Players who wanted to come to Duke but went elsewhere

[bullettoothtony]

Other thread got me thinking about this.

Didn't Casey Jacobsen really want to come to Duke but Dunleavy committed?

And I thought I remembered reading or hearing somewhere at the time that Baron Davis wanted to come to Duke but something obviously prevented it--i don't remember what it was.

We ran into Dante Calabria when we were out in Chapel Hill one night and IIRC he said he was interested in Duke but I think the Chris Collins commitment changed things. He was a really nice guy, incidentally.

Anyone else have any examples beyond what was mentioned in the other thread?

[uh_no]

zion wanted to come to duke for his sophomore season, but went to the NBA

[rsvman]

zion wanted to come to duke for his sophomore season, but went to the NBA

Too soon.

[jimsumner]

Other thread got me thinking about this.

Didn't Casey Jacobsen really want to come to Duke but Dunleavy committed?

And I thought I remembered reading or hearing somewhere at the time that Baron Davis wanted to come to Duke but something obviously prevented it--i don't remember what it was.

We ran into Dante Calabria when we were out in Chapel Hill one night and IIRC he said he was interested in Duke but I think the Chris Collins commitment changed things. He was a really nice guy, incidentally.

Anyone else have any examples beyond what was mentioned in the other thread?

Jacobsen wanted Duke to stop recruiting Dunleavy as a condition of his commitment.

Duke would have taken both. But they preferred Dunleavy if they could only have one.

Baron Davis? Mike Krzyzewski had to cancel a visit when his mother died. You can connect the dots. Duke ended up with Avery instead.

[Tripping William]

Shaun Livingston, in a way.

[budwom]

In the late 1960s, future ABA all star (and eventual NBA player Brian Taylor wanted to come to Duke, but he didn't have the required (at the time) SAT score of 800 (math plus verbal) so he went to Princeton. Hubie Brown was then recruiting him for Duke and was much distraught about this.

[duke79]

In the late 1960s, future ABA all star (and eventual NBA player Brian Taylor wanted to come to Duke, but he didn't have the required (at the time) SAT score of 800 (math plus verbal) so he went to Princeton. Hubie Brown was then recruiting him for Duke and was much distraught about this.

LOL, he had a combined SAT score below 800 and he got into Princeton??

[Kdogg]

zion wanted to come to duke for his sophomore season, but went to the NBA

So did Luol.

[devildeac]

LOL, he had a combined SAT score below 800 and he got into Princeton??

Safety skool.

[Owen Meany]

Baron Davis? Mike Krzyzewski had to cancel a visit when his mother died. You can connect the dots. Duke ended up with Avery instead.

At the time it was said Davis was unhappy Coach K cancelled his visit (despite the circumstances) and Coach K was obviously done with Davis. Later, after Davis committed to UCLA, it came out that Davis was driving Harrick's son's car around (they said he bought the car) and there was significant questions about what would happen regarding UCLA/Davis/NCAA. Davis wavered on his commitment and expressed interest in coming to Duke. Coach K understandably gave a hard pass and ended up gambling on William Avery, who had to raise his grades to be admitted to Duke. Avery had an excellent second year at Duke that I thought was overshadowed by the success of Brand and excitement over Magette.

[budwom]

LOL, he had a combined SAT score below 800 and he got into Princeton??

I went to school with a duo of really, really good hockey players, both of whom went to Harvard, both had SAT verbals around 400. (one was a terrific guy, a real leader, the other was a real dink, but as he stated, "I put the puck in the net.")

By the way, almost Dukie Bill Bradley scored 485 on his SAT verbal, not bad for a Rhodes Scholar, eh?

ACC coaches truly despised the 800 math + verbal SAT requirement...

[jimsumner]

I went to school with a duo of really, really good hockey players, both of whom went to Harvard, both had SAT verbals around 400. (one was a terrific guy, a real leader, the other was a real dink, but as he stated, "I put the puck in the net.")

