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How does Whitesell recruting class compare to Oats class we lost when he left for Alabama?


MaineBull

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I think we can all agree that the recruiting class Coach Oats and staff had lined up before he left for Alabama was impressive.  Maybe our strongest class of all time.  The following was the class lined up to attend Buffalo in 2019-2020 under coach Oats:

Andre Allen

James Rojas

Noah WIlliams

Durey Cadwell

Raymond Hawkins

I think it is time to give coach Whitesell and staff credit for assembling a very strong class after Oats left.  We lost the entire class and Coach Whitesell and staff had to scramble to put together a class of recruits. I believe they did a great job and deserve a lot of credit for putting together a great class.  This class speaks volumes about the coaching staff and the quality of our school.  I think the class the coaches have put together is comparable and in the end this class may end up being stronger than the impressive Oats class.  I would not be surprised if at the end of the day the current class ends up having a greater impact on the success of our basketball program than the Oats class would have.  For the sake of conversations the following is the class assembled by Coach Whitesell:

Savion Gallion

Laquill Hardnett

Josh Mballa

David Skogman

David Nickelberry

How do you all think these recruiting classes compare?

 

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1 hour ago, MaineBull said:

I would not be surprised if at the end of the day the current class ends up having a greater impact on the success of our basketball program than the Oats class would have.

The Oats class was undoubtedly our best class ever and when all is said and done, stacked with P5ers - that being said. Whitesell and Co. have put together quite an impressive group that should have us all excited. If it weren't for seeing some of the previous names (and where they ended up) I think we'd still be calling this one of our best recruiting classes ever.

A key difference is how many of this year's class will be eligible to play for 3+ years at UB.

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I agree with what @Jeseph said and add this...essentially we recruited 10 players this season. Got 10 commits to UB. That speaks volumes to where the program and brand name of the program is at. 

In comparing the two classes obviously there’s a drop off. But it isn’t that big. Which again speaks to us as a program. Now it’s time to win on the court which will continue the building of the program. 

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2 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I agree with what @Jeseph said and add this...essentially we recruited 10 players this season. Got 10 commits to UB. That speaks volumes to where the program and brand name of the program is at. 

In comparing the two classes obviously there’s a drop off. But it isn’t that big. Which again speaks to us as a program. Now it’s time to win on the court which will continue the building of the program. 

Time will tell how much of a drop off there is, if any. Oats guys will be competing at P5 schools where they may find the competition stiff enough where they don't get a whole lot of PT. Meanwhile Whitesell's guys should all have a great opportunity to show what they can do. The test will be if these guys can re-=establish the momentum that Oats built. If not branding, all the positive national PR, etc.  will quickly subside.

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Hard to make the comparison across teams, of course, Allen and Rojas are expected to be solid contributors for roughly top 50 teams.  Cadwell is expected to produce, but perception of LA-Lafayette is that they are well below Buffalo in terms of talent.  Williams and Hawkins are not expected to get much playing time.  As for Buffalo,  David Nickelberry is expected to be leading contributor amongst Buffalo recruits (67% of minutes ~9pts).  Hardnett and Skogman are expected to play about 30-35% minutes, and around 4-4.5 pts.  I can see the contributions from all three being higher than barttorvik projects, which is part of the reason why I think the ranking for Buffalo is too low.  If you add a meaningful contribution from Bertram,  Buffalo will end up surprising a lot of people.   I am optimistic we can continue the momentum.

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I agree with many of the comments made thus far on this topic.  Jeseph is right the major difference between this class and the Oats class is the number of recruits whom can play 3+ years.  4 of the 5 recruits secured by Whitesell and staff will hopefully be in a Buffalo uniform for 3 plus years. That's HUGE! 

Dooley is also right on when he says winning on the court is the best way to build a program.  Winning is the key to a successful program.  Winning results in people in the seats and buzz in the media, all good things for Buffalo.  This season is all about keeping the momentum going that Oats and Hurley put together.  I am confident this coaching staff and roster will allow us to continue to build this program to the powerhouse that we all wish it would be.  Lets keep the momentum going, Go Bulls!

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59 minutes ago, MaineBull said:

I agree with many of the comments made thus far on this topic.  Jeseph is right the major difference between this class and the Oats class is the number of recruits whom can play 3+ years.  4 of the 5 recruits secured by Whitesell and staff will hopefully be in a Buffalo uniform for 3 plus years. That's HUGE! 

Dooley is also right on when he says winning on the court is the best way to build a program.  Winning is the key to a successful program.  Winning results in people in the seats and buzz in the media, all good things for Buffalo.  This season is all about keeping the momentum going that Oats and Hurley put together.  I am confident this coaching staff and roster will allow us to continue to build this program to the powerhouse that we all wish it would be.  Lets keep the momentum going, Go Bulls!

Agreed. Another huge aspect of Whitesell's efforts is that no one transfered when Oates left. There are literally 100's of d1 transfer every year and no one left the bulls! 

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On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 9:15 AM, Gxtrex said:

Agreed. Another huge aspect of Whitesell's efforts is that no one transfered when Oates left. There are literally 100's of d1 transfer every year and no one left the bulls! 

Great point.  Enough cannot be said about the job this coaching staff did to have non of our players transfer out during the coaching change.  Shows how close to this group both Whitesell and JQ are.  These kids believe in this staff and more importantly they believe in the system and culture that has been created here.  They can feel the momentum building and want to continue to ride the wave that is UB basketball! 

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