Collins' vision has 4-star wing Bryce Hopkins' attention

[lou v]

Chris Collins' vision for Bryce Hopkins and two other big-time Chicago prospects has the Top 100 wing's attention.

Northwestern showing 4-star 2021 wing Hopkins 'tremendous love' ($)

 

[Max_Power]

Love his game. Plus he is like a crazy 100% shooter from the 3 pt line.

 

[pnt16]

 

[Sec.112]

Tough week for the Cats.

 

[Pukecat]

Tough week for the Cats.

They pay better

 

[IGNORE]

Hope we don’t lose any commits...

 

[NJCat]

Hope we don’t lose any commits...

No you don't.

 

[IGNORE]

No you don't.

Yes I do

 

[NJCat]

Yes I do

Well, the early LOI signing period starts Wednesday (11/13-20) so we will get an early read-out then......

http://www.nationalletter.org/signingDates/index.html

 

[cwcorgi-ks]

Well, the early LOI signing period starts Wednesday (11/13-20) so we will get an early read-out then......

http://www.nationalletter.org/signingDates/index.html

Ty Berry has his NLI signing party scheduled for Wednesday morning at Sunrise.

 

[haywood jahblowme]

View embedded media

hard to turn down a blue blood offer

 

[Max_Power]

hard to turn down a blue blood offer

But if you are gonna try to be the baby Duke of the midwest you better start landing these types of kids.

I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly. For the last few years, Phillips has run over the fans who sat in the stadiums for decades selling his NU is a big boy program. I am going to guess that if they hoops team gets smacked around by Providence and Bradley, there will be a few less "donations" come December and there will be many more empty seats at Ryan and in the new Welsh Ryan. Then what is Jim gonna do? Its one thing to be bad, its another thing to hit up your fan base for "donations" and then not deliver competitive teams. And this is not even accounting for the idiotic parking for tailgating policy they have instituted. If I was the NU ticket office, I'd be calling every single ticket holder in both sports and telling them how they plan to make it right over the next year in both sports.

 

[NJCat]

But if you are gonna try to be the baby Duke of the midwest you better start landing these types of kids.

I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly. For the last few years, Phillips has run over the fans who sat in the stadiums for decades selling his NU is a big boy program. I am going to guess that if they hoops team gets smacked around by Providence and Bradley, there will be a few less "donations" come December and there will be many more empty seats at Ryan and in the new Welsh Ryan. Then what is Jim gonna do? Its one thing to be bad, its another thing to hit up your fan base for "donations" and then not deliver competitive teams. And this is not even accounting for the idiotic parking for tailgating policy they have instituted. If I was the NU ticket office, I'd be calling every single ticket holder in both sports and telling them how they plan to make it right over the next year in both sports.

First, NU ain't EVER going to be the Duke of the midwest. Just not going to happen.

Second, if you believe the offers on 247 or Rivals, NU is already offering high level talent who can get admitted. Just this cycle, NU has offered and lost players to UNC, VaTech, Indiana, Purdue, Cincy, Wisconsin, Stanford and Baylor. My recollection is that NU can't make an offer unless the admissions office gives at least a qualified approval. So the standards are already lower for NU for basketball. The issue must be more complicated, some combination of a) coaching staff, b) apathetic fan support, c) having to attend real classes, and the myriad of options available to players in the midwest which don't have issues with a), b) and c).

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

"I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly."

In my opinion, it's is a total cop-out to blame the issue on admissions. And I say this with all due respect because I truly enjoy reading your posts on the board.

We have multiple players on the roster with high-major offers (Nance chose us over Michigan, Kopp chose us over Georgetown and Texas A&M, Buie - Penn State, AJ Turner - Boston College, Jared Jones - Florida, Florida State and Tennessee). Numerous posters (Mike Webb in particular) will tell us over and over that this is the best collection of recruits in NU history. If that's true, then the problem is with coaching and player development.

If we have the best talent that we've ever had and we are still losing to Merrimack at home, then the fault rests squarely on CC and his staff not on the admissions office. Again, we are not talking about why we can't be in the Final Four, we are talking about why we are losing to a Division 2 program AT HOME.

