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Hassan Diarra Commits to Texas A&M


KDB

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1 minute ago, dgambill said:

Diarra would be more in the UM Simpson camp of how he would play. An attacking, physical pg that will mix it up and get to the basket. His biggest upside was his size and physical attributes to defend. No doubt he is not going to hang around the 3pt line but rather an attacking guard. I agree he likely is not going to end up here but there are other pgs that weren’t strong shooters we were on and if I had to take one I’d rather get the physical bulldog.

I think it's getting awfully crowded at the 1-2 and considering the recent weakness in outside shooting, I'll take that over a physical slasher right now.  Seems like IU has enough beef at the moment...JMO...

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2 hours ago, FKIM01 said:

I think it's getting awfully crowded at the 1-2 and considering the recent weakness in outside shooting, I'll take that over a physical slasher right now.  Seems like IU has enough beef at the moment...JMO...

All things staying the same I obviously would want the final scholly to go to Garcia...I’d be ok with missing a pg with Archie’s plan to have Al play some point. Besides if Lander reclassifies (a long shot but a possibility) we obviously wouldn’t need another point. Just saying of all the pgs we were on in 2019 Diarra was my preference because of his size and defensive ability and Workman like attitude and I think he would be ok with backing up for a few years until he was an upper class man.

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10 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

What's your deal? We don't have an unlimited amount of scholorships. Every player we recruit that goes elsewhere isn't a "miss". 

We've been trying to land another point guard for three classes now, and this is a top 75 prospect at the position we hosted on campus for an official visit. I don't know what other recruits Indykev has in mind, but this one at least is pretty much the definition of a miss.

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19 minutes ago, Maedhros said:

We've been trying to land another point guard for three classes now, and this is a top 75 prospect at the position we hosted on campus for an official visit. I don't know what other recruits Indykev has in mind, but this one at least is pretty much the definition of a miss.

I guess it's semantics, but is it really a miss if a kid looks at IU and sees Phinisee starting and playing 30mpg the next 3 seasons, the team will have Durham and Franklin as well, and the program looking to bring in a 5* point guard in the following class, then see's A&M doesn't have a point guard and he could potentially start there from day 1?

I guess it's still a miss, but IMO that's a much, much different miss than say what happened with Brooks or if we don't get Garcia. Those are misses. This was a probably just not an ideal fit. 

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2 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

I think we are fine at PG. 

Next year: Rob, Al, and Armann (has been mentioned he will play some point)

Year after: Rob, Armann, and Lander (hopefully). 

Rob will play huge minutes. So I am not too worried about PG depth at this point. 

As long as he is not injured.

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I just thinks kids who see themselves as good enough to play big minutes early on will not come here with RP being here hopefully for the next 3 years.  Like other have said that we have a really good shot at Lander so they might not want to come here and not play right away.  Also would you rather us get Garcia in this class or Diarra.

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2 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I guess it's semantics, but is it really a miss if a kid looks at IU and sees Phinisee starting and playing 30mpg the next 3 seasons, the team will have Durham and Franklin as well, and the program looking to bring in a 5* point guard in the following class, then see's A&M doesn't have a point guard and he could potentially start there from day 1?

I guess it's still a miss, but IMO that's a much, much different miss than say what happened with Brooks or if we don't get Garcia. Those are misses. This was a probably just not an ideal fit. 

There may be any number of reasons why a kid might choose to go elsewhere. Each target is making a decision based on their own interests. Might be you've hit exactly on the reason Diarra chose A&M. On the other side, it's the staff that recruits to meet the interests of the team. It's definitely semantics, but my own definition of a miss is based on the actions and decisions of the staff in targeting any particular player. Given when we offered, our bringing him in for an official visit, and our efforts to land players at the position, it's tough to argue the staff didn't have a genuine desire to get Diarra on the team.

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16 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

I think we are fine at PG. 

Next year: Rob, Al, and Armann (has been mentioned he will play some point)

Year after: Rob, Armann, and Lander (hopefully). 

