Aaron White Commits to Iowa

I was listening to matt and miller on my way to ames and they were saying that he is slow and doesn't fit the profile of the run and gun offense we are promised...has anyone watched him play? Hopefully this is a lie.
 
ISUHawk, I can't answer your question per se, however everything I have read on him suggest that White is very athletic. Go to ESPN and checkout their evaluation of him
He sounds like he can run the floor and play above the rim.
 
I was listening to matt and miller on my way to ames and they were saying that he is slow and doesn't fit the profile of the run and gun offense we are promised...has anyone watched him play? Hopefully this is a lie.

Consider the source, is it really worth repeating?
 
I did see somewhere that they called him deceptively athletic.. So I guess if anyone sees him play, they'll have to let us know if looking at him you think he's more athletic than you would think looking at him.
 
I did see somewhere that they called him deceptively athletic.. So I guess if anyone sees him play, they'll have to let us know if looking at him you think he's more athletic than you would think looking at him.

That translates to he is white and can play basketball at a position other than 7 footer or spot up shooter.
 
We have to trust that Fran knows he needs quick athletic players to play his style. If we try to play fast with slow players,it will not work well.
 
That translates to he is white and can play basketball at a position other than 7 footer or spot up shooter.

I am pretty sure that most people on here would not be very excited about this commit if Lick was still around. I was really hopeful that Fran was going to put an end to the Lick like recruits but I guess that was wishful thinking. I know people like to say that other offers don't matter, but they really do in basketball. This sounds harsh but you do not build NCAA teams in the Big Ten with offers from the schools this kid had. I understand the thrill of finally adding to this class but this team needs a serious talent infusion especially when limiting possessions will no longer be the strategy.

As for the article on the front page, doesn't "rising" and the class just mean that is what they will be in the upcoming season. For example, Cole is a rising senior.
 
I am pretty sure that most people on here would not be very excited about this commit if Lick was still around. I was really hopeful that Fran was going to put an end to the Lick like recruits but I guess that was wishful thinking. I know people like to say that other offers don't matter, but they really do in basketball. This sounds harsh but you do not build NCAA teams in the Big Ten with offers from the schools this kid had. I understand the thrill of finally adding to this class but this team needs a serious talent infusion especially when limiting possessions will no longer be the strategy.

As for the article on the front page, doesn't "rising" and the class just mean that is what they will be in the upcoming season. For example, Cole is a rising senior.

I disagree with this Jay. Not because it was Lick, but because Lick just didn't go after higher profile players. Fran is out there with many high * players. So if you think about it, he knows what he wants, and if he is offering and pursuing lower * guys it is for a reason other than why Lick did it....which was Lick couldn't get the higher * guys.

That said if he continually brings in all of his players like this, we could start being concerned. Yet to say there are no 2*/low offer type guys that work out is just wrong. Look at May for example, you can't say he wasn't athletic enough, or that he will end up playing more like a high 3*/4* guy by the time his career is done.
 
I am pretty sure that most people on here would not be very excited about this commit if Lick was still around. I was really hopeful that Fran was going to put an end to the Lick like recruits but I guess that was wishful thinking. I know people like to say that other offers don't matter, but they really do in basketball. This sounds harsh but you do not build NCAA teams in the Big Ten with offers from the schools this kid had. I understand the thrill of finally adding to this class but this team needs a serious talent infusion especially when limiting possessions will no longer be the strategy.

As for the article on the front page, doesn't "rising" and the class just mean that is what they will be in the upcoming season. For example, Cole is a rising senior.

This is what my gut says, too. Hope it's wrong.
 
I am pretty sure that most people on here would not be very excited about this commit if Lick was still around. I was really hopeful that Fran was going to put an end to the Lick like recruits but I guess that was wishful thinking. I know people like to say that other offers don't matter, but they really do in basketball. This sounds harsh but you do not build NCAA teams in the Big Ten with offers from the schools this kid had. I understand the thrill of finally adding to this class but this team needs a serious talent infusion especially when limiting possessions will no longer be the strategy.

