Tech basketball guru Rev Zeke announced it on twitter. In case you didn't know who Warren is, he was our only 2015 basketball commit. It's disappointing but not that surprising with the coaching change.
Warren Craft has opened his recruiting back up— KipTJam (@KipTJam) April 1, 2014
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Makes sense for both sides. I believe Buzz can do better...
My first reaction was "Who?"
I've never been much for basketball recruiting...guess I need to start following more closely
It will be easier to follow in the future because the recruits won't be as obscure. Buzz will chase and secure more highly ranked/more publicized recruits. He'll also secure recruits from the Md/DC/Va/NC region, which will also make the recruits more familiar.
I think basketball recruiting is way better than football recruiting. There's no NSD but the majority of football recruits don't make an impact until at least their sophomore year. Brandon Facyson and Kendall Fuller are outliers, and lucky for us that they are. But basketball recruits can make an immediate impact. With Buzz this is going to be a lot of fun.
Yeah, not a shocker.
It seems like William Fleming HS was a source for that filler spot, especially during JJ's tenure. More football talent than basketball talent seems to come out of there.
Not that upset about this. He was a quasi walk on level talent and Buzz will likely use the scholarship to bring in a top 100 player. I hope he finds a good place to play ball at the next level.
*temporarily confused about basketball-related news*
*scrolls down to see what ltrepeter aka "basketball jesus" says*
*all questions answered*
well...that google image search delivered:
Wow just wow. Jealous of all that hair though.
I love how Basketball Jesus is rejecting the shit out of that little girl in the red.
It is easier to thread a camel through the eye of a needle, than for a rich kid to score on Basketball Jesus.
(Yes, Basketball Jesus refers to himself in the third person.)
Yup. Best of luck to the man. Looks like we're hitting the reset button to an extent.
I'm can't do embed tweets on my phone but he just said we are in good shape to land a Latvian kid. He's not ranked in America but if he were he would be a 5 star top 15 prospect. This could Buzz's first big time recruit. Let's hope it's not an April Fool's Joke.
Thanks, that's the one. He later goes on to say that he would be a top 15 prospect in America.
But is this an April fools?
Highly doubt it, Buzz is maxing out the pilot hours for the Virginia Tech plane. Pretty sure he visited at least 5 or 6 recruits on Sunday alone.
If this is an April Fool's joke, I'll be upset. Being a quarter Latvian, this would be pretty awesome.
The lack of name in the tweet leads me to believe this is an April Fool's Joke.
Yea, I know. Just gives me a sad.
2014 recruit?
Hopefully its this kid if this is legit:
http://u18men.fibaeurope.com/en/cid_2bqXUaQOJwYn9c2ymJyFx0.compID_8aYeHl...
http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.compID_UIfgjyQcGqk-...
If you have time could you do a list of 2014 recruits that Buzz might be able to pick up in order of who you think is most likely to least likely? Doesn't need to be detailed and I've heard a few names mentioned. If you've already done this just point me in the right direction.
Might have time tomorrow to clean up the list I worked on before but Buzz shoots a lot higher than JJ so I will give a look to the top 2014 kids that are not committed as of right now. Still want to see what happens with his current Marquette class now that Wojo has been announced as the coach.
Never would have come up with the Latvian kid if that hadn't been put up here though.
Yeah, I remembered that list, but thought it might look a lot different with Buzz at the helm.
I will put together all the kids I have seen posts for both this year and next about getting offers from Buzz. I know of at least five right now outside of the current pool of his old recruits.
Thanks so much! Really appreciate your work.
Post is up: http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/april/2/mens-basketball-buzz-will...
Jeff Goodman put up a list of all transfers http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/story?storyId=10702122&src=desktop&wjb
Personally I hope we land Gee McGhee
I was surprised to see Marquis Rankin's name on that list. When they announced him leaving the program they said he had decided to stay at Tech to complete his degree but would no longer participate in basketball.
I can honestly say I am not going to miss Rankin much. He never impressed me when he was on the court and it seemed our offensive offense production fell when he was.
Oh I had already moved on from him at the beginning of last year when they said he wouldn't be with the team but I just thought it odd he was on this list. It makes me think he is planning to play somewhere else next season.
Here's a link to the non-mobile version:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10702122/tracking-...?
Eron Harris from the Cousins would be intriguing to me. 17.2 ppg for the eers last year as a shooting guard. The problem is that other than the graduating players, all of these guys will likely have to sit out a year.
