Recruiting will be big for Cavs’ new coach

The next Virginia basketball coach — and, I still think it will be Tubby Smith — needs to be a top-notch recruiter and have a staff that can bring talent back to the program.

Smith, who brought in great talent at Kentucky and has a top-10 ranked class coming into Minnesota, fits the bill.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful program and there hasn’t been a whole lot of talent in Virginia’s program in a long, long time. Want proof? Just look at how many Wahoos have played in the NBA of late.

Putting pieces in place

The reason I’m writing about recruiting is something that two coaches said during the recent NCAA first and second rounds in Greensboro, and something a good coaching friend of mine said this week.

For those who may have missed Saturday’s column, I spent two hours with a Division I coach this week in an enlightening conversation. He said that in a coaching search, the potential candidate is interested mainly in one thing: “Winning.”

“Can I win there?” the coach said.

He wrote next to “winning,” another key word: “players.”

“Can I get the players? That’s how you win.”

That coach was correct.

I remember Bear Bryant once told me about recruiting and winning: “Son, did you ever see a jackass win the Kentucky Derby?”

That’s all he had to say.

Tubby Smith has the reputation, the people skills, the charisma to lure great talent to Virginia.

If UVa is going to turn around in the sport, then it has to come from recruiting and coaching. Tubby would bring both.

Talking to Texas coach Rick Barnes and LSU coach Trent Johnson down in Greensboro, they confirmed everything from above about winning.

Talent is everything

When chatting with Johnson about whether he discovered similarities when taking over the programs at LSU, Stanford and Nevada, this is what he said.

“The three common denominators were Kirk Snyder (Nevada), who was WAC player of the year ... Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez (Stanford), in that Brook was the runner-up to the Pac-10 player of the year last year, and then Marcus Thornton (at LSU),” Johnson said.

“So the bottom line is players,” the LSU coach said. “It’s not Trent Johnson, believe me. Because we were running the same stuff we are now when we were 9-20 my first year in Nevada and it didn’t work. So, you better have some guys that can make baskets and make plays.”

Talking to Barnes about all the McDonald’s All-Americans that were on the rosters of teams in Greensboro, he had similar thoughts to Johnson.

“As you continue to go deeper in this tournament, there is one common denominator, and it’s talent,” Barnes said. “I don’t think any coach would disagree with that. The further you go in this, you need talented players that can make some plays, because the game is such a fine line. So, there is no doubt that it’s a player’s game as you continue in March.”

The next Virginia coach’s challenge will be to bring those kinds of players to Charlottesville.

According to statistical data, there is plenty of talent in the Old Dominion and a great recruiter shouldn’t have to look too far to find them.

Since 1998, the state of Virginia ranks seventh nationally in producing top 100 high school talent; ranks fourth nationally in top 50 high school players; and third nationally in producing top 10 rated recruits.

Virginia has produced 59 players rated top 100 players in that span; 34 players rated in the top 50; and eight players rated top 10.

Meanwhile, since 1977 the state ranks fourth nationally in producing McDonald’s All-Americans (with 50 —  California leads with 78, New York is second with 61, and Illinois is third with 57). Since 1990, Virginia ranks third (behind only California and Illinois) in producing McDonald’s All-Americans (with 30). Since 2000, Virginia ranks fourth (with 13), which trails only California, Texas and Illinois.

So, there’s talent in them thar hills. Virginia just has to make the right hire to go get ’em.

Another survey that should be noted ranked the nation’s Division I coaches in terms of national popularity. Tubby Smith ranked fourth. Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski ranked 1-2.

Virginia NEEDS a guy who can coach, recruit, and be the face of Wahoo basketball, and hang on the same level as Williams and Krzyzewski.

That guy is Tubby.