Austin Rivers - where there is smoke, there is fire

[soccerstud2210]

wait.... who is this Harrison Barnes that everyone is speaking of?

I thought this was a thread to discuss Austin Rivers and whether he is coming to Duke or not??

[ReformedAggie]

Simple for me, Barnes proved he wasn't a Duke caliber person by choosing UNC.

[Stray Gator]

... I don't think you have enough evidence to evaluate his character, nor do I understand why you are wasting your time trying to do so.

I thought I had made this clear: The reason I am posting on this subject is because I disagree with the opinions expressed by those who keep resurrecting the issue to reaffirm their admiration for Barnes or make excuses for his behavior. In this case, it was a poster who said: "Harrison Barnes DOES like Duke. This you guys MUST get through your heads. You will NEVER hear him say a bad word."

While I'm not hanging around here looking for opportunities to attack Barnes, I'm not going to leave a statement like that unchallenged, because I believe it is inaccurate. So I posted to offer a different interpretation of the evidence that I believe refutes, or at least undermines, the notion that Harrison Barnes is really a person of laudable character, as he professes and portrays himself to be. You may consider that a waste of time; I consider it participating in a dialogue to challenge what think are misconceptions being advanced by posters who insist that my opinion is unfounded.

Those who disagree with my interpretation of Barnes' behavior and my skepticism about his "good character" think I am "bitter"; I think those who still buy his act are gullible. I suppose we'll have the opportunity to observe Barnes for the next year or two, so we'll see how it plays out.

If Austin chooses Duke, I'm sure Florida people will be bitter, but it could be much the same sort of thing. Once he realized what he would have at Duke, Florida couldn't compete. If he doesn't come to Duke, I'm sure many people on these boards will dredge up this diary entry and spend way too much time unfairly dissecting his character. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Just for the record, I don't think you'll find any negative comments by me directed at any prior recruit who chose another school. As I said before, I don't have a problem with Barnes or any other recruit choosing a different school. I do have a problem with a recruit who leads a school to believe that he likes and respects the program and then, after choosing another school, takes a gratuitous parting shot to make a point of publicly disparaging and insulting people who had done nothing to deserve such treatment.

[soccerstud2210]

Just for the record, I don't think you'll find any negative comments by me directed at any prior recruit who chose another school. As I said before, I don't have a problem with Barnes or any other recruit choosing a different school. I do have a problem with a recruit who leads a school to believe that he likes and respects the program and then, after choosing another school, takes a gratuitous parting shot to make a point of publicly disparaging and insulting people who had done nothing to deserve such treatment.

game. set. match. this is the point that i think most people that are disgusted or say he was disingenuous are trying to make

[G man]

Anyone who chooses Duke is above all condemnation. Anyone who chooses someone other than Duke is either dumb, arrogant, and we really did not want him any way. It is this way with any programs fan base even ours. I thank the good Lord that Duke fans are not as bad as say Kentucky or UNC.

[DukeGirl4ever]

[QUOTE=flyingdutchdevil;407503][QUOTE=Underdog5;407499]

Imagine if Kyrie had said "Kentucky was a really close second to Duke." None of us know if this is true or not, but I would much rather have Kyrie say "It was Duke all the way. There was no number 2." It shows commitment and really expresses to the fans that a recruit wants to play there. Had HB said "I was really close to committing to Duke," I'm sure there would have been some upset UNC fans out there.

If Kyrie had said "Kentucky was a close second" I could honestly say I could care less! He chose Duke, it's that simple - 2nd place doesn't matter and so the discussion of it is useless. And what's wrong with a kid being honest and stating how difficult a decision it was to choose a school? Sure the kid (say HB) might get heckled by his own fan base by saying "Duke was a close 2nd to UNC," but who cares? He should be worried about what HE thinks as well as his family and future teammates.

That being said, being a Duke fan and reading about Barnes, I'm glad he decided to go to UNC - I think he'll fit in well there.

[Stray Gator]

Anyone who chooses Duke is above all condemnation. Anyone who chooses someone other than Duke is either dumb, arrogant, and we really did not want him any way. It is this way with any programs fan base even ours. I thank the good Lord that Duke fans are not as bad as say Kentucky or UNC.

Show me a recruit who chose Duke and then promptly took a deliberate cheap shot at another school that had established what appeared to be a good relationship with that recruit, and I'll condemn that recruit's behavior, too. I've made that point three times now, and I'm still waiting for someone to name a Duke player who was guilty of such behavior.

[DukeBlueNV]

can we just eliminate HB as a subject of conversation allready? i'd take singler as a senior then HB as a freshman 100 times out of 100. where would he fit on this team anyways? im not saying he wouldnt play, obviously a talent like him would be on the floor but i think we have to consider the possiblilty of chemistry issues if he had committed to duke. he would also inhibit the maturation of players like dawkins and ryan kelly from seeing the floor hindering the development of key players for dukes future, there is also the possiblilty that his commitment would have had a underhanded affect on singlers decision to return. the last thing i would want is for some hot-shot freshman pushing maybe an ALL-TIME great duke player out the door. Lets put the matter to rest because i think (hopefully everyone agrees) this all was for the better.

