The good folks over at CBSSports.com put together an interesting read on some of this draft class’s under-the-radar prospects.
It’s not the typical under-the-radar post, either.
Instead of breaking down what the player is able to do on the court and why they will make for a quality NBA player, the article focuses on how their college coaches landed them and why they weren’t recruited to by bigger schools.
There were two particular stories that I really liked. The first comes from Dan McHale, who was in charge of recruiting Scott Machado to Iona:
Smoke screens. Throw ‘em off the chase. Well played, Dan. Well played.
Jeff Massey didn’t need to throw off the competition as he pursued Andrew Nicholson at St. Bonaventure. Nicholson did that himself:
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
If I’ll be honest (and not in the least bit humble), my favorite story is how Jae Crowder wound up at Marquette. After spending a year at an unaccredited Junior College in Georgia, Crowder had to take two years worth of classes in one year in order to get himself eligible for Division I basketball. Then, when Buzz Williams finally made it to see him play a game, Crowder scored three points and fouled out.
It is also worth noting that Darius Johnson-Odom, another JuCo transfer, came to Marquette despite an assistant coach seeing him score just a single point at a Hoop Hall game. I guess it is a good thing that Buzz Williams has his own way of evaluating talent.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.