2012 Basketball Recruiting Thread

[dchen09]

Just read this. Coach K putting this kind of effort is nice to see.

Has Tony Parker stated how soon he will announce a decision?

Well that article says he's not sure if he'll make a decision in November.

[BD80]

... My delusional approach to this all is to believe that McGary is putting the Michigan stuff out there as an masterful head fake before he eventually drives down the lane and offers up a Duke commitment. This will increase the dramatic effect of his pledge ...

What kind of egomaniac would intentionally mislead one school just to heighten the dramatic effect of his announcemenr? It would take a real jerk.

[dukedoc]

What kind of egomaniac would intentionally mislead one school just to heighten the dramatic effect of his announcemenr? It would take a real jerk.

Sorry. Tongue in cheek. Forgot the emoticon.

[Greg_Newton]

Sorry. Tongue in cheek. Forgot the emoticon.

I believe you missed a very subtle reference in BD's post...

120310-Harrison-Barnes-SW-PI_20101203162421245_660_320.JPG

...

[dukedoc]

I believe you missed a very subtle reference in BD's post...

120310-Harrison-Barnes-SW-PI_20101203162421245_660_320.JPG

...

Ah yes, my bad. I had blocked that guy out. A "real jerk" indeed...

[miltk]

hi, gam7...thx for the ,,,,,,,welcome mat? i figured it wouldn't be too bad here because i read some post that was complimentary about kyle's commit to westwood.

the fab5 talk is not mine, it's kyle's specifically, as he's the one who referred to it by tweet.
there's no rhyme or reason to how people approach "branding". in this case it might simply be keeping one's name in the news through spring(bazz's date for his commit). but holmes has been talking up a lot of schools. if you heard his call-in to pastner you'd think memphis was a done deal. bazz inc has even scheduled a visit to u$c fer chreest's sake!

and i'm not big on players saying they want to play together. even kyle said players tend to talk a lot about such things. kluv and singler wanted to play together. but this one sounds different. players really like playing with kyle and have expressed as much. kyle then, is the straw that stirs. he's the lynch pin in all this.

you thought bazz to ncst was a done deal because you're here,,,and bazz is 2500 miles away. but that's why it's always interesting to look at boards closer to the target point.

personally, i thought fans were getting carried away with moto because we're all feeling very heady with '12's recruiting class. but ben needs bigs because this class has no muscle and ben likes muscle.

barnes/bazz similarities noted...but were there any tangible draws to durham other than he really liked duke? because bazz has a history with westwood going back to when he was a young'n + anderson + artis + this posse they seem to be building + everyone(even fans from zona!) understand what holmes is doing(ie that it's ucla all the way). it's one reason why zona stopped pursuing bazz.

thx

Welcome, and way to jump into the deep end on your first post! This board can be sensitive to posts that include substantial speculation and rumors, so don't be surprised if you end up with some snippy comments back, but your general point is consistent with what I've heard from my connected UCLA friends - UCLA is in a strong position for Shabazz and they are building a good recruiting class.

A couple of points from me:



Wait a minute, I thought Shabazz to NC State was a done deal. He and Purvis made a "pact" to go to the same school. I expect that Shabazz will honor it.

Obviously, I'm joking. Kyle and Shabazz may both end up at UCLA, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with a "pact." Each is doing what is best for himself. If the NBA CBA allows player to go straight to the league, do you think Shabazz's "pact" with Kyle is going to factor into his decision as to whether he should go pro?



Sorry, but this is laughable. Just because there are five guys in a recruiting class does not make it the fab 5. Even with Shabazz, it may not even be the best recruiting class in the conference (Arizona).




I'm not sure I understand how you could make this inference from that tweet.




So, you are saying that Shabazz is playing all of the other schools that are recruiting him. I'm not sure I buy this. Another thing: if Shabazz is so concerned about his brand, it seems to me that he would very seriously consider aligning himself with the Duke brand for college. I don't think I am going out on a limb in saying that over the last 30 years, Duke has a stronger brand than UCLA, and very possibly has the strongest brand in all of college basketball during that time period.

I also am curious to know what UCLA people are now saying about Moto's commitment to Wake. My understanding from my UCLA sources is that people were extremely excited about Moto (possibly going so far as to considering him just as important as Kyle Anderson) and considered him a perfect fit for Howland's system. He was viewed as a slightly shorter M'bah a Moute.

