Quincy Miller to Baylor

[sagegrouse]

I'm not getting what it is that makes Baylor such an attractive program. Sure, they had an excellent team last year -- the best we played in the tournament IMO -- and a good young coach, but lots of teams can say that. They have no real history of basketball excellence, they play in a football conference, and they're located in Waco, Texas for crying out loud. I know they've gotten seriously involved with a number of high profile recruits over the last year or two, but I don't get it. How? What am I missing? What's the attraction?

The top ten reasons to enroll at Baylor:

10. You can now dance on campus at Baylor U. No information on campus venues is available.

9. You can now buy liquor and beer in McLennan County, home of Waco and Baylor. Oops, you have to wait until noon.

8. Waco is a lot safer than it used to be... Now that the Branch Davidian sect is no longer in operation.

7. Waco, despite rumors to the contrary does not average 100 degrees in the summer. It only averages 97 degrees in July and August.

6. Baylor has become a basketball power, making the Elite Eight in the NCAAs... For the first time.

5. Baylor plays in a power conference, if you can use the term for a conference named the Big 12 that only has ten members.

4. You won't freeze to death or get stuck in a snowdrift. Baylor only averages 1.4 inches of snow per year.

3. Waco, unlike Austin, does not have a tower in the middle of the city that glows orange when the home team wins.

2. If you are a Green Bay Packer fan, you can wear green and gold every day with your duds paid for by the university.

1. A Duke guy is President. No wait! It's Clinton tormenter Kenneth Starr.

I suppose that wraps it up.

sagegrouse

c

[ElSid]

I'm not getting what it is that makes Baylor such an attractive program. Sure, they had an excellent team last year -- the best we played in the tournament IMO -- and a good young coach, but lots of teams can say that. They have no real history of basketball excellence, they play in a football conference, and they're located in Waco, Texas for crying out loud. I know they've gotten seriously involved with a number of high profile recruits over the last year or two, but I don't get it. How? What am I missing? What's the attraction?

Maybe they offer what Kentucky does...like $200k? Not fair to say that, maybe. But man it's Waco. I agree.

Drew is a good young coach. I think the real answer, though, is much murkier and involves boosters with oil money.

[ElSid]

The top ten reasons to enroll at Baylor:

10. You can now dance on campus at Baylor U. No information on campus venues is available.

9. You can now buy liquor and beer in McLennan County, home of Waco and Baylor. Oops, you have to wait until noon.

8. Waco is a lot safer than it used to be... Now that the Branch Davidian sect is no longer in operation.

7. Waco, despite rumors to the contrary does not average 100 degrees in the summer. It only averages 97 degrees in July and August.

6. Baylor has become a basketball power, making the Elite Eight in the NCAAs... For the first time.

5. Baylor plays in a power conference, if you can use the term for a conference named the Big 12 that only has ten members.

4. You won't freeze to death or get stuck in a snowdrift. Baylor only averages 1.4 inches of snow per year.

3. Waco, unlike Austin, does not have a tower in the middle of the city that glows orange when the home team wins.

2. If you are a Green Bay Packer fan, you can wear green and gold every day with your duds paid for by the university.

1. A Duke guy is President. No wait! It's Clinton tormenter Kenneth Starr.

I suppose that wraps it up.

sagegrouse

c

You're almost not far off on reason #1. Kenneth Starr has a son who went to Duke.

[airowe]

I'm not getting what it is that makes Baylor such an attractive program. Sure, they had an excellent team last year -- the best we played in the tournament IMO -- and a good young coach, but lots of teams can say that. They have no real history of basketball excellence, they play in a football conference, and they're located in Waco, Texas for crying out loud. I know they've gotten seriously involved with a number of high profile recruits over the last year or two, but I don't get it. How? What am I missing? What's the attraction?

Here is some reading to help you understand:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/sp...r=2&ref=sports

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask.../story/9612400

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/200...ds-for-baylor/

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncb...eff&id=4979714

Drew apologized for the flier, but only after Knight cornered him in a bathroom during Big 12 Conference meetings and told him the coaching profession doesn't operate that way.

