Recruiting Freddie Dilione

[duncanlamb]

And trust me I get all that but in college it’s about your name and what you’ve been doing. These days as far as NCAA we haven’t done much. We haven’t been winning the A10. Yes we had a very successful NBA player and some others make it for decent careers. I don’t think recruits probably focus too much on G league stuff. The fact is we’re a brand. That’s literally why we live off the Havoc stuff still. If the brand isn’t getting consistent success, new concepts and exposure it becomes stale. Ask the band. Arguably the best band in the nation 10 years ago and probably still 6-7 years ago. Now many of us can admit bands even in conference have passed it. Now I’m not suggesting we’re stale but if we aren’t careful we could become that and simply be living off the Final 4 and such.

We’ve made transfers this off season that yes were major recruits but there’s reasons they transferred. They didn’t transfer from from those schools because they just really wanted to play here. They weren’t getting to play much for the power school they were at.

I guess I ask myself besides our practice facility and all that what advances have we seen in the program since then? Siegel hasn’t really changed that much. I mean under Shaka we saw practice facility breaking ground and renovations to Siegel center. Have we seen anything since then?

Honestly, outside of the vcu fanbase...no one..and I mean no one cares about the band...never have...it's like asking the average fan who won the ncaa dance team championship this year...unless you are watching ESPN on.saturday afternoon..you wouldn't know.

Silas Demary went to St. John's last weekend. All their fans could pitch was playing at MSG. While that's great..St. John's has been to 4 NCAA's since 2000..no other post season invites. While VCU has 4 NCAA appearances and 1 NIT since Shaka left in 2015.

Our other competition for Demary is Providence has 8 NCAA appearances since 2000 and 4 since 2015.

Go back read the offer list most of the players on current squad and you'll see most if not all our non transfer players chose vcu over power 5 conference schools.

As far as getting back to the big dance and.making a run...it's coming this year...

 

[WillWeaverRVA]

Honestly, outside of the vcu fanbase...no one..and I mean no one cares about the band

Probably the first statement of yours I've agreed with in a while. No one really talks about basketball pep bands outside local or regional media and individual fan bases, not even the Green Machine gets talked about very much despite being arguably another of the best pep bands in the country. VCU's band got some temporary national attention during and in the immediate wake of the Final Four run but that gradually went away even before the band's leadership change (one could argue even before Shaka left).

 

[RAMification]

Don't pay attention to all the noise. Too bad some of it takes place while an elite prospect is literally on campus - but it is what it is. Everyone covets 4-Star, top 100 elite prospects. When we recruit them the pessimism sets in. Freddie is a phenomenal prospect and was, is, and will be a tough get because of his elite status. That said, we were on him early and have built a great relationship with him and his family. He would not be here on an OV if he were not seriously considering Ramnation. That's a no brainer. You don't blow an official visit unless you would very seriously consider playing basketball at that school.

VCU has a long history of successfully recruiting and signing top 100 prospects. We just nailed 2 top 100 recruits in the last recruiting class. How quickly we forget.

 

[N Mollen]

Don't pay attention to all the noise. Too bad some of it takes place while an elite prospect is literally on campus - but it is what it is. Everyone covets 4-Star, top 100 elite prospects. When we recruit them the pessimism sets in. Freddie is a phenomenal prospect and was, is, and will be a tough get because of his elite status. That said, we were on him early and have built a great relationship with him and his family. He would not be here on an OV if he were not seriously considering Ramnation. That's a no brainer. You don't blow an official visit unless you would very seriously consider playing basketball at that school.

VCU has a long history of successfully recruiting and signing top 100 prospects. We just nailed 2 top 100 recruits in the last recruiting class. How quickly we forget.

Only thing I'd change in this is deleting "pessimism" and substituting "defeatism." It's like Eeyore is our fanbase's mascot. People say we'll never do in recruiting what we literally just did twice in the last cycle.

Freddie may well go elsewhere. We almost certainly are less than 50/50 given his offer sheet. But I for one won't be surprised if he chooses VCU. Who knows; maybe he wants to go someplace that plays ELITE defense every year to help prepare himself for the NBA.

 

[WillWeaverRVA]

Freddie may well go elsewhere. We almost certainly are less than 50/50 given his offer sheet. But I for one won't be surprised if he chooses VCU. Who knows; maybe he wants to go someplace that plays ELITE defense every year to help prepare himself for the NBA.

It worked for Bones. I'm sure that'll play a key role in his decision.

