Well, I am disappointed. Even so, I'll be breaking out Duke blue and supporting the Devils tonight. (Note to Stone Age Devil: If you are reading this thread, take an aspirin and lie down.)
Obviously anyone who would pick UNC is somewhat flawed and has character issues that we did not previously realize. However, I will say this for Roy Williams and UNC...
1) They play an uptempo style that would be appealing to play in...particularly the super athletic NBA type players
2) UNC tends to play a lot of people (partly due to the style) so it is more likely that you will get playing time as a freshman (not that HB probably is worrying about playing time). Caveat: that is my impression, but I bet someone will go through the box scores to look at minutes played for Duke vs. UNC and potentially prove me wrong)
3) It is not always required that you play defense at Carolina...you just outscore your opponents That might be appealing as well!
Well, I am disappointed. Even so, I'll be breaking out Duke blue and supporting the Devils tonight. (Note to Stone Age Devil: If you are reading this thread, take an aspirin and lie down.)
It is times like this that make this rivarly so great. Since this is the first big Duke-UNC recruiting battle that I've followed closely, I can honestly say that I've never hated UNC as much as I do now. But at the same time, I have an huge amount of respect for Harrison Barnes - and that is what makes it hurt the most. A victory (or two) over UNC next year would be as sweet as ever, and I know in my heart that we can take them with Kyrie at the helm.
To Harrison Barnes, congratulations. You are a great kid, and would be a welcome addition at any school. And even though I hate your guts, I have a lot of respect for you. I wish you success in your career (except of course, for two games per year, in which I hope you are completely dominated).
GTHC, now and forever
As other posters have said, Kyrie was a MUCH bigger pickup than Barnes. Duke thrives on a great PG. Never the less, just when I thought I couldn't hate Roy Williams more... Especially that Howdy Doody smile.
And who's the fool on this board that said Williams is a better on the floor coach than K? I don't even know if he's a better recruitor. I think some kids just get the feeling, wrongly, that Duke is an uppity, snobby school. Where UNC-Chappel Hell (has anyone ever posted that before? I'm rather proud of myself) is the cooler place to be. There may even be peer pressure from friends to go to UNC.
I wanted Barnes as much as anyone here did...BUT, we have Kyrie Irving coming next year, both Plumlees, Smith, Kelly, Hairston and Thornton...and maybe, just maybe, Kyle Singler coming back. How many would trade a freshman Harrison Barnes for a senior Kyle Singler? Not me! We aren't second fiddle to the holes! K has shown he can still recruit with the best...I like our chances this year and next year!!
Well, disappointing loss. I think the thing that has really aggravated me the most is that Barnes chose of UNC because it has the "perfect balance of athletics and academics." Thats a hit below the belt to Duke (at least to me). Lets be serious, if hes as good as they say, he may play two years tops.
Whatever, it is what it is. I'll be sure to give him hell when he comes to Cameron next year (so start gathering outside admissions and tell them to let me in! haha) Make him regret this decision. GTHC, GTH!!!
This is exactly right. There are only a handful of teams who will be competing for the national title, and fewer still who can win. Duke is still in the group, but on the periphery. Most teams can't even get into or stay on the periphery.
For example, MSU fans have a hard time dealing with the fact that they can't recruit with UNC, KU, UCLA, etc. MSU is losing their mind over the fact that Trey Zeigler, a kid from Mt. Pleasant, MI, is likely going to UCLA. MSU hasn't done anything wrong. They just aren't UCLA. Schools like MSU have to be happy with their once in awhile run at the crown, and hope they win it win they get there. MSU can't get the kids the top schools can. Except, of course, State did get Delvon Roe, which Ol' Roy is still seething about and classlessly bashed Roe about in his ghost-written book.
Duke's not in that condition. Duke's still in the running for the best players. Just have to get a few more.
dukemsu
My testosterone level really took a nosedive; this "miss" really stings.
That said, I'm hoping the sour-grape-posts end quickly. One of the things I've always admired about the posters on this board is that they/we are able to remain civil even when things don't go our way.
He's a great kid that had to make a very difficult decision. Let's get us a little Roscoe love!
s.i.
Very disappointed not to get Barnes, but can't say I'm surprised. There seemed to be a lot of little things that happened over the last few weeks/months that gave me a bad feeling about today. The Williams meeting after the Coach K home visit, the huge amount of ground unc made up after his campus visit, the fact that K was visiting Smith just a few days ago, etc... Guess some of those crazy rumors had a little truth to them?
As for the idea that the coaching staff was very confident about the Barnes decision - well I hope they weren't too confident cause that makes the day all the more frustrating for them.
The season starts in about an hour and the second after the tip-off, for me, the disappointment disappears.
A couple people have said this. I think that this assessment is deeply influenced by the recent, burning example.
What is the list of head to head recruits that Roy has gotten that K wanted?
And what is the list of recruits that K got that Roy wanted?
My guess is that the data is inconclusive.
This is a good point. I had a similar thought. My brain really tends to compare Harrison with Brandan Wright... mostly because of his size and potential to go to the league (I realize they play different positions and have different skills). He'll be in an impact player for a short time, but not a program-changing player and possibly not enough to bring home a title (though I really liked Duke's chances with him on the roster ).
Is a Final Four or national title or how about
Kobe you want playing time in London I need you to land me this kid, D Wade want to be the star in London here are few phone numbers...just kidding
I was thinking the same thing. It would seem to me if education was a deciding factor and he plans on staying college for multiple years, Duke would have made more sense. However if he is starting to think that he will be a top 5 pick after his freshman year and will likely enter the draft, maybe unc makes more sense. There is a good chance he could win a championship at either school, but unc offers the chance to take a less rigorous academic load which allows him to concentrate more fully on basketball. That's not to knock on unc as an academic institution but it is a large state school which makes it easier to blend.
Now I'm really hoping that Singler returns for his senior year and a shot at the nc and to get his jersey in the rafters.
There seems to be a correlation between low post count and a "the sky is falling" mentality.
We've been to Final Fours with a LOT less talent than we have now. We can do it; it's up to the coaches to coach and the players to make plays.
If it's any consolation to the worry warts, maybe UNC (and UK) will have chemistry problems, selfishness, resentment over minutes, etc. Bottom line, I don't care - we've got great players and a great coach. If some recruit would rather be at UNC, that's his problem. What are you going to do? Would you rather have someone on your team who would rather be a tar heel? Let him go. From the sound of it (the skype clowning around), it's a better fit for him.
"...I like the academic plan they had for me." (italics added)
This line irritates me almost beyond words, mostly because it's so silly that it strikes me as more of a rationalization than a reason. All of whiich leads me back to the primary question, Why did this happen?
I browsed over the IC board and apparently someone is saying that this decision was not made recently. It was done a few weeks ago after Roy's visit to Iowa. And that is why Coach K was watching Roscoe Smith play as well.
Again, good kid and good character, bad choice!! Let's move on and support the current group as hard as we always did!!
We did not get Barnes, but he would have been just icing on the cake for what is a monster team we have for 2010. With Barnes, we might have had trouble trying to fit all our talents on the court and give each one their fair share of playtime.
F word. Now I must go drown my sorrows.
I've had the taste of vomit in my mouth for 2 hrs now.
This sucks, but remember he is not proven in college. Frankly, no one is. If we can land Roscoe, he may be far superior to Barnes (just how Hans ended up being a better pick that McBob). This just sucks since we put our all into it. The staff did it completely right. I think HB was just wow'd over by the recent success at UNC. It's hard to recruit against that momentum.