Does Mark Few Lack the Killer Instinct in Recruiting?

Mar 23, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few looks on from the sidelines late in the second half of the game against against the Wichita State Shockers during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at EnergySolutions Arena. Wichita State won the game 76-70. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

Gonzaga already has an uber talented roster, and is poised to go to their 16th straight NCAA tournament. However, Gonzaga could have escalated to new heights this season if they were to snag a high impact transfer such as Mike Moser or Josh Davis. Unfortunately for the Zags, they were in the running for both these players, but Davis and Moser elected to go elsewhere, and now Mark Few and the Bulldogs are left out in the cold.

This is not the first time this has happened, and not only for potential transfers. Gonzaga is frequently in the running for 4 and 5 star recruits, yet they more often than not able to reel those blue chip prospects in.

On the current Gonzaga roster, there is only one four star recruits, that being Gary Bell Jr.  Among the other players, Luke Meikle, Kyle Draginis, Kevin Pangos, and Sam Dower are all three star recruits, Drew Barham is a two star recruit, and Ryan Edwards, Przemek Karnowski, and David Stockton were all unranked out of high school. The other players on the Gonzaga roster are transfer players. Gerard Coleman was a high profile transfer that Mark Few landed last season, which is one of his few successes in this aspect.

The talent that Mark Few is bringing in is not sub-par by any means. As a matter of fact, Gonzaga’s ability to find diamonds in the rough is what has made there program so great in the past decade. However, many believe, as do I, that the program could take the next step and legitimately contend for a final four if Mark Few were able to land some of the blue chip recruits that they have whiffed on in years past.

It should be made clear that I am not trying to blast Mark Few here. He is a fantastic coach, and gets the job done year in and year out. However, I think that Gonzaga can escalate to new heights if they start landing those highly touted prospects. As of now, it has to be put in question whether Mark Few has that killer instinct to land them.

The jury is still out this subject, but right now it appears to be a weakness of Mark Few and his staff.