 

[RAMification]

Only thing I'd change in this is deleting "pessimism" and substituting "defeatism." It's like Eeyore is our fanbase's mascot. People say we'll never do in recruiting what we literally just did twice in the last cycle.

Freddie may well go elsewhere. We almost certainly are less than 50/50 given his offer sheet. But I for one won't be surprised if he chooses VCU. Who knows; maybe he wants to go someplace that plays ELITE defense every year to help prepare himself for the NBA.

What frustrates me is that we have been successfully recruiting top prospects since the 1970's. The empirical evidence is there for anyone who wants to see it. Mike and company are "in there" with an amazing group of elite guards. Our staff is excellent at relationship building. Virtually all of these prospects have off the charts offer sheets. That's to be expected when you recruit at this level. Because of this it is entirely possible to miss out on these prospects. That said, I think there is an excellent opportunity to secure at least one of these prospects.

The other thing to remember in the age of free agency is that even if you miss on some of the elite prospects now they may turn-up in the portal next year. If you build strong relationships it can sometimes pay-off in the long run.

 

[DisplacedRam]

Don't pay attention to all the noise. Too bad some of it takes place while an elite prospect is literally on campus - but it is what it is. Everyone covets 4-Star, top 100 elite prospects. When we recruit them the pessimism sets in. Freddie is a phenomenal prospect and was, is, and will be a tough get because of his elite status. That said, we were on him early and have built a great relationship with him and his family. He would not be here on an OV if he were not seriously considering Ramnation. That's a no brainer. You don't blow an official visit unless you would very seriously consider playing basketball at that school.

VCU has a long history of successfully recruiting and signing top 100 prospects. We just nailed 2 top 100 recruits in the last recruiting class. How quickly we forget.

There are some parasites on our board that seem to actively hope for things to go wrong, for what reason I do not know.

 

[WillWeaverRVA]

There are some parasites on our board that seem to actively hope for things to go wrong, for what reason I do not know.

Of course, we're having a pretty good offseason right now and those people have conveniently disappeared. I think the last time any of them poked their heads in here was when we signed Shriver.

 

[duncanlamb]

Don't pay attention to all the noise. Too bad some of it takes place while an elite prospect is literally on campus - but it is what it is. Everyone covets 4-Star, top 100 elite prospects. When we recruit them the pessimism sets in. Freddie is a phenomenal prospect and was, is, and will be a tough get because of his elite status. That said, we were on him early and have built a great relationship with him and his family. He would not be here on an OV if he were not seriously considering Ramnation. That's a no brainer. You don't blow an official visit unless you would very seriously consider playing basketball at that school.

VCU has a long history of successfully recruiting and signing top 100 prospects. We just nailed 2 top 100 recruits in the last recruiting class. How quickly we forget.

I hate to dredge up the stars don't matter debate from the watery grave of 2019 but...in the context vcu basketball...it doesn''t....Joey Rodriguez, Jamal Schuler, Eric Maynor, Larry Sanders, Brandon Rozell, Bradford Burgess, Mo Alie Cox, Dom Jones, Nick George, BA Walker Brianne Weber, Marcus Evans and Treveon Graham are the group of 2 and 3*'s that propelled VCU into the National spot light and maintain its visibility for the last 17-18 years.

All of them went on to have domestic or international professional success for some period and become all-stars, mvp's or win championships their respective leagues.

If that doesn't convince anyone, go look at the rafters, the last 2 numbers retired were a 3* and 2*.

Any player can come to VCU, regardless of pedigree, and become a professional player and the entire basketball community knows it.

 

[t23e3]

Don't pay attention to all the noise. Too bad some of it takes place while an elite prospect is literally on campus - but it is what it is. Everyone covets 4-Star, top 100 elite prospects. When we recruit them the pessimism sets in. Freddie is a phenomenal prospect and was, is, and will be a tough get because of his elite status. That said, we were on him early and have built a great relationship with him and his family. He would not be here on an OV if he were not seriously considering Ramnation. That's a no brainer. You don't blow an official visit unless you would very seriously consider playing basketball at that school.

VCU has a long history of successfully recruiting and signing top 100 prospects. We just nailed 2 top 100 recruits in the last recruiting class. How quickly we forget.

Exactly, I'm not worried about recruiting at all. We just landed two top 100 HS players and then two former top 100 HS players.

We will miss on most players we offer, that's how recruiting goes. I'm confident we'll get good kids regardless.

