because their schools athletic teams have had so much more success - they *should* be winning all the time, they get the #1 draft pick more often than not. At least in pro sports, the worst teams get the top pick. I'd think at some point, some of these McDonald's All Americans would choose somewhere other than MSU, OSU, Kansas, UK, UNC, or Duke, just to be different. If you win at Duke, you're "just another champ" - surely, not an insult - but if you go to Purdue or Northwestern or someplace and win there... instant legend (see Larry Bird). I've been thinking this for more than a decade, however, and it hasn't changed.
I'm really not that disappointed - I think most people who were honest with themselves knew we didn't have much of a shot with this guy (however, I swear to god, I better not read that "Purdue was his second choice" again... it's insulting at this point). I know some people got slammed for posting such, but I think they were just being realistic. I think Purdue could someday become a powerhouse (if it can happen in East Lansing, it can happen in West Lafayette), but it's obviously not going to happen with Painter and Burke. I'm not advocating replacing Painter - I think he has done a good job despite my disappointment with the inexcusable results in back to back seasons in '13 and '14. I have, however, turned a corner on Burke - I like his philosophy of staying in the black, but we either need to commit to winning or just go the University of Chicago route and be done with athletics (either way is, honestly, acceptable - half-measures, however, are growing tiresome).
This post was edited on 4/10 9:45 PM by indyogb