 

[willycat]

"I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly."

In my opinion, it's is a total cop-out to blame the issue on admissions. And I say this with all due respect because I truly enjoy reading your posts on the board.

We have multiple players on the roster with high-major offers (Nance chose us over Michigan, Kopp chose us over Georgetown and Texas A&M, Buie - Penn State, AJ Turner - Boston College). Numerous posters (Mike Webb in particular) will tell us over and over that this is the best collection of recruits in NU history. If that's true, then the problem is with coaching and player development.

If we have the best talent that we've ever had and we are still losing to Merrimack at home, then the fault rests squarely on CC and his staff not on the admissions office. Again, we are not talking about why we can't be in the Final Four, we are talking about why we are losing to a Division 2 program AT HOME.

Gee wonder what the admission policies are at Merrimack?

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

Gee wonder what the admission policies are at Merrimack?

The point is that we have MUCH higher-rated recruits than Merrimack and we still lost. I guarantee you that Merrimack does not have two players on the roster who had offers from Michigan like we do. They just develop talent and/or have someone on the bench who can make in-game adjustments.

 

[Styre]

If we have the best talent that we've ever had and we are still losing to Merrimack at home, then the fault rests squarely on CC and his staff not on the admissions office. Again, we are not talking about why we can't be in the Final Four, we are talking about why we are losing to a Division 2 program AT HOME.

This. Nobody on this board said a word about NU admissions when Collins brought in the class that formed the core of the first tournament team in program history. But now suddenly it's an insurmountable problem.

 

[Medill90]

I have difficulty conceiving that any other coach could bring into NU significantly better talent than Collins has these last several years. He's an excellent recruiter and he and staff are all over it.

I'm not ready to say he's a bad coach. I have questions, specifically about the offense. Do I think he's an upper tier game coach? No. I think for the Big Ten he's middling.

There's a question of player development. I'm not there with that criticism, either. Who has been in program with natural talents to be better than they were when they left? I don't want to list individual players because it will come off as trashing them. There have been a bunch of mid to high three stars who played like contributors. Injuries have been bad to the four stars. But, if we're talking about a guy who is a four star and, say, ranked 100th in the country for his class what is the expectation. That he be developed into a top 25 (NBA first rounder) in all of college? From 400 to 25? And to miss on that is to fail at development?

We're hot and cold on Pete Nance the last three days. Pete would have been redshirted at Michigan, would not have played a second. He'd be just starting his playing career and probably more at the 3 than the 4 because UM has enough beef. Instead, he got used last year and he's not being eased in this year, he's being asked to be the franchise along with Kopp. That, gentleman, is NU basketball.

Admissions is central to it. NU just has less to work with. Always has. Always will.

While I don't think this is the most talented NU team ever, it certainly is in the top handful. Very young.

Will they figure it out this year? Not a clue.

 

[Medill90]

This. Nobody on this board said a word about NU admissions when Collins brought in the class that formed the core of the first tournament team in program history. But now suddenly it's an insurmountable problem.

No question it was much less of a focus.

I thought that the biggest challenge for admissions was players with size...what Al McGuire used to call aircraft carriers. When Collins got Dererk, 4* Benson and 4* Ivanauskus I though he had disproven the concept.

I'm back to questioning admissions.

The fact that there were talented players who wanted to transfer in last year, players who took college courses and did well academically who were told no thanks, has stoked the argument.

When one looks at what other schools allow....the craziness at Nebraska this summer....and we know NU would never allow that in a million years. Or a late summer check in with Verbal Commits and for one class Illinois has 50 offers out and NU has less than 10. Or the tall guard that got turned away at the 11th hour and is now a frosh at Rutgers.

Come on people. Admissions is a real thing.

 

[Pukecat]

This. Nobody on this board said a word about NU admissions when Collins brought in the class that formed the core of the first tournament team in program history. But now suddenly it's an insurmountable problem.

