DDY and I had a solid discussion on the topic of UW’s perception amongst the AA community in Seattle and the angles to it are really interesting when you think about it
The perception is that UW is elitist and out of touch ...
UW IS ELITIST ... and guess what, THEY SHOULD BE given the quality of the University, it’s standing, etc. As an alum, you should want UW to have a high standing because it has implications on your perceived quality ... the whole guilty by association thing. It’s also why we look down at Wazzu and Oregon because they are everything that we aren’t (small bs big town, strong academics vs piss poor, party vs commuter schools, etc)
For those that don’t identify with UW, UW feels as distant to them as Stanford or the Ivy League. It’s not fast vs slow strategy per se, but it’s just different perceptions, etc
The beauty of Pete and OKGs is that it perfectly aligns to what UW is. We’re essentially recruiting individuals that will thrive at UW.
The challenge that Pete will face going forward is how to incorporate guys that don’t look like the cookie cutter OKG but have the elite talent needed to win. And in saying this, that’s not just from a player perspective but what comes with them from a family perspective.
From the sounds of it if you buy the rumors, it sounds like Jr understands what is expected at UW and is aggressively pursuing an offer. You could argue that going to UW may unlock even more potential in Jr as he merged the fast and slow strategy (always best when you combine the best elements of both). But Sr is very clearly fast strategy as fuck and has haterade in his blood. Can Pete and those that help to mitigate these types of situations get Sr to calm down enough for Jr to earn his coveted offer? Or does Sr continue to project and try to live his life through his son like many fathers can fall into a trap of doing?
As with all of this stuff, go too far in one direction and you open yourself up as UW has very likely done at a pretty decent level. On the other, it’s also a strategy that has resulted in strong performance both on/off the field. It’s all about finding that balance and constantly working on strengthening your weakness while highlighting and cultivating its strengths.