Dexter Strickland Speaks His Mind

[Carolina_Blue]

Yes, we are upset about these comments and your claim that these comments are mild for this rivalry is not correct. This is not reflective of the kind of public attitude Duke players have, so don't bring up that this stuff happens on both sides of the rivalry. If these comments had come directly from roy their would have been a much bigger outcry as you don't see any coach negatively recruiting against another program, at least not publicly.

The fact that it came from a recently signed recruit makes it painfully obvious to anyone with half a brain to see that his head has been filled with this propaganda by someone whom he trusts, most likely one of his coaches.

I haven't even brought up the fact that what Strickland says is is patently untrue and if anything is more applicable to Coach Coppertone over in Hell with his inability to change his system based on the players he has. Do you really think this team should be running with the backcourt they have?

I remember Coach K telling Dean Smith to "go to Hell" ...attitude reflects leadership so your players public morale high ground means nothing to me...is it propaganda if its the truth? yes I absolutely believe UNC should be running even with the young backcourt. If you go back and look at Larry Drew's high school tapes he was very effective in the break...and Stickland and Mcdonald will eventually show that is their stregnth too. We will take our lumps this year while they learn the "Carolina Way"...its no accident that Roy recruited them ... because their style fits into the system...every coach has their system or their style of play. and as far as public perception goes I think Carolina is leading propaganda or not

[airowe]

K telling Dean Smith to Go to Hell and negatively recruiting against another program are two different things.

I should have left the last part out because it's a discussion for a different time.

How about we discuss this, do you reallty believe that K is less flexible with his system than roy?

[6th Man]

Are you guys seriously that upset about those comments? I mean that is part of recruiting! Telling the player that his game fits best into what your trying to do. You can say that coach K takes a morale high road on that type of thing if you want to but we both know that its not true....I think that Roy's brand is selling better than Coach K's brand right now. I know I will be crucified on this board for this but I also think Coach K has lost some of the luster he had in the 90's. These comments are quite mild for this rivalry. I will say this I do think Roy has an easier time recruiting players...(Brand Name, Jordan sponsorship, Tradition, History)

It's not just necessarily one player's comments. I think people like to jump on the bandwagon of picking Duke apart for things I am puzzled by. Duke's system can limit you? Maybe I am misunderstanding what he means by "Duke's system". At Duke, players aren't restrained. I mean Dawkins hoisted 11 3 pointers the other night as a freshman guard off the bench. Do you think he feels restricted by a system? A guy like Irving should thrive at Duke. He's quick enough to play man. He will be able to shoot as much as he wants. I certainly hope he will drive to the basket as much as he wants. I have a feeling Roy fed Barnes the same bull. I said it in an earlier post. I almost think Duke is given too much freedom. They go one on one way too much. I also think Strickland needs to worry less about Duke and keep his comments limited to his own team. I realized he was asked the question about Irving, but it was a shot at Duke for things that don't even apply.

[JG Nothing]

I will say this I do think Roy has an easier time recruiting players...(Brand Name, Jordan sponsorship, Tradition, History)

Don't forget lower admission requirements...just saying.

[airowe]

Not just lowered admissions requirents, how about offering Barnes something no other student at Carolina could get, admission into Kenan-Flagler as a high school Senior (typically students apply for admission into K-F at the end of their So. Year) which is a clear NCAA violation and accepting all of Barnes' AP credits of which Duke only allows 2.

[DukieTiger]

I'm still confused... What is a morale high ground?

Also still waiting for a link to Nolan's comments.

[Carolina_Blue]

K telling Dean Smith to Go to Hell and negatively recruiting against another program are two different things.

I should have left the last part out because it's a discussion for a different time.

How about we discuss this, do you reallty believe that K is less flexible with his system than roy?

No sir I do not. I don't believe I have ever said that. Do I believe that Roy's system fits better into translating to NBA success where most top recruits true aspirations are? Absolutely. Negative recruiting is part of it behind closed doors or not.

[Carolina_Blue]

Don't forget lower admission requirements...just saying.

Yea I have heard that excuse before, but no amount of convincing will tell me that Corey Maggete and Elton Brand met the Duke admission requirements that other students face athletes or not

[Carolina_Blue]

I'm still confused... What is a morale high ground?

Also still waiting for a link to Nolan's comments.

The moral high ground, in ethical or political parlance, refers to the status of being respected for remaining moral, and adhering to and upholding a universally recognized standard of justice or goodness (see wikipedia) cant help you with Nolans comments I would be curious to read that myself so let me know if they ever come up with that link

[-bdbd]

Are you guys seriously that upset about those comments? I mean that is part of recruiting! Telling the player that his game fits best into what your trying to do. You can say that coach K takes a morale high road on that type of thing if you want to but we both know that its not true....

Link? Proof? Evidence of ANY kind???
Yeah, that's the last resort of any nefarious character caught guilty of some activity - you sound like the Calipari minions in KY - "Well everybody else does it..." Well, NO, they don't.

