[alfus21]

Which proves my point. Tubby isn't a good recruiter or scout of talent. Did he sign a lot of high profile kids? Yes. But, would you consider any of those players at, or even close, to what they were projected? Rondo is possibly, but none of the others are even close. The great coaches are usually capable of seperating the players and contenders out of the bunch efficiently. Tubby has been able to sign high profile kids, of which, 3 of the 5 haven't been nearly the impact player as suggested. I'll give Rondo and Morris credit. They've been very good and solid players when they haven't made bad decisions. Ramel I would consider a total bust. He just hasn't been very consistent in his game at all. He is sometimes a great spark to the team, but also has been a liability. Crawford I can see being a prolific scorer in time and with some polishing, but being ranked #2 at his position, I'd still call him a semi bust to this point, but I think he has the ability to climb the ladder back up. Sparks has shown flash in the pan skills to be very good, but is entirely too streaky. Would you consider what they've accomplished to be that of a top notch recruting class? Recruiting is not only what they are projected, and the talent they MAY possess, but also the ability to get that talent out of the players during the game.

Also, hypothetically, lets say that Tubby has been recruting top notch classes over the last few years. If you have top notch recruits, and you are hypothetically a top notch coach, why doesn't UK have a top notch program this season. Yes, they lost a key player to the draft early, and they've had the Morris situation, but top tier coaches are able to overcome these situations.

Roy Williams is in a slightly similar situation to Tubby. He took over a great team in his first year and won a National Championship. But then, he was put into a much worse situation than Tubby has ever faced, he lost his top 7 scorers, many leaving early for the NBA. Yet he was able to hold his team together and actually has them considered a top 25 team in the country despite his poor situation.

So to answer one of your questions, No it's not a top notch recruiting class. Being a highly rated player doesn't mean much when a coach isn't able to determine whether the player actually has that talent or not, or undercoaches them.

And to answer the other one:
Anyone who would have taken a serious look at Lofton would have seen that he was a prolific, and consistent 3 point shooter in highschool. That alone, he should have been considered before Sparks streakiness. Granted Sparks had the collegiate experience, but this is also a double edged sword. Sparks only had 2 years left since he was a transfer, and Lofton would have had 4. Additionally, Lofton's size, explosiveness, and play making ability would have made him a better selection than Sparks. The only strong advantage Sparks had was his ability to make assists, and run the point which would let Rondo move to the other guard position.

Sparks advantages:
College experience
Assists
Ability to run the point

Lofton advantages:
4 years of eligibility as opposed to 2 years for Sparks
Height
Speed
Jumping
3 point shooting
Consistency

So to answer your other question, I would see him fitting in quite nicely in the recruting process ahead of Sparks.

I can agree with the fact that he would have been a heck of a recruit over Sparks, but Tubby had been burnt on great in-state Mr. Basketballs before such as Brandon Stockton who was awesome in high school, but he got him and everybody tore him apart for it..I figure he, along with Pitino was afraid to bring in Lofton and be torn apart by the state of Kentucky for bringing in another "bust Mr. Basketball"....

I still believe it's a top notch recruiting class, they're just not producing...The team lost 2 of it's top 3 scorers from last year's team and the person with the biggest heart...

And obviously there are some other coaches that arent great talent scouts because Bradley was offered by Boston College and Pittsburgh as well....

Crawford is actually having a pretty good season, if he can work his consistency out he'll be fine...Crawford was offered scholorships by Cinci, Michigan State, Illinois, Clemson, Oregon, and Michigan who are all great programs..

So it's actually still a great recruiting class, they're just not producing for Coach Smith..

I dont think he's undercoaching them either, I just think they're not listening to him and making poor decisions...

Anyways, things will get back on track, if not this year next year Kentucky will be right back up there...

One year isn't going to determine the history of UK basketball...We'll be fine