New NU commit Jordan Lathon earns 4th star in latest Rivals rankings

[lou v]

New Northwestern point guard commit Jordan Lathon added a fourth star and rose 12 spots in the latest Rivals rankings.

All five of NU's commits and targets made the Rivals150 for 2018...

Story: New commit Lathon earns a fourth star

 

[D_C_B]

New Northwestern point guard commit Jordan Lathon added a fourth star and rose 12 spots in the latest Rivals rankings.

All five of NU's commits and targets made the Rivals150 for 2018...

Story: New commit Lathon earns a fourth star

That's only because he committed to NU. If he had committed anywhere else, he'd have stayed at 3 stars or maybe been downgraded to 2.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

That's only because he committed to NU. If he had committed anywhere else, he'd have stayed at 3 stars or maybe been downgraded to 2.

Yep...typical favoritism for NU.

 

[NUCat320]

Thanks for consolidating the commits and targets in the same place, @lou v . Very much appreciated.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Yep...typical favoritism for NU.

Get used to it. Collins has us on the right track.

We are the big boys now.

 

[Figrating]

CCC knew that.

 

[EvanstonCat]

CCC knew that.

Hopefully Fitz can look over to the hoops program and realize we can do so much more.

 

[Figrating]

Hopefully Fitz can look over to the hoops program and realize we can do so much more.

Expect another winning season and a bowl, and the completion of the Taj. Then you bring the recruits out to the practice field on the lake while you discuss the many exclusive benefits of signing w NU. NU could attract a few more super stars... like CCC is attracting.

 

[NJCat]

NU could attract a few more super stars... like CCC is attracting.

CCC+Staff >> Fitz+Staff......

 

[EvanstonCat]

Expect another winning season and a bowl, and the completion of the Taj. Then you bring the recruits out to the practice field on the lake while you discuss the many exclusive benefits of signing w NU. NU could attract a few more super stars... like CCC is attracting.

It's setting up that way. Let's hope that Fitz takes his swing and makes contact.

 

[IdahoAlum]

Expect another winning season and a bowl, and the completion of the Taj. Then you bring the recruits out to the practice field on the lake while you discuss the many exclusive benefits of signing w NU. NU could attract a few more super stars... like CCC is attracting.

I think I would define "superstars" in college basketball as the 5 to 10 obvious one-and-dones each year. I don't believe we've even OFFERED such a creature yet. Yeah the two Commits NU has so far are a nice start but let's not get carried away.

 

[DaCat]

Carmody offered Anthony Davis and Jahlil Okafor, among others. Does that mean he's a better recruiter than Collins? Anyone can give offers, it's landing them that's relatively difficult.

 

[IdahoAlum]

Carmody offered Anthony Davis and Jahlil Okafor, among others. Does that mean he's a better recruiter than Collins? Anyone can give offers, it's landing them that's relatively difficult.

No it doesn't. My point was that while Collins has done a very nice job improving the quality of recruits at NU, he has not landed, nor even offered, to my knowledge, any "superstars." And I wonder if NU will ever be a competitor in that realm on a consistent basis. I could see NU landing an occasional diamond in the rough like the Collins kid from Gonzaga, but I suspect NU's ceiling is a lot like the Zags. Collins was their first one-and-done.

 

[hdhntr1]

No it doesn't. My point was that while Collins has done a very nice job improving the quality of recruits at NU, he has not landed, nor even offered, to my knowledge, any "superstars." And I wonder if NU will ever be a competitor in that realm on a consistent basis. I could see NU landing an occasional diamond in the rough like the Collins kid from Gonzaga, but I suspect NU's ceiling is a lot like the Zags. Collins was their first one-and-done.

And how the Zags have done is so bad?

 

[EvanstonCat]

I think I would define "superstars" in college basketball as the 5 to 10 obvious one-and-dones each year. I don't believe we've even OFFERED such a creature yet. Yeah the two Commits NU has so far are a nice start but let's not get carried away.

Patience, we'll get there soon enough. And we have. Tyler Ulis would qualify. (2 and done).

This said, your bar is way too high. That would be like getting the top player at any position in football.

We're getting recruits that comparably speaking are way above the norm of our football recruiting. Two 4 star recruits now, and we could finish with two more.