I think that Roy's brand is selling better than Coach K's brand right now. I know I will be crucified on this board for this but I also think Coach K has lost some of the luster he had in the 90's. These comments are quite mild for this rivalry. I will say this I do think Roy has an easier time recruiting players...(Brand Name, Jordan sponsorship, Tradition, History)

If Roy's "brand" involves taking the 'low road' and essentially lying to recruits about another program - then you can HAVE that brand, please. Talking UP your own program and how a recruit fits into it is very different than trash-talking, disparaging, distorting or otherwise denegrating someone else's. Don't miss the distinction. Kinda sucks getting caught with a program consistently taking the low road in that area doesn't it CB???

Re. lost luster for K -- yeah, that picture of him wearing all of the Gold Medals in Beijing looked pretty luster-less. Not like he wasn't following a couple of UNC alums who failed miserably in running the national team to inglorious defeat and incessant backbiting... Every team has it's positives and neagtives to recruit with: For every MJ in the NBA there is a Christian Laettner (most successful college player of all time). Yeah, btw, MJ still 'tearing it up' in the NBA as a GM with his Tar-cats??? ;-) For every Dean Dome size/big-school/fanbase, there is an intimate and "best venue in CB" Cameron Indoor for a good-academics university. Bummer for us that Duke lacks tremendous tradition and history too. ROL! Point is, every program has positives and negatives. Just that some programs seem to take a very low road in how they deal with recruits, and dishonestly trashing other programs rather than stickiing to just talking UP their own. I'll take the high-road one, even if it means missing an occasional impressionable recruit...

[Carolina_Blue]

If it makes the losses sting any less for you by all means believe that. I enjoyed your argument. My comments about K were about the college game..I thoroughly enjoyed him with the gold medals because he brought USA basketball back to where it should be...but you will be hard-pressed to make any valid argument to me about Roy Williams ethics...and comparing him to Calipari is beyond a stretch

[airowe]

The NBA players K has produced and the ones that roy has produced is yet another instance of the propaganda machine at work. Heck, K has produced more NBA players currently in the League than the entire pUNC program. They also earn more money than any other alumni group playing professionally.

Go get some stats and come back here with a reasonable argument.

[blueprofessor]

Yea I have heard that excuse before, but no amount of convincing will tell me that Corey Maggete and Elton Brand met the Duke admission requirements that other students face athletes or not

This misstatement begs a corrective response. Elton Brand had an SAT of 1250 which was 60 points higher than UNC's student body median of 1190 at that time.
Even now, Duke's median of 1423 is about 200 points higher than UNC's.
UNC even trails UVA and Wake Forest in median SAT and academic ranking, depite all that taxpayer money dumped into UNC. Georgia Tech, in academic rankings as one of the top 8 engineering schools in America, is equal , if not superior, to UNC.
Being 5th in the ACC...maybe there will be UNC rings issued for that as well!

Best regards to Duke fans---Blueprofessor

[Carolina_Blue]

The NBA players K has produced and the ones that roy has produced is yet another instance of the propaganda machine at work. Heck, K has produced more NBA players currently in the League than the entire pUNC program. They also earn more money than any other alumni group playing professionally.

Go get some stats and come back here with a reasonable argument.

It doesn’t take much brainpower to see that UCLA’s Ben Howland and UNC’s Roy Williams are likely to spend the next decade further dominating this list. Louisville and Kansas also stand to rise into the top five quickly with the players Rick Pitino and Bill Self are recruiting these days. Indiana, Duke, Kentucky – all have been trending downward, but how will the newish coaches at IU and UK change that, and will Coach K start recruiting studs again now that making the Sweet 16 is the norm at Duke? St. John’s and Maryland? Both are living on lost glory with no recent signs of improvement. And keep an eye on the sleeping giant Thad Matta is building at Ohio St. (currently at 25 total picks) – he could overtake the Terps with two more of his Thad Five-type classes.

Total draft picks are nice, but championships are won with first-round talent, and first-round talent tends to become first-round picks (just sayin’). So let’s slice the data a little further to see what schools produce the most first rounders (Table B).



http://rushthecourt.net/2008/07/29/n...ool-1949-2008/ t

[Owen Meany]

Yea I have heard that excuse before, but no amount of convincing will tell me that Corey Maggette and Elton Brand met the Duke admission requirements that other students face athletes or not

I'm curious why you singled out Maggette and Brand. I'm very confident that either would have been accepted into any basketball program in the nation. Maggette's finalists were Duke, Stanford, and Indiana (he was also recruited by unc). Brand was an excellent student, with an excellent SAT score, who did very well at a top private school (he went to school with Governor Pataki's daughter). So if you want to question the credentials of a Duke player, you might not want to choose 2 who likely were more qualified than 90+% of UNC's players.

