Premium Link: VU #16 2022 class - Final Rivals Rank

[UltimateVUFan]

https://vanderbilt.rivals.com/news/exam ... ting-class

Don’t have access to the whole article myself, actually. Just thought it worth giving the staff props for the job they did on the recruiting trail this year. Hopefully they translate it into continued on-court improvement.

Also finished #21 in the 247sports composite class ranks:
https://247sports.com/college/vanderbil ... l/Commits/

[jeff93]

The 247 site is interesting. They have a top 25 rated recruits page for each team, since 2004 it seems. Interesting stuff on VU.

Some takeways:

The Shittu, Garland, Nesmith class is by far the best of the group from a rankings perspective.

From a numbers perspective Class of 2004 had the most in the top 25 (4 - Foster, Nwanko (who never played), Gordon, and Carroll (who transferred).

Others with 3 in the top 25 are:

2018 (Taylor, Tinsley, and Goulbourne), does not include Tchiengang who was also good - great class; and

2022 (Dort, Shelby, Smith)

The class of 2014 was REALLY good, but only had one in the top 25 (Shelton Mitchell, who transferred). This class had Baldwin, LaChance, Fisher Davis, and Roberson - great class.

The class of 2005 was one of the most successful, but only had one contributor - Jermaine Beal (Juwuan Brown Transferred). I think Beal is the most winning player in VU history - helped that he played with the great class of 2004, and I think AJ Ogilvy in Beal's senior year.

Neat stuff, if meaningless.

[AuricGoldfinger]

Do you know if that ranking include transfers coming in, or just high school players?

[MrMemorial]

I like our incoming players. Too bad the Stack haters don't feel that way.

[Nashmann]

I love our incoming class.

[mathguy]

The 247 site is interesting. They have a top 25 rated recruits page for each team, since 2004 it seems. Interesting stuff on VU.

Some takeways:

The Shittu, Garland, Nesmith class is by far the best of the group from a rankings perspective.

Which I guess means they were by far the biggest bust of the bunch.

I know the injuries but ... did any of those three players ever beat an SEC team while wearing a Vanderbilt uniform? I'm kind of hoping Nesmith got 1 before the injury ended his sophomore year ... but I don't feel confident in saying that...

[MrMemorial]

I think he played in a close loss to Auburn and then his season was over.

The guys beat LSU, Alabama, South Carolina without him.

Obviously the season before that was zero wins in the SEC under the previous "coach."

[buffy]

Hmm. I’m excited about this class, but last year’s class was supposed to be a clear step in the right direction…and none of that panned out. I think we’re struggling to hold talent down because CJS is not weighing character high enough in his evaluation. I know that’s a terrible oversimplification. It’s also quite dismissive of a number of guys that have shown a whole lot of character. It’s also harder to evaluate at times than talent. I just think with the options available to people, that attribute has become more important in creating continuity in a roster. On a ten point talent scale, a 6 with grit is more valuable than a 8 snowflake to my roster. And most of these guys out there are snowflakes.

[nyyankeeDore]

Hmm. I’m excited about this class, but last year’s class was supposed to be a clear step in the right direction…and none of that panned out. I think we’re struggling to hold talent down because CJS is not weighing character high enough in his evaluation. I know that’s a terrible oversimplification. It’s also quite dismissive of a number of guys that have shown a whole lot of character. It’s also harder to evaluate at times than talent. I just think with the options available to people, that attribute has become more important in creating continuity in a roster. On a ten point talent scale, a 6 with grit is more valuable than a 8 snowflake to my roster. And most of these guys out there are snowflakes.

That attribute (mental and emotional toughness and maturity) unfortunately is much more rare than a few decades ago. This factor along with the easing of transfer restrictions make it much more difficult for any college sports program to hold onto the players they have recruited. While this problem affects all colleges, it is enhanced for schools like Vanderbilt where academic challenges are higher.

[Jason94]

Hmm. I’m excited about this class, but last year’s class was supposed to be a clear step in the right direction…and none of that panned out. I think we’re struggling to hold talent down because CJS is not weighing character high enough in his evaluation. I know that’s a terrible oversimplification. It’s also quite dismissive of a number of guys that have shown a whole lot of character. It’s also harder to evaluate at times than talent. I just think with the options available to people, that attribute has become more important in creating continuity in a roster. On a ten point talent scale, a 6 with grit is more valuable than a 8 snowflake to my roster. And most of these guys out there are snowflakes.

That has been CJS's struggle for his entire time here - roster continuity. Fortunately the portal allows him to be able to quickly cover up the issues with proven players, though the portal is a large contributor to the problem. I would guess that the coaches that can figure out how to have more roster continuity will be the ones who have success. Of the players that CJS has brought in during his first 3 season, at least 10 of them will not have played their full eligibility with VU. In many cases this will be due to players not being a good fit (not being productive enough), but that isn't a good thing. And this isn't counting Pippen or anyone he inherited, as Pippen leaving early is definitely not a problem from an overall program standpoint, and there were issues with the roster that were not of his making.

