Need Some Help Here

[NYC Duke Fan]

A friend of mine and I were talking about basketball recruiting and he said that in his opinion, in recent years, Duke could get any white high school player that they really wanted. I disagreed and named John Brockman, Kris Humphries, David Lee and a player from New Hampshire who chose Florida over Duke...forgot his name.

Can anyone give me any others?

Thanks

[Skitzle]

http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/bios.php?year=2011&player_id=31

But his brother chose Duke over Florida and then enrolled a year early. So it swings back our way.

[oldnavy]

Sounds like you may be being baited into a racist type of argument. I would leave it alone and let the guy think whatever he wants. Just smile at him and nod your head, it works wonders.

[NYC Duke Fan]

Sounds like you may be being baited into a racist type of argument. I would leave it alone and let the guy think whatever he wants. Just smile at him and nod your head, it works wonders.

From what I wrote it could seem like a racist type of argument but this is a friend of over 40 years and it was not. It was just a sports discussion that covered almost every kind of sports and this was just one small part of our discussion.

[MIKESJ73]

Here are a few of the (Top 10 recruit) white players that chose not to attend Duke:

Spencer Hawes
BJ Mullens
Kevin Love
Tyler Hanstravel
Nick Calathas
Chase Budinger
David Padgent
Sasha Kaun

In the last ten years, I think that only McRoberts and Singler were Top 10 white recruits that committed to Duke, most go else where.

[uh_no]

Tyler the human Travelling reel anyone?

[oldnavy]

From what I wrote it could seem like a racist type of argument but this is a friend of over 40 years and it was not. It was just a sports discussion that covered almost every kind of sports and this was just one small part of our discussion.

It is just that there is a segment of the population that likes to argue that Duke is "a white-bread" school that cannot or will not recruit the "inner-city" black players. It was not long ago that Jalen Rose was spouting off this nonsense. I find it a waste of time to engage people in these arguments because they will only see what reinforces their sterotypes.

[oldnavy]

Tyler the human Travelling reel anyone?

Well he would not have had to take 6 steps everytime he touched the ball if HE EVER GOT A CALL!! Wait, What??, He is the NCAA FTA's record holder, atempting close to 100 (thats ONE-HUNDRED) more than the next player on the list?? WELL, he should have gotten MORE CALLS and then he would not have needed to walk to the basket as often. Come on, man get real.

[SeattleIrish]

The discussion NYC had isn't an anomaly, as the perception that Duke focuses on white players, relative to other top programs, seems to be pretty wide spread. Of course, there are a lot of factors that influence that perception, and the more knowledgeable fan knows that the Duke coaching staff couldn’t care less about ethnicity but rather on “best fit” (high academic achievement, stable family environment, etc…) for the program.

Nonetheless, when we have a lineup of two Plumlees, Scheyer, Singler and Nolan on the floor, that’s bound to stand out among elite college basketball teams and uninformed fans will assume that the obvious answer, ethnic profiling, is the correct one. I imagine that perception goes beyond the Jalen Rose years and probably impacts current recruits, but I don’t read/hear many comments about that from today’s players, so it’s only a guess. I do think K’s connection with many of the top African American NBA players, and the high regard in which they hold him, ameliorates that bias to a large extent.

s.i.

[SeattleIrish]

Well he would not have had to take 6 steps everytime he touched the ball if HE EVER GOT A CALL!! Wait, What??, He is the NCAA FTA's record holder, atempting close to 100 (thats ONE-HUNDRED) more than the next player on the list?? WELL, he should have gotten MORE CALLS and then he would not have needed to walk to the basket as often. Come on, man get real.

All that said (was that post intended for this thread?), T-han is one of my all-time favorite ACC (non-Duke) players. Loved his heart. Really wish he would have worn the right shade of blue...guy was a warrior.

s.i.

[oldnavy]

All that said (was that post intended for this thread?), T-han is one of my all-time favorite ACC (non-Duke) players. Loved his heart. Really wish he would have worn the right shade of blue...guy was a warrior.

s.i.

My post was in reply to Uh_no's post above.

I didn't have a problem with Tyler. I DO have a problem with the whinny UNC fans that continue to cry that he never got a call despite the fact that he went to the line more than any human ever has. Also, I did not like the way the game was called around Tyler with regards to ignoring his travels and his initiation of contact. But like you said TH played the game like you want to see kids play the game and if he had played at Duke I would probably have a statue of him in my front yard.