Adam Munsterteiger of BuffStampede.com is back, sharing more recruiting news with the Black and Gold Truth because, well, that's the kind of guy he is -- straight up.
BGT: O.K., Adam, if Dan Hawkins can take a 2-10 disaster to six or seven wins next season, what do you anticipate he and his staff might be able to do on the recruiting warpath?
Munsterteiger: It is a big deal because if they go 2-10 again it's going to be a lot harder for CU to come back to kids and say 'oh yeah, we're turning things around even though we've won four games in the last two years.'
You do have to be showing you're making improvements.
I think if they go for six or seven wins that means going from, potentially, having a top-25, top-35 class maybe to breaking into the top 20. It could be that big a difference.
BGT: The Buffs, more than I ever remember in my days, were all over the country on some wild road trip pulling players in but what happened to Texas? Did that state cede from the Union? How do you get blanked in a talent supercenter like that, Adam, and can CU afford to be denied admission to the pickins' down there?
Munsterteiger: It's a different state. Connections mean so much and on the staff you didn't really have anybody who had longstanding ties there. It's not like they didn't offer kids there, they just didn't get a lot of response, a lot of interest
Even (former coach) Gary Barnett's later years they were having trouble getting kids from out of there.
The new offensive line coach (Jeff Grimes) has ties in Texas so it will be interesting to see how that benefits the Buffs.
BGT: Last year, the talent deficiency on this team was strongly apparent. How far did CU go toward rectifying that issue?
Munsterteiger: It's all on paper but this is the best class they've had in four years. There are a lot of kids on this commitment list who are going to play early.
BGT: What was the best thing about the 2007 collection and what was something the Buffs needed to do better?
Munsterteiger: They put together an impressive group at wide receiver and they did a great job on the offensive line.
Things they need to work on -- for whatever reason, CU has not been able to recruit defensive tackles. There are just not a lot of guys out there and they all like the same (top) programs, which are stockpiling these kids.
BGT: Let's run out the clock with this one, Adam -- what is your early and I do mean early pick on the team for next season? Answer that and then you can hit the showers.
Munsterteiger: I think a six-win season is realistic and, given their schedule, I think it's going to be pretty tough to win more than that.
How quickly times change
Rutgers has upped the ante for football coach Greg Schiano, forking over a four-year extension, his second extension in less than two years. Schiano is now signed through 2016.
Funny how things work out, isn't it? Just a couple of years ago, fans and media were ready to run him out of Rutgers as an all-out failure.
This is Rutgers by the way, a program with little positive history. But the school held on tight and gave Schiano a little more clock, which reminds me when Tommy Tuberville was almost whacked at Auburn before turning the Tigers into a beast.
Get to the point, Truth, you say.
Hey, hang with me, I'm getting there -- Dan Hawkins.
Yeah, maybe the Buffs' program wasn't Scarlet Knights-ugly back in Jersey but it certainly wasn't the premium brand it once was either, no matter how shortly removed it was from Gary Barnett's zenith.
Promise you one thing -- Hawkins is motivated to prove his doubters wrong and "face" them with some success. Can he do it? Who knows but former CU coach and athletic director Eddie Crowder likes to talk about "lifetime batting average" which is a coach's track record and if that is a strong indicator of anything, then you have to be patient and wait for the odds to work out in favor of Boss Hawkins.
Whatever criticisms that might be pointed his direction they need to be tempered, at least slightly when it is apparent he is not allergic to work, and has great energy and passion for this job.
Wanted man
Montgomery has reportedly been eyed by Colorado and now, according to ESPN magazine, New Mexico. The publication says that current Lobos' coach Ritchie McKay, once of Colorado State, is likely to be exiled at the end of the season, maybe catching up with Ricardo Patton at the bus station, talking hoops, race, good memories, tough times.
It says here Montgomery is itching to coach at the college level again and will be wait to find the right fit to be successful right off the bat. He ain't looking for any rebuilding job. He's looking for microwave quick. He wants talent on the roster, tradition, resources and commitment. CU might be a possibility but honestly, the reality is him ending up in Boulder is a real longshot.
Lombardi basketball
NFL Hall-of-Fame coach Vince Lombardi knew football like few others and obviously Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan was impacted by his philosophy.
Ryan, also written of in ESPN magazine, drew up his offense based on Lombardi's principles.
"Everybody blocked, everybody learned how to read their man, everybody learned how to find a hole," Ryan said of Lombardi's offensive approach.
Ryan used that strategy to go 353-76 with four D3 championships at Platteville and now to drive the Badgers into the top 5 in the country.
Watch out for the copycats. Wisconsin isn't pretty but it doesn't matter because winnin' sure is and the Badgers are doing an awful lot of that these days.
BGT rankings
BGT Best-of-the-Big 12: Texas A & M, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma/Kansas State.
BGT Best-in-the-land: Florida despite a fluke loss to Vandy, Texas A & M despite getting bit by Texas Tech, Ohio State, and finally going to kick talented-but-puzzling North Carolina out and bring in Wisconsin, just ahead of UCLA.
BGT All-Big 12, early look: Acie Law (TAM), D.J. Augustin (UT), and Brandon Rush (KU) in a three-guard lineup and Kevin Durant (UT) and Mario Boggan (OSU) in the frontcourt with Billy Gillispie (TAM) as the coach.
BGT Best Big-12 coaches: Gillispie, Bill Self (KU), Bobby Knight (TT), Huggins (KSU) and Jeff Capel (OU).
Lists
Five Thoughts on CU football
- The 2007 recruiting class should prove a worthy foundation for success
- Ryan Miller needs to be ready to start as a true freshman for this offense to go places
- Bernard Jackson will start the season but Cody Hawkins will be ready at signs of distress
- Thomas Perez, not P.T. Gates or Hugh Charles, will start at RB, due to his size/talent
- With improvement at WR, Riar Geer is going to emerge as an all-conference caliber TE
Five Thoughts on CU baskets
- Ricardo Patton's approach to his final season unraveled much of the goodwill he established
- Tom McGrath and Mike Bohn are likely to bypass those with no head-coaching experience
- There is no joy in Boulder -- the players are ready for this season to end
- The Buffs are one right coach, one legitimate rebounder & lowpost scorer from movin' up
- If CU keeps all players on board, the Buffs will have a winning record in 2007-08
Checkin' out, best your way
Truth
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