[UrinalCake]

Well, if it's a long wait then Pitino is NOT the coach we need to be worried about.

awesome

[El_Diablo]

You're almost not far off on reason #1. Kenneth Starr has a son who went to Duke.

He's not far off at all. Kenneth Starr (Law '73) in fact went to Duke.

[BD80]

The top ten reasons to enroll at Baylor:

... 7. Waco, despite rumors to the contrary does not average 100 degrees in the summer. It only averages 97 degrees in July and August. ...

While true, this is a touch misleading. By local ordinance, July actually starts on March 18, and August ends on November 8. Thus, the average temperatures for July and August are now under 100 degrees.

Of course, I'd much rather be in Waco in January than in Syracuse!

I think Scott Drew might be another good reason to play basketball at Baylor.

[G man]

Well, if it's a long wait then Pitino is NOT the coach we need to be worried about.

funniest thing I have ever read!!!!

[lilblue]

I'm reading on other boards that Q's people (handlers?) are what is holding him back from Duke at this point and that they feel that he wouldn't be able to showcase himself with so much talent around him. Not sure how they could come to that conclusion. I saw what he was able to do with USA U18, he was surrounded by a very talented squad and he was still able to show his stuff!

vs. Virgin Islands: double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds

vs. Mexico: 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked three shots.

vs. Argentina: led all scorers with 22 points. Shooting 9-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and pulled in five rebounds.

vs. Canada: 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists

vs. Brazil: 11 points, 12 rebounds and he fired up the game-winning 3-pointer

He averaged 14 pts, 9.2 rebounds, shot over 50% from the floor, over 90% from the stripe and 37% from 3 point range.

[House G]

He's not far off at all. Kenneth Starr (Law '73) in fact went to Duke.

So let me get this straight. The Duke guy who is President of Baylor graduated from Duke Law School while another Duke guy was President?

[SilkyJ]

I'm reading on other boards that Q's people (handlers?) are what is holding him back from Duke at this point and that they feel that he wouldn't be able to showcase himself with so much talent around him. Not sure how they could come to that conclusion. I saw what he was able to do with USA U18, he was surrounded by a very talented squad and he was still able to show his stuff!

vs. Virgin Islands: double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds

vs. Mexico: 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked three shots.

vs. Argentina: led all scorers with 22 points. Shooting 9-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and pulled in five rebounds.

vs. Canada: 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists

vs. Brazil: 11 points, 12 rebounds and he fired up the game-winning 3-pointer

He averaged 14 pts, 9.2 rebounds, shot over 50% from the floor, over 90% from the stripe and 37% from 3 point range.

Great post and great point. Most of the time these handlers don't really know what they are talking about. They seem to place too much emphasis on "who else will be on the team" and too little emphasis on "receiving coaching from the 2nd greatest coach of all time who just won his 4th national title and his beginning his 2nd run as coach of team USA." What was it Derrick rose said on the DBR frontpage - "Too bad I didn’t go to Duke." STRONG words.

[oldnavy]

Great post and great point. Most of the time these handlers don't really know what they are talking about. They seem to place too much emphasis on "who else will be on the team" and too little emphasis on "receiving coaching from the 2nd greatest coach of all time who just won his 4th national title and his beginning his 2nd run as coach of team USA." What was it Derrick rose said on the DBR frontpage - "Too bad I didn’t go to Duke." STRONG words.

Yea, but Calipari gets players to the pros...

[CEF1959]

Great post and great point. Most of the time these handlers don't really know what they are talking about. They seem to place too much emphasis on "who else will be on the team" and too little emphasis on "receiving coaching from the 2nd greatest coach of all time who just won his 4th national title and his beginning his 2nd run as coach of team USA." What was it Derrick rose said on the DBR frontpage - "Too bad I didn’t go to Duke." STRONG words.

I get your point. But maybe Rose isn't the poster child you want here. I don't think Duke accepts fraudulent SAT scores. And to the best of my knowledge the university is not keen on having wins wiped off due to cheating.

