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Braxton Key

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It's going to be a tough pull.

There is the UVa-Sampson connection, the fact that he was once recruited to UVa, he's got a friend at UVa, and the guy who plays his spot (which kept him from going to UVa) will be gone in a year when he is eligible to play.

At UM, we have the Sampson-Larranaga connection, plus he also has a friend at UM.

Both teams have good coaches, both have had recent ACC success. UVa is probably a few slots better than UM as an academic institution (though the kid is coming from Alabama).

Unless Key falls in love with the SoFla life, I'd expect him to choose UVa.

Also, just FYI, Jay Larranaga was interviewed for the Knicks HC job, though he probably won't get it. Would be great for us and our recruiting efforts if our coach's son was an NBA HC.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
It's going to be a tough pull.

There is the UVa-Sampson connection, the fact that he was once recruited to UVa, he's got a friend at UVa, and the guy who plays his spot will be gone in a year.

At UM, we have the Sampson-Larranaga connection.

Both teams have good coaches, both have had recent ACC success. UVa is probably a few slots better than UM as an academic institution (though the kid is coming from Alabama).

Unless Key falls in love with the SoFla life, I'd expect him to choose UVa.

Also, just FYI, Jay Larranaga was interviewed for the Knicks HC job, though he probably won't get it. Would be great for us and our recruiting efforts if our coach's son was an NBA HC.
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He also went to school with Rodney Miller at Oak Hill.
 
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HurikaneMarc said:
UVA had a serious off year in the NCAA's.
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Yes, but they were a #1 seed. There are dangers to being a slow, deliberate, low-scoring team.

But they won the ACC and they had a #1 seed. Yes, they had an upset of monumental proportions. But they were a darn good team last year, and if the kid wants to go to a good program that wins a lot of games, Miami doesn't have an edge over UVa.

We also underperformed in the first round.

I'm just saying, it will be hard to pull this kid from UVa. I'd love to. I'm not holding out a ton of hope right now. I love that we are in the game with him, but I think we will finish in second place here.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
I edited my post. I still think this is an uphill battle. If Bennett was a lesser coach and UVa had an off-year last year, I'd like our chances a lot more.
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He was recruited by UVA in HS. He could have went there the first time. I think Bennett is an amazing coach but he looks worse after being the first to "accomplish" that rare honor.
 
Bennett has been an amazing regular season coach and a complete disaster when it really matters. Not a good look.
 
tcgrad1014 said:
Bennett has been an amazing regular season coach and a complete disaster when it really matters. Not a good look.
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This is very true. But let's be real here... I love coach L. He's the best coach we've ever had here at Miami but what's he done in the tournament? 2 sweet 16 runs that could have and should have gone further... And back to back first round exits. He's great in the regular season having us over achieve like every year but come tourney time.. Chokes. So he's very similar to Bennett.
 
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Consigliere said:
He was recruited by UVA in HS. He could have went there the first time. I think Bennett is an amazing coach but he looks worse after being the first to "accomplish" that rare honor.
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Look, I'm not trying to nominate Bennett for the Hall of Fame or anything, but he has made it to the Sweet 16 twice (once with Washington State) and the Elite 8, and all of that is post-Larranaga's magical Final Four run.

So, to a recruit, a guy who is younger and just looks at the last 10 years, Bennett is comparable to, if not a slight bit better, than Larranaga. That's not me talking, that's what a recruit might reasonably conclude.

As for the UVa "the first time" stuff, UVa got another kid to accept his offer quicker. A 4-star kid. So there is that, it's not like the kid just spurned UVa.
 
Lonnie Walker selected the canes over Villanova, Arizona and Kentucky. Bruce Brown had offers from Michigan and UConn. All those teams have been recently better than us. I think it will come down to the relationship that the staff can create with the kid.

Now i'm not optimistic either but not because of Bennetts resume. I'm never optimistic with recruiting because I've tasted the crushing disappointment that only wishy washy kids can cause too many times. I merely accept the outcome.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Look, I'm not trying to nominate Bennett for the Hall of Fame or anything, but he has made it to the Sweet 16 twice (once with Washington State) and the Elite 8, and all of that is post-Larranaga's magical Final Four run.

So, to a recruit, a guy who is younger and just looks at the last 10 years, Bennett is comparable to, if not a slight bit better, than Larranaga. That's not me talking, that's what a recruit might reasonably conclude.
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I repeat. I think he is an amazing coach who won the ACC twice and went to the tourney 5 straight (at UVA). In general, I think Bennett's system may be unappealing to a player who likes to run fast.

I think age is overrated, look at Coach K (71), kids would love the opportunity to play for that old geezer.


TheOriginalCane said:
As for the UVa "the first time" stuff, UVa got another kid to accept his offer quicker. A 4-star kid. So there is that, it's not like the kid just spurned UVa.
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That actually makes it worse. We're going in a different direction.

Fool me once.

We will see. Hopefully we have the Key, to landing Key.
 
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For what its worth I've been perusing the UVA boards. They seem to believe that Key was supposed to visit us today, but instead canceled his trip and stayed an extra day in Charlottesville. Take that as you will
 
Gotta be a certain type of player to play in Bennett's system. I assume, since they are recruiting him, he is but ...
HurikaneMarc said:
Lonnie Walker selected the canes over Villanova, Arizona and Kentucky. Bruce Brown had offers from Michigan and UConn. All those teams have been recently better than us. I think it will come down to the relationship that the staff can create with the kid.

Now i'm not optimistic either but not because of Bennetts resume. I'm never optimistic with recruiting because I've tasted the crushing disappointment that only wishy washy kids can cause too many times. I merely accept the outcome.
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You mean like forever! There's probably like 50 Final Four appearances and ten or more NCs among the teams you mention.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
As for the UVa "the first time" stuff, UVa got another kid to accept his offer quicker. A 4-star kid. So there is that, it's not like the kid just spurned UVa.
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FWIW, it was DeAndre Hunter, All ACC frosh team and the ACC's 6th Man of the Year, who took the scholarship. As I understand it, when Hunter committed, Virginia quit pursuing Key. Conventional wisdom in Charlottesville says this will be Hunter's last year in college, so when Key finishes sitting a year, he should inherit Hunter's spot. Of course, that is if he does commit.
 
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