[Doreknox]

Hmm. I’m excited about this class, but last year’s class was supposed to be a clear step in the right direction…and none of that panned out. I think we’re struggling to hold talent down because CJS is not weighing character high enough in his evaluation. I know that’s a terrible oversimplification. It’s also quite dismissive of a number of guys that have shown a whole lot of character. It’s also harder to evaluate at times than talent. I just think with the options available to people, that attribute has become more important in creating continuity in a roster. On a ten point talent scale, a 6 with grit is more valuable than a 8 snowflake to my roster. And most of these guys out there are snowflakes.

I agree. But I also think Stack is has been lacking at times in his evaluation of overall talent and abilities. It's not like anyone who is leaving us is going to and/or succeeding at another Power Five program. This year's class is simply make or break for him. They have to be good and want to remain at VU. CJS needs to get busy with our 2023 class, too.

[AuricGoldfinger]

CJS needs to get busy with our 2023 class, too.

Speaking of which...it's now been a month since Ed Conroy left the staff. I wonder when we'll hear something on that front.

[commadore]

Do you know if that ranking include transfers coming in, or just high school players?

Just High School. It shows 5 signees: 3 Fours, 2 Threes. That is what we signed.

[Doreknox]

Do you know if that ranking include transfers coming in, or just high school players?

Just High School. It shows 5 signees: 3 Fours, 2 Threes. That is what we signed.

I was curious about that ranking and looked at Rivals entire list. Is the reason our class is so highly ranked because we signed five players? UK is two slots behind us but has two five stars signed. Nonetheless, VU has the lowest player average (3.66) of all of the top 20 classes. We are ahead of UT, which is unbelievable but true.

[MrMemorial]

I took glance at the Rivals list and noticed that our average signee rating was higher than some schools that have done pretty good in the big dance lately. Like Gonzaga. And Texas Tech. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters.

On 247 our average signee rating is higher than some teams you might have heard of. Kentucky, Purdue, Houston, Michigan State, Baylor, Florida, uut, Arizona, etc. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters. They will just have to find something else to hate Stack about.

By the way, it also said Grand Canyon had one signee and he was rated zero stars.

[Doreknox]

I took glance at the Rivals list and noticed that our average signee rating was higher than some schools that have done pretty good in the big dance lately. Like Gonzaga. And Texas Tech. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters.

On 247 our average signee rating is higher than some teams you might have heard of. Kentucky, Purdue, Houston, Michigan State, Baylor, Florida, uut, Arizona, etc. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters. They will just have to find something else to hate Stack about.

By the way, it also said Grand Canyon had one signee and he was rated zero stars.

We were discussing the Rival's list, not 247's. On Rivals', UK's average player rating is a five. Florida's is a four. The intent of my presenting factual data should not be taken as a demonstration of personal bias, but it's obvious you mentioned Grand Canyon's average to make Stack's number look better by comparison.

[Jason94]

I took glance at the Rivals list and noticed that our average signee rating was higher than some schools that have done pretty good in the big dance lately. Like Gonzaga. And Texas Tech. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters.

On 247 our average signee rating is higher than some teams you might have heard of. Kentucky, Purdue, Houston, Michigan State, Baylor, Florida, uut, Arizona, etc. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters. They will just have to find something else to hate Stack about.

By the way, it also said Grand Canyon had one signee and he was rated zero stars.

You might need to review that list again. UK's average player rating is a five. Florida's is a four. The intent of my presenting factual data should not be taken as a demonstration of personal bias.

Did you mention Grand Canyon's average to make Stack's number look better?

When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. "Anti-Stack" apparently is using real numbers and not numbers made up. Don't site any draft board that doesn't have all 5 of our players in the first two rounds or you'll be accused of hating our class.

[MrMemorial]

I took glance at the Rivals list and noticed that our average signee rating was higher than some schools that have done pretty good in the big dance lately. Like Gonzaga. And Texas Tech. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters.

On 247 our average signee rating is higher than some teams you might have heard of. Kentucky, Purdue, Houston, Michigan State, Baylor, Florida, uut, Arizona, etc. But that doesn't fit with the anti-Stack agenda of certain posters. They will just have to find something else to hate Stack about.

By the way, it also said Grand Canyon had one signee and he was rated zero stars.

We were discussing the Rival's list, not 247's. On Rivals', UK's average player rating is a five. Florida's is a four. The intent of my presenting factual data should not be taken as a demonstration of personal bias, but it's obvious you mentioned Grand Canyon's average to make Stack's number look better by comparison.

Since GCU's recruiting class is rated as the worst in the nation, that is not needed at all to make Stack look "better." It's no comparison. But do whatever you need to do to rationalize being a bryce drew lover and a Stack hater. No law against you clinging to drew.

[Doreknox]

The only person on this entire board who continues to bring up Drew is you.

[MrMemorial]

The only person on this entire board who continues to bring up Drew is you.

The only people on this entire board who continues to love drew and hate Stack are you and like two others.

I fully 110% support Vanderbilt's basketball coach Stackhouse and have no use for drew.

Can you say that? Of course not. Not with a straight face. That's why you hate this impressive recruiting class he has coming in. It blows your pro-drew/anti-Stack agenda right out of the water.

GCU has had two guys hit the portal in the last 24 hours.