Jerry Meyer's 247 SEC Hoops Recruiting Breakdown - *free article*

[HawgAdvocate]

Arkansas has the fifth best SEC recruiting class, and Meyer lists Kingsley as the "biggest sleeper" in the 2013 SEC recruiting class.

Obviously, Kentucky dominates (again).

http://247sports.com/Article/Hoops-Recruiting-SEC-Breakdown-137346

[ArkansasI]

I have long considered Missouri to be a sleeping giant.  However, my belief concerning basketball potential is based on the idea that they only need to find two good players out of St. Louis and Kansas City each year to build that program.

How is Missouri recruiting high quality players from out of state?  They are historically an underacheiving program...  Who did they beat for those recruits?  Even considering the condition the Hogs have been in for 15 years, Mizzou shouldn't be able to pull any player out of Memphis that the Razorbacks are after.

We have to step up our game.

[TRUHOG718]

Thanks for the link HA

[RazorAg]

I have long considered Missouri to be a sleeping giant.  However, my belief concerning basketball potential is based on the idea that they only need to find two good players out of St. Louis and Kansas City each year to build that program.

How is Missouri recruiting high quality players from out of state?  They are historically an underacheiving program...  Who did they beat for those recruits?  Even considering the condition the Hogs have been in for 15 years, Mizzou shouldn't be able to pull any player out of Memphis that the Razorbacks are after.

We have to step up our game.

Frank Haith and Tim Fuller have long been excellent national recruiters.

[jamie72921]

Norm Stewart used to recruit Detroit pretty well.

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

He lists Miss State's best player as I.J. Ready from Little Rock Parkview Magnet. I am not familiar with him. Please enlighten me as to why we didn't recruit him harder.....? Thx.

[Sawyer]

I have long considered Missouri to be a sleeping giant.  However, my belief concerning basketball potential is based on the idea that they only need to find two good players out of St. Louis and Kansas City each year to build that program.

How is Missouri recruiting high quality players from out of state?  They are historically an underacheiving program...  Who did they beat for those recruits?  Even considering the condition the Hogs have been in for 15 years, Mizzou shouldn't be able to pull any player out of Memphis that the Razorbacks are after.

We have to step up our game.

Basketball recruiting (for most programs) is national, not local or regional. Distance doesn't matter as much as it used to.

FWIW, Missouri beat out Arkansas, Florida, Georgetown, Michigan State, Tennessee, Memphis and Texas for Jonathan Williams III.

Some years, Missouri (the state) does produce a ton of talent. Two years ago, Brad Beal, Otto Porter, Ben McLemore and BJ Young all came out in the same year. The following year, there was one top 100 player (signed with Notre Dame). In 2013, there weren't any (Ish Wainright was, but he left the state as a senior), and 2014 is another sparse year (Jordan Barnett, ranked near the bottom of the top 100, is the sole top 100 guy).

One or two SEC-level guys in any given year is close to the norm. We do produce a lot of quality mid-major talent, though. To win big at Mizzou, like at most schools, requires a wider net.

[Virgil]

He lists Miss State's best player as I.J. Ready from Little Rock Parkview Magnet. I am not familiar with him. Please enlighten me as to why we didn't recruit him harder.....? Thx.

From Bulldawgs247, Paul Jones. 

Late last month Little Rock, Ark., native and Parkview (Ark.) junior I.J. Ready de-committed from Nebraska and had his sights set on Mississippi State. On Wednesday night, Ready followed his change of heart and committed to the Bulldogs.


The 5-foot-10 and 165-pound point guard became head coach Rick Ray's first commitment for the Class of 2013.

"I committed tonight to Mississippi State and I called Coach Ray and told him I wanted to join his team," said Ready. "I have a great bond with Coach Ray and their coaching staff and me and Coach Ray are alike in a lot of ways. Both of us are outgoing people and we bonded well. He is a straight-up guy, honest and smart and we both love the same subject. He is a math guy and so am I."

Ready took an unofficial visit to Mississippi State this past weekend and that eventually led to his decision Wednesday.

"I went on a visit there Saturday morning," said Ready. "They were concerned about me as a student and not just as a basketball player. Right after I met up with the staff, they sent me right to the academic tutor and she was very helpful and we talked about my academic future. Mississippi State also has great facilities and I met some of their players and they seemed like good teammates.

"I just bonded well with their coaches and players. I talked with (MSU center) Wendell Lewis and they all seemed like good guys. I just felt a good bond there."