 

[Ram14]

And trust me I get all that but in college it’s about your name and what you’ve been doing. These days as far as NCAA we haven’t done much. We haven’t been winning the A10. Yes we had a very successful NBA player and some others make it for decent careers. I don’t think recruits probably focus too much on G league stuff. The fact is we’re a brand. That’s literally why we live off the Havoc stuff still. If the brand isn’t getting consistent success, new concepts and exposure it becomes stale. Ask the band. Arguably the best band in the nation 10 years ago and probably still 6-7 years ago. Now many of us can admit bands even in conference have passed it. Now I’m not suggesting we’re stale but if we aren’t careful we could become that and simply be living off the Final 4 and such.

We’ve made transfers this off season that yes were major recruits but there’s reasons they transferred. They didn’t transfer from from those schools because they just really wanted to play here. They weren’t getting to play much for the power school they were at.

I guess I ask myself besides our practice facility and all that what advances have we seen in the program since then? Siegel hasn’t really changed that much. I mean under Shaka we saw practice facility breaking ground and renovations to Siegel center. Have we seen anything since then?

On the recruiting note since this is the real topic: Our staff has had great success the last few seasons of bringing in fantastic players that fit the needs of the team, fit well with each other, and have high level of talent. We are building something special with this young team and I see Freddie Dilione a potentionally a great part of that plan. His game and the timing of his arrival mesh perfectly with where the team will be in 2023 and where it will be heading forward.



Now in reply to your post since it shouldn't just be left hanging there:
( in self-reflection @rambunctiousrowdyram , ask yourself why you chose a recruiting thread to discuss this. I still will respond though )

It is more than basketball ( The Athletic Dept) and we have seen many efforts over the last few years to enhance and plan forward for the department. As to basketball, The BDC is a fantastic facility and if you have not had the opportunity to do a complete tour then I hope you will. There have been improvements and upgrades to The SC the last 10 years and there also has been money spent on archectural plans for further upgrades and expansion. The was slowed with mutliple coaching changes which resulted in fluctuations in the donor base and attendance, effected again the last few seasons with Covid and its impact on attendance and budgets. I think that during all of this we have seen from other schools and our own that we don't want too big of a facility and perhaps the pause has been good for addiing to the study. I still (just my thoughts) expect in a few years to see some reworking of the corners and perhaps some of the designed changes to the North Side but I think these now come once the Athletic Village is well under way.
Truly, The Stu is a great venue for college basketball and what you are missing is not something bricks and mortor can fix and not something painting the ceiling can fix. The aforementioned events of coaching changes and Covid and some other factors had an effect and this past season was our first dipping our toes back into trying to fill the arena. We had some very good crowds and lots of energy in a few of the late season games and I believe you will see us build on that next year. VCU's brand is still well-earned and is getting success, more success that most schools out of the well over 300 D-I schools.

We are building again an excellent team/ program with very good players that will provide great excitement. I know of some steps that are going to have a direct impact on the experience for fans next year in addition to witnessing an exciting and succesful team. I hope you and others will be part of that positive experience. Broad Street will be rockin and "The Brand" will be quite evident, much more so in person that on TV so get your tickets while you can.

 

[Mr. X]

We can't sign them all.

 

[Mr. X]

And trust me I get all that but in college it’s about your name and what you’ve been doing. These days as far as NCAA we haven’t done much. We haven’t been winning the A10. Yes we had a very successful NBA player and some others make it for decent careers. I don’t think recruits probably focus too much on G league stuff. The fact is we’re a brand. That’s literally why we live off the Havoc stuff still. If the brand isn’t getting consistent success, new concepts and exposure it becomes stale. Ask the band. Arguably the best band in the nation 10 years ago and probably still 6-7 years ago. Now many of us can admit bands even in conference have passed it. Now I’m not suggesting we’re stale but if we aren’t careful we could become that and simply be living off the Final 4 and such.

We’ve made transfers this off season that yes were major recruits but there’s reasons they transferred. They didn’t transfer from from those schools because they just really wanted to play here. They weren’t getting to play much for the power school they were at.

I guess I ask myself besides our practice facility and all that what advances have we seen in the program since then? Siegel hasn’t really changed that much. I mean under Shaka we saw practice facility breaking ground and renovations to Siegel center. Have we seen anything since then?

Such a hater.

 

[JDI]

Such a hater.

The leader of the pack.

 

[Ramdog]

My bad. .did not see that

Your creepy stalking skills are suspect