We scoff when we hear that we got " another 3 star " recruit.
However, Polian enlightened all of us in yesterday's presser.
It starts with the evaluations of Bill Rees. He doesn't stop with the good highlights, but adds " the bad and the ugly."
Some guys are too light now, but just wait until they add mass and muscle.
Some guys might not be the perfect height, but they have such a motor.
Some guys might be a step too slow, but they are nasty.
Projections and player development!
Slow cook these 3 stars and before you know it you have an Ian Book.
We shouldn't get so hung up on the stars before they enter, but on the stars that they become.
that are at the top year after year. That is why it is so impressive that someone can see that a 3 star has the potential to be coached up and improve to a 4 star level but the teams with the talent in the beginning still have an advantage.
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Also, some the rankings are a product of exposure, attending camps, where they play, system, etc. Rankings matter but, there are tons of great players in every sport that are under the radar.
I coach kids in soccer from 4th - 8th grade and follow them once they get to HS. If you know what you are looking at you can identify late bloomers who are just scratching the surface of their potential in HS. You can also identify kids who have peaked in HS. There are some "stud" players in HS who you can just tell will struggle at the next level because they are no longer making significant improvements. A lot of times these are kids who were able to have their physical gifts carry them.
Still, I would love to see us getting 2 or 3 five star players every year.
I also like a couple of the 3* CBs a lot. Tucker and Barnes. Fluid athletes with good size.
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The one advantage to the Brian Kelly approach to coaching up 3 star players, is that we tend to get fewer prima donna "one and done" or "two and through" players, and that our guys tend to get in less trouble...
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