Harrison Barnes recruiting thread

[DukieBoy]

It's not about Harrison Barnes. It's about the team. And there's no i in team. There's no i in Duke either. However, there is an i in "Carolina". So, HB should come to Duke, unless he prefers Houston Babtist, of course.

To be technical, there is a me in team

[striker219]

if someone uses the phrase 'close to his vest' again in this thread....i might have to whack-a-mole

Have you decided which mole to whack yet? Or are you keeping that decision close to the vest?

[Wildling]

I swear, Friday can't get here soon enough. I read all 85 pages of this thread these past 2 days. What's wrong with me....

I must say, I am a "the glass is half empty type of guy". But I am staying positive, I am happy Duke is on the shortlist. As a fan, I can't ask for anything more than that.

Go Duke!

[DukieBoy]

My birthday is today, but nothing would be better than a late present at the hands of HB coming to Duke.

[Greg_Newton]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/recru...cruiting_N.htm

(Edit: whoops, just realized this is the same article as was in the des moines paper and linked on the front page. I guess I'll just leave it up in case anyone hasn't seen it yet...)

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

My birthday is today, but nothing would be better than a late present at the hands of HB coming to Duke.

Happy Born Day and for the sake of Duke Fans every where, I hope you get your wish.

[mgtr]

To be technical, there is a me in team

And, if he is musical, there is a "uke" in Duke. Actually, even if he isn't, there is.

[ice-9]

I disagree with the USA Today article.

HB is a big priority, but I don't see him as the piece that defines success or failure in our recruiting. That piece is KI, who after some minor drama is on board. HB could take us to the next level but with KI we're fine even if HB chooses another school.

That said let's hope HB sees the light...the Duke blue one.

[oldnavy]

It's not about Harrison Barnes. It's about the team. And there's no i in team. There's no i in Duke either. However, there is an i in "Carolina". So, HB should come to Duke, unless he prefers Houston Babtist, of course.

OK, but I am Pretty sure there is a P in Baptist

[oldnavy]

I disagree with the USA Today article.

HB is a big priority, but I don't see him as the piece that defines success or failure in our recruiting. That piece is KI, who after some minor drama is on board. HB could take us to the next level but with KI we're fine even if HB chooses another school.

That said let's hope HB sees the light...the Duke blue one.

Totally agree with the assessment. KI was the one. I would love to get HB, but I did a happy dance when KI announced.

HB has to know at this point or at least have the choice narrowed down. It is a HUGE decision for him, with no bad opitions, so I understand why he is taking his time. My guess would be that he knows where he is going in his heart, but he just needs to convince his head to follow. I believe it is DUKE all the way, but hey, I bleed dark blue!!

[SupaDave]

And, if he is musical, there is a "uke" in Duke. Actually, even if he isn't, there is.

Or if you just trust in "K" then you will relax and know we are "Due"...

[Bluedevil114]

Or if you just trust in "K" then you will relax and know we are "Due"...

All we know is that Coach K and the rest of the staff did one hell of a job recruiting Harrison Barnes. They put out all stops and really did a better job recruiting Barnes than the rest of the schools on here. We made him feel part of a family and the Crazies were outstanding.

If we do not get Harrison Barnes it will look like another near miss top recruit for Coach K. We will hear its the Olympics or his age or something else ridiculous. If Carolina gets him, we will hear Coach K cant recruit with Roy.

As I will be disappointed in not getting Barnes....I will know in the bottom of my heart that Coach K has done it the right way and has tweaked his recruiting strategies this year.

The future does look bright.

I still feel this comes down for Harrison like Wall, a relationship built with a Coach. He has visited Duke four times on his own, surprised Coach K on his Birthday and was treated so special on his OV. Barnes mentioning many times 'we" when speaking about team activities.

Kyrie Irving we all know is calling him daily and pushing it from his angle. Andre Dawkins is the second best recruiter in the State of NC behind Coach K.

I believe in the end this is too much for a 17 yrs old kid to overcome. He definitely chooses Duke. He can not choose North Carolina knowing our rivalry and how that may affect Coach K who has been recruiting him from the beginning.

But I still love how Harrison has kept his CLOSE TO THE VEST.

GO DUKE!!! GO DUKE!!! GO DUKE!!! GO DUKE!!! GO DUKE!!! GO DUKE!!!

[rotogod00]

I disagree with the USA Today article.

HB is a big priority, but I don't see him as the piece that defines success or failure in our recruiting. That piece is KI, who after some minor drama is on board. HB could take us to the next level but with KI we're fine even if HB chooses another school.

