I said that tongue in cheek...

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Word!

I'm also glad that the MVC is a bit down this year, because it will give us the opportunity to remain competitive.

Lol...I could tell. I'm just messing with you...don't take offense...

None taken.

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As a current student not from the area I do not know much about recent Loyola basketball before this last year. I am now an avid fan, go to all home games and have read and learned about the 63' team and history but still not an expert on these last few years. So I was just wondering would you say the recent recruiting classes and players we offer to are better than in recent history or about the same level? Thank you.

Well, I think it's a bit of a different type of player. During the Farmer years, we had some very talented players. They weren't as highly regarded as someone like O'Mara. But Bailey, Minnifield, Schilb...those were some talented players. When Whitesell came in, he seemed to bring in a lower level of talent but was able to manage the game better than Farmer. Whitesell also had a crush on all things Wisconsin.

I'll let others add to what I said.

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I agree with Go, but I'll just add three things:

1. Loyola has always had some problems recruiting players who were marginal academically, mostly as a university policy. Cedrick Banks and Martell Bailey quite likely would have attended Loyola if not for having marginal academic scores entering college. Corey Minnifield had to sit out a year before playing to establish his grades-- I'm still not sure if he was an official or a de facto Prop 48. I don't believe we even tried to recruit players with marginal academics during the Whitesell years.

2. The information about who gets actual offers (as opposed to just general recruiting interest) is much greater now than it was even five years ago thanks to a plethora of recruiting Web sites, so it's difficult to make a comparison about what level players we were recruiting in the past versus today.

3. In the past, we tended to recruit a lot of players who were overlooked by larger schools, kids who were late bloomers, and a few who came through non-traditional means. Not many more prominent schools recruited David Bailey, because he was generously listed at 5'8". Blake Schilb was a top recruiting prospect as a junior, but was kicked off his high school team as a senior because of attending a party where he was identified as engaging in underage drinking; after a year at Brewster Academy, we were able to get him. We've landed a lot of players because of familial ties to Loyola, or appreciation of academics and/or Jesuit education-- Tracy Robinson, Walt Gibler, Ben Averkamp, Pierre Parker, Tyrelle Blair, J.R. Blount, etc.

In general, I think the Moser regime is much more aggressive in recruiting, and appear to be using whatever appeals might possibly work to get higher-quality talent. It's a lot easier to make a realistic offer to a 3-star recruit when we've got some much nicer facilities and we're moving up to a more consistently prominent league. The academics have always been there, but now the facilities and commitment to athletics are equal to the academic component.

From Twitter this morning:

Ore Arogundade ‏@OreAro_23 11h
Officially Committed to play ball at Drake University! Extremely blessed, can't wait! Missouri Valley Here we come! #DUBulldogs #MVC

Ok thank you both that was very helpful. That makes alot of sense. Do you think the struggles that the program has had is mostly just due to lack of caring by the administration or what exactly went wrong?

I think a lot of it was that Basketball was a secondary thought. For a long time, there was little investment in basketball. Part of it comes from the University being in a terrible financial place (under past Presidents) but part of it comes from a lack of interest. Basketball wasn't a priority. Thankfully, this new AD and our President have a new found respect for the athletic programs. It's as if they realize that athletic success can bring more students to the school (and, as such, more academic success).

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