That would likely make us a top 20 recruiting team. Way ahead of football since Barnett.

 

[EvanstonCat]

No it doesn't. My point was that while Collins has done a very nice job improving the quality of recruits at NU, he has not landed, nor even offered, to my knowledge, any "superstars." And I wonder if NU will ever be a competitor in that realm on a consistent basis. I could see NU landing an occasional diamond in the rough like the Collins kid from Gonzaga, but I suspect NU's ceiling is a lot like the Zags. Collins was their first one-and-done.

That's not a bad outcome, but why talk about ceilings at all? Northwestern-syndrome. The condition of making excuses and setting low expectations based on historical results. Why can't Duke be our ceiling? Especially given that our head coach was there as a player and a coach for 17 years and knows the blueprint?

And there you have my primary beef against Fitz. As much as he's accomplished for NU, he has not raised our recruiting to the level of a Stanford or what Gary Barnett did for us at NU. That and the championships. Those who are happy with where we are and think this is as good as it can get ignore our peers and ignore our own history. Northwestern syndrome.

Northwestern syndrome gave us 13 years of Carmody. And some people were so badly stricken as to be satisfied with the state of affairs and wanted to keep him. Victims of it claimed we could never do what CCC showed us was possible. Claimed we could never attract a roster full of blue chip talent. Looks like we are still stricken and have not fully gotten rid of it.

I guess it may take a Final Four or two and a few B1G championships before we can be cured.

 

[NJCat]

Northwestern syndrome gave us 13 years of Carmody. And some people were so badly stricken as to be satisfied with the state of affairs and wanted to keep him.

It took a while, but you finally got around to dredging up the BC story line again.......

 

[IdahoAlum]

It took a while, but you finally got around to dredging up the BC story line again.......

Yeah, I'm not going there. Or getting into the argument about Fitz's football recruiting. Sure, we could be Duke. That would be awesome. Or we could be Gonzaga. That would be nice too. Or we could be just another nice one-year Cinderella story who is consistently competitive, makes the tournament every few years and is a lot more fun to follow than those "bad old days" teams. I think if you handicapped it, the later would be more likely. And I'm good with that. I know, Northwestern Syndrome. But hey, somebody's gotta be Northwestern...

 

[NJCat]

But hey, somebody's gotta be Northwestern...

I'd rather it be Illinois......

 

[Medill90]

I think I would define "superstars" in college basketball as the 5 to 10 obvious one-and-dones each year. I don't believe we've even OFFERED such a creature yet. Yeah the two Commits NU has so far are a nice start but let's not get carried away.

NU offered and made one of the final cuts for Henry Ellenson.

NU offered Tyler Ullis but never got past second base.

 

[Deeringfish]

I think I would define "superstars" in college basketball as the 5 to 10 obvious one-and-dones each year. I don't believe we've even OFFERED such a creature yet. Yeah the two Commits NU has so far are a nice start but let's not get carried away.

I'm not a real great BB fan so I only follow the Cats and the B1G by association.
Does any one know, does Duke get a lot of one and done players?

How many one and done players are there in a given year? and do the teams that land them consistently get to the final four? Seems like a one and done would be like a really good grad transfer in that if he was at the position of need, the team would be made complete.
Can you really have continuous success with such players? That sort of undermines my idea that College BB is much of a team sport.

 

[scru]

I'm not a real great BB fan so I only follow the Cats and the B1G by association.
Does any one know, does Duke get a lot of one and done players?

How many one and done players are there in a given year? and do the teams that land them consistently get to the final four? Seems like a one and done would be like a really good grad transfer in that if he was at the position of need, the team would be made complete.
Can you really have continuous success with such players? That sort of undermines my idea that College BB is much of a team sport.

Duke made a change a few years ago to start pursuing and accepting the one-and-done's after failing to compete with the teams that were doing so: Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, etc. My sense is that there are typically around ten to fifteen per class, but haven't checked the stats. This past year, Duke had 2: Tatum and Gilles. Kentucky usually has at least 2 per class and sometimes upwards of 4. The teams that get these players are often in the elite 8, but not always. The number 1 player in the NBA draft this year was a freshman from U of Washington. I lived in Seattle and watched a fair amount of their games. They stunk. This year, the top recruit and almost certain #1 draft pick is committed to Missouri. We'll see what happens there. I'm not a big fan of Calipari, but I have to acknowledge his ability to build a highly competitive team each and every year with enormous roster turnover. He has to mold freshmen into college players that can work in his system quickly. That is not as easy as it might seem.