Ready said he also held offers from Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon, Texas Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock along with interest from Arkansas and Arizona. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.2 assists and four steals last year and also averaged 25 points and seven assists with his AAU team - the Arkansas Hawks.

Ready also has a previous connection with the MSU coaching staff. His high school coach is the father of MSU assistant coach Wes Flanigan, who he once was committed to when Flanigan coached at Nebraska last year.

"Coach Flanigan played a big role in this, too," said Ready. "I play for his dad and to see Coach Flanigan move to coach at Mississippi State was a positive for me. And then it was just a big bonus this past weekend when I connected with all the other coaches."


Ready said now he can finally put his recruitment in his past and said he has made his final decision.

"It feels great to get it over with and I know where I am going, for sure," said Ready. "It has lifted pressure off my shoulders. Now I can go play every game hard and it motivates me a lot knowing I will be playing for Mississippi State in the future. That is a great feeling to have."

[The_Iceman]

If you count our incoming class as Portis, Kingsley, and Harris, do you rank it higher?

[Sawyer]

If you count our incoming class as Portis, Kingsley, and Harris, do you rank it higher?

No.

Missouri has Jordan Clarkson eligible this year (16.5 ppg at Tulsa). Florida has two really good transfers eligible (Dorian Finney-Smith and Damontre Harris). Alandise Harris might equal what those two teams have in transfers, but he doesn't beat it.

[ArkansasI]

Basketball recruiting (for most programs) is national, not local or regional. Distance doesn't matter as much as it used to.

FWIW, Missouri beat out Arkansas, Florida, Georgetown, Michigan State, Tennessee, Memphis and Texas for Jonathan Williams III.

Some years, Missouri (the state) does produce a ton of talent. Two years ago, Brad Beal, Otto Porter, Ben McLemore and BJ Young all came out in the same year. The following year, there was one top 100 player (signed with Notre Dame). In 2013, there weren't any (Ish Wainright was, but he left the state as a senior), and 2014 is another sparse year (Jordan Barnett, ranked near the bottom of the top 100, is the sole top 100 guy).

One or two SEC-level guys in any given year is close to the norm. We do produce a lot of quality mid-major talent, though. To win big at Mizzou, like at most schools, requires a wider net.

Thanks for the reply Sawyer.  I completely understand what you are saying and recognize that successful programs recruit nationally.  However strong Missouri's basketball tradition is, to me its core success has come from within the state.  I know that they have enjoyed some success in Detroit through the years and know that to grow the program they will reach far beyond these bounds.

What shocked me is that Mizzou beat out those teams for a Memphis kid.  Regardless of boundaries, it just seams odd that a player of this caliber would be drawn to Columbia given the fact that Mizzou has not yet accomplished much on a national scale (no offense intended).  Generally, a team would have won its conference, been to the Final Four or something (Maybe a family member or friend nearby) to draw such talent away from other more established programs.

I realize that the Razorbacks are not the draw we once were.  Losing players of this caliber within our own neighborhood is what will keep us where we are.

[Sawyer]

The drive from Memphis to Columbia is only an hour longer than to Fayetteville.

J3 has known Bowers for years, which was part of Missouri's pull. Bowers and Williams' older brother were friends growing up, and a young J3 used to work out with them as a kid.

And it's not like Mizzou is Northwestern or Nebraska. We lack a final four, but we've won a couple dozen conference titles and played in 26 NCAA tournaments (roughly the same number as Arkansas). Mizzou has had teams good enough to make final fours on multiple occasions (early '80s, late '80s/early '90s, '94, 2012), but we've had bad breaks or bad luck every time. Probably Norm's best team happened to be the same year he missed the final 14 games with cancer. MU went 26-6 that year but lost in the first round. Maybe with Norm on the bench, that team does it.

Every team could point to similar what-if scenarios, but Mizzou's probably had more than most relative to our opportunities. A couple bounces go Mizzou's way in a few games over the past 30 years, and MU looks much different.

[ArkansasI]

The drive from Memphis to Columbia is only an hour longer than to Fayetteville.

J3 has known Bowers for years, which was part of Missouri's pull. Bowers and Williams' older brother were friends growing up, and a young J3 used to work out with them as a kid.

And it's not like Mizzou is Northwestern or Nebraska. We lack a final four, but we've won a couple dozen conference titles and played in 26 NCAA tournaments (roughly the same number as Arkansas). Mizzou has had teams good enough to make final fours on multiple occasions (early '80s, late '80s/early '90s, '94, 2012), but we've had bad breaks or bad luck every time. Probably Norm's best team happened to be the same year he missed the final 14 games with cancer. MU went 26-6 that year but lost in the first round. Maybe with Norm on the bench, that team does it.