That is 100% untrue. There were many complaints about admissions when Carmody could not get the Euro guys he wanted, like Brzoja.

 

[Pukecat]

I have difficulty conceiving that any other coach could bring into NU significantly better talent than Collins has these last several years. He's an excellent recruiter and he and staff are all over it.

I would stack up Falk's or Foster's best recruits against Collins' any day. They just couldn't keep them healthy or keep them at NU.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

No question it was much less of a focus.

I thought that the biggest challenge for When one looks at what other schools allow....the craziness at Nebraska this summer....and we know NU would never allow that in a million years. Or a late summer check in with Verbal Commits and for one class Illinois has 50 offers out and NU has less than 10. Or the tall guard that got turned away at the 11th hour and is now a frosh at Rutgers.

Come on people. Admissions is a real thing.

The issue is not with the players we can’t get, but rather what we do with the players we DO GET. When we have players who were offered by Georgetown, Vandy, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State and we still lose to Merrimack at home then that’s a problem.

 

[NJCat]

I'm not ready to say he's a bad coach. I have questions, specifically about the offense. Do I think he's an upper tier game coach? No. I think for the Big Ten he's middling.

Not sure what you mean by "middling". Izzo, Gard, Painter, Holtmann and McCaffrey are probably the top tier. Howard is unknown. The other 7 coaches I'd put in the order: Hoiberg, Pitino, Pikiell, Turgeon, Chambers, Miller, and Underwood. Where would you put Collins?

 

[haywood jahblowme]

But if you are gonna try to be the baby Duke of the midwest you better start landing these types of kids.

I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly. For the last few years, Phillips has run over the fans who sat in the stadiums for decades selling his NU is a big boy program. I am going to guess that if they hoops team gets smacked around by Providence and Bradley, there will be a few less "donations" come December and there will be many more empty seats at Ryan and in the new Welsh Ryan. Then what is Jim gonna do? Its one thing to be bad, its another thing to hit up your fan base for "donations" and then not deliver competitive teams. And this is not even accounting for the idiotic parking for tailgating policy they have instituted. If I was the NU ticket office, I'd be calling every single ticket holder in both sports and telling them how they plan to make it right over the next year in both sports.

we landed one. still left for Va. Tech (and thats just a home state very solid program)

 

[IdahoAlum]

Man this admissions crap is so old. Look at the offers of the kids we have. Look how badly they are performing. This is an open and shut case of shitty coaching. Amen.

 

[Styre]

That is 100% untrue. There were many complaints about admissions when Carmody could not get the Euro guys he wanted, like Brzoja.

I didn’t say anything about Carmody, I said nobody was complaining about the admissions department when Collins was recruiting well and having success. Now that the team is bad again, and the program insiders around here are grumbling about admissions, suddenly admissions is an insurmountable problem. And if Nance et al blow up over the next year, and we’re back in the tournament in 2021, all of the complaints will go silent again, even though the standards will not have changed at all.

 

[Max_Power]

This. Nobody on this board said a word about NU admissions when Collins brought in the class that formed the core of the first tournament team in program history. But now suddenly it's an insurmountable problem.

NU is selling itself as a big time program
And not acting like it. My point is that that’s fine .... just don’t ring up “donations” from fans when you have hand cuffed your coaches by falsely limiting the recruiting pool. In other words don’t sell yourself as something you are not and price the product accordingly or expect empty seats.

 

[willycat]

Man this admissions crap is so old. Look at the offers of the kids we have. Look how badly they are performing. This is an open and shut case of shitty coaching. Amen.

Maybe the admissions crap is old but it's real. if you can't see that NU is having problems getting top of the line guys in school, then guess that's your opinion and the discussion ends there. But to say it's not lack of talent is just ignoring the obvious. If you think it's the bad coaching you see as the problem in BB then what is the problem in FB?

 

[IGNORE]

Maybe the admissions crap is old but it's real. if you can't see that NU is having problems getting top of the line guys in school, then guess that's your opinion and the discussion ends there. But to say it's not lack of talent is just ignoring the obvious. If you think it's the bad coaching you see as the problem in BB then what is the problem in FB?

i got this - very very bad coaching. A couple worse than others.