M.J. Rhett from Tennessee State would be a good pickup with his ability to rebound, give us another big body down low that can bang. He is 6'8, 235 lbs averaged 11 ppg and 9 rpg last season
The guy who tweeted about the Latvian kid with no name, just tweeted "I Love April Fools Day"....I think its fake.
That's true but its not the only thing he has tweeted and if you look back through his history, he has a pretty solid string of posts regarding Virginia Tech basketball, including making the bigger guys aware of the TJ Lang change. He was the one that tweeted to Mark Berman that Lang was leaving. Berman then confirmed it.
Regardless, there is at least a Latvian kid of that stature that is the appropriate age that could potentially be someone Williams would go after. See my other post regarding the Croatian kid that Buzz is also high on. He was recruited to Marquette but Buzz ran out of slots.
Pick any other nationality and I wouldn't have been as hopeful...damn me for having relatives from an obscure Baltic nation.
It was an April Fool's Joke. TJ Lang has been released from his LOI, this is not a joke.
Thanks for confirming on Lang and I was talking about the so called Latvian kid not Craft.
Another offer out, this time from the class of 2014. Buzz was supposedly recruiting him at Marquette. Foreign born player that moved here recently. This one from Croatia. Hate that this is April Fools so this could be all BS.
http://kaunas2012.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/12/fu17wc/men/player/p/eid/6228/...
I'm actually ok with this. I want Buzz to come in and have his own kids to start the way he wants. I don't want him to be saddled with recruits that his predecessor got to sign on if he doesn't think they're a good fit for his scheme. Release them from the LOI and let them find a school right for them, and let Buzz find a kid that fits his program.
This is a completely new mindset for us. When Seth was let go and we had a slew of de-commitments, we basically resigned ourselves that the season was lost and JJ would just have to work with what was left. It's refreshing to have that much confidence in a coach, that we can lose players and feel like we can still improve.
Well... the difference between then and now is that Johnson was on staff when we were recruiting that class, and for the most part, was the main recruiter to get them on campus, so it was big when we lost out and they all left. We had to start over from scratch, and it was so late in the game, we were screwed.
This is different because we hired from the outside. We hired someone who has no previous ties to VT. He was already doing his recruiting elsewhere, so while we have a group of kids already lined up to come here, he has a group of kids who already want to come play for him as well. So, let this one be up to Buzz. Let him bring in the kids he wants. If a kid doesn't want to play for him, fine. Here's your release, enjoy your future. We'll be ok regardless of what happens now.
You nailed it - this is a whole new mindset for Hokie fans. Buzz will do many, many things that differ greatly from 'how we always used to do it...' - and that is a great thing! There are success stories across the country that are all unique. Buzz is certainly a success story in his career, and I have no problem watching him turn the page, since he has proven himself so well previously.
I remember all the way back to when the season was mercifully over and the debate was whether to keep or fire JJ. The panic was if we fire him, we would lose all or part of this great recruiting class. Now we're like "oh well...good kid, but Buzz can bring in a higher ranked kid"
Little something I like to call "Perspective in Reflection".
Guess that wily new AD knows what he's doing. I, for one, am damn glad to have this positive outlook for the future of Hokie Hoops. Been too long since we had something to care about.
Wile is getting after it!
Wiley Whit
I find that doubly hilarious as my son's name is Riley. When he was first talking we would ask his name and he would say "Wiley Whitt".
Another Looney Tunes upvote!
Isn't that Ralph Wolf and not Wile?
Think it's Wile E. Coyote
Look, its Wile E. Coyote: Super Genius.
This is what I was looking for, but alas could not find. great find, +1.
According to Wikipedia:
I think you're right, he has the red nose of Ralph Wolf but the yellow eyes of Wile E. Coyote. Also he's looking over a grassy hill and Wile E usually is found pursuing the road runner through the grassless desert of America's southwest. I found this picture that compares them, so everyone can judge for themselves:
Regardless, the tongue in the gif looks like bacon.
I was watching the other day and wondering why what seemed to be Wile E. was being called Ralph by the sheepdog
great, now I'm hungry.
awesome find though, I've never even heard of ralph wolf
Ditto. I've always thought the two characters were one in the same. My mind has been blown
I found the cartoon- not even the person who uploaded it knew who Ralph Wolf was, though their names Sam and Ralph were actually switched for the first couple of cartoons which makes it even more confusing.
"Don't Give Up The Sheep"