Rob will play huge minutes. So I am not too worried about PG depth at this point. 

Armaan is closer to a wing than a lead guard. Like Al, he might be capable of handling the ball but that's only one part of the responsibilities of the position. I don't yet trust either as a facilitator or initiator of the offense. That might cover us for five minutes when Rob needs a breather, but not if he gets into foul trouble, or - knock on wood - is out again with an injury. I'm also not going to assume Lander, just as I didn't assume Brooks in the 2019 class. Even if you could promise me Lander I'd still want to get another point to develop, given Lander's potential to leave early. Maybe those post-Yogi years spooked me, but I think the position is important enough that I'd prefer to land a PG target at least every other class.

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42 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I guess it's semantics, but is it really a miss if a kid looks at IU and sees Phinisee starting and playing 30mpg the next 3 seasons, the team will have Durham and Franklin as well, and the program looking to bring in a 5* point guard in the following class, then see's A&M doesn't have a point guard and he could potentially start there from day 1?

I guess it's still a miss, but IMO that's a much, much different miss than say what happened with Brooks or if we don't get Garcia. Those are misses. This was a probably just not an ideal fit. 

Exactly.  He may really click with Archie and love IU but he may see a better opportunity to be the man elsewhere.

Regarding shooting, that's a fair point, but I really liked him in terms of toughness and defense.  The Simpson comparison was astute.  I would have liked to get him but I can understand his desire to get an immediate featured role elsewhere.  My guess is he clicked with Archie and it's not anything bad about IU.  

The hand-wringing when a recruit goes elsewhere can be too much.  It may not be any insult to IU in any way, shape, or form.  

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Missing out on Diarra is not a miss for the very reasons @BGleas stated.

I will go so far to say that landing Diarra could have more negative impacts than not landing him if it were to result in Lander seeing two established PGs on the roster.

All that said, if we don't land Lander then Archie is a bum.  :coffee:

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Archie recruited how many PG's in this class and MISSED on all. Why do you think they are pushing Lander to reclass. Because he wants a PG in this class. Spin it how ever you want. Out of state recruiting right now is god awful. This season, this team is so important in many ways. Win especially when everyone is saying you won't and you start getting some of the kids you miss on. Don't give me kids don't want to play with better kids, look at UNC, UK, us 20 years ago. Kids line up to play when you are winning,  even if they dont get big mins. Thats just an excuse when you miss.

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40 minutes ago, Indykev said:

Archie recruited how many PG's in this class and MISSED on all. Why do you think they are pushing Lander to reclass. Because he wants a PG in this class. Spin it how ever you want. Out of state recruiting right now is god awful. This season, this team is so important in many ways. Win especially when everyone is saying you won't and you start getting some of the kids you miss on. Don't give me kids don't want to play with better kids, look at UNC, UK, us 20 years ago. Kids line up to play when you are winning,  even if they dont get big mins. Thats just an excuse when you miss.

Well actually kids want to come and play. That isn’t guaranteed. Yes a pg in this class was preferred but not necessary. The IU staff isn’t pushing for a Lander reclass but would take it. The out of state recruiting is what it is until IU has more success. That said IU got Geronimo and Cross wanted to come to IU. IU is one of the top 2 for Garcia. If IU misses on Garcia who is the priority recruit then you argument becomes more valid.

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4 minutes ago, DC2345 said:

Well actually kids want to come and play. That isn’t guaranteed. Yes a pg in this class was preferred but not necessary. The IU staff isn’t pushing for a Lander reclass but would take it. The out of state recruiting is what it is until IU has more success. That said IU got Geronimo and Cross wanted to come to IU. IU is one of the top 2 for Garcia. If IU misses on Garcia who is the priority recruit then you argument becomes more valid.

We don't need to miss on Garcia to make my point. Open the recruiting forum and have at it.

