The Glass is Half Full Guys!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dukedoc
UCLA, Memphis, Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Georgetown and Georgia. Although, based on the roundtable it seems they're focusing on Duke, Kansas, tOSU, and UCLA.
GA's inclusion could well have been a "courtesy," but to be fair KA does have some positive history with bigs (and a few disappointments too), and OSU has had a handful of stellar bigs in the last few years (but not much before that that I was aware of), and I have to think the stink about the UCLA problems would scare TP (and his family) away. Here's the Devil's advocate point though (sorry for the pun): If one were previously inclined to spin the story negatively against Duke - not that HS kids' advisors ever have ulterior motives... - they might present it as a "percentage thing" against the Devils. In other words, YES, they have had some big men make the show and strike it rich, BUT they've brought in X number of McD AA bigs in the last 20 years, and only Y number of them eventually became lottery picks, or just Z% of them (very small percentage." Now we all know there's more than one hole that can be punched in this story/spin, but a HS kid looking to hear "all sides" and do a full analysis might be receptive to that sort of packaging. It effect, it uses Duke's relative recruiting success over the years against us.
For example, pointing to Burgess, Shav and Thomas (why pull those three out of the air in particular anyway??) is very decptive b/c: (1) None of them are remotely similar to TP in body type or physical potential (Brand would be the closest physical similarity out of HS); (2) Theirs were three very divergent paths -- Shav's career was marked by recurruing illness and injury, but he still ultimately made it to the NBA, Thomas was NOT a top-10 recruit and was never a slam-dunk for the NBA out of HS (though he is there now following his Nat'l Championship at Duke), and Burgess had "family issues" and was grossly mis-evaluated by the recruiting services out of HS (hard to blame K for him not bearing fruit when the kid left after just a couple years - kinda hard to develop a kid who's 2,000 miles away...:rolleyes: ; (3) There is a big difference between "McD AA" and "top-10" for HS recruits. Top-10 might have legit expectations of pro prospects, but sliding down into the 30's and beyond, there may be HOPES of the Association... but the numbers don't lie -- there's only about 14 lottery picks each year. Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers and Harrison Barnes, all top-5 HS recruits, could legitimately EXPECT to get to the NBA... but you can't say that about all of the other Duke recruits who maybe came out as top 20-40 guys, though several of those actuially DID make the show after Duke.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord Ash
Supa, I think the thing is... this is maybe the first time we've seen the exact worries some people have had clearly and directly addressed by a big need recruit. The idea of our bigs not developing, and the idea that Wojo is not a good enough coach for the bigs, is not necessarily TRUE. However, it is somewhat interesting to see it stated so blatantly by a recruit, so taking that as a negative out of the article (while assuming that having respect for K and the value of a Duke education is a given) is not that big a deal, I don't think.
Yes. There have been posters on these very boards for several years hand-wringing over our 6' "Big Man" Coach. (BTW, funniest retort I ever saw was someone naming all of the other coaches in the ACC and pointing out that none of the other big-man coaches were 6'10" either!) This issue is one of perception, and absolutely not one of truth. But, as the man says, perception is everything... And for that perception reason alone, I was glad to see Nate and Coach Capel take over the bigs. Maybe time to bring in Laettner or a retiring Hill soon?? (if Coaches Collins or Wojo ever move on)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mkline09
Thanks to both of you gentlemen for this. I would have likely been in the crowd who figured Duke was out of the picture but this give a new perspective on his recruitment. Nicely done to give a different perspective.
Count me in there too. I mean, I figgured there was at least a glimmer of hope, otherwise why keep keeping us on the list, but, I say let's look at this glass as "half full!" Especially since most around here, as recent as a few weeks ago, thought the glass was 95% empty!!! In fact, many posters around the time of the ACCT were saying that this may just end up being a 1-man-class. Now suddenly we seem to have decent shots at THREE kids in the top 20 or so, plus at least one very intriguing transfer possibility. I don't know about you, but for me the post-NCAA timeframe just got a lot more interesting that I thought it would after Fri night...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
FireOgilvie
Coach K is the "best coach in the country" and Duke needs Parker and would use him more than any other team recruiting him, yet he's still hesitant because of big man development and Wojo's height. Seriously? Ugh. I guess perception is reality.
There have been many dozens of posters on these boards saying the same things over the years. And you're spot on re. perception!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SupaDave
All the good stuff in that article and you still found a way to be negative? Sigh. Maybe you guys aren't paying attention.
Remember how I've been telling folks to relax. Do any of you honestly believe he hasn't talked to Coach K about his concerns as vocal as he is?
Distance: Duke is perfect. A short flight or an easy drive from GA. I've done it probably a million times.
Atmosphere: We have what they like in a "crazy" atmosphere.
Education: They respect it.
Coach: They respect him.
Fandom: Mom is a fan (and this actually goes back to the bizarro recruiting comment I highlighted earlier)
Need: There's an exclamation beside Duke's name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Newton_14
For the uninformed, Supa lives in the area, and has many connections down there in the hoops scene. I would suggest putting more than a grain of salt in his current take on the Parker situation.
Doesn't mean Parker chooses Duke, but at this point I am now comfortable believing Duke is still very much in the running here. Don't put so much emphasis on the negatives Parker listed for Duke. There were more positives there than negatives imo. My outlook on his recruitment changed quite a bit after reading that. He was touted as "Anti-Duke" and I don't believe that is the case at all.
Perspective.
Thanks Supa and Newton. Good sense of perspective that I hope others here will seek to emulate. Lots of positives in there. And this kid seems earnest and dutiful in going about this process. Though we may poke fun at a few of the things he rationalizes/says, I think kids who take this process so seriously more often than not choose Duke. I like him, and will root for TP regardless. But boy can I see him being truly great in K's hands. He has such great potential and, frankly, this could be the one who calls out that false perception and disproves it forever. Clearly K and staff expect great things from Tony over the next few years.
Not to throw cold water or anything, but . . .
This little article http://www.c2crecruiting.com/ says that UCLA had an in-home with Parker last night, with their representative being Parker's AAU coach-turned UCLA assistant. Further, the "source" for the article indicates that Memphis, UCLA, Kansas, and Ohio State are all "in play" for him, Duke is "on the outside" and "most feel Duke isn't a real player" in this.
I don't know how good this guy's sources are. Maybe not good at all, who knows? But if he is credible, this is not encouraging, obviously,