So is florida officially out?
Not true IMHO (where the H is often silent). It was the outcome of a collective bargaining agreement where the union argued for no restrictions. The league has always wanted to get rid of unproductive teenagers sitting on the bench. No, I do not truly understand why the union has taken that position -- just ornery, I guess.
I really can't disagree more with your observations. Kyle was the quickest jumper under the basket against everyone Duke played in the tournament, and that quickness requires not only reflexes but twitchy muscles. He has great body control and a very good touch for difficult and contorted shots. He looked pretty darn athletic to me, although I would not go so far as to say, "amazingly athletic," but only because Doug Gottlieb has a copyright on a closely related term.
He was also asked to guard very quick players, and I couldn't see that he had a problem with Lacedarius or JaJuan or Heyward, who was a very difficult assignment for everyone else in the tournament.
sagegrouse
So is florida officially out?
I am going to step out on faith and give you and your site the benefit of the doubt on this one. Call it "your chance to impress us" and earn some credibility. You have said from the start Austin to Duke is pretty much a done deal. You have not wavered on it, I will give you that.
So come August or so we will likely see if you are right. FWIW, I am pulling for you to be correct on this.
Look, I'm not trying to be overly critical, but look at the entry on the March to March site. It contains one single fact: Austin is attending the banquet. Several people have posted that here. The rest is pure speculation and supposition - "we think" Rivers will decide earlier (a thought justified by "his experiences at the banquet," experiences that at the time the blog post was made had not yet taken place). That's mirrored in the post here: "our guess" is that Rivers comes here. It's pure speculation based on a known fact. You'll have to excuse me if I don't give it a lot of weight
I, like Boozer, am quite obviously pulling for Austin to come to Duke. Should he do so, however, it does not mean that Vasherized is any more credible a source than I would be if I just randomly said "I think he's going to come to Duke." And my statement - which I can guarantee you has absolutely no informed basis in fact - is just as well supported as the statement linked to on the blog. Taking a publicly known fact and offering thoughts and guesses on what that fact might mean does not make one an authority or an informed source on recruiting issues.
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
Let's see how he's doing...
http://marchtomarch.fantake.com/2010...2010/#more-942
Seems like he is doing pretty well. In the statements where he says he is pretty sure, he was right. In the Ray McCallum situation, he seemed to hedge. In none of those other situations was he as definitive as he has been about AR to Duke. As has been stated, I can't trust him yet, but if he is right about this, I will next time. That is how trust is earned. You gotta like his moxie.
(all of these his's could be her's)
I don't think he was questioning pfrduke's credibility, only pointing out that Vash is putting this out there unequivocally and if he proves to be right, he will have been the only person (on this board) that is saying what he is saying. Because of that, he deserves some credit if he proves to be right and perhaps a higher level of trust in the next similar scenario.
Saying what he is saying in a veiled or hopeful way is one thing. Doing what he is doing, which is putting his name on the line and not hedging whatsoever is a completely different thing. You even pointed out that Airowe is "in tune with some of the undercurrent." Therein lies the difference. Undercurrent versus outright statement of opinion based on what he says is fact (the source of which he cannot reveal). I challenge you to find one post that is as absolute in the statement that Austin Rivers will attend Duke as Vash has said. I am not in favor or against what he is doing, just trying to make sure what he is doing is judged fairly. How else will a guy ever make a reputation for himself as a recruiting guru with tremendous connections (which he says he cannot divulge) if he doesn't do this? Not sure what all the contempt for his posts is about, but like I said, I'll reserve judgement until we see what happens. I also will ignore the desire to believe him because there were people saying things like this about HB and that sucked.
He's doing guesswork based on what he sees. Some hits, some misses. But that's what it's like to cover basketball recruiting. If sharing his best guesses means he's credible, then he's credible. If "not actively spreading lies" means he's credible, then he's credible.
Maybe he has an inside source regarding the Rivers recruitment...or maybe he's just speculating based on public information. I haven't seen anything to suggest the former over the latter, but until that happens I'll just remain hopeful that his "prescient wisdom" on Rivers turns out more like his BK wisdom than his Lamb wisdom.
1) He's not putting his name on the line, he's putting his pseudonym on the line.
2) That said, him reporting one thing on his blog doesn't mean he lacks other information.
Could it be a ruse to drive up hits? Absolutely. Happens all the time.
What's nice is that it truly doesn't matter. There are guys like Mark Watson and John Watson that work their tails off to provide recruiting facts and recruiting prognostications; and there are guys that do that without sharing their identity. Time will tell if this cat is one of them.
In the meantime, let's not hope that he's right or wrong, but that Duke continues to land the kind of talent to keep K's national title streak alive.
Awww man I got on this thread hoping for some good Austin rivers news...