Let’s take a breath basketball

Hoops
25

I posted this awhile back, but it fits in this thread perfectly.

Steven Adams - Pitt
Emmanuel Mudiay - SMU
Jaylen Brown - Cal
Ben Simmons - LSU
Markelle Fultz - Washington
Collin Sexton - Alabama
Michael Porter - Mizzou

[list edited because it was pointed out to me down-thread that those guys didn’t meaningfully play for the colleges they committed to.]

Those are all top-five national recruits going to not-Kentucky not-KU not-UNC places and really not changing the program much at all, despite playing up to their potential while there. You could throw Trae Young on that list if you want to, as well.

My thoughts on this:

  1. The list above shows, IMO, that the title of the thread is warranted. Is this exciting? Of course! Could it be the start of something big? Yes! But do I feel like some people are getting a little ahead of themselves about what’s now going to happen? I do.

  2. How do LSU basketball fans (LOL!) remember Ben Simmons? Fondly? At all? I really don’t know. OSU has never had a really great one-and-done player, so I’m honestly not sure how to process this. Let’s say Cade is awesome, OSU finishes 2nd in the Big XII, and loses in the Elite Eight. Ten years from now, who do we remember more fondly? Cade Cunningham or Cam McGriff? Again, I’m not sure, but I think for me it’s McGriff.

  3. For those of you who are all in on the Program-Changer narrative, where do you see us in 5 or 10 years? Are we UNC or KU, a true new-money blue blood who churns through one or two lottery picks every year? Having been an OSU sports fan all my life, I literally can’t even wrap my head around that concept. What I can understand, and would love, is for us to become a program like, I don’t know, somewhere on the continuum between Wisconsin/Oregon and Villanova. Bring in good players to a good system, expect to have a decent shot at making some kind of run every year, and have national championship upside when a core of two or three guys comes together.

Yeah, I know, I know. I’ve been Gundified! I’ve been trained to accept just being pretty good as the ultimate goal. I can’t see that Boynton is the Dabo Swinney of college hoops and that our grandkids are going to be shocked when we tell them that, yes, there were years, waaaaaay back when, when we didn’t even make the tournament, much less the final four.

3 Likes