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50 minutes ago, Indykev said:

Archie recruited how many PG's in this class and MISSED on all. Why do you think they are pushing Lander to reclass. Because he wants a PG in this class. Spin it how ever you want. Out of state recruiting right now is god awful. This season, this team is so important in many ways. Win especially when everyone is saying you won't and you start getting some of the kids you miss on. Don't give me kids don't want to play with better kids, look at UNC, UK, us 20 years ago. Kids line up to play when you are winning,  even if they dont get big mins. Thats just an excuse when you miss.

I agree somewhat. IU's stature on the college stage isn't what it once was. However, if we have playing time and they vibe with Archie and the way we play I don't think we would have huge problems landing outside kids. The campus and school are wonderful. Assembly Hall and game environment is second to none. B1G basketball is as big a stage as there is..so conference and tv is great. IU is very marketable....but I do agree it will get better when the on court performance steps up. That said Archie has a very particular plan with his point guards...and to get them to fit can be difficult if you aren't the lead guard. He plays his starting pg a ton of minutes. I mean who would have thought a freshman like Rob would get that type of run before the year last year. He definitely rides that horse. I think back up pg is the hardest position to land in college  basketball. These are guys used to having the ball in their hands all game long...and to tell them you might get 10 minutes a night...yeah not appealing for top 100 recruits. It would take a special kid to fit that mold. Say Al Durham for example or perhaps an instate kid that is in the 100-150 range. Bigs and wings you get told you are going to get 10-20 minutes as a freshman but when you are in we are going to look for you to have the green light to score...that's all they hear...sign me up. Bigs because of conditioning and foul trouble 20 minutes might be all a starter gets. The right kid will come along....accept his role for a couple years and then maybe get a chance as an upper classman. It's hard to start freshman pgs but that's what these top 100 kids want to hear...if I'm Archie I be honest (so as to not have them leave after a year) and if I have to go a couple years between elite pgs...so be it...I'll develop combo guards to fill the gaps.

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8 minutes ago, Indykev said:

We don't need to miss on Garcia to make my point. Open the recruiting forum and have at it.

There’s no reason. Most of this staffs primary targets have been Indiana kids. Have they missed? Yes. But I don’t consider a kid from out of state that IU offers and maybe takes a visit to IU a miss when they weren’t going to come here in the first place. Not the case with Diarra but has been with others.

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  • KDB changed the title to Hassan Diarra Commits to Texas A&M

Yeah.  I'm not sure where the idea IU is pushing Lander to reclass came from.  It's my understanding that Louisville talked to Lander about it first.  At that point, it's only logical he would have the same conversation with IU.  

And, yeah, maybe his AAU teammates, Leal and Galloway, have got on board with the idea, but does anyone actually believe Archie is pressuring the kid to do it.  I sure don't think that's the case.

 

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38 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Yeah.  I'm not sure where the idea IU is pushing Lander to reclass came from.  It's my understanding that Louisville talked to Lander about it first.  At that point, it's only logical he would have the same conversation with IU.  

And, yeah, maybe his AAU teammates, Leal and Galloway, have got on board with the idea, but does anyone actually believe Archie is pressuring the kid to do it.  I sure don't think that's the case.

 

The only way that I think he would  consider reclassifying is if we land Garcia and I still dont see Lander doing it.

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4 hours ago, Indykev said:

Archie recruited how many PG's in this class and MISSED on all. Why do you think they are pushing Lander to reclass. Because he wants a PG in this class. Spin it how ever you want. Out of state recruiting right now is god awful. This season, this team is so important in many ways. Win especially when everyone is saying you won't and you start getting some of the kids you miss on. Don't give me kids don't want to play with better kids, look at UNC, UK, us 20 years ago. Kids line up to play when you are winning,  even if they dont get big mins. Thats just an excuse when you miss.

We have a top 80 rated out of state recruit in this class. No spin there. 

With Rob at point, how many mins are these kids going to get as Freshman? None of them are 5 stars....and IU isn’t pushing Lander to reclassify.

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