I suspect that our chances of landing a top 10 player in the near future have been somewhat diminished by this year with Romeo. I am not going to place the blame for a season where we vastly underachieved solely on him. However, I can’t help feeling that if I were in his Addidas shoes that I would regret the decision. From a business decision it seems to me that this season did nothing to enhance his draft position and may have harmed it. Speculating on the social side of things, he just didn’t seem to be loving what should have been one of the most enjoyable years of a kids life.
I get it. Each recruit is different, circumstances, teams, these things all are unique. He came in and people said that he could go to a Duke or a Kentucky and be just another player. Or he could come to IU where he would be a legend in the state. This legendary status was only possible at IU.
Listen, things will work out fine for the kid. I assume he is going this year and he’ll be a lottery pick. But something inside me has an inkling that we would have had more success and been happier somewhere else.
Perhaps he wasn’t used as well as he could have been? Had he gone to one of the teams that is still plsying in the tournament, would people be wondering why he spent so much time hanging out in the same area of the court outside the 3pt line and not moving? Would people be questioning his shot, and his ability to drive left? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that he has weaknesses in his game that he would not have somewhere else, I am saying that it is the coaches job to hide his players weaknesses and accentuate their strengths. And boy, does he have strengths.
Maybe it was all about the other thing....the chemistry, having fun, etc.? There had been quite a bit of speculation on the team rift and him being a part of it, or a cause. We have also heard that the coach picked sides. Any casual observer could see this team was off for most of the year, and IMHO, our coach had lost the team.
I wish RL well. Hopefully this thread isn’t all s moot point and IU will be able to land another top 10 kid in the near future. Other programs have succeeded with those types of players, and we can too if the circumstances merit it.