A lot of folks in the Duke community followed the Harrison Barnes recruitment closely, and a word of warning to you: there are some parallels between Duke-Barnes and UCLA-Bazz. Like Barnes vis-a-vis Duke, Bazz has not said anything publicly that can be construed as a lean towards UCLA despite insiders having solid reasons to think that Bazz will go to UCLA. UCLA insiders may have very good sources, but sometimes the sources are just plain wrong or circumstances change.

[Greg_Newton]

kyle anderson to ucla does not happen unless he knew bazz was going to play in westwood...simple as that.

lol

Look, everyone knows Bazz is a UCLA lean at this point. No offense, but nothing else you said has any truth or relevance whatsoever.

(I am a big fan of Kyle Anderson's game, though.)

(Oh, and I think you have your period key mixed up with you comma key?)

[THE FUTURE]

Tony parker is the most important recruit IMO i think hes a 4 year guy and his off skills are great...the bad is he seems to get lazy and his conditioning....

MM maybe goes pro in 2012 hes already 19 and will be 20 before he starts college other than that hes great i love the kid

bazz to me is a luxury also would love to have him but we will have alot of guys that can play the 3 next year

IDK that will land any of these guys but if i could pick one it would be parker...thoughts?

[UrinalCake]

barnes/bazz similarities noted...but were there any tangible draws to durham other than he really liked duke?

Yikes, just to forewarn you, the whole Barnes saga is a bit of a lightning rod among most Duke fans, many of whom still carry around a lot of hostile feelings. But I think the short story is that he's a smart guy who talked about valuing education and majoring in business, so he seemed like a perfect fit for Duke. Coach K was in it from the beginning with him, while Roy swept in pretty late, and he dropped some subtle hints along the way such as being photographed wearing a Duke t-shirt. Also there was some talk of him and Kyrie being a "package deal" (there I go throwing around that term again 8-)) or at the very least being good friends who would enjoy playing together.

As far as the "branding" power of Duke versus UCLA, I think that's debatable. As Duke fans we think we're the center of the world, but UCLA's location offers a lot of marketability that Durham just can't touch. I guess we'll see. Thanks for all the insights Miltk, it's always good to hear from fans of other schools.

[devildeac]

What kind of egomaniac would intentionally mislead one school just to heighten the dramatic effect of his announcemenr? It would take a real jerk.

Maybe someone in this photo:



freshmen_3216-640x426.jpg



?????

[miltk]

lol

(Oh, and I think you have your period key mixed up with you comma key?)

depends on how i feel like talking through the keyboard. and ummm,,,about bazz...i was kinda responding to the general tenor of this board in regards to bazz. ie, i was kinda surprised how some were seeing him as part of a triumvirate of must gets. must gets to me = that there's a chance, as in "must get" would be mcgary and parker, but not bazz. btw, rumors really flying around here about parker, spurred, i'm sure, in part by k's visit after parker came back from westwood.

and you didn't comment on my exclusive use of lower case?

[Kedsy]

you thought bazz to ncst was a done deal because you're here,,,and bazz is 2500 miles away.

Unnecessary commas aside, he was joking. Nobody thought Shabazz was a done deal to NC State. Nobody thought there was any chance he would go to NC State. The point he was making was at some point Shabazz and Rodney Purvis talked publicly about going to school together.

and i'm not big on players saying they want to play together. even kyle said players tend to talk a lot about such things. kluv and singler wanted to play together. but this one sounds different. players really like playing with kyle and have expressed as much. kyle then, is the straw that stirs. he's the lynch pin in all this.

* * *

barnes/bazz similarities noted...but were there any tangible draws to durham other than he really liked duke? because bazz has a history with westwood going back to when he was a young'n + anderson + artis + this posse they seem to be building + everyone(even fans from zona!) understand what holmes is doing(ie that it's ucla all the way). it's one reason why zona stopped pursuing bazz.

