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Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
One thing about Haith's transfer fetish - I'm not sure I'd get too excited about the 'necessity' argument.
His transfers has been a hell of a lot better than his Freshmen so far. Webster Chan absolutely blows. I'm not sure what Bull was ever supposed to be, but I sure don't see anything to be excited about there. Jankovic looks like he'll be a solid scorer, but I'm not sure his defense will ever get to passable. If the 2012 recruiting class is his average, Mizzou will struggle to be a consistent tournament team.
That said, that's really his only true freshman class and this year's class w/ JWIII and Wesley Clark looks a hell of a lot better. But it's tough to say that his freshman classes are anywhere near the level of the Ross/Bell/Criswell/Clarkson/Oriakhi/Brown/Post transfers he's brought in.
Maybe I just have a sour taste in my mouth still from Anton Beard de-committing. I just worry that he's going to get reliant on the transfer guys and we'll be in a constant state of rebuilding.
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This recruiting class hasn't shown a ton, but Haith was working from a tough spot considering the short cycle (which any coach faces - other than guys you were recruiting at your previous job, it is tough to turn much around in your first recruiting class at a new school). Webster-Chan was clearly miscast as a primary ball handler and got his confidence crushed, but I think he might be a decent SEC player. Never a star, but a solid guy by the time he's a junior/senior. He has been playing better in bit duty the past few games.
Jankovic will be all about his defensive evolution. His offensive skills are clearly there and offer a lot of upside as a face-4.
Criswell has turned out to be a very nice JUCO target (which I don't really count as a normal transfer - you recruit JUCOs just as hard as anything else).
Also... Rodney Purvis was very likely Missouri-bound before the Miami stuff surfaced. That would make this class look quite a bit different.
The JW3/Wes Clark-led 2013 class is going to be more typical of what Haith and co. recruit, IMO. And they are chasing a lot of big names for the 2014 class (Cliff Alexander, DeAngelo Russell, Devin Booker, the Black kid from Memphis, Chris Chiozza,etc).
Haith is going to recruit at a good level, IMO, as long as he keeps a strong staff around him. Tim Fuller is a recruiting beast.