[monkey]

I get your point. But maybe Rose isn't the poster child you want here. I don't think Duke accepts fraudulent SAT scores. And to the best of my knowledge the university is not keen on having wins wiped off due to cheating.

Lol - file the Rose quote under "Thanks but no thanks"?

[Indoor66]

I get your point. But maybe Rose isn't the poster child you want here. I don't think Duke accepts fraudulent SAT scores. And to the best of my knowledge the university is not keen on having wins wiped off due to cheating.

That said, and I agree with you, what he said is still a very high compliment to K. Rose is only a couple of years out of college and he can see what he missed.

[SilkyJ]

Yea, but Calipari gets players to the pros...

I'm assuming you were being sarcastic, would need that emoticon to be sure though

I get your point. But maybe Rose isn't the poster child you want here. I don't think Duke accepts fraudulent SAT scores. And to the best of my knowledge the university is not keen on having wins wiped off due to cheating.

I'm not talking about our desire to have him, I'm talking about a recent rookie of the year and up and coming star in the NBA (2 things I'm sure QM would like to be) talking about the impression Coach K has made on him.

Or what he said...

That said, and I agree with you, what he said is still a very high compliment to K. Rose is only a couple of years out of college and he can see what he missed.

[sdotbarbee]

I was having a discussion with a UK fan yesterday and asked him if he thought UK would still go after Miller. He told me Miller was out and the rumblings that he was hearing was that Q and Deuce were both going to Louisville. Now I had not heard that Q was that high on Louisville, I thought we had to worry about UK and Baylor. Has anyone else heard this? I don't put a lot of stock into what most UK fans say.

[Class of '94]

I was having a discussion with a UK fan yesterday and asked him if he thought UK would still go after Miller. He told me Miller was out and the rumblings that he was hearing was that Q and Deuce were both going to Louisville. Now I had not heard that Q was that high on Louisville, I thought we had to worry about UK and Baylor. Has anyone else heard this? I don't put a lot of stock into what most UK fans say.

I'm not claiming to be an insider when it comes to recruiting by any means; but Quincy going to Louisville or a team like Louisville makes a lot of sense if Q's handlers does indeed have alot of influence in where he eventually goes to school. If his handlers are concerned about Q going to Duke because of the talent that will be at Duke, going to UK would be a very similar situation for Q as Duke. At Louisville, there would be less talent and potentially more of an opportunity to have the spotlight on him (if you subscribe to that theory of being on a lesser team to showcase your talents, which I don't btw). In addition, I remember reading a post here or somewhere else where Quincy talked about how much he enjoyed his unofficial trip to Louisville last season. Again, not saying this would happen, just speculation on my part on why he would go to Louisville if that indeed comes to pass.

[Kedsy]

Now I had not heard that Q was that high on Louisville, I thought we had to worry about UK and Baylor.

If you had read the last 5 pages of this thread, you would have heard plenty about Louisville.

[airowe]

I'm not claiming to be an insider when it comes to recruiting by any means; but Quincy going to Louisville or a team like Louisville makes a lot of sense if Q's handlers does indeed have alot of influence in where he eventually goes to school. If his handlers are concerned about Q going to Duke because of the talent that will be at Duke, going to UK would be a very similar situation for Q as Duke. At Louisville, there would be less talent and potentially more of an opportunity to have the spotlight on him (if you subscribe to that theory of being on a lesser team to showcase your talents, which I don't btw).

Can anyone give me examples of players going to a school with less talented players and being able to have a brighter spotlight on them? It makes absolutely no sense to me and I can't think of one real life example where it worked out better for the player.

Did it hurt Corey Maggette or Will Avery by being on a team with too much talent?

Did it hurt John Wall or Demarcus Cousins by being on a team with too much talent? Did they not get enough of a share of the spotlight?

Did Marvin Williams or Brandan Wright's draft stock suffer because they had too many good players to share the rock with?

Somebody please help me with this line of thinking.