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Bball Recruiting Megathread: Devin Mitchell on campus

I find it borderline ridiculous when recruits say they will only go to a school that plays a particular style of basketball. I mean, what happens when your run-and-gun program lands a top 5 back-to-the-basket center the following year? You're going to transfer? And what, as a junior in high school you've already given up on developing the skills required to be successful in a different system? "Oh, I'd hate to have to learn how to shoot, pass or dribble, I just want to run and dunk so where can I do that?" On all but the absolute top ranked guys I'd pass given that mentality.
 
Blame the interviewers, they are the ones who ask the question "What type of system to you want to play in?" No 16 or 17 y/o kid is going to respond "I want to play in a 4 corner, half-court offense that requires minimum 4 passes on every possession. I just hate when I am playing on a team that averages more than 50 points a game."
 
Top-100 guard Jairus Lyles chooses VCU.

It doesn't look like VCU is slowing down anytime soon.

Two seasons removed from its Final Four run and a few months from starting its first season in the Atlantic 10, the Rams continue to build their program. On Sunday, top-100 guard Jairus Lyles committed to Shaka Smart and VCU.

“The coaching staff here is great,” Lyles told Scout.com. “I loved the campus, the players were cool, and I think everything just fits me perfectly.”

Lyles, a 6-foot-1 guard from DeMatha Catholic (Md.), is a big-time scorer who can get by his defender on a consistent basis. He is aggressive with the ball and has an extra gear once he gets into the lane to finish. In VCU's up-tempo system, Lyles should have success because of his athleticism and speed.

Ranked No. 88 in CBSSports.com's Top 100, Lyles also had interest or offers from Oklahoma State, Dayton, Wake Forest, UAB, Seton Hall and others. He joins JeQuan Lewis in the Rams' 2013 class.
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I don't know how seriously we were pursuing Lyles, but I hope that he wasn't a top-target. We shouldn't be losing recruits to VCU.

Awesome pick-up for Shaka and co., though.
 
Strickland33 said:
Top-100 guard Jairus Lyles chooses VCU.



I don't know how seriously we were pursuing Lyles, but I hope that he wasn't a top-target. We shouldn't be losing recruits to VCU.

Awesome pick-up for Shaka and co., though.
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You can't get two more opposite programs than Wake and VCU. Urban campus vs suburban secluded campus, high academics vs a place with plenty of places to hide academically, an up and coming program that plays an exciting style of ball with a lot of recent success and a young charismatic coach vs...
 
^All of that is true but it's still ACC>>>>>>A-10 or whatever conference they are in.
 
tau06 said:
^All of that is true but it's still ACC>>>>>>A-10 or whatever conference they are in.
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You're right. I forgot:
The opportunity to play in competitive league games and win championships vs the chance to get obliterated by UNC and Duke (and State and UVA and GT on the road and...)
 
I don't know how seriously we were pursuing Lyles, but I hope that he wasn't a top-target. We shouldn't be losing recruits to VCU

Awesome pick-up for Shaka and co., though.[/QUOTE]

Not a top-target at all. He's a 6-foot shooting guard. Wake prefers bigger guards like Reed/Overton.
 
Slightly off topic, but especially with the move into the A-10 I could see VCU turning into an East Coast Gonzaga with Smart staying there just like Few staying with the Zags...
 
Deacon2002 said:
Slightly off topic, but especially with the move into the A-10 I could see VCU turning into an East Coast Gonzaga with Smart staying there just like Few staying with the Zags...
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The A-10 is competitive. Temple, Richmond, Xavier, Dayton. VCU isn't going to dominate that conference.
 
VaDeac said:
You're right. I forgot:
The opportunity to play in competitive league games and win championships vs the chance to get obliterated by UNC and Duke (and State and UVA and GT on the road and...)
Click to expand...

I'm sure that the WF education means nothing these days.....
I don't know about you but i'm sure the A-10 champs are always on their heigh-horse bragging, but hey what do I know.

VCU has had a nice run and has a great coach right now. It's not like WF is going to be in the tank for decades or anything. I'd imagine that having CMM on the roster is the one guy that kids know they won't be able to come in and get starting PT over.
 
Lyles is ranked roughly 20 spots lower than CMM. That's going to scare him off?

We weren't recruiting him that hard. Which is fine. But let's not pretend that last year's class is scaring anybody.
 
Deacon2002 said:
Slightly off topic, but especially with the move into the A-10 I could see VCU turning into an East Coast Gonzaga with Smart staying there just like Few staying with the Zags...
Click to expand...

Why/ I don't think so at all. His AD just left for Minnesota. I doubt very seriously he is looking VCU as his career job.
 
We were not really interested in Lyles.

That's an encouraging update on Kam. Sounds like we're in his top 3.

When it comes to his recruitment, several schools are making Williams a priority.

“I would say Miami is really heavy on me,” Williams explained. “I have a good relationship with Coach (Jim) Larranaga and Coach (Chris) Caputo. I have been in close contact with them.”

He continued, “Also I am hearing a lot from Wake Forest and Providence.”

Wake Forest has shown him a lot of interest recently and are making it clear that he is a priority recruit.

“Coach (Jeff) [Redacted] and Coach (Walt) Corbean have been talking to me about getting better and how I would fit in with their offense,” Williams explained.
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DeaconSig said:
Lyles is ranked roughly 20 spots lower than CMM. That's going to scare him off?

We weren't recruiting him that hard. Which is fine. But let's not pretend that last year's class is scaring anybody.
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Agree with that for everyone but CMM. I can see a kid seeing CMM, knowing he's going to start from Day 1 (IMO), and then seeing a possibly situation at VCU where he has more guaranteed PT (that's without any research of VCU's roster so could be completely off base). Either way it appears he wasn't a big priority for WF so it's a non-issue.

Sounds good on Williams, would be a nice offensive guy that could hopefully easy some of the blow that losing CJ will be to WF.
 
Of course CMM is only one player and the other guard spot is wide open after CJ graduates. That's a lame excuse if we really wanted him, but it doesn't sound like we did so what does it matter?
 
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