John Riek and other Recruiting Notes

[Patrick Yates]

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7082046

The above is a link to a Fox Sports article by Jeff Goodman, who seems to be a pretty even keeled Recruitnik.

He mentions that Monroe might not be the number 1 player in the class, but that it is a weak class overall.

He also mentions a kid named Derrick Favors from Ga who is shaping up to be a stud in the 09 class. Most of the sites I read do not have us recruiting him, and barring academics, I have to question why not.

Finally, Goodman states that Riek, the center in the 09 class that Duke is going after, hard, has some questions. He claims that Riek actually graduated prior to arriving in the US, despite his inclusion in the 09 class. This raises some questions/concerns. Players get reclassified as to their grades all the time. Is it possible for the kid to suddenly produce documentation to the extent that he is 18+ yrs old and a graduate, suddenly making himself eligible for the NBA draft?

I wonder if this is true, and it could turn into a huge story. It would really impact Duke, because suddenly our recruitment of Riek gets dicier, since he may not have to spend a year in college. Normally, I might fear this rumor falls under rumormongoring (which is a little nebulous as a term, I fear), but I am getting it from a fairly reputable site (its Fox, but Goodman is usually a stand up guy).

Any thoughts?

Patrick Yates

[ACCBBallFan]

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7082046

The above is a link to a Fox Sports article by Jeff Goodman, who seems to be a pretty even keeled Recruitnik.

He mentions that Monroe might not be the number 1 player in the class, but that it is a weak class overall.

He also mentions a kid named Derrick Favors from Ga who is shaping up to be a stud in the 09 class. Most of the sites I read do not have us recruiting him, and barring academics, I have to question why not.

Finally, Goodman states that Riek, the center in the 09 class that Duke is going after, hard, has some questions. He claims that Riek actually graduated prior to arriving in the US, despite his inclusion in the 09 class. This raises some questions/concerns. Players get reclassified as to their grades all the time. Is it possible for the kid to suddenly produce documentation to the extent that he is 18+ yrs old and a graduate, suddenly making himself eligible for the NBA draft?

I wonder if this is true, and it could turn into a huge story. It would really impact Duke, because suddenly our recruitment of Riek gets dicier, since he may not have to spend a year in college. Normally, I might fear this rumor falls under rumormongoring (which is a little nebulous as a term, I fear), but I am getting it from a fairly reputable site (its Fox, but Goodman is usually a stand up guy).

Any thoughts?

Patrick Yates

I see no down side in offering Riek and Czyz.

It might help attract Monroe if he has the same concerns as Patterson about being relegated to the post.

It also protects the less beefy Duke guys Lance, Singler, McClure and King from having to bang in practice every day with Zoubek.

Duke has 3 scholarships to give. So take the first of Riek/Czyz to accept and wait on the other until fates of top two priorities Monroe and Elliot Williams are known.

If one goes elsewhere, take the second of Riek/Czyz if still available.

IF Riek goes NBA route, have not lost anything and if he does not, Duke has gained someone to challenge Zoubek to improve against true big man and vice versa.

[Patrick Yates]

Reik has less than 0 bearing on Monroe and Czyz. Monroe and Czyz are class of 08, while Reik is 09. Monroe almost certainly won't be in school when/if Reik matriculates. Czyz and Monroe are not competition, because Czyz will not be a real threat to Monroe's minutes as a frosh.


Patrick Yates

[jimsumner]

Patrick,

There is informed speculation that Riek may end up being classified as class of '08. It seems to be somewhat up in the air.

I've always found that if I'm going to make snide comments along the lines of "Do a little background research" in a thread, it's in my best interests to correctly spell the name of person discussed in the thread. An even better idea might be to dispense with the snide comments altogether.

[ACCBBallFan]

Patrick,

There is informed speculation that Riek may end up being classified as class of '08. It seems to be somewhat up in the air.

I've always found that if I'm going to make snide comments along the lines of "Do a little background research" in a thread, it's in my best interests to correctly spell the name of person discussed in the thread. An even better idea might be to dispense with the snide comments altogether.

Thanks, Jim. JBDuke had already edited Patrick's remarks, so I did not see them, but apparently he prematurely directed at my comment on "the first of Riek/Czyz to accept" which allows for possibility of John Riek being reclassed to 2008.