Recruiting: Mobile lies

M cCreedy’s hit piece

Can anyone doubt the bias of Alabama newspapers? If so, just take a look at Neal McCreedy’s hit piece in the Mobile Press-Register.

Saban didn’t land Michael McNeil so this is the proof Saban is finding the going rough in Alabama.

Please.

Saban has done far better than anyone could’ve imagined coming into a class that was without direction for over 30-days during Alabama’s coaching search. On top of that, Saban has constructed a staff and impressed players he didn’t have a relationship with–and recruiting is all about building relationships. It has worked fast with some, but the real dividends will play out next season when Saban has a full year to recruit.

And then can anyone doubt just how good a class Saban will land? Of course not. But that’s next year and McCreedy needs to attack something Alabama, so you end up with this attack piece.

And it is filled with idiotic assertions. For instance: “…Winning at LSU — with apologies to Gerry DiNardo and Curley Hallman — isn’t difficult. It’s one of the five top jobs in the country because LSU gets the pick of the best in a talent-filled state. Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe and Tulane aren’t exactly Auburn.”  Yeah, winning at LSU is so easy. How many national championships has LSU notched since the 1960′s? When was the last LSU title prior to Saban’s arrival? What about SEC crown? Yeah, winning at LSU is easy. That’s why before Saban it wasn’t on the national map and with Les Miles it won’t be on the national map in five years.

One thing I find particularly idiotic is how some recruiting experts assert Louisiana or California or Texas ( or name-a-state) is the top recruiting ground in the country.

BS. Recruiting is really a simple game of numbers. The larger the state, the better the recruiting talent available–it really is no surprise a larger state produces more overall talent. I’d say Florida has better overall talent than a state like Mississippi; however, it isn’t because of something special in the water. It is because of population. BUT as the general population increases and the overall level of developed players increase (thanks to improvements at youth league and high school programs) the number of good college prospects have increased nationally. So the level of college prospect per 1,000 of the general population is higher today than it was 20-years ago.

With each school limited in scholarships, it doesn’t matter how deep your talent pool is because everyone is getting better and better talent these days, what matters is what you can do with the talent you get. Does that talent fit your system? Is it teachable talent? Are the recruits self-motivated to achieve.

Those are far more important than stars from rivals or scout. Those are far more important than your recruiting grounds.

Last I heard, nobody mentioned Idaho as some recruiting hotbed. But Boise State achieved at the highest levels this season.

McCreedy spends a great deal of time telling us how LSU remains better because it lacks an in-state rival. On the face that assertion is true; however, McCreedy goes on and on about how great Auburn is. And how Auburn is a “sure thing,” and Alabama is not.

I remember another time when everyone said Auburn was way above Alabama. Pat Dye was the Auburn coach.

And Bill Curry was at Alabama.

Yeah, that idiot Bill Curry was able to recruit top-notch players.

Does anyone expect Saban to be less capable than Bill Curry? Does anyone really think Tommy Tuberville is better than Pat Dye? Tuberville isn’t one-half the coach of Pat Dye. Dye won when Alabama wasn’t under probation or coached by Mike Shula. Dye is far superior, and yet Alabama still found a way to win a national championship (which by the way is more recent than Auburn’s last national crown) with seniors recruited by Bill Curry.

 

Basketball: Finebaum’s Gottfried interview

Mark Gottfried was frustrated more than defensive in his intervie with Finebaum, although there were moments where the coach was defensive in answering some questions. Contrary to many fans, I was impressed with Gottfried’s performance. He didn’t insult fans (as some insist), but he did point out how most fans weren’t really paying attention until the middle of January.

Gottfried deserves credit for the interview. He was honest and you could tell frustrated by this team. Unlike Mike Shula, Gottfried came out and took his medicine on talk radio. He knew it wasn’t going to be an easy interview, but he did it anyway.

The only bad thing about the interview was Gottfried’s failure to really point out what was going to happen to fix the problems. He is right that Alabama isn’t facing just one problem, but lots of problems that add up to a big problem. To hear the Finebaum interview, click here.