Word is Tony Parker will be UNC's guest for the game tomorrow evening. It also sounds like UNC's most recent commit will also be in attendance. Wonder if the two have met one another before?
I'm a pretty big fan of kong. He is extremely realistic about his team, which is more than I can say about the majority of both Duke and Heel fans.
I like your posts and hope that you continue to post here. You're always welcome in my online social sphere!
That said, GTHC GTH!
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Word is Tony Parker will be UNC's guest for the game tomorrow evening. It also sounds like UNC's most recent commit will also be in attendance. Wonder if the two have met one another before?
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I realize this may be a bit off-topic from this discussion of our UNC trolls -- haha, excuse me, friends! -- but the ESPN Rise guy tweeted this yesterday:
@JayJayESPNDime
Jason Jordan
Just learned that UNC is hosting, among others, 2012 F Rosco Allen for the Duke game Sat. Fellow 2012 F Tony Parker isn't sure he's coming.
Sorry if this was covered somewhere, I looked back a bit and only saw posts about Kong's persecution.
Allen, a top 5 power forward, is Shabazz Muhammad's high school teammate at Bishop Gorman. Digging around a bit, it seems like he's probably going to stay out West for school, but if you're ever going to visit UNC, this is probably a good weekend to do it. As for Parker, well, we'll see what happens. I will say that if Williams ends up getting Parker, it would indeed be a power move, and it would prove that his success at seeing who Duke is interested in and going after them didn't end with Harrison Barnes. (I kid)
Not surprised about Tokoto attending since he was at the Carolina-Duke game in Chapel Hill last year while he never seemed to be able to work out a visit to see a Duke game in Cameron...Funny how that works.
But as far as Parker attending the game, I hope our bigs put on a good show and Duke beats UNC in the process. Maybe that could give him a more favorable impression of Duke.
Some IC guys that appear to have inside access say that Shabazz has expressed interest in playing with JP. But, he has said the same thing about playing with several other top players.
They also say that UNC is recruiting Shabazz as hard now as they have ever recruited him.
The Shabazz would make no sense. Check out UNC's wings during the 2012-2013 season:
-McD
-Strickland
-Bullock
-Hairston
-Tokoto
-Barnes (unlikely, unless he really wants a degree)
That is insane! Where would Shabazz fit? McD and Strickland would be seniors and highly improved. Bullock will probably find his shot by then. Hairston is a better version of Bullock. Tokoto will play some his freshman year.
I know Duke has a similar situation (which is why I don't think Shabazz is coming to Duke), but UNC's logjam is just as bad, if not worse.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I don't know, haven't the Heels been in on Tokoto from close to the start, back when he was viewed as a potential No. 1 player in this class before his stock dropped somewhat? I seem to recall Duke was on him really early too, possibly earlier, but then went in a different reaction.
As for Allen, it's probably pretty mutual, even if he doesn't seem interested in going there. Who wouldn't want to have a sweet seat for this game? And I'm sure UNC would have no problem with him going back and talking about what a great time he had.
It makes me wonder a bit as well. Roy consistently plays more people than K does. As you know, lately K has limited his rotation to only 7 or 8 guys. I imagine any coach lucky enough to land Shabazz will take whatever steps it takes to utilize him. This means less minutes for upperclassmen at the same position. Also, if Bullock or PJ Hairston have exceptional years next year, one or both could be gone. If I were Roy, I would be stockpiling 4's and 5's instead of 3 guards. But, remember last year when UNC had 6 players 6'9" or taller? How many were playing at the end of the year? Injuries, the NBA, and transfers can deplete your roster awfully quick.
I think UNC was in with him very early as you say. I think Coach K and the staff were interested in him, but probably just didn't get that vibe Coach likes with players. Had he a more advanced skill set, Coach would probably have pushed further on, but there is only so much in time and resources a program can expend, so you have to make choices. I just think Tokoto fell in that area where the staff doesn't feel enough interest from the player to justify further efforts given his skill set.
That's not to say he won't be a good, very good, or even great player. Seems a nice kid and is a super run-and-jump athlete. He also appears to learn lessons and work to improve when weaknesses are exposed.
Don't be surprised to see him jump up more than a few spots in the ratings, and not just because of the elite school bump. He has improved his jump shot some, and his handle. Who knows how good he can be if he keeps improving, especially with a college level weight program reshaping his body.
But then, that's true of most elite level prospects.
Yup, Tokoto's not a Shabazz-like coup, but he's a prospect I would have rather they not signed. He's 6'7, very long, and has a vertical in the 40" range - pretty much the perfect physical prospect if he can add some muscle.
He's supposedly fairly raw though, and didn't exactly come up big against non-Wisconsin competition in the AAU circuit last summer. I wouldn't be particularly worried about him his first year or two - after all, Roy's not exactly known for easing the transition into college for raw, athletic wings - but he could be scary as an upperclassman. If I was a UNC fan, I'd probably be pleased enough with this.
Is it confirmed that both Parker and Allen will be at the game? Have been thinking about this and if I were Roy Williams I wouldn't care if I won this game or not. I'd pound it inside to my bigs all day regardless of the score and here's why:
UNC wasn't expected to win the conference. Duke is. If I lose so what? A number one seed in the NCAA's isn't in my future anyway. I have two top shelf bigs here wanting to see how they'd fit in to my offense
Those recruits will clearly see I utilize my post guys as much as possible. Parker has already openly wondered about how Duke utilizes their post players, no? Well he'd see how I do it and know he'd get plenty of touches.
Thoughts?
Just read a interesting story that JP committed to UNC when he visited last month. I wonder why he didn't let the cat of the bag publicly? I guess he wanted to do it in a press conference?