Isn't the standard protocol for Coach Krzyzewski to observe a player on the court, do a background check, and have a conversation with the young man before formally offering the player?
In this case, I would assume that the missing step is the satisfactory conversation with the player.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...701/index.html
If his mother cannot get him on the phone, she can call one of us and we can reach out and put our hands on him," says Brian Clifton, who introduced discipline to Wall when he joined the program, forced him to shave his braids and made him agree to not get tattoos. "I think that's a tremendous asset."
The Cliftons are the chief counselors in Wall's recruitment. Noting that Wall's mother is not a basketball person and a woman of few words, the brothers have fielded the majority of inquiries from Wall's suitors. "Before John was introduced to the rest of the world, there were few people actively participating in his life in a constructive way," says Brian Clifton, who lists Wall's mother, sisters Sierra and Tanya, as well as Beckwith, his high school coach, in the recruit's inner circle. "Now the phone rings off the hook, and they have to be selective of who they talk with."
I'm honestly surprised that there is so much skepticism regarding Wall. The staff knows what they're doing and Wall is quite a talent! They'll only recruit him if they think that he's a good fit. You can certainly make the argument that he'd be even better on the court than Boynton. Many recruiting gurus certainly do. I know we've gotten into the game late with Wall so I'll keep my optimism in check, but what a crop of recruits we'd have with Wall, Kelly, and Mason! If Henderson leaves, a backcourt that can play some combo of Scheyer, Smith, Williams, Marty and Wall would be about as high-flying and exciting as they come. We'll be fine next year, no matter what. But, honestly, this is an exciting development, even if it's a long shot. Wall, come on down to Durham!
Well if you ready the article on the home page about his recruitment is says that he will not be visiting at tonight's game or this week, but will eventually. Which is it? Is he going to be there or not, does anyone know? Watzone? Any latest?
Thanks in advance...CMS
According to Zags Blog, John Wall is not coming tonight.
http://www.zagsblog.com/2008/11/03/w...to-visit-duke/
http://community.foxsports.com/blogs...TTING_THE_WALL
The above is to a link on Fox Sports by Jeff Goodman. I think Goodman is a pretty straight shooter who doesn't have an axe to grind with anyone. I have always found his analysis to be solid. He thinks Wall to Duke makes sense, and lays out a compellig case for such a scenario.
Still, I don't agree with everything he says. I am not sold that Wall would definitely start over Nolan Smith. A lot of people in the media seem to be sleeping on Nolan. But for him to supplant Paulus as the starter, the Staff must have seen something special in practice. I am not saying he will be a superstar from day 1 this year, but the potential mut be way up there.
Wall is going to wait until Spring is what many are saying, and Duke's attrition/player development will be Key. Wall would be nice for Depth, but we may not really need him.
I get that he is a special player. When I say we don't need him, I mean need in the desperate sense of the word. As in, NCSU needs a pg. Duke would be better with Wall, but we would still be a potentially top 5 team without him. If nobody leaves this year, we might even be number 1 next year. If we were to lose only one player early, we are still top 5.
When I say we don't need Wall, I do so because I do not see the glaring hole in next year's roster. We could potentially be a little thin in the backcourt, but our starters and current subs will be fine. I don't see Wall doing cartwheels over the prospect of joining a team where he is not definitely the starting PG from the minute he committs, and I just don't see that at Duke.
And personally, I think that with a year or two of experience and development, Nolan will turn into a starting NBA pg one day.
You may very well be correct. I'm certainly cheering for him. But John Wall is already the sort of pass-first creator/distributor that we're hoping Nolan can become. We've got some amazing scoring threats, and having a guy like Wall to get them the ball in scoring position has my mouth watering.
If Nolan beats him out then we have an amazing PG on the bench. If not, we fill a major hole with a guy that can generate points for the entire team. It's win-win, IMO. I totally agree that we're not desperate, but Wall would be a major asset for any team and I think he does fill a hole.
Lets assume Henderson is gone after this season.
If wall comes I believe the 2009 Starting lineup will be
Pg Wall
Smith
Scheyer
Singler
Plumlee/Kelly/Plumlee/Zoubek
Elliot Williams will be first off the bench.
You're right that we don't need him. But if we recruit him there's no way he doesn't get starter's minutes. The same is true for whichever of Nolan, G, Jon, and Elliot are still around. Put another way, I don't know who would sit at the beginning of the game (I suspect it would not be Wall if he comes), but I'd be shocked if every one of those players don't see 20 to 30 minutes a game next year if they are on the team.
Nolan is a fine player and a potential all ACC caliber player. Wall is a potential All American. I have not seen him play, but if he is rated ahead of Kenny B, he must be really good. A player of that caliber gives a team a MUCH better chance at winning the NC. Only five players are allowed on the court at a time and there is only one ball. Having a player that can take over a game is an incredible advantage. That said, if Wall can't play defense, he wouldn't get on the court for Duke. Wall won't necessarily take Nolan's minutes, but he will get minutes and he would greatly increase our chances of winning a NC.
I think it's fair to assume with K jumping right to Wall after Kenny's decision that he's preparing for Hendo to leave. Duke doesn't NEED Wall just like they didn't NEED Boynton...but adding talent like that to next year's Duke team could make them the title favorites...not just contenders.
I would assume that if Hendo leaves and Wall comes to Duke he would start with Nolan playing a point/SG. Both could and would bring up the ball at times similar to what i expect from Paulus and Smith this year.
It would look like old times when we had Duhon and J-Will. And we know how good that turned out!
Many posters assume that Hendo will leave next year. He would have to improve a bunch, in my opinion, to go to the NBA next year. I hope he improves that much, but I would like him to stay. Is he a good student? What advice would his father give him?