Now that's a landing...The Heels landed 6'9" power forward, Ed Davis. last week. He's the son of former Dallas Maverick and Washington Wizard power forward, Terry Davis.
With this signing, Coach Williams continues to mark his undoubtable legacy...The guy can recruit. He's a master.
With that said, I was stunned earlier this summer when I saw the amount of people taking shots and putting pressure on Coach Williams to land recruits this year. The boo-birds were coming out after Delvon Roe landed at Michigan State and shooting guard, Jrue Holiday to UCLA. My call...What 'evs...I really wonder about their basketball I.Q.
My question is...How can anyone question Coach Williams on his recruiting?
Look at his tough pulls:
1.) Marvin Williams - We weren't even in the picture for the big fella and arguably the top player in the class. We landed him in a couple of weeks time.
2.) Marcus Ginyard - Had a ton of hype going into his Junior year. Landed him immediately with his hire. Snatched from Duke.
3.) Tyler Hansbrough - Masterful job at a time when every high-school senior with any value was going pro. Defeated an all-out assault from KU and Mizzou.
4.) Frasor, Green - Two solid pieces and McDonald's AAs.
5.) Ellington, Lawson, Thompson, Stepheson - Top-level elite program lands.
6.) Greaves - Great local add...Especially when you consider how people were building the hype on him during his sophomore year. I know William pretty well. In his sophomore year, the kid was set on going to Duke. That was a nice swipe.
7.) Brandan Wright - How we snatched that kid from the Krzyzewski's jaws was amazing. Masterful performance...'Nuff said.
8.) Ed Davis Jr. - Yo Rob! Where you at? I think this kid is an incredible land. A couple of people had said that this kid was guaranteed to land at UVA because the UVA staff was all over him. 'Nuff said.
9.) Class of '09 & '10 - Point blank...Arguably the greatest back-to-back recruiting job ever in college basketball. Analyze this point if you will in 2011.
Feel free to add in your thoughts, I'm sure that I have missed more positives.
A lot of UNC followers believe that signing only Drew Jr. would have made for a good strategy as well. Let's go back to our classes of '91 and '92.
'91 - Donald Williams
'92 - Dante Calabria, Ed Geth, Larry Davis, Serge Zwikker
'93 Result: National Champs
In '92, a lot of so-called expert UNC followers were stating that Coach Smith was losing his touch with that class of minor pieces.
These statements were after the Class of '90 when he landed the "Original Fab 5." My thoughts are that Calabria and Drew Jr. were similar lands in the fact they are Top 50 guys who can provide solid contributions throughout their career. People also have to realize that elite-level kids are not apt for sitting behind someone for a year or two.
Similar strategy:
'07 - None
'08 - Larry Drew Jr....(Well, now add Ed Davis Jr.)
'09 Result: We'll see...
Personally, I stay away from that board, but I'm tempted to spit fire on those clowns. I'm sure that there has to be a lot of defenders of Coach Williams's recruiting on that thing. For the detractors, do they realize how loaded this team really is and how the landscape of top ten talent are behaving these days?
Even if UNC landed only Drew Jr., as a UNC fan, I would have been elated. I think Coach Williams's strategy of holding on recruits was excellent. I gave him an 'A' for holding last year.
Disregarding Davis Jr., if you're a elite-level recruit, where are you going to get tick behind a line-up filled with tons of in-game experience that consists of a potential line-up of juniors, Tywon Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Alex Stepheson, and Deon Thompson and seniors Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard, and Bobby Frasor, and quite possibly...1st Team AA, Tyler Hansbrough?
Does anyone realize how hard that sell is?
IC boards...What 'evs. Consider the sources.
I also have to trust that Coach Williams was pondering where the talent level of '09 was going to land. Personally, I think the next class is going to have a lot of impact when he has to replace the '09 class and a possible early NBA entry. I was anticipating this season to be filling in pieces and next season to have major big-gamers coming in.
With Davis Jr., he doesn't have to put all of his chips on that class.
Great, great moves, and here's another point...All are great, solid, and personable kids...Do those clowns realize how tough that is?
I can't doubt the guy. In terms of recruiting, Coach Williams is a beast.
Joe Holliday,IronDog
