So, everybody has some questions on Robinson-Earl. Some thoughts based on what I know.
I know that a lot of people are going to want to say that the FBI case has something to do with his decision to go to Villanova instead of Kansas. I can say with as close to 100% certainty as possible that wasn't the case. Jeremiah told me that he wouldn't have been considering Kansas (or Arizona or even North Carolina because of the academic deal they went through in the past) if that was a concern. Any questions or worries he may have had were fully covered by the staff. He simply felt that Villanova was the best fit for him and hitting the send button to call Self and tell him decision was the hardest part of his recruitment.
Obviously, missing out on JRE is a tough blow for Kansas. There's no dancing around that. He was a good fit and likely at a position of big need assuming Dedric Lawson goes pro. He's also somebody that I think having onboard could have helped with luring Matthew Hurt.
As I'm sure Shay has covered, Kansas will now really turn things up with Zeke Nnaji. Where JRE could have been a hurdle to clear with landing him, Kansas can now fully turn their attention to Zeke and his family as a big guy. I do think that they are in there pretty good with him and I think that Purdue could be a major competitor here even if they don't seem to be getting a lot of love nationally.
While the class of 2019 is relatively thin overall, the one area that it does have depth is with post players. I wrote pretty extensively on which highly regarded big men were still available last week and where they stand. I've put the links below
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...and-with-2019-s-uncommitted-rivals150-centers
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...h-2019-s-uncommitted-rivals150-power-forwards
The guy that stands out to me as somebody they could really turn their attention to is Precious Achiuwa. He's going to wait until the spring and is still relatively open.
As for Matthew Hurt, I still think Kansas is in really good shape with him. He likes Kansas, his family likes them. If Kansas keeps things up, they should still have a very strong shot at landing him.
Gotta run but I'll stop by later tonight to check on any questions that might pop up. But in summation, I don't think there is anything else that Bill Self or anybody in the Kansas program could have done to get JRE, he just ended up liking Villanova a little bit better.
I know that a lot of people are going to want to say that the FBI case has something to do with his decision to go to Villanova instead of Kansas. I can say with as close to 100% certainty as possible that wasn't the case. Jeremiah told me that he wouldn't have been considering Kansas (or Arizona or even North Carolina because of the academic deal they went through in the past) if that was a concern. Any questions or worries he may have had were fully covered by the staff. He simply felt that Villanova was the best fit for him and hitting the send button to call Self and tell him decision was the hardest part of his recruitment.
Obviously, missing out on JRE is a tough blow for Kansas. There's no dancing around that. He was a good fit and likely at a position of big need assuming Dedric Lawson goes pro. He's also somebody that I think having onboard could have helped with luring Matthew Hurt.
As I'm sure Shay has covered, Kansas will now really turn things up with Zeke Nnaji. Where JRE could have been a hurdle to clear with landing him, Kansas can now fully turn their attention to Zeke and his family as a big guy. I do think that they are in there pretty good with him and I think that Purdue could be a major competitor here even if they don't seem to be getting a lot of love nationally.
While the class of 2019 is relatively thin overall, the one area that it does have depth is with post players. I wrote pretty extensively on which highly regarded big men were still available last week and where they stand. I've put the links below
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...and-with-2019-s-uncommitted-rivals150-centers
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...h-2019-s-uncommitted-rivals150-power-forwards
The guy that stands out to me as somebody they could really turn their attention to is Precious Achiuwa. He's going to wait until the spring and is still relatively open.
As for Matthew Hurt, I still think Kansas is in really good shape with him. He likes Kansas, his family likes them. If Kansas keeps things up, they should still have a very strong shot at landing him.
Gotta run but I'll stop by later tonight to check on any questions that might pop up. But in summation, I don't think there is anything else that Bill Self or anybody in the Kansas program could have done to get JRE, he just ended up liking Villanova a little bit better.
