I don't pay for ESPN+ so I haven't read the whole article, but I don't think there's any inherent recruiting advantage to any other SEC basketball schools other than Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Most of the rest are all basically the same job from a recruiting standpoint.

They use anonymous coach comments to construct their tiers. Need I write more???

So that article has Auburn in 'Tier 3' while A&M is in 'Tier 4'. Is Auburn any better than A&M or College Station at being a basketball recruiting destination? No, of course not.

But..

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"The only reason they'd be in Tier 3 is Bruce Pearl," one coach said. "The excitement he's brought, his ability to do really well in Georgia has maybe put them in that tier. Before him, it was clearly a Tier 4 school.

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So basically, for schools like Auburn and A&M, if you hire a good coaching staff who knows what they are doing, your program will get better and you'll recruit better. If you don't, you won't. Rocket Science 101.

Yeah that's what I was getting at. Other than the ones with above average support and history the rest are basically all the same.

It's like the "what job is better" argument. Each SEC school's recruiting is basically as good as whichever coach is currently there.

The only person I can think of that is still on the market that may fit that criteria is Marcus Bagley? He doesn't fit the SEC part of your criteria or someone we previously recruited, but he's a nationally known name for those that follow college hoops.

Topher17 said:

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The only person I can think of that is still on the market that may fit that criteria is Marcus Bagley?

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I don't think he meets the criteria. 95%+ don't know who he is when its said "Aggies will know him".

And maybe this person isn't officially in the portal. I don't know.

MarcAg said:

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Topher17 said:

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The only person I can think of that is still on the market that may fit that criteria is Marcus Bagley?

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I don't think he meets the criteria. 95%+ don't know who he is.

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Do we know anyone actually in the portal currently that meets the criteria then?

Maybe a player from another SEC team.

I'm thinking this spot will be filled by Sydney Curry.

bobinator said:

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Maybe he didn't mean all Aggies, just like the five of us.

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"According to Luicci he's not done yet. There is a big time name that you will know him, not just you John, we will all know him."

Gabe to John Pugliese today.

I thought Curry until I heard this today. I don't think a Juco transfer is somebody we will all know even if he is the top Juco. But this is being passed from one person to another person to us, so the message getting passed along might get a little muddled

Yeah, Curry definitely doesn't fit the "name everyone will know" category.

Massive pickup though and I would allow it.

Repeating the question asked earlier, how many players that "everyone will know" are left in the portal? Do Bryson Williams or Kevin Samuels qualify?

Williams is supposedly visiting Texas Tech this week, FWIW.

No there really isnt. Maybe kid isnt in the portal. Or maybe its a juco like Curry.

I would gladly take Kevin Samuel, but very few people know who he is. He had a down year, but he can definitely give you quality minutes inside.

MarcAg said:

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No there really isnt. Maybe kid isnt in the portal. Or maybe its a juco like Curry.

I would gladly take Kevin Samuel, but very few people know who he is. He had a down year, but he can definitely give you quality minutes inside.

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I would think "not in the portal" would raise a tampering issue. Not that tampering is anything the NCAA seems too concerned about.

I think the consensus is the best player remaining in the portal is Tre Mitchell from UMass, but I've not seen anything connecting him to us and he appears to be one of these guys being shopped by a handler, presumably looking for an assistant coaching job.

Decisions decisions 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2XebgTkIxZ

— ™ (@tre_mitch33) May 14, 2021

Other possibilities could be a class of '21 that signed with someone else originally or a reclassification.

Maybe someone that declared for the draft that may withdraw and hit the portal? If I'm not mistaken the deadline is July 7th.

Maybe that's why a name hasn't been mentioned

bobinator said:

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Other possibilities could be a class of '21 that signed with someone else originally or a reclassification.

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I'd be surprised if we brought in another freshman, given how young the roster is already.

I agree, just trying to think out possibilities.

But we also apparently already know who it is.

He's Schrodinger's player, he is simultaneously known and unknown, and both are true until we open the box.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ranking-college-basketballs-top-2021-transfers-sec-reloading-as-movement-accelerates-due-to-ncaa-rule-change/

I forgot about Marcus Carr, who I have long assumed is going pro.

