There is a narrative that, if nothing else, CBD is an elite recruiter that Vandy has never had. It got me curious to see exactly how accurate that generally accepted narrative is so I went back and looked.
Recruits that have been brought in since CBD was hired:
2017
Saban (4 star - 112th nationally)
Evans (3 star - NR)
Obinna (3 star - 140th)
2018
Shittu (5 star - 7th)
DG (5 star - 17th)
Nesmith (4 star - 69th)
2019
Disu (4 star - 118)
Crowley (4 star - 112)
Pippen (3 star - unranked)
Transfers
Ryan (non-contributer ND)
Moyer (non-contributer Syr)
Wetzell (St. Mary's DIII)
For comparison the 2 players on the current roster that were CKS signings
Brown (4 star - 119)
Toye (3 star - 133)
The obvious outlier here is the 2018 class. I would submit that the most impressive signing of that class is Nesmith. If memory serves, although the 3rd ranked prospect in his own class, he is approximately the 6th highest ranked recruit ever signed at Vandy. Now, he shot up the rankings late in the season after he had already signed due to a strong senior campaign, so he ended up being ranked much higher than he was when he signed, but still CBD recognized the talent and got him in the fold early which should be commended.
The reason I think Nesmith is a more impressive get than the other 2 is the unique circumstances in which they came. Garland famously grew up going to Homer Drew's basketball camps and then moved to Vandy's backyard to play high school ball where he became an actual honest-to-God Vandy fan. When CBD landed at Vandy all the stars alligned, the situation was incredibly fortuitous for the lovers of black and gold. True, CBD still had to work to be sure DG signed but the deck was stacked heavily in our favor from the beginning. We can't expect that set of circumstances to happen again.
Simi, on the other hand, was recruited hard by Darius Garland. CBD obviously played a big role in Simi's arrival but his recruitment by DG was very public and obviously a massive part of his decision to come. Again, we can't put Simi solely in CBD's column.
There have been several close misses, but for those of us that have been around a while that is nothing we haven't seen 1000x before.
On the other end of the spectrum I am willing to give CBD a pass of the 2017 class because of his late arrival. Which really leaves the current 2019 class. We had all the recruiting momentum in the world coming off 2018 with the 2 massive signings (plus the super-impressive Nesmith) and the heavily-publicized near miss of Langford. Vandy had become a "destination" school for recruits, remember?
CBD parlayed that into a class that looks shockingly similar to many many classes CKS signed and even to the CKS recruits that are still on the roster and regularly get destroyed by posters on this board.
On top of the actual signings, a massive part of the recruiting game is roster management. CBD has undeniably been awful in that arena. He has placed all his eggs in the baskets of recruits he missed on which has led to the desperation transfer signings necessary to fill out a roster. Make no mistake, this must be taken into consideration when evaluating CBD as a recruiter.
Now, the numbers I posted are facts. Spin them however you want, but they are verifiable. The stories I posted are well-documented and not based in any way on conjecture or anecdotal evidence. Spin those however you want as well, but I would advise you to take a deep breath as you read and try as hard as possible to be objective.
Recruits that have been brought in since CBD was hired:
2017
Saban (4 star - 112th nationally)
Evans (3 star - NR)
Obinna (3 star - 140th)
2018
Shittu (5 star - 7th)
DG (5 star - 17th)
Nesmith (4 star - 69th)
2019
Disu (4 star - 118)
Crowley (4 star - 112)
Pippen (3 star - unranked)
Transfers
Ryan (non-contributer ND)
Moyer (non-contributer Syr)
Wetzell (St. Mary's DIII)
For comparison the 2 players on the current roster that were CKS signings
Brown (4 star - 119)
Toye (3 star - 133)
The obvious outlier here is the 2018 class. I would submit that the most impressive signing of that class is Nesmith. If memory serves, although the 3rd ranked prospect in his own class, he is approximately the 6th highest ranked recruit ever signed at Vandy. Now, he shot up the rankings late in the season after he had already signed due to a strong senior campaign, so he ended up being ranked much higher than he was when he signed, but still CBD recognized the talent and got him in the fold early which should be commended.
The reason I think Nesmith is a more impressive get than the other 2 is the unique circumstances in which they came. Garland famously grew up going to Homer Drew's basketball camps and then moved to Vandy's backyard to play high school ball where he became an actual honest-to-God Vandy fan. When CBD landed at Vandy all the stars alligned, the situation was incredibly fortuitous for the lovers of black and gold. True, CBD still had to work to be sure DG signed but the deck was stacked heavily in our favor from the beginning. We can't expect that set of circumstances to happen again.
Simi, on the other hand, was recruited hard by Darius Garland. CBD obviously played a big role in Simi's arrival but his recruitment by DG was very public and obviously a massive part of his decision to come. Again, we can't put Simi solely in CBD's column.
There have been several close misses, but for those of us that have been around a while that is nothing we haven't seen 1000x before.
On the other end of the spectrum I am willing to give CBD a pass of the 2017 class because of his late arrival. Which really leaves the current 2019 class. We had all the recruiting momentum in the world coming off 2018 with the 2 massive signings (plus the super-impressive Nesmith) and the heavily-publicized near miss of Langford. Vandy had become a "destination" school for recruits, remember?
CBD parlayed that into a class that looks shockingly similar to many many classes CKS signed and even to the CKS recruits that are still on the roster and regularly get destroyed by posters on this board.
On top of the actual signings, a massive part of the recruiting game is roster management. CBD has undeniably been awful in that arena. He has placed all his eggs in the baskets of recruits he missed on which has led to the desperation transfer signings necessary to fill out a roster. Make no mistake, this must be taken into consideration when evaluating CBD as a recruiter.
Now, the numbers I posted are facts. Spin them however you want, but they are verifiable. The stories I posted are well-documented and not based in any way on conjecture or anecdotal evidence. Spin those however you want as well, but I would advise you to take a deep breath as you read and try as hard as possible to be objective.
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