 

[Pukecat]

I didn’t say anything about Carmody, I said nobody was complaining about the admissions department when Collins was recruiting well and having success. Now that the team is bad again, and the program insiders around here are grumbling about admissions, suddenly admissions is an insurmountable problem. And if Nance et al blow up over the next year, and we’re back in the tournament in 2021, all of the complaints will go silent again, even though the standards will not have changed at all.

How many years of success has Collins had?

 

[Styre]

How many years of success has Collins had?

One.

 

[Max_Power]

This. Nobody on this board said a word about NU admissions when Collins brought in the class that formed the core of the first tournament team in program history. But now suddenly it's an insurmountable problem.

Again. No. Two things. One, NU is charging fans a lot to attend these games. Two, admissions are an issue bc they limit the recruit pool.

Are they insurmountable, no if you are content to make the tourney one time every decade but my point again it that NU is now charging and treating season ticket holders at a level where the those individual should expect more from the athletic department than getting forced into spots to tailgate and having to make "donations" for parking and hoops seats. If NU wants to hide behind its academic standards that's fine, just don't charge the fans like you are big time program when you are not, much more a problem in hoops than football.

Remember, I have advocated patience for Collins recruiting for years saying he was operating with no practice facility and a horrible stadium. Further, landing a premier guard like Christie would change the whole discussion. But that's where Collins is at right now. He needs a premier guard and needs one sooner rather than latter. Maybe Berry is that kid but that already is next year.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

How many years of success has Collins had?

i guess it depends on the definition of "success", but the honest answer is "one more than anyone else in the modern history of the program".

 

[Aging Booster]

But if you are gonna try to be the baby Duke of the midwest you better start landing these types of kids.

I have had a few more days to reflect on the mess on the floor in game one. My bottom line, I think that NU has to reconsider its status with academics in football and hoops if it wants to get players who are ready from day one to compete athletically. If the athletic department and admissions do not want to do this, then they need to price the product accordingly. For the last few years, Phillips has run over the fans who sat in the stadiums for decades selling his NU is a big boy program. I am going to guess that if they hoops team gets smacked around by Providence and Bradley, there will be a few less "donations" come December and there will be many more empty seats at Ryan and in the new Welsh Ryan. Then what is Jim gonna do? Its one thing to be bad, its another thing to hit up your fan base for "donations" and then not deliver competitive teams. And this is not even accounting for the idiotic parking for tailgating policy they have instituted. If I was the NU ticket office, I'd be calling every single ticket holder in both sports and telling them how they plan to make it right over the next year in both sports.

My wife and I do not see our purchase of football or basketball tickets as anything other than support for the school we love, which offers an additional benefit of seeing the school's team play in person. We also happily donate in addition to buying the tickets. Every one of our tailgate friends, the people who sit around us, and alums with whom we keep in touch feels the same way. We do not see NU as a department store, like Marshall Fields, at which we transact business. It is more like a charity in which we fervently believe and want to do our part to support. Admittedly, $ is not now a concern for us in any context, especially this one. But, even when we were a young married couple struggling to make ends meet, we bought season tickets and donated. I guess, for us, it is like our church. Winning and losing really does not influence the amount of our generosity. Some people on this board and the football board just do not seem to "get" that.

 

[Medill90]

Man this admissions crap is so old. Look at the offers of the kids we have. Look how badly they are performing. This is an open and shut case of shitty coaching. Amen.

I'd argue that across the last 40 or so years, the results have not been that vastly different with the exception of the one tournament year.

Faulk, Foster, O'Neill and Carmody all had recruiting successes. I'd argue that in another league, each along with Collins would have had multiple tournament teams. But it's the Big Ten so the very best NU has been able to do in more than a generation is...what...fifth?

It's a huge data set and at some point you have to look at it and accept what the data is telling you.