[left_hook_lacey]

DId I miss something? Last I checked, UNC had not offered Austin a scholarship yet. But today on scout.com, he is listed as a prospect and has "yes" listed under "offer".

Is this old news or did Roy officially offer the scholarship in the past couple of days? I didn't think they had one to give until "The Great Wear Transfer of 2010".

So if he used one of those scholly's, and he offered Kadeem Jack one, that uses up the 2 the Wear's opened up.

[SupaDave]

can we just eliminate HB as a subject of conversation allready? i'd take singler as a senior then HB as a freshman 100 times out of 100. where would he fit on this team anyways? im not saying he wouldnt play, obviously a talent like him would be on the floor but i think we have to consider the possiblilty of chemistry issues if he had committed to duke. he would also inhibit the maturation of players like dawkins and ryan kelly from seeing the floor hindering the development of key players for dukes future, there is also the possiblilty that his commitment would have had a underhanded affect on singlers decision to return. the last thing i would want is for some hot-shot freshman pushing maybe an ALL-TIME great duke player out the door. Lets put the matter to rest because i think (hopefully everyone agrees) this all was for the better.

Particularly b/c HB is a great litmus test. I prefer to use the experience to our advantage so to speak. As Stray has pointed out, what he did is something that is RARELY if ever seen from a recruit. For me it helps put Austin into perspective that much better. Boynton, Monroe, Patterson - none of them said a bad word about Duke after picking their respective Universities. However, Patterson left just as bad a taste in folks mouths as Harrison has.

[airowe]

DId I miss something? Last I checked, UNC had not offered Austin a scholarship yet. But today on scout.com, he is listed as a prospect and has "yes" listed under "offer".

Is this old news or did Roy officially offer the scholarship in the past couple of days? I didn't think they had one to give until "The Great Wear Transfer of 2010".

So if he used one of those scholly's, and he offered Kadeem Jack one, that uses up the 2 the Wear's opened up.

Roy offered Austin some time ago but he won't win this battle.

[left_hook_lacey]

Roy offered Austin some time ago but he won't win this battle.

Your confidence is soothing. I wish I had that trait. Got any proof to ease my mind? Everytime I close my eyes I still see HB on skype.

[Big Pappa]

Roy offered Austin some time ago but he won't win this battle.

Your confidence is soothing. I wish I had that trait. Got any proof to ease my mind? Everytime I close my eyes I still see HB on skype.

I agree with airowe here, just listening and reading interviews with Austin he is much different than HB. Lacey, the proof we have is all listed in this thread so check back through here.

[dcdevil2009]

isn't he technically allowed to offer 13? since the offer is only for one year, he isn't obligated to renew any. it only becomes a problem at the end of next year, when more than 13 players come back and he has to pull a Cal or guide someone like HB to the NBA.

[PhillyDuke]

who gives a flip about Barnes? He's the enemy now, so hate him like we hate the rest of those dork carolina players!!! As long as Carrick Felix, or Hairston; or somebody jumps in his *** next year, we'll be happy.

[Orange&BlackSheep]

Well how about Bobby Hurley (my favorite player ever) and Jason Williams both saying that they wanted to go to Carolina but that they were told there was unfortunately no room. Do we think less of them for "settling" for Duke?

[Mike Corey]

The Harrison Barnes recruitment reminds me a lot of what Ernest Hemingway used to say about his writing. Think of a glacier: You can only see 10% of it, that which appears on the surface.

It's not that Harrison chose a school other than Duke; it's the manner in which he went about doing so that is so irksome.

But nevermind. Duke won a national championship and Kyle Singler is coming back for his senior season. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

We close Harrison Barnes thread, yet, we talk about him in almost everyother thread, honestly I don't know why some people arent over him.

[Big Pappa]

We close Harrison Barnes thread, yet, we talk about him in almost everyother thread, honestly I don't know why some people arent over him.

Couldn't agree more.

[El_Diablo]

isn't he technically allowed to offer 13? since the offer is only for one year, he isn't obligated to renew any. it only becomes a problem at the end of next year, when more than 13 players come back and he has to pull a Cal or guide someone like HB to the NBA.

Technically, Roy could offer 13,000 if he wanted to. Of course, only 13 can get scholarships in any given year. But you're right...they're renewable year-to-year, so he could yank one (or more, a la Calipari) if he over-recruits.

In fact, Roy already over-recruited when he got commitments from Hairston and McAdoo, which put UNC at 14 scholarships for 2011-12. That situation has resolved itself already, with three players departing the program early (Davis, Wears).