So why exactly did you choose those two players? Both have been gone for 10 years. There must be some reason on your part for singling them out (other than facts of course).

[kong123]

K telling Dean Smith to Go to Hell and negatively recruiting against another program are two different things.

I should have left the last part out because it's a discussion for a different time.

How about we discuss this, do you reallty believe that K is less flexible with his system than roy?

I believe coaches recruit players to fit into their system. As of late, Dukes recruits haven't panned out exactly we have planned, so he has to adapt his offense to the teams best weapons. Roy has had better luck with his recruits. As far as defense goes, he seems set in his ways and I do not feel that being that stubborn is a positive thing. His reluctance to play zone when needed is a big flaw. He wants to run all the time and his "pressure" man to man feeds the offense. But, when your defense cannot stop dribble penetration, this becomes a problem.

K is no doubt a better defensive coach. Dean was also a great defensive coach. He would always change his defenses out of time outs and would usually get good results from that strategy. The holes are a lot easier to game plan for. Their defense is always the same. Find the flaws and dare them to stop you. They plan to outscore you, and lately they have done just that. If the heels learn to guard the ball better and the bigs block lots of shots, their defense could be scarey good. We simply do more by putting forth more effort.

[Billy Dat]

Brand was an excellent student, with an excellent SAT score, who did very well at a top private school (he went to school with Governor Pataki's daughter).

Elton was a fine student, but he went to Peekskill High School which is as public as public school gets and a pretty poor one at that. George Pataki is from Peekskill, and he went to Peekskill High School, but his kids never went there. I'll defend Elton to the end, but let's be accurate.

As for coaches slamming another coach's system during the recruiting process, I am sure it happens all the time...just like any sales situation. Some coaches will make it a core part of their pitch, others will stay away from it. I remember seeing an article that talked about exactly how Calipari specifically used a critique of Duke's system in his successful wooing of John Wall...and I thought he was smart to do so. I think we've got to take a "He's just not that into you" attitude with this stuff...if a recruit decides to go elsewhere..don't let the door hit you in the gluteus...as Norman Dale famously said, "I hope you will root for who we are, not who we are not".

[Carolina_Blue]

I'm curious why you singled out Maggette and Brand. I'm very confident that either would have been accepted into any basketball program in the nation. Maggette's finalists were Duke, Stanford, and Indiana (he was also recruited by unc). Brand was an excellent student, with an excellent SAT score, who did very well at a top private school (he went to school with Governor Pataki's daughter). So if you want to question the credentials of a Duke player, you might not want to choose 2 who likely were more qualified than 90+% of UNC's players.

So why exactly did you choose those two players? Both have been gone for 10 years. There must be some reason on your part for singling them out (other than facts of course).

maybe the fact that maggete took payments from Myron Piggie a man who went to federal prison for fraud...i have to question the intelligence of anyone that takes a couple thousand bucks (which should have compromised his amateur playing status) when they know they will make millions in the next years...admittedly I through elton brand because he was around the same recruiting timeline...Carolina does not thump our chests as an academic institution we are and forever will be a university for the people...but for you to think that your not getting players simply because of your high academic standards is flawed

[Carolina_Blue]

I believe coaches recruit players to fit into their system. As of late, Dukes recruits haven't panned out exactly we have planned, so he has to adapt his offense to the teams best weapons. Roy has had better luck with his recruits. As far as defense goes, he seems set in his ways and I do not feel that being that stubborn is a positive thing. His reluctance to play zone when needed is a big flaw. He wants to run all the time and his "pressure" man to man feeds the offense. But, when your defense cannot stop dribble penetration, this becomes a problem.

K is no doubt a better defensive coach. Dean was also a great defensive coach. He would always change his defenses out of time outs and would usually get good results from that strategy. The holes are a lot easier to game plan for. Their defense is always the same. Find the flaws and dare them to stop you. They plan to outscore you, and lately they have done just that. If the heels learn to guard the ball better and the bigs block lots of shots, their defense could be scarey good. We simply do more by putting forth more effort.

Roy's "stubborness" has been a very positive thing as far as we are concerned...3 final fours 2 championships in the last 5 years is no accident. PLAYERS win championships

[juise]

Indiana, Duke, Kentucky – all have been trending downward

Duke had more wins (total and conference) last year than Kentucky and Indiana put together. Is it really fair to lump Duke in with those two?

Total draft picks are nice, but championships are won with first-round talent, and first-round talent tends to become first-round picks (just sayin’). So let’s slice the data a little further to see what schools produce the most first rounders (Table B).

http://rushthecourt.net/2008/07/29/n...ool-1949-2008/ t

That's an impressive table... that dates back to the 1950's. Are you really making the argument about the talent in Roy's program based on ~60 years of data? If it was all about first round talent, you would think that UNC would have more titles than Indiana, UCLA, and Kentucky... but they don't. Hmmm.