 

[Medill90]

Northwestern syndrome gave us 13 years of Carmody. And some people were so badly stricken as to be satisfied with the state of affairs and wanted to keep him. Victims of it claimed we could never do what CCC showed us was possible. Claimed we could never attract a roster full of blue chip talent. Looks like we are still stricken and have not fully gotten rid of it.

Long before Carmody arrived, decades, many in the NU community believed that academic barriers prevented recruitment on par with state schools. An NU Dean told me that very thing..."the bigger they are, the worse the academics."

Exceptions can be shown for every position, but the fact is, NU has 1/5th the pool to swim in versus a school like Illinois or Iowa. And it ain't the deep end.

The fact that this is still the case today makes what Collins has accomplished all the more impressive. Suggesting that the failings were with past coaches is exactly like tweeting that everyone at the G20 it talking about John Podesta.

 

[Deeringfish]

Duke made a change a few years ago to start pursuing and accepting the one-and-done's after failing to compete with the teams that were doing so: Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, etc. My sense is that there are typically around ten to fifteen per class, but haven't checked the stats. This past year, Duke had 2: Tatum and Gilles. Kentucky usually has at least 2 per class and sometimes upwards of 4. The teams that get these players are often in the elite 8, but not always. The number 1 player in the NBA draft this year was a freshman from U of Washington. I lived in Seattle and watched a fair amount of their games. They stunk. This year, the top recruit and almost certain #1 draft pick is committed to Missouri. We'll see what happens there. I'm not a big fan of Calipari, but I have to acknowledge his ability to build a highly competitive team each and every year with enormous roster turnover. He has to mold freshmen into college players that can work in his system quickly. That is not as easy as it might seem.

 

[Deeringfish]

Thanks for that great answer. Those guys must be spectacular athletic anomalies when you consider the thousands of really serious and talented HS basketball players there are.

 

[NUCat320]

I'm not a real great BB fan so I only follow the Cats and the B1G by association.
Does any one know, does Duke get a lot of one and done players?

How many one and done players are there in a given year? and do the teams that land them consistently get to the final four? Seems like a one and done would be like a really good grad transfer in that if he was at the position of need, the team would be made complete.
Can you really have continuous success with such players? That sort of undermines my idea that College BB is much of a team sport.

Over the last three years, starting with 2017, there have been 16, 10, and 13 first-round freshmen drafted, including ten of the first eleven in 2017. Nine of the last 11 first overall picks have been freshmen.

College basketball is a team sport, but the best players remain the best players. Basketball is unique because each player has an outsize impact - McIntosch, at 36 mpg, accounts for 18 percent of "player-minutes". A great slugger is still only one-ninth of at-bats, a great hockey goal-scorer is still only on the ice ~40% of the time, a great QB only plays half the time and is worthless without five fat guys doing their jobs.

The best college teams turn over half their rotation every year. Kentucky turns over everybody.

 

[Figrating]

I think I would define "superstars" in college basketball as the 5 to 10 obvious one-and-dones each year. I don't believe we've even OFFERED such a creature yet. Yeah the two Commits NU has so far are a nice start but let's not get carried away.

I can understand why NU doesn't offer the 5 stars yet.

I'm thinking 4 stars for NU football.

CCC goes after any of them and closes them. Fitz doesn't. About 4 a year would make a differnce, imho.

 

[Deeringfish]

Over the last three years, starting with 2017, there have been 16, 10, and 13 first-round freshmen drafted, including ten of the first eleven in 2017. Nine of the last 11 first overall picks have been freshmen.

College basketball is a team sport, but the best players remain the best players. Basketball is unique because each player has an outsize impact - McIntosch, at 36 mpg, accounts for 18 percent of "player-minutes". A great slugger is still only one-ninth of at-bats, a great hockey goal-scorer is still only on the ice ~40% of the time, a great QB only plays half the time and is worthless without five fat guys doing their jobs.

