Marquis Teague to Kentucky

[Osiagledknarf]

According to various sources, top 2011 PG Marquis Teague has chosen to go to Kentucky...

http://twitter.com/evandanielscout

http://twitter.com/SEC_wrld

What a class they are setting up for 2011

[Bluedog]

Whatever you want to say about Calipari, you cannot deny the fact that he is a MASTER recruiter. The talent he has been getting is just ridiculous. It's certainly like musical chairs with players intending to only stay one year, so who knows if this strategy is going to be successful, but it has appealed to top flight talent.

[soccerstud2210]

Whatever you want to say about Calipari, you cannot deny the fact that he is a MASTER recruiter. The talent he has been getting is just ridiculous. It's certainly like musical chairs with players intending to only stay one year, so who knows if this strategy is going to be successful, but it has appealed to top flight talent.

money talks man

[DoubleDuke Dad]

Whatever you want to say about Calipari, you cannot deny the fact that he is a MASTER recruiter. The talent he has been getting is just ridiculous. It's certainly like musical chairs with players intending to only stay one year, so who knows if this strategy is going to be successful, but it has appealed to top flight talent.

How many years can he continue to bring in a totally new team without winning the NCAA championship before the Kentucky fans begin to complain?

[flyingdutchdevil]

No questions asked, in two years, Kentucky will have the most NBA players. That's a given.

[Starter]

Cal has a reputation for running a one-and-done factory, but does Teague really fit that description? It's not a rhetorical question, I've never actually seen him play live and I'm wondering if anyone here has. If he's anything like his brother... I mean, I always liked Jeff's game, but he wasn't a transcendent talent or anything. Is he ranked so high because of a combination of skills and pedigree, and not sheer ability alone?

In fact, I'm not sure about that with too many of the guys UK has gotten recently. I just saw Brandon Knight in the Jordan Game, and he's nothing like Wall in that he doesn't appear to be able to rampantly take over games. He's a quick PG with good passing ability. Knight's obviously a very good player, but perhaps not one-and-done. I've seen three of Lamb's games, and he's a really good shooter -- he DID score 49 points in one of the games I saw -- but that's really pretty much all he does. Gilchrist is the only guy I've seen who's going to be that sort of talent, and I'm not even sure he has a dominant personality.

Thoughts?

[Bluedog]

2009: #1 PG, #6 PG, #2 C, #4 C
2010: #1 PG, #3 SG, PF #3 (considered likely), PF #6 possible
2011: #1 PG, #1 SF, (PF #2 and PF #3 have interest)

#1 PG three years in a row? What?!

[airowe]

Won't be #1 PG in 2010 for long.

All it took to land Teague was a phone call from LBJ and Nike endorsement deals for Jeff and Marquis in the future.

[YourLandlord]

Calipari must have been short the last couple years, as he's clearly generated some serious cash to be able to pay these guys.

[Class of '94]

2009: #1 PG, #6 PG, #2 C, #4 C
2010: #1 PG, #3 SG, PF #3 (considered likely), PF #6 possible
2011: #1 PG, #1 SF, (PF #2 and PF #3 have interest)

#1 PG three years in a row? What?!

I thought Kyrie moved into the consensus #1 PG for 2010; or is that just from ESPN' s perspective?

[Class of '94]

Won't be #1 PG in 2010 for long.

All it took to land Teague was a phone call from LBJ and Nike endorsement deals for Jeff and Marquis in the future.

I agree Calipari is a good recruiter; but I'm very hesitant to call anyone a master recruiter when a person is as shady as he is, and linked to shady characters like WWW. It appears that he has people heavily influencing and steering kids to his program; and I personally can't call someone a master recruiter when he has so much help in getting top talented kids.

[Duvall]

Calipari must have been short the last couple years, as he's clearly generated some serious cash to be able to pay these guys.

Calipari doesn't have to worry about paying his players; they're focusing on the medium to long-term view. The days of buying a top recruit with a mere car are over - it's all about brand management now.

[Starter]

All it took to land Teague was a phone call from LBJ and Nike endorsement deals for Jeff and Marquis in the future.

Is this actually somehow confirmed to be true? I don't doubt that LeBron called him, it's all I keep hearing, but Nike can't actually promise future endorsements, can they? At least not legally?

I'm not naive, I know under-the-table deals happen, but it just seems unlikely. Neither of these guys are slam-dunk future stars in the pros, even Jeff, who's already there. And I just still don't get why Nike puts all its eggs in Kentucky's basket. They outfit what, like 75% of tournament teams? Maybe more?

I'll say this too, it's definitely a shame LeBron (who I adore) is an advocate for Calipari instead of his Team USA coach, but I guess that's what putting one of his high school friends on the UK staff results in.

[Duvall]

And I just still don't get why Nike puts all its eggs in Kentucky's basket.

What makes you think they do that?

[Starter]

What makes you think they do that?

I'm not sure they do, I was reacting to a suggestion (maybe tongue-in-cheek) that they're offering endorsement deals to get guys to go there.

[Bluedog]

I thought Kyrie moved into the consensus #1 PG for 2010; or is that just from ESPN' s perspective?

I was just going by Scout rankings. In any event, I agree that I'd much rather have Kyrie. But #1 or #2, either way is pretty damn good.

And yes, I agree that some Calipari tactics are shady, but that doesn't mean he hasn't delivered on getting commits from top talent consistently. If you had no knowledge of recruiting tactics/strategy and simply looked at the players that committed to each institution, there's no way in denying the Calipari has been one of the top few recruiters in the nation for the class of 2009, '10, and '11. The jury is out on if his strategy will work to bring a championship to Lexington, though.

[AnotherNYCDukeFan]

Is this actually somehow confirmed to be true? I don't doubt that LeBron called him, it's all I keep hearing, but Nike can't actually promise future endorsements, can they? At least not legally?

I'm not sure that Nike is what is behind LeBron's call. LeBron has been trying to grow his own marketing firm. He has his own interest in mind in steering people into the Kentucky program, which he has publicly stated support for.

But this brings up a question for those who know the rules much better than I. When does LeBron's business ventures place him into a roll of agent from an NCAA viewpoint?

[airowe]

If you judge a coach's recruiting skills after 4 years of having a class come in instead of before they've played a college basketball game, Calipari is one of the worst recruiters in college basketball.

[Starter]

But this brings up a question for those who know the rules much better than I. When does LeBron's business ventures place him into a roll of agent from an NCAA viewpoint?

Terrific question, I'd be interested in people's opinions. I'm sure it has more to do with what he says when he calls -- or rather what he doesn't say. If he's not actually offering anything, verbally or otherwise, he's probably not crossing any lines. But it seems close to those lines.

[soccerstud2210]

If you judge a coach's recruiting skills after 4 years of having a class come in instead of before they've played a college basketball game, Calipari is one of the worst recruiters in college basketball.

i'll take a coach recruiter that has 4 NC's and does it the right way, over a coach who every time he has been to the FF it has found a way to be confiscated. even if the players aren't as flashy or "athletic"