Aside from David Lee were there any other recruits that chose to play for Donovan instead of coming to Duke ? And vica-versa were there any recruits that chose to come to Duke instead of playing for Billy Donovan ?
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Aside from David Lee were there any other recruits that chose to play for Donovan instead of coming to Duke ? And vica-versa were there any recruits that chose to come to Duke instead of playing for Billy Donovan ?
I believe we were interested to some extent in James White (who later transferred), but I think that was after we lost out on another recruit.
Anthony Roberson was listed as a Duke interest, but I think he was more interested than Duke.
Duke was after Erik Murphy eariler this year but he opted for Florida and the Blue Devils signed Mason Plumlee instead.
BTW - Murphy is now ranked 39th by Scout while Plumlee is at 19.
Roberson wanted to go to Duke but K elected to give that schollie to Sean Dockery.
Duke very much wanted Brett Nelson, as did much of the rest of the college-basketball-universe, Nelson being the next Jerry West and all that.
Duke was interested in Matt Bonner but backed off after getting a committment from Nick Horvath. Maybe should have reconsidered that one.
Anybody remember Donovan flying to Raleigh just to wave to Shavlik from across a parking lot?
That's interesting that he would have chosen Florida at that point in time (before Donovan had truly cemented his legacy as a top tier coach).Quote:
Duke very much wanted Brett Nelson, as did much of the rest of the college-basketball-universe, Nelson being the next Jerry West and all that.
However, considering Duke was already expected to be absolutely loaded at the point guard/shooting guard slots heading into the 1999-00 season, with veteran William Avery and the newly recruited freshman sensation Jason Williams already on board (at this point, when Nelson was really considering which school to select, Avery was still believed to be coming back to Durham), it is no wonder we didn't receive the services of Nelson.
He certainly would have found playing time, or at least of had a great chance at doing so, but he wouldn't have stepped in as an immediate go-to force. At Florida, there was only Teddy Dupay to compete with. Nelson would have been the Gators' second option on the wing from the start.
I'm probably wrong in my analysis (as I don't really remember the exact circumstances), and it was probably just Billy Donovan's West Virginian roots (Marshall) and young, up-and-coming recruiting that swayed Nelson. It's just a guess.
Any of that ring true, jim? (Either way, we won a national title a year later, while Brett never did.)
I don't recall much interest in White. White was down to UNC and Florida, and Lee was down to Duke and Florida. Both chose Florida, and UNC then lifted Jawad Williams away from Maryland with White's scholarship then available.Quote:
Originally Posted by BD80
I'll second that Nelson was a huge Duke target, and a player that we wanted more than Jason Williams, who was a consolation after Nelson went to Florida.
We also recruited Mike Miller very heavily, and lost out to Florida.
A little off topic, but unteresting just the same. Here is an article which talks of Billy D's trouble with chemestry with his team last season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/notebo...hootaround/sec
Can he find the right combo this season? He has talent, including Boyton pal Eloy Vargas who will play right away. Another thing is the SEC looks really down this season. LSU is picked as the third best team coming off 14 wins and with a new coach.
I figured this sort of tied in with what is turning into a K vs BD thing, with the focus being on KB who they are battling over.
said on his website when Donovan was named the coach of the Magic that its funny how paths connect because he said he chose Duke over Florida.