E. Victor Nickerson - SF, Class of 2011

[RoyalShock]

Back in the mid-2000s I don't recall any MVC school bringing in any top-100 and very few top-150 recruits. Remember how big a deal WSU getting Ogirri (around 120) was?

Darren Brooks at SIU is the only one I remember being highly touted. The other "stars" as I recall:

Paul Miller
PJ Couisnard
Kyle Wilson
Jamar Howard
Kyle Korver
Jermaine Dearman
Ben Jacobsen
Nate Funk
Rolan Roberts
Jamaal Tatum
Patrick O'Bryant
Marcellus Somerville

All solid, but not highly ranked high school kids or transfers.

The way I see it is that the Valley isn't producing the complete teams it once did. The Sweet 16 teams (SIU, WSU, BU and recently UNI) all had complete players at nearly every position, along with bench weapons. ISU couldn't do much with Osiris even when they did have some solid players around him.

This year's recruiting class, conference-wide, seems be coming together well. http://shockernet.net/sn/posting.php?mode=reply&t=17404

But it would be nice to see a few top-150 kids come in to the league.

[SubGod22]

Howard was a Top 150 recruit with academic issues and many teams didn't want to take a chance on him. I believe he was in the 130's on Rivals. I believe Kyle Wilson was a Top 100 recruit. I want to say he was in the 90's.

[RoyalShock]

Howard was a Top 150 recruit with academic issues and many teams didn't want to take a chance on him. I believe he was in the 130's on Rivals. I believe Kyle Wilson was a Top 100 recruit. I want to say he was in the 90's.

I forgot about Howard, but your point about his off-court issues waters down his signing.

I didn't do a very good job of it, but I was trying to differentiate transfers from high school recruits.

[wufan]

Darren Brooks at SIU is the only one I remember being highly touted. The other "stars" as I recall:

Paul Miller
PJ Couisnard
Kyle Wilson
Jamar Howard
Kyle Korver
Jermaine Dearman
Ben Jacobsen
Nate Funk
Rolan Roberts
Jamaal Tatum
Patrick O'Bryant
Marcellus Somerville

Paul Miller - Top 250
PJ Couisnard - Top 300
Kyle Wilson - Top 100/Transfer
Jamar Howard - Top 150 Tweener with academic issues
Kyle Korver - Top 200
Jermaine Dearman - Top 200
Ben Jacobsen - Don't remember
Nate Funk - Top 150
Rolan Roberts - Top 150/Tweener/Transfer
Jamaal Tatum - Top 200
Patrick O'Bryant - Project
Marcellus Somerville - Top 100/Transfer

Add Fridge Holman - Top 100/issues/transfer
GodShawGod - Top 150

[RoyalShock]

I had also forgotten about Shaw. Good catch.

Still, no top-100 recruits and a smattering - less than 5 it seems - in roughly five years, prior to Osiris and P'Allen.

The overall point being the Valley's success was not built on top 150 recruits, but on coaching and experience. The MVC didn't get the reputation as a "coach's league" for nothing.

[SHOXAAC]

Where do Evan Wessel, Jake White & Tekele Cotton fall into the recruiting ranking scenerio?

[wufan]

Rivals doesn't have them on ant lists. All are likely top 300.

[wufan]

The Valley has had 4 top 150 players as a conference sign in the past 4 years. None of them are currently in the MVC.

Bock was at Creighton. 2009
Booker was at SIU. 2008
Stinnett and Walker spent some time at CU. 2007.

[SHOXAAC]

With one schollie left I hope a top-150 recruit takes a chance on a team with dancin in their immediate future.

[tropicalshox]

Where do Evan Wessel, Jake White & Tekele Cotton fall into the recruiting ranking scenerio?

White is probably the highest regarded in most eyes is my guess. He would probably be close to what was thought about Murry, Kyles and Stutz, around the top 350. Wessel and Cotton probably more like top 500 for most people.

[mvc champs]

I just looked at ESPN and Reggie Rankin just tweeted that he talked to Nickerson an hour ago. Said he will decide between Charlotte, Depaul, WSU, Colorado, and Georgia Southern. I know part of this isn't "new" news, but Sully just said the other day there were only 2 teams and Nickerson told him 5. Just sayin there's a chance . . .

[tropicalshox]

Perhaps Coach Dollar got us back into the picture during his trip to Georgia.

[wufan]

Yep. He got WSU, CU, and Georgia Southern back into it.

Hope I'm wrong.

[Txlen]

What is interesting about recruiting is that each year we see many players excel at the D1 level who were not originally regarded as significant recruits by the national recruiting services. Granted, there are the "Can't Miss" players that we would love to have, but how many of them each year in fact do miss? So much depends on the coaching system that they are brought into and their fellow teammates that are around them. They may not be exceptionally good as individual players, but collectively, with their teammates, they can be unbeatable, almost, in some situations. Do I dismiss the recruiting services evaluations? No, but I do take it with a grain of salt, because there are just too many variables that dictate in the long run how good a player is going to be at the next level. Some kids just mature later and, as a result, their potential is not realized while in high school. I may have this all wrong, but I have seen too many situations like this over the years that helps form my opinion.

[Ashockalypse]

Victor is wanted and needed hear. What a great fit and what a great exclamation mark to this recruiting class-cmon miracle in the 11th hour!