Dampier and Jones were drafted to the NBA, but Jones would not have been academically eligible. Bullard violated his parole. And Daryl Wilson graduated. Its not surprising that there was a drop off. But I wouldn't say that we didn't build on the success. I think that this Final Four helped Stansbury establish MSU as a destination with Jackson recruits and was one of the building blocks for his recruiting success in the next fifteen years. Prior to this, the only really big signings we'd gotten were Dampier and Bubba Wilson. I have spoken with people associated with JPS schools, and they've told me that young players wanted to play for MSU when they were little kids.
Stansbury was willing to take risks to get the talent into the program. Wilson was a Prop 48, Dontae Jones needed 27 hours in a summer to graduate, and Bullard had a criminal record, so it should not have been a surprise that he had further troubles. Sometimes the risks work out and sometimes they don't. In the middle of the season that year, people forget that it looked like it all might implode.
