Coaching change puts OSU at disadvantage
New hire is likely to focus on Class of 2009
Coaching change puts OSU at disadvantage

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By Mike Baldwin
Published: April 2, 2008

How does changing coaches affect recruiting?

College basketball programs often sign a player or two in April to fill out the roster. Now that Sean Sutton no longer is the coach at Oklahoma State, will it cost the Cowboys a recruit or two?

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"It will be extremely difficult for the successor to find players at this late juncture, unless they hire a coach who has contacts he might bring with him,” said Bob Gibbons, recruiting analyst for All Star Sports. "That's the only way to have any kind of recruiting success this time of year.”

Dave Telep, national recruiting analyst for Scout.com, said spring recruiting can be overrated.

"It's very difficult to get better in April in college basketball,” Telep said. "Even if you have an established coach in place it's hard to get better with what's out there right now.

"To me mid-April should be their target date. The concern in recruiting is having a guy in place by mid-April so he can go out the last half of the month and visit underclassmen (for next year's class).”

Since OSU lost only one senior, and has a good nucleus returning, Gibbons said the biggest recruiting issue is the new coach "re-recruiting” players currently on the roster to prevent players from transferring.

"They need to move quickly to get a coach in place,” Gibbons said. "That's always important during a coaching change. The quicker you hire a coach the quicker the new coach can meet with the kids, build a relationship, and keep them.”

Said Telep: "They've had a good run. It's disappointing to see how fast jobs change in college basketball these days. It wasn't that long ago John Lucas hit that big shot and they were in the Final Four.

"We live in an instant gratification society. It seems more and more coaches don't have enough time to establish an identity for their program, not just Oklahoma State, other schools as well.”

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Comments

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What do you expect him to say, that he is coming? That would be real smart for him to say this week when he is trying to prepare a team for the Final Four. "Hey guys, I am not going to be your coach next year, but let's go out and win a national championship this weekend." Real encouraging.
Cliff, Centerton - Apr 3, 2008 7:53 AM
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Self is not coming to OSU. He said so last night on TV.
Katie, Oklahoma City - Apr 2, 2008 4:28 PM
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All that recruiting momentum that we built up by finishing in the cellar of the Big 12 for three straight years as well as our three straight NIT losses. How will we ever regain all that momentum? Does firing a coach really hurt us more than all the losses?
Greg, Oklahoma - Apr 2, 2008 12:42 PM
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Bill Self is not leaving Kansas to coach at OSU. KU is the premier program in the Big XII and the OSU athletic department leadership is just odd. It has a quirky egomaniac as AD and, what amounts to, a major league owner. Hope it works out, but I have my doubts.
M, Oklahoma City - Apr 2, 2008 11:22 AM
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A high-profile coach would bring recruits with him. Remember what Huggy-bear brought to K-state? You think K-state would have landed the #1 recruiting class without him? They wouldn't have even been a blip on the recruiting radar. If Self is somehow hired - I'm sure some stud recruits would come with him.
Scott, Broken Arrow - Apr 2, 2008 7:39 AM
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