Quote:
Originally Posted by Bambi
Many have the same concern for Bowen at KU. A local guy who "loves" the program and is going to work harder than anyone else you can hope to find.
But as we all know, working hard isn't necessarily what gets it done in college sports. Name recognition has to count for something.
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Football is at least a little different than basketball. The sheer number of guys you're recruiting makes it less about name recognition and more about identifying and developing talent for a place like KU.
Main concern with Kim Anderson is getting the Jimmies and Joes. He did a nice job hanging on to the guys that were already committed (Gant and Namon Wright), though he probably was helped a bit by how late in the year it was. Teki Gil-Caesar was also a nice get, but that guy was going wherever Rob Fulford went.
Since then, it's been a lot of swings and misses for Anderson, a lot of courtesy visits from elite talent.
The two guys they signed yesterday should be nothing more than roster filler, and look an awful lot like the guys that populated the Missouri roster in the mid-to-late 90s (History lesson: They weren't that good).
A decent portion of the fanbase is convinced this will work because Anderson will make sure guys give effort... but anyone who has played (or really just payed attention to) basketball at high school level or above knows that all the effort and "try" in the world can't make up for being 3 steps slower than the guy you're guarding, or being 4 inches shorter, 30 pounds lighter, and less athletic than the guy you're trying to guard inside.