I thought organization and preparation were touted as Golden's best attributes.
Don't lay all your chips on long shots. Do your homework. Only themselves to blame.
At least we can field a **** of a "almost team" from the JUCO ranks. That'll help us.
What else can they have done w/r/t the JUCO guys though? Other than NOT recruit them? We needed immidiate help at DT. We needed JUCOs. We recruited almost every one of the top 12 in the country. We were finalists or actually had commitments from almost HALF of those guys, and only ONE could freaking get into school.
At some point, you have to realize that the academic standards at UM are an issue that is going to continue to hinder this program. With the exception of Stuckey, the rest of those guys, are probably going to be able to get into major programs, but couldnt qualify at UM. That's an issue. You can blame the staff all day long, but I dont care who the coach here is, that problem is not going to change. The most valid shot at this staff, is that the failure to land a DT last year, put more urgency and need on JUCO this year, which because of the standards at UM, and f*cked up bad luck, has still left us short handed.
And for all the b.s. whining about Wyche, it doesnt look like the staff was sitting on its @ss and just counting on this kid anyway. We got Huertelou AFTER we already had Wyche committed. They also kept working on Pelon, McDowell, and supposedly have been recruiting Gaillard this whole time on the down low. The Wyche thing was going to f*ck us regardless of what the staff did.
Unfortunately, this just isn't accurate man. You and I have been on the boards long enough together that I can assure you it's not the academic qualifications that are truly holding these guys back. I've been told essentially from the horse's mouth that if Golden needs to get someone in, he can almost universally do so provided they meet NCAA requirements or conference requirements like in the Wyche case. They don't have to always meet Miami academic criteria. So, let's check that excuse at the door, and let's look past just the DT deficiency.
There are plenty of major issues. I'll name a few:
1. The NCAA investigation. While some understand, the impression I have is that many people just don't fully comprehend the true negative impact the investigation has had on the program both on the field and off the field in terms of recruiting and community impression. Completely devastating.
2. Recruiting. As you know, this is the life blood of any program. The biggest issue Golden currently has is his lack of credibility. He now has a record to go on, and it isn't very good. He can say whatever he wants, but there's always going to be somebody in that SoFla kid's ear saying something negative about Miami whether it be opposing coach, street handler, other local players, etc., and Golden really can only refute those comments by blaming the investigation which people just get tired of hearing.
Golden is supremely fortunate that he's even gotten the kids who have committed. I think it's as much a function of them wanting to stay home as anything else. Certainly, it's not his record. Again, it isn'y entirely fair because Golden has had to not only repair local school relationships, he's had to deal with the NCAA investigation, negative recruiting, and now probation which also handcuffs the behind-the-scenes recruiting war. He's doing all of this as a young, and, IMO, still learning head coach.
So, he needs to win but doesn't have the players. He can't get the players because he hasn't won. See what's happening here? The other issues of probation, street handlers, etc, are legit, but the big elephant in the room is his record. He just isn't good enough as a coach (yet?) to overcome that deficiency. He's going to need a transcendent player at QB to overcome all of this IMO.
