The Unofficial Furman Football Page

This young man from Sumter is projected to be a high NBA lottery pick out of Murray State. Wofford and SC State offered him a scholarship; Furman did not.

For those of us who keep up with recruiting, was he on our radar?

Recruiting is somewhat of a mystery to me. I would like to say it was academics....but surely that's not the case with Woffy making an offer? Then again, I have heard that has happened in the past. We should never lose a player to Woffy over academics!


The more i have listened to our coaches talk about recruiting, the more i realize that what seems like a no brainer for one team, may not be such for another team. Position played, skill set, personality, background. Who knows!

I hear you, but this guy is going to be an NBA lottery pick and he was two hours away.

Hind sight isn't just 20/20, it's more like 20/10; but, my larger point is this:

We are all aware of the diamonds in the rough coaches find, but we never know what the denominator is. What is the total number of diamonds that were out there to be found? Plus, the fact that he was on WC's radar and not ours.

Anyway, an academic question. I wouldn't swap our coaches for anyone's.

CharlieFU wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:32 am

Recruiting is somewhat of a mystery to me. I would like to say it was academics....but surely that's not the case with Woffy making an offer? Then again, I have heard that has happened in the past. We should never lose a player to Woffy over academics!

Happens all the time in all sports. Unfortunately.

I can't recall every hearing Ja Morant name in our recruiting conversations, but I freely admit we the general public are probably only aware of a single-digit percentage of the prospects we get involved with.

Fessor wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:49 am

I hear you, but this guy is going to be an NBA lottery pick and he was two hours away.

Hind sight isn't just 20/20, it's more like 20/10; but, my larger point is this:

We are all aware of the diamonds in the rough coaches find, but we never know what the denominator is. What is the total number of diamonds that were out there to be found? Plus, the fact that he was on WC's radar and not ours.

Anyway, an academic question. I wouldn't swap our coaches for anyone's.

Zion Williamson was only 45 minutes away and on Wofford's radar too. There are reasons we pass on certain players and reasons players pass on us. That is the recruiting process.

Maybe we decided to go after Matt Rafferty, instead.

Well, South Carolina nor Clemson recruited him either.

gman wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:11 am

Fessor wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:49 am

I hear you, but this guy is going to be an NBA lottery pick and he was two hours away.

Hind sight isn't just 20/20, it's more like 20/10; but, my larger point is this:

We are all aware of the diamonds in the rough coaches find, but we never know what the denominator is. What is the total number of diamonds that were out there to be found? Plus, the fact that he was on WC's radar and not ours.

Anyway, an academic question. I wouldn't swap our coaches for anyone's.

Zion Williamson was only 45 minutes away and on Wofford's radar too. There are reasons we pass on certain players and reasons players pass on us. That is the recruiting process.

What would the reason? Bad kid? No. Academics? No. Wofford offered. Doesn't fit the style of play? No. Fits perfectly.

The kid went to Murray State because they showed an interest. He went where he was wanted. We aren't interested in future NBA lottery picks?

Flagman wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:20 am

Maybe we decided to go after Matt Rafferty, instead.

They don't play the same position and not in the same year.

soconjohn wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:27 am

Well, South Carolina nor Clemson recruited him either.

The same can be said for everyone on the current FU roster and probably the last 30 FU rosters. So, we clearly go after kids they aren't interested in.

When we don't know for certain whether we looked at the guy or not, it's kind of a silly discussion to be having. If we know for certain that our coaches didn't even know who he was, that's obviously a miss. But apparently Wofford missed too because it didn't do enough to land him.

fufanatic wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:47 am

When we don't know for certain whether we looked at the guy or not, it's kind of a silly discussion to be having. If we know for certain that our coaches didn't even know who he was, that's obviously a miss. But apparently Wofford missed too because it didn't do enough to land him.

My question was directed to the folks who follow our recruiting, one of whom has responded. If you either don't track our recruiting or think it's a silly question, then just ignore it.

Fessor wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:49 am

fufanatic wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:47 am

When we don't know for certain whether we looked at the guy or not, it's kind of a silly discussion to be having. If we know for certain that our coaches didn't even know who he was, that's obviously a miss. But apparently Wofford missed too because it didn't do enough to land him.

My question was directed to the folks who follow our recruiting, one of whom has responded. If you either don't track our recruiting or think it's a silly question, then just ignore it.

I think it's a fair question to start with, but when the recruiting experts on this board don't know the answer, it's not worth getting super upset about. Was he even highly recruited? I'm guessing not if he goes to Murray State. How many guys get drafted in the top 10 from schools like that? 1-2 every decade? If you're at a school like Furman or Wofford or Murray State, and you're looking for a diamond in the rough that could be a top 10 pick, you'll probably be waiting quite a while.

https://www.verbalcommits.com/players/temetrius-morant

Per verbal commits, Ja Morant had offers from Wofford, SC State, UNC-A, USC, Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, High Point, to name a few.

I feel like finding lottery picks is not an exact science and though Murray believed they had a great player incoming, no one expected him to be a top 5 pick in the NBA. Let alone, be drafted into the NBA...

If NO SILLY DISCUSSIONS is the standard, then let’s just shut the UFFP down right now!