Kevin Parrom (Offer)

[GuyFawkes38]

How can you make this statement based of the fact that he "lost" an what was clearly an uphill battle in keeping Parrom signed and also that Spoon and Latham decommited BEFORE Chris was even hired.

Something must have clicked when Mack was the lead recruiter on some of our best contributing players...

I think this is generally right.

But if either Holloway, Redford, or Frease leave, it's time to freak out about the hire.

[AviatorX]

I agree with you WKRC. its time to move on. Easier said than done, especially when Parrom, Weatherspoon and latham are all interested in Arizona now...all after Kyryl. just annoying. We'll be ok in the short term, but the 09 class is pretty much cleaned out, and were at a disadvantage with 10. Next year is crucial. Make another Xavier type run deep into the NCAA, and all that recruiting will come back...at least thats the hope. We've seen how easy it is firsthand for a team to fall from the top (UC). The margin for error is so small. We just have to support/trust mack and the program.

I have faith that with the addition of the well-connected Bino, we'll be able to regain a commitment from Latham. And barring an offer from OSU for 'Spoon, I still think we can make a strong run at him. All is not lost in 2010, especially with the rumors that we are the leaders for Donnie Hale, who is also a solid option.

[bobbiemcgee]

I agree......We have an awesome tradition...Kryl went to zona so he could start immediately....Parrom won't start here either....Plenty of time to pick up some more 150's or transfers.

[X-Fan]

It's a little too soon to take anything thing from what has happened in the first WEEK Coach Mack has been in charge. Dude is trying to get his staff finalized and re-engage with the recruits. I don't blame Parrom for wanting out of his LOI. It allows him to have his options open and talk to other schools. If he doesn't want to be at X then he shouldn't be here. There are other players out there and Coach Mack and his staff will find them. Lets let Coach do his job and see where the chips fall.

The sky is not falling...heck in terms of where we are at in this process, we can't even see the sky yet because we haven't gone outside to look at it (i.e. give coach a minute to work through this). Chill.

[XU99deuce]

I don't understand the need to freak out regardless. Whatever happens this offseason is not the fault of Chris Mack. If you wanted to freak out, you should have done it when Miller left, because losing recruits/transfers whenever a coaching change occurs. This is especially true for the current situation, because Mack was not the lead recruiter on Parrom, Latham, or Weatherspoon.

As far as whether Bino helps in re-recruiting Latham, it'll help, but I'm not going to consider it a done deal just because the guy is connected to Baltimore.

[Xman95]

I want to say that if Parrom doesn't want to be here then good riddance, but I really think he would have been an asset to our team, and if he changes his mind I think we should welcome him with open arms! With each passing day we seem to be losing more ground in the all important recruiting game. I'm not blaming Mack by any means, but something is not clicking with him and the recruits. I realize Book was our go to guy on the East coast, but its making me very nervous for our future that he can't convince the recruits to stay on board who had already committed. I'm not saying I have no faith in Mack, but stophorseabuse is right - he has a hell of a job ahead of him. I'm hoping that once he has his staff in place, things will turn around, but in the meantime, I don't think its wrong to be a little worried.

This could be one of the biggest overreactions I have seen in a long while. It's not uncommon for players to look elsewhere when a coach leaves. And not just those coming in, but the ones that have already been in the program. Just because it's happening here doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

And there's no way to put this on Mack. If he lost one of his own incoming recruits, it might be a reason to worry. But these are kids that he probably didn't have too much contact with. Book and Sean probably did most of the communicating with these kids so they really don't have an idea about Mack and what he's like. And Latham and 'spoon decommitted before Mack was even the head coach. He did talk to Parrom a couple times, but he was in a position of basically trying to recruit a kid and get a commitment in a couple phone calls. I don't like the chances for any coach trying to do that.

So, basically, there's no reason to get concerned that Mack was the wrong hire based on anything that has happened so far.

[xunorm]

The way I read Parrom's release is that Mack is helping the kid with what has been going on the past couple weeks. Sure, I believe Parrom mostly signed because of Book and to play for Miller; but probably the worst thing Mack could do is to force him to follow his LOI. This way, X can focus on a back up plan while still hoping Parrom notices that Xavier as a program will always have his back, even when he has doubts. I think it was an act of good will by Mack to allow the release, and in return, Parrom won't make a rash decision to eliminate Xavier from his options.

