um, huggy bear you still there?
Yeah...I've had the flu the past couple of days, so I'm taking some "cough syrup" and trying to fight it off...
can you pleas explain the difficulties you dealt with recruiting to UCINN, and especially why your recruiting efforts appear to have peaked about five years back? also, please comment on the challanges of recruiting to KSU, and your plans and expectations for bringing in the kind of players that could compete at a high level in the big 12.
I don't know that I had any difficulties that any other Top 25 program doesn't have. It's pretty easy to recruit when you win ballgames. Kids want to win. I don't think I've had any dropoff in recruiting. I mean, I've been out of a job for the past year, and I've kept recruiting, in preparation for my next job. I don't
need to stockpile a bunch of guys to get a job. (
http://ucbearcats.blogspot.com/2005/11/recruiting-in-huggins-immediate-future.html) I'm recruiting now because I want to, so I can win immediately wherever I go. Wherever I go, I expect to bring some highly-ranked kids with me. OJ Mayo...he's ranked #1 by a lot of people in the 2007 class. Billy Walker, Herb Pope. I got these guys to put their plans on hold for me without a school. If getting the highest-ranked kids to want to follow you somewhere is "dropping off," then I guess I'm guilty.
As far as KSU goes, I don't see any different challenge there. They've brought in good kids over the past few years...Cartier Martin's the latest. I think earlier in this interview I talked about everything that KSU has going for it in terms of being attractive to kids. They're already competing at a high level, they're just having trouble winning. With my system, and a couple of more kids, this program's gonna be a force in the Big XII, year in and year out.