Top available on this particular list - Carr, Mitchell, Bagley, Darryl Morsell (Maryland).

Seeing as Carr is Canadian, shouldn't we just pencil him in to TCU?

bobinator said:

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But we also apparently already know who it is.

He's Schrodinger's player, he is simultaneously known and unknown, and both are true until we open the box.

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Ah yes, the "Uncertainty Principle"...which at A&M involves not a cat but a racoon being put in the Commanding Officer's footlocker after the fish that stole the locker have been so beat down with physical training that they HAVE to give it back with a possibly dead, possibly live, surprise inside.

I heard that too, and there was a 'we will see this summer' comment. Which implied to me somebody who is in the NBA draft process right now, not a projected first rounder, but would be a relatively known name. Deadline to withdraw is July 19th.

Somebody like Max Abmas - Oral Roberts, originally from Texas might be the type of player that fits the bill. Not saying I am guessing that, but Somebody of that ilk maybe whom the staff has been in contact with and still has a chance of landing. A big college name, is exploring NBA but not a sure thing and also is almost certainly transferring from his current school if stays in college.

bobinator said:

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Maybe he didn't mean all Aggies, just like the five of us.

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Only four stars so who is missing?

Abmas would be a pretty big name, as would someone like Obanor. Both not likely to be drafted, but would have lots of suitors in the portal and would qualify as names "everyone would know" after their tournament run this year.

Abmas would be huge. DFW kid and people know the name because of the tournament this year. You might be onto something.

MarcAg said:

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Abmas would be huge. DFW kid and people know the name because of the tournament this year. You might be onto something.

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I think somebody may take a flyer on Abmas late first round or early second. There is a place in the NBA for someone who shoots as well as he does. But we'll see.

Obviously a different situation as above, but here's an example of Abmas pulling up from deep off-the-dribble as he passes halfcourt. He feels very comfortable pulling up from this deep & does it a decent amount. Being capable of making this at a decent rate draws defenders out pic.twitter.com/IQB9fGP6zD

— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) June 8, 2021

LawHall88 said:

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MarcAg said:

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Topher17 said:

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The only person I can think of that is still on the market that may fit that criteria is Marcus Bagley?

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I don't think he meets the criteria. 95%+ don't know who he is when its said "Aggies will know him".

And maybe this person isn't officially in the portal. I don't know.

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Brandon Mahan, obviously.

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I stand corrected.

Source: Brandon Mahan is returning to UCF next season. Had entered the transfer portal.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 11, 2021

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"Transfer portal, that changes the game forever. Name, image, likeness, that changes the game forever," Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. "Division I as we know it, what's it gonna look like 10 years from now? I don't know. As the rules have changed, then the model has changed, and if the model has changed, the infrastructure of the model at some point probably has to respond to those changes."

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Five years ago, Buzz Williams hired Josh Chambers, a former Virginia Tech student manager who was working under George Raveling at Nike, as a graphic designer for the Hokies' basketball program. He created all their recruiting content and social media graphics. Williams had seen powerhouse college football programs like Clemson innovating in that area and tried to get a jump on his slower-moving hoops counterparts. At most places football revenue dwarfs that of basketball, meaning athletic directors are understandably less inclined to sign off on the cost of new, outside-the-box basketball positions.

Williams had to reallocate funds for a secretary opening to pay Chambers at Virginia Tech.

"I told them in five years there's going to be five of these guys working for the football team and I'm trying to get one working for us," Williams said. "And that's what happened. And I think the same thing is about to be true with name, image and likeness. I think you have to, as best you can, try to figure out where this is all heading three years from now and what is required of the model to be successful."

Chambers is still helping Williams do that, now as the director of creative design and branding at Texas A&M, where he'll be heavily involved in the basketball program's NIL strategy.

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https://theathletic.com/2640528/2021/06/09/the-way-to-win-in-college-basketball-may-now-include-analytics-transfer-portal-experts-and-brand-managers/