The fact that NU has kids that had major D1/Big Ten offers is a straw man. NU has good players. Some of the most talented players it has ever had. They may turn out to be very good. And I'd hope that since NU has been in the Big Ten since its inception that several NU players were recruited by other Big Ten teams.

I'd be shocked if a kid who is a high three star or low four star who qualifies for NU did not get offers from several Big Ten teams.

The question is, among the top Big Ten teams....and pick your time period...how many would get into NU....especially the top contributors?

Amir Coffey was an NU legacy and NU could not even offer. You think the kids from Maryland who went pro last three years could have gotten into NU. The top of the MSU roster? Top of the Indiana roster? Top of the OSU roster? Top of the UM roster?

You can simplify by asking over the last 10 years (or 20, whatever you're good with) what Big Ten players who were drafted by the NBA qualified for admission to NU?

And before getting into that data, what is a reasonable percentage...a third? 50 percent?

Unless, of course, basketball isn't a sport where having the top talent is a difference-maker.

 

[Styre]

Again. No. Two things. One, NU is charging fans a lot to attend these games. Two, admissions are an issue bc they limit the recruit pool.

Are they insurmountable, no if you are content to make the tourney one time every decade but my point again it that NU is now charging and treating season ticket holders at a level where the those individual should expect more from the athletic department than getting forced into spots to tailgate and having to make "donations" for parking and hoops seats. If NU wants to hide behind its academic standards that's fine, just don't charge the fans like you are big time program when you are not, much more a problem in hoops than football.

FWIW I agree with all of this. My point is that the academic standards are a consistent problem but that NU fans by and large only complain about them when the team is bad. After the tournament bid, the rapturous tone around here had Collins as the next Coach K and NU making Big Ten and Final Four runs in the near future. There weren't many voices at that time saying "hang on, our admissions standards will never allow us to recruit Final Four-caliber players."

Additionally, the admissions standards are not an excuse for everything. Yes, they're a significant barrier to becoming a consistent tournament team or a team that competes for Big Ten titles. But they are not preventing us from beating Merrimack, and should not be used as an excuse not to point the finger in the right direction.

 

[go cats go]

You think the kids from Maryland who went pro last three years could have gotten into NU.

Kevin Huerter (Maryland kid who went to the NBA in 1st round of the draft in 2018) had offers out of high school from Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and Michigan. If there was interest, I expect that NU admissions would not have been a problem.

 

[IGNORE]

I'd argue that across the last 40 or so years, the results have not been that vastly different with the exception of the one tournament year.

Faulk, Foster, O'Neill and Carmody all had recruiting successes. I'd argue that in another league, each along with Collins would have had multiple tournament teams. But it's the Big Ten so the very best NU has been able to do in more than a generation is...what...fifth?

It's a huge data set and at some point you have to look at it and accept what the data is telling you.

The fact that NU has kids that had major D1/Big Ten offers is a straw man. NU has good players. Some of the most talented players it has ever had. They may turn out to be very good. And I'd hope that since NU has been in the Big Ten since its inception that several NU players were recruited by other Big Ten teams.

I'd be shocked if a kid who is a high three star or low four star who qualifies for NU did not get offers from several Big Ten teams.

The question is, among the top Big Ten teams....and pick your time period...how many would get into NU....especially the top contributors?

Amir Coffey was an NU legacy and NU could not even offer. You think the kids from Maryland who went pro last three years could have gotten into NU. The top of the MSU roster? Top of the Indiana roster? Top of the OSU roster? Top of the UM roster?

You can simplify by asking over the last 10 years (or 20, whatever you're good with) what Big Ten players who were drafted by the NBA qualified for admission to NU?

And before getting into that data, what is a reasonable percentage...a third? 50 percent?

Unless, of course, basketball isn't a sport where having the top talent is a difference-maker.

I bet most of the Valpo championship team would have, or should have, qualified.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I bet most of the Valpo championship team would have, or should have, qualified.

Why?

 

[NJCat]

Hope we don’t lose any commits...

Your hopes are fulfilled. Both commits signed LOI's today.

Bittersweet for you, I know......