Ethnicsands
All-American
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 22,724
Those who follow recruiting may recall that I was an early critic of both Coker and Shannon's recruiting. I was critical of the '04 class back on grassy when everyone was trading handjobs over it. And I expressed concern on Shannon early on as well.
I note that only because it seems clear to me that AG has what both those guys lacked. He has a plan, that plan makes sense, and he is executing to his plan, and he has the energy, drive, personality and selling ability to make it work. He is absolutely focused on local kids. He knows what he's looking for. He's not looking over his shoulder at other schools or recruiting rankings. He's not afraid to go after kids committed elsewhere. He's aware of the importance of fence mending and building with local hs coaches. He understands the role of camps, the Internet and social media in recruiting. He's a hunter, not a gatherer. And eagle, as he put it, not a crab.
Whether it all works out will be a function of whether he can evaluate, which only time will tell, and whether he can truly coach, which also time will tell. But as far as organization, his recruiting looks to me like it's what we've been needing. I'm a bit concerned on some of the evals on some of our kids, but I haven't had the time to watch enough film to say more than that on my own, and we'll just have to see how it plays out.
But bottom line, IMO, is that when people say you can win at Miami without being an amazing coach, this is what they mean (or should mean) -- if you have the drive, organizational ability and a plan that makes sense, and you execute against it and have at least a decent eye for talent, you can win at Miami without being an amazing coach. I see these qualities evident in AG. I just hope his eye for talent isn't below average. But I'm optimistic right now.
I note that only because it seems clear to me that AG has what both those guys lacked. He has a plan, that plan makes sense, and he is executing to his plan, and he has the energy, drive, personality and selling ability to make it work. He is absolutely focused on local kids. He knows what he's looking for. He's not looking over his shoulder at other schools or recruiting rankings. He's not afraid to go after kids committed elsewhere. He's aware of the importance of fence mending and building with local hs coaches. He understands the role of camps, the Internet and social media in recruiting. He's a hunter, not a gatherer. And eagle, as he put it, not a crab.
Whether it all works out will be a function of whether he can evaluate, which only time will tell, and whether he can truly coach, which also time will tell. But as far as organization, his recruiting looks to me like it's what we've been needing. I'm a bit concerned on some of the evals on some of our kids, but I haven't had the time to watch enough film to say more than that on my own, and we'll just have to see how it plays out.
But bottom line, IMO, is that when people say you can win at Miami without being an amazing coach, this is what they mean (or should mean) -- if you have the drive, organizational ability and a plan that makes sense, and you execute against it and have at least a decent eye for talent, you can win at Miami without being an amazing coach. I see these qualities evident in AG. I just hope his eye for talent isn't below average. But I'm optimistic right now.