[AviatorX]

The way I read Parrom's release is that Mack is helping the kid with what has been going on the past couple weeks. Sure, I believe Parrom mostly signed because of Book and to play for Miller; but probably the worst thing Mack could do is to force him to follow his LOI. This way, X can focus on a back up plan while still hoping Parrom notices that Xavier as a program will always have his back, even when he has doubts. I think it was an act of good will by Mack to allow the release, and in return, Parrom won't make a rash decision to eliminate Xavier from his options.

Sorry, norm, but if you ask me that's extremely wishful thinking. Parrom did the courtesy of mentioning XU as still in the running, but if he really was still considering X, would he be so quick to completely opt out of his LOI?

[xavierj]

I don't understand the need to freak out regardless. Whatever happens this offseason is not the fault of Chris Mack. If you wanted to freak out, you should have done it when Miller left, because losing recruits/transfers whenever a coaching change occurs. This is especially true for the current situation, because Mack was not the lead recruiter on Parrom, Latham, or Weatherspoon.

As far as whether Bino helps in re-recruiting Latham, it'll help, but I'm not going to consider it a done deal just because the guy is connected to Baltimore.

It is not just because of Baltimore but the guy had Latham freaking considering James Madison. I am sure if he can get him interested in JM he can get him back with XU.

[xudash]

Several knowns:
1)Mack does have a helluva job ahead of him and he knew that when he took it. The 2010 de-commits were almost instaneous the day Sean left and Parrom after phone calls from Book and Miller --tampering????---jumped ship. And please don't try to tell me those calls weren't made. If Sean could flat out lie and say Xavier didn't try to match or come close to matching AZ's offer, he could also tamper with a signed recruit.
2.)Xavier will be alright. We'll have to tone back our unrealistic Final Four expectations to more realistic goals. The main thing is to keep all the players on the present roster.
3.) I'm confident Chris Mack and his new staff, which is one short, remember, will be able to replace the three lost, maybe even get Weatherspoon and Latham back in the fold. But I doubt Parrom.
4.) It would be nice to find a replacement for Parrom because the upcoming team may have some problems scoring and Kevin might have given XU a little more depth.
5.) I don't wish Sean any ill will, but I do think the NCAA needs to strengthen the LOI or get rid of it all--together. I have no idea on how to replace it, but right now an LOI is as good as a college coach's contract.
6.)There's no sense even discussing Sean any more because Xavier needs to move on and so do we. The bullsh!t of what might have been is just that, bull excrement. Forget it.
7.) Xavier will not always be the same Xavier as has been. Under the direction of Fr. Graham, Mike B. and Chris, Xavier basketball can and will improve.
8.) While some rumors might be fodder for speculation and concern, they can also be damaging to the program and grossly unfair. Forget 'em.
9.) Last year at this time, Terrell Holloway and Jordan Crawford were not on the horizon and today they are at Xavier.
10.) From what I have seen and know of Chris Mack, he's not going to sit idly by as Sean rapes his program, if that is what's ahead and I have my doubts that it is. Rest assured he'll find a solution. Who knows, those three kids may have a change of heart and they may not. Things were pretty grim a few years ago when Odia and Lucas transferred and even later Death Wish and Adrion Graves left, but Xavier survived.
We might have to temper our expectations but not out fealty and enthusiasm. And PMThor will still hate Dayton..:D

Well done as usual, q. It's hard for me to get over #6 because of the trajectory Miller had us on and because I felt like he actually saw himself as our "Few" - damn naive on my part, in hindsight - but you're right, bemoaning all that will not reverse what has occurred.

So let's hope this is the last hit. Let's hope that our current roster stays in place.

And let's remember it's a big country. There are a lot of talented ball players out there and there are up and coming hungry coaches that want to make their mark. The flip side to this nonsense is that we actually probably are becoming known as the cradle of hoops coaches. Who wouldn't want to have the Xavier "platform" at their disposal while they add to its reputation while adding to their own resumes?

So let the new assistants come in and deliver excellent recruits that we'll learn about as we now move forward.

Let's move forward, continuing our success and continuing to improve.

I'm going to work on doing that, knowing that we probably aren't going to have to go through this again for at least 5 years, assuming Chris works out and assuming his love of Xavier isn't dwarfed and overrun by the next barge of money that shows up in 60 months.