I have no idea where Shabazz will end up going to school. But I'm guessing this one doesn't sound as different as you think it does. If Shabazz's history with UCLA along with the pull of playing with Kyle Anderson was such an overwhelming lure, how come Shabazz didn't commit right after Anderson? The idea that he's pretending to be interested in other schools just to build his "brand" doesn't make any sense to me. In what way does a false flirtation build a brand? Bottom line is, you may be right about where all these young men eventually decide to attend college, or you may be wrong. But if you were right that it's already decided, then some of them (if not all of them) would have already committed. And that hasn't happened. Obviously, time will tell, but my guess is this is far from over.

[airowe]

ummm,,,about bazz...i was kinda responding to the general tenor of this board in regards to bazz. ie, i was kinda surprised how some were seeing him as part of a triumvirate of must gets. must gets to me = that there's a chance, as in "must get" would be mcgary and parker, but not bazz.

There's more than a chance Bazz ends up at Duke.

btw, rumors really flying around here about parker, spurred, i'm sure, in part by k's visit after parker came back from westwood.

K following up on Tony Parker following his return from Westwood is good recruiting. Not sure what rumors you are talking about wrt to Parker, but there's an even better chance he ends up playing basketball in Durham than Bazz.

[gam7]

As far as the "branding" power of Duke versus UCLA, I think that's debatable. As Duke fans we think we're the center of the world, but UCLA's location offers a lot of marketability that Durham just can't touch. I guess we'll see. Thanks for all the insights Miltk, it's always good to hear from fans of other schools.

Here is some less subjective support for my claim that Duke has a stronger college basketball brand than UCLA: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/D...ll-Brands.aspx. This poll came out at the beginning of last season, so Duke's most recent national championship may have inflated the strength of our brand, but I would imagine that our brand remains the strongest in college basketball.

I concede that LA has more off-court marketing opportunities than Durham does.

[loldevilz]

Here is some less subjective support for my claim that Duke has a stronger college basketball brand than UCLA: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/D...ll-Brands.aspx. This poll came out at the beginning of last season, so Duke's most recent national championship may have inflated the strength of our brand, but I would imagine that our brand remains the strongest in college basketball.

I concede that LA has more off-court marketing opportunities than Durham does.

No one in SoCal cares about UCLA basketball. Its all about the Lakers and then maybe the Dodgers. UCLA basketball is maybe the 6th most important sport. I have many friends that go to UCLA and I'm pretty sure most of them can't even name a player on the team and they definitely haven't been to any games. Anyways, its doubtful that going to Duke vs UCLA is going to make a significant difference in terms of future opportunities and success. Its not like he's considering Iowa State or Creighton instead of Duke.

[miltk]

by "branding" i don't mean whichever school has the better brand is where bazz will go. i mean institutional(bazz inc) branding. ie, familiarity and name recognition of the shabazz muhammad name. like lebron in high school. his "Q rating". like ibm or mercedes don't have to sponsor sporting events...they do it to keep their name out there. THAT kind of branding. the kind of branding that will make espn start off every college game with a "bazz watch". his intent, therefore, is to continue to be news, and to do that he will delay his commit until the end. he involves as many schools as possible in the "race to win bazz". any school can be a vehicle,,,it really doesn't matter.

[Indoor66]

by "branding" i don't mean whichever school has the better brand is where bazz will go. i mean institutional(bazz inc) branding. ie, familiarity and name recognition of the shabazz muhammad name. like lebron in high school. his "Q rating". like ibm or mercedes don't have to sponsor sporting events...they do it to keep their name out there. THAT kind of branding. the kind of branding that will make espn start off every college game with a "bazz watch". his intent, therefore, is to continue to be news, and to do that he will delay his commit until the end. he involves as many schools as possible in the "race to win bazz". any school can be a vehicle,,,it really doesn't matter.

ahhh, the dreaded e e cummings Syndrome strikes again.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

TJ Warren has eliminated KY.
_

[devildeac]

TJ Warren has eliminated KY.
_

I gotta admit, Wheat, you guys are killing us with initials. JP, PJ, soon-to-be-yours (I guess) TJ. Who am I missing? Who's next? (Seriously, thanks for the update.)

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I gotta admit, Wheat, you guys are killing us with initials. JP, PJ, soon-to-be-yours (I guess) TJ. Who am I missing? Who's next? (Seriously, thanks for the update.)

HB?

KY and Cal have to be reeling about now. First McGary drops, then a couple days later Warren...that has to hurt.

I follow @TJWarren's twitter and he's been retweeting some nasty comments directed at him from KY fans.