The best college teams turn over half their rotation every year. Kentucky turns over everybody.

Wow, that is way more than I anticipated.

 

[EvanstonCat]

It took a while, but you finally got around to dredging up the BC story line again.......

Yeah, it's beginning to fade. I guess I'm on my way to recovery.

 

[NJCat]

Yeah, it's beginning to fade. I guess I'm on my way to recovery.

The first step is admitting you have a problem....

 

[EvanstonCat]

The first step is admitting you have a problem....

That first step was realized years ago. I knew I had a problem with Carmody and was sick to my stomach with the Northwestern Syndrome he personally helped shape well before we canned him. It was so devastating that years after he left, and after a milestone NCAA tournament entry, I'm still recuperating. Not sure I'll ever fully recover.

 

[NURoseBowl]

That first step was realized years ago. I knew I had a problem with Carmody and was sick to my stomach with the Northwestern Syndrome he personally helped shape well before we canned him. It was so devastating that years after he left, and after a milestone NCAA tournament entry, I'm still recuperating. Not sure I'll ever fully recover.

This year's Sweet Sixteen team ought to help you feel better.

 

[NJCat]

This year's Sweet Sixteen team ought to help you feel better.

No it won't. ECat has gone on record saying this is a Final Four year per the Coach K plan. Merely making the Sweet 16 will stick in his ESL craw.....

 

[docrugby1]

Yeah, it's beginning to fade. I guess I'm on my way to recovery.

No, keep posting. It reminds me of the beauty of a backdoor cut and uncontested layup.

 

[EvanstonCat]

This year's Sweet Sixteen team ought to help you feel better.

Northwestern syndrome again. Why must you cap us on the round of 16? If that is as far as we get this year, we'll be falling behind the Coach K plan for the very first time.

 

[EvanstonCat]

No, keep posting. It reminds me of the beauty of a backdoor cut and uncontested layup.

You made me pee my pants with that statement.

 

[Katatonic]

In no way changed what I had thought about Lathon and if anything, may still be undervalued by Rivals.

Frankly, I don't give a hoot if CC doesn't offer a 5* anytime soon or if most of the players he ends up with aren't ranked so high, just as long as they are good players.

But along those lines, if Baldwin Jr. continues to improve and wants to play for his dad's alma mater, could end up being CC's first super blue chip recruit.

Btw, the 'Cats were in on Reid Travis who was #27 on ESPN's Top 100 for 2014.

CC is the better recruiter (younger, more passionate, has the blue-chip/Dook cred, etc.), but to think that recruiting wouldn't have continued to improve under BC (if he had gotten the stability of a long-term contract) is being disingenuous.

Having said that, even with improvements, there would have been less improvement as fewer recruits are willing to play the Princeton scheme.

 

[EvanstonCat]

CC is the better recruiter (younger, more passionate, has the blue-chip/Dook cred, etc.), but to think that recruiting wouldn't have continued to improve under BC (if he had gotten the stability of a long-term contract) is being disingenuous.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

[Katatonic]

^ The joke is on you.

Say what you will, but Sina was an ESPN Top 100 recruit and like I had stated, the 'Cats were in on Travis Reid.

 

[EvanstonCat]

^ The joke is on you.

Say what you will, but Sina was an ESPN Top 100 recruit and like I had stated, the 'Cats were in on Travis Reid.

Were the Cats in on Travis Reid like were in on Henry Ellenson?

Sina was cited by a recent visitor on the board from Rivals as being one of the most overrated recruits ever. And it proved itself out in the fact that Sina has been a non-factor. He did start 34 of 35 games in his last year at George Washington (he transferred from SHU) and averaged 9ppg. I doubt he would have played ahead of Bryant MacIntosh for a second had he stayed at NU (I'm not sure he would have played ahead of Isaiah Brown last year).

Carmody sucked as a recruiter. The only reason recruiting improved later in his tenure was because of the efforts of Tavaris Hardy and Fred Hill. Notice, Sina didn't follow Carmody anywhere, but he did follow Hill to Seton Hall. I will give you this. Recruiting might have improved from where Carmody left us. Afterall, it's not hard to improve on the likes of Turner and Ajou. And, there's always a chance that he might have changed his ways and actually showed up when a recruit visited.