As for the article on the front page, doesn't "rising" and the class just mean that is what they will be in the upcoming season. For example, Cole is a rising senior.


Rising means he's getting more attention as of late, not that he's about to play his SR season. From the sounds of it, like Oglesby, he blew up over the summer during AAU ball and is now getting lots of attention from high majors like OSU, Texas and the others mentioned in the article. Considering Coach Caff is wanting to up the athleticism of the team, I doubt he's going to offer a bunch of unathletic players to kick off his first recruiting class. That would be a bad way to start and he's fully aware of it, which is why he wouldn't do that.
 
From the sounds of it, like Oglesby, he blew up over the summer during AAU ball and is now getting lots of attention from high majors like OSU, Texas and the others mentioned in the article.

If that's true, then it sounds like this is a good pickup. If coaches like Thad Matta and Rick Barnes are looking at White, then that tells me that he should be solid. Matta and Barnes don't strike me as the types of coaches who recruit mediocre, unathletic players, judging by their past teams.

Without seeing White or knowing anything else about him whatsoever, I would say this sounds ok.

If we can live on getting the diamonds in the rough (overlooked talent), and that gets us back to being respectable, then so be it. I just want us to be competetive again, and then maybe we can start getting some of the more highly touted recruits.

For now, I have to give Fran the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he's doing and can accurately evaluate the talent needed to successfully play his style of ball. I'm sure he knows what type of players he wants, and is offering scholarships accordingly.
 
If that's true, then it sounds like this is a good pickup. If coaches like Thad Matta and Rick Barnes are looking at White, then that tells me that he should be solid. Matta and Barnes don't strike me as the types of coaches who recruit mediocre, unathletic players, judging by their past teams.

Without seeing White or knowing anything else about him whatsoever, I would say this sounds ok.

If we can live on getting the diamonds in the rough (overlooked talent), and that gets us back to being respectable, then so be it. I just want us to be competetive again, and then maybe we can start getting some of the more highly touted recruits.

For now, I have to give Fran the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he's doing and can accurately evaluate the talent needed to successfully play his style of ball. I'm sure he knows what type of players he wants, and is offering scholarships accordingly.


To be real, articles always say the highest level of teams who may have contacted someone one time even if it is just a mailer. I sincerely doubt Thad Matta is looking at a bag of 5 and 4 stars and then decides to take a flier on the likes of White.

As for the "rising" issue, every recruiting article that you read in the summer labels the kid this way so it is certainly not a unique thing to White in this case. Which kids aren't theoretically rising?

Deano, you make a very good argument that I really want to believe. I am going to give Fran the benefit of the doubt, but the early returns are not the new type of athlete that I was hoping for. 2 stars can become very solid players but it really helps when the 2 stars are mixed in with 4 stars. That is the current problem with the roster, everyone is a 2 or 3 star and there is no one who can just take over the program and lead Iowa back up the Big Ten ladder. A Tyler Smith type player is needed here.
 
A "rising senior" means he's going to be a senior. A player "on the rise" means his stock is going up. The term rising junior and rising senior are used alot when covering summer basketball since they are in between classes in high school. I didn't read the context used with White in this case.
 
So, we should have been really ****** off when KF took some kid from Erie, PA with only an offer from Kent St? Trying to validate the worth of a prospect by their other offers can be a silly game, just look at how in demand Jake Kelly was(or wasnt, really). Fran could have offered Oglesby immediately, but instead he did his due diligence and scouted him and then offered when he believed he would fit, I would assume that this is a similar scenario. Unlike Lickliter, who never built anything, we can readily see that Fran has successfully built programs, so it would seem a fair thing to give him the benefit of the doubt and to build this one. Relationships take time to build, you get to know the kids, research them, sell them on your vision and how they will fit, and for 2012 and beyond, hopefully you can put a product ont he floor that will get them excited and see what is on the way. There are kids who will love the chance to build something, to be the key cogs to turn it around, and also see the chance to play in the BigTen as pretty cool. Its like with Paige and Gesell, he can sell those two on all the above, plus to be running mates from day one for four years, and thats a pretty big thing to offer, especially if they have a leaning towards IOWA. Its too early to jump ship Jay.
 