By the way, almost Dukie Bill Bradley scored 485 on his SAT verbal, not bad for a Rhodes Scholar, eh?

ACC coaches truly despised the 800 math + verbal SAT requirement...

Jack Murdock told me a story about Herm Gilliam. Gilliam was a Winston-Salem prep star. He was valedictorian at Atkins High School. And he wanted to come to Wake at a time when the ACC had just started integrating. He could have been a transformative recruit. a paradigm changer.

But he couldn't get past that SAT hurdle. Went to Purdue, where he starred for a 1969 Final Four team en route to a long and distinguished NBA career.

And, oh, yes, he won Purdue's award for scholastic excellence.

I don't want to derail this into a debate on the SAT and cultural biases. And Pete Maravich was the best-known potential ACC player to miss the SAT threshold.

But still. People who worked in Duke administration in the 1970s have told me that for too long Duke over-relied on the SAT over GPA, extra-curriculars, recommendation, etc.

Which is partly how Duke could have ONE black men's basketball player as late as 1977.

[BD80]

...

But still. People who worked in Duke administration in the 1970s have told me that for too long Duke over-relied on the SAT over GPA, extra-curriculars, recommendation, etc.

...

Hey! Some of us from that time frame would argue that the ability to perform well on a timed, multiple choice is exam is FAR more important than any of that other stuff, because:

C !

[Bluedog]

Note that SAT scores of ages ago bear no resemblance to those of today. They re-calibrated it several times to make the average 1000 usually (and everybody's scores went up). A combined 800 in 1970 is not close to the same percentile as today. Scores used to be much much lower.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Note that SAT scores of ages ago bear no resemblance to those of today. They re-calibrated it several times to make the average 1000 usually (and everybody's scores went up). A combined 800 in 1970 is not close to the same percentile as today. Scores used to be much much lower.

Who is the last player you heard of having academic issues?

Today's players must be more strident athletes, right?

Right?

[Bluedog]

Who is the last player you heard of having academic issues?

Today's players must be more strident athletes, right?

Right?

I think your post is mostly tongue in cheek but am honestly confused. I was making no judgements whatsoever. Simply stating that a combined 800 in 1970 was a much better score than it is today.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I think your post is mostly tongue in cheek but am honestly confused. I was making no judgements whatsoever. Simply stating that a combined 800 in 1970 was a much better score than it is today.

Oh, I give that for sure. They've recalibrated that test many times.

My comment was more about the overall shift. Truly, who was the last major player who had academic issues? I remember Derrick Rose had sketchy SATs. It's never an issue anymore. How odd.

[Bluedog]

Oh, I give that for sure. They've recalibrated that test many times.

My comment was more about the overall shift. Truly, who was the last major player who had academic issues? I remember Derrick Rose had sketchy SATs. It's never an issue anymore. How odd.

That is true... Especially, for high major recruits for the big time sports. Reportedly, Eric Bledsoe was borderline on the academics that caused Duke to back off, although he of course ended up at UK. So there are situations that cause particular schools to go another path, but I don't recall a player not being NCAA eligible because of an SAT score in recent history. It's also a sliding scale where you can have a worse score if your GPA is better (and vice versa).

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

That is true... Especially, for high major recruits for the big time sports. Reportedly, Eric Bledsoe was borderline on the academics that caused Duke to back off, although he of course ended up at UK. So there are situations that cause particular schools to go another path, but I don't recall a player not being NCAA eligible because of an SAT score in recent history. It's also a sliding scale where you can have a worse score if your GPA is better (and vice versa).

So, those scores magically increased recently? (the last ten years)

[revmel53]

Jacobsen wanted Duke to stop recruiting Dunleavy as a condition of his commitment.

Duke would have taken both. But they preferred Dunleavy if they could only have one.

Baron Davis? Mike Krzyzewski had to cancel a visit when his mother died. You can connect the dots. Duke ended up with Avery instead.

The 1999 championship game is something I'll never get over... Avery is the one who should've taken the shot...