That said let's hope HB sees the light...the Duke blue one.

agree with you that irving is probably a more important recruit ON THE FLOOR than barnes is. having a top flight point guard is immeasurable.

however, as far as the overall recruiting picture goes and silencing the "coach k can't recruit anymore" critics, inking barnes is crucial. he's been our #1 target and focus in this class for 2 years now. if he goes elsewhere, it'll be a big-time blow to the program imo. maybe more a blow to image than anything else, but a blow just the same. especially if we lose him to down the road to carolina who entered into his recruitment so late.

[flyingdutchdevil]

But I still love how Harrison has kept his CLOSE TO THE VEST.

Completely agree. That said, Barnes has probably caused over a $5 million in lost productivity due to people like us frequently reading about him rather than doing our work

And they say bankers were the cause of the recession...

[G man]

agree with you that irving is probably a more important recruit ON THE FLOOR than barnes is. having a top flight point guard is immeasurable.

however, as far as the overall recruiting picture goes and silencing the "coach k can't recruit anymore" critics, inking barnes is crucial. he's been our #1 target and focus in this class for 2 years now. if he goes elsewhere, it'll be a big-time blow to the program imo. especially if we lose him to down the road to carolina who entered into his recruitment so late.

What bothers me is the bad media we will get if we do not win this little battle. I would not be surprised to find a few articles on how K is loosing it if Barnes does not sign with DUKE. I do think in the end he will be a Devil, but I am bracing for the worst like everyone else!

[Bluedog]

An interesting quote in the article:

"I plan to go to school for three years, and graduate in that time," Barnes said. "If the opportunity to leave early arises, I'll adjust when that happens."

This would be much harder to do at Duke than other schools for HB since Duke only accepts a maximum of 2 AP credits. The other schools on his list have no limits, I believe, so you could essentially enroll as an academic sophomore. Duke doesn't do that since then like 50% of its incoming class would be academic sophomores. I don't think this a major issue, but certainly might be a small consideration. I also don't know how many AP credits he actually will get. He could find a way to do the three-year program like JWill, I'm sure - just gotta do summer school every year, which they do anyways. I'm just saying it'd be even easier to do it at his other choices; but HB doesn't seem to base his decisions on what is easy, but rather on what is best.

It's also interesting on its own in that he clearly states he wants his degree, something many players of his caliber never utter words of.

[Battierfan01]

What bothers me is the bad media we will get if we do not win this little battle. I would not be surprised to find a few articles on how K is loosing it if Barnes does not sign with DUKE. I do think in the end he will be a Devil, but I am bracing for the worst like everyone else!

G Man, I totally agree with you. I think if we lose out on HB the media will jump all over it and use it as another way to criticize Coach K and his "inability" to recruit big time players. I also think that if we get HB the media will lay low and we won't hear any praises for Coach K's ability to still recruit and the fact that he has landed two of the biggest recruits in the 2010 class.

[Dukiedevil]

An interesting quote in the article:



This would be much harder to do at Duke than other schools for HB since Duke only accepts a maximum of 2 AP credits. The other schools on his list have no limits, I believe, so you could essentially enroll as an academic sophomore. Duke doesn't do that since then like 50% of its incoming class would be academic sophomores. I don't think this a major issue, but certainly might be a small consideration. I also don't know how many AP credits he actually will get. He could find a way to do the three-year program like JWill, I'm sure - just gotta do summer school every year, which they do anyways. I'm just saying it'd be even easier to do it at his other choices; but HB doesn't seem to base his decisions on what is easy, but rather on what is best.

It's also interesting on its own in that he clearly states he wants his degree, something many players of his caliber never utter words of.

Actually, Duke has had a couple of instances where they have allowed incoming freshmen to start classes early in the summer and graduate in 3 years. Jason Williams comes immediately to mind, but I thought that Boozer and maybe a couple of others took this path as well. The fact that we have a history of working with recruits on this up front may actually be a positive in that reguard.

[bigj4194]

An iowa state fan sent this to me today. it made me laugh
image001.jpg

[flyingdutchdevil]

Vegas odds (I'd cash in early if I were Barnes!) taken from Scout.com:

10:29 Just got off the phone with a handicapper from Vegas. Odds of signing Harrison Barnes: 5-2 Duke, 5-2 UNC, 10-1 Kansas, 40-1 Oklahoma, 45-1 UCLA, 100-1 Iowa State. Lines subject to change based on reaction by fan bases. We don't set 'em, just relay 'em. (DT)