I think Fran deserves the benefit of the doubt and so does this kid. Welcome to Iowa, Aaron! We're hoping for big things for you!
 
Deano, you make a very good argument that I really want to believe. I am going to give Fran the benefit of the doubt, but the early returns are not the new type of athlete that I was hoping for. 2 stars can become very solid players but it really helps when the 2 stars are mixed in with 4 stars. That is the current problem with the roster, everyone is a 2 or 3 star and there is no one who can just take over the program and lead Iowa back up the Big Ten ladder. A Tyler Smith type player is needed here.

Totally agreed Jay. At the same time though, I just can't get down on a kid right out of the shoot, because of the *'s behind his name. He did something to attract Fran's attention. Fran has built programs, he wants to get out and run and create mismatches in the open court. I think he has a better feel than you or I about what he wants in his players, that is all I am saying. So if he feels White is that kid, then I'm trust him. It isn't like we are picking him up because the spring signing date is upon us......
 
So, we should have been really ****** off when KF took some kid from Erie, PA with only an offer from Kent St? Trying to validate the worth of a prospect by their other offers can be a silly game, just look at how in demand Jake Kelly was(or wasnt, really). Fran could have offered Oglesby immediately, but instead he did his due diligence and scouted him and then offered when he believed he would fit, I would assume that this is a similar scenario. Unlike Lickliter, who never built anything, we can readily see that Fran has successfully built programs, so it would seem a fair thing to give him the benefit of the doubt and to build this one. Relationships take time to build, you get to know the kids, research them, sell them on your vision and how they will fit, and for 2012 and beyond, hopefully you can put a product ont he floor that will get them excited and see what is on the way. There are kids who will love the chance to build something, to be the key cogs to turn it around, and also see the chance to play in the BigTen as pretty cool. Its like with Paige and Gesell, he can sell those two on all the above, plus to be running mates from day one for four years, and thats a pretty big thing to offer, especially if they have a leaning towards IOWA. Its too early to jump ship Jay.

Can't compare basketball and football recruiting. Not to many under the radar bball players anymore with all the AAU tourneys being played.
 
Quote IAJay: "I was really hopeful that Fran was going to put an end to the Lick like recruits but I guess that was wishful thinking. I know people like to say that other offers don't matter, but they really do in basketball. This sounds harsh but you do not build NCAA teams with offers like this kid had."

I understand you are making judgments about players you haven't seen, and appear to be working on the assumption that it doesn't matter that you have no personal knowledge because you are reading the internet wannabes.

Okay, that doesn't make you unique. Unfortunately it also doesn't make you unique in that you are missing or ignoring much of the evidence available.

White has offers from two ACC schools (Miami, Boston College), from two Atlantic 10 schools that have been successful in the nCAA tournement (St Joseph, Temple), Big Ten (Northwestern) among other Division 1 programs.
Is rated three stars by the more reputable services, an 88 by ESPN (puts him about the median in Big Ten recruits).

Same with Oglesby: offers from Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa State, Mizzou, Creighton, Arizona State, Virginia, other MVC schools, more than a dozen Division 1 schools in all. ESPN gave him a 92 rating, which puts him in the top third of Big Ten recruits.

Next on the list will be Tyler Harris, and before you foolishly dismiss him, understand that ESPN rates him up in the rarified regions of a 95, and he has offers from NC State, Louisville, St Johns, Providence, Michigan, and several other Div 1 majors.

Despite the late start, and the heritage of the mess made by Alford & Lickliter, McCaffery is putting together a surprisingly strong first group of recruits--Besabe, Ogleby, White, most likely Harris, and he will get his big man this year, whether a center or PF. And next year he is off to the proverbial races--big men Adam Woodbury & Kyle Meyer, 2G Mike Gesell, AND don't underestimate his chances keeping Paige at home.

Not out of the question that Fran McCaffery is the coach who wins the next Big Ten championship who isn't named Izzo or Matta. Of course that would be four, five years down the line...
 
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