Every team could point to similar what-if scenarios, but Mizzou's probably had more than most relative to our opportunities. A couple bounces go Mizzou's way in a few games over the past 30 years, and MU looks much different.

I suppose...  I know I'll never forgive Mizzou for giving up that layup in '94 to UCLA.  That UCLA team was a terrible matchup for us and beat us for the championship.  We kinda looked dead in that game.  Messed up our attempt for back-to-back.

[Sawyer]

That was '95. Mizzou's '94 team went to the elite right and lost to Arizona. We were a 1 seed that year and only lost 4 games (one being a huge blowout to Arkansas). We brought in Paul O'Liney after that Arkansas game (big time juco scorer who was somehow still available and immediately eligible mid-season), so we weren't really the same team.

[870hogfan]

Frank Haith and Tim Fuller have long been excellent national recruiters.

To bad he is a terrible coach...

[ArkansasI]

That was '95. Mizzou's '94 team went to the elite right and lost to Arizona. We were a 1 seed that year and only lost 4 games (one being a huge blowout to Arkansas). We brought in Paul O'Liney after that Arkansas game (big time juco scorer who was somehow still available and immediately eligible mid-season), so we weren't really the same team.

Of course you're right.  I know that we won it in 94 and our chance to repeat was in 95.  I got confused by your reference to 94 in your post...  really, you could have added 95 as another year in which Missouri could have made the Final Four.

Truthfully, Arkansas and Missouri share common frustration.  Despite our success, Hog fans feel snakebit - see Nolan's exit, Nutt, Petrino, etc.  We have been homered against when we were in the SWC and now feel it in the SEC.

No doubt Mizzou fans feel the pain, too.  While I don't follow Mizzou that closely, the 5th down given Nebraska was absurd.  I'm sure you recount many others.

Peace out.

[medloh]

No doubt Mizzou fans feel the pain, too.  While I don't follow Mizzou that closely, the 5th down given Nebraska was absurd.  I'm sure you recount many others.

Peace out.

The fifth down play was given to Colorado.  You're probably thinking of the fluke play against Nebraska where a pass hit a Nub WR's foot and bounced up into his arms for the win.

[Chic-Hog-Oh]

From Bulldawgs247, Paul Jones. 

Late last month Little Rock, Ark., native and Parkview (Ark.) junior I.J. Ready de-committed from Nebraska and had his sights set on Mississippi State. On Wednesday night, Ready followed his change of heart and committed to the Bulldogs.


The 5-foot-10 and 165-pound point guard became head coach Rick Ray's first commitment for the Class of 2013.

"I committed tonight to Mississippi State and I called Coach Ray and told him I wanted to join his team," said Ready. "I have a great bond with Coach Ray and their coaching staff and me and Coach Ray are alike in a lot of ways. Both of us are outgoing people and we bonded well. He is a straight-up guy, honest and smart and we both love the same subject. He is a math guy and so am I."

Ready took an unofficial visit to Mississippi State this past weekend and that eventually led to his decision Wednesday.

"I went on a visit there Saturday morning," said Ready. "They were concerned about me as a student and not just as a basketball player. Right after I met up with the staff, they sent me right to the academic tutor and she was very helpful and we talked about my academic future. Mississippi State also has great facilities and I met some of their players and they seemed like good teammates.

"I just bonded well with their coaches and players. I talked with (MSU center) Wendell Lewis and they all seemed like good guys. I just felt a good bond there."

Ready said he also held offers from Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon, Texas Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock along with interest from Arkansas and Arizona. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.2 assists and four steals last year and also averaged 25 points and seven assists with his AAU team - the Arkansas Hawks.

Ready also has a previous connection with the MSU coaching staff. His high school coach is the father of MSU assistant coach Wes Flanigan, who he once was committed to when Flanigan coached at Nebraska last year.

"Coach Flanigan played a big role in this, too," said Ready. "I play for his dad and to see Coach Flanigan move to coach at Mississippi State was a positive for me. And then it was just a big bonus this past weekend when I connected with all the other coaches."


Ready said now he can finally put his recruitment in his past and said he has made his final decision.

"It feels great to get it over with and I know where I am going, for sure," said Ready. "It has lifted pressure off my shoulders. Now I can go play every game hard and it motivates me a lot knowing I will be playing for Mississippi State in the future. That is a great feeling to have."

Thx