Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers has tweet out this morning that top PG recruit Kennedy Chandler is holding virtual visits with North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Duke.
Chandler is considered one of the best ball handlers in his class. He's quick and can score from all over the court. Chandler and top post prospect Paolo Banchero have also reportedly formed a tight bond. The two have talked about playing together in college.
Here's an interview with Chandler from over the summer with a few highlights of his time at Peach Jam and USA Basketball Trials. Duke has been on him for some time with Nolan Smith taking a lead role.
Have to think Duke's extensive experience with social media can't hurt in the virtual recruiting era.
-jk
This might be worthy of it's own off-topic thread, but since the shut down my department has had an AM and PM teleconference to stay informed and keep in touch... Since I'm the joker on our squad, I took it upon myself to bring some levity to the situation and have dressed up in a different costume for 37 meetings to date. So far my Joe Exotic is the leader in the clubhouse.
Kennedy Chandler probably becomes our most important recruit if we assume that AJ Griffin and Patrick Baldwin will be earning $500K in the G-league.
Why? AJ's dad and siblings played major college basketball and I'm assuming that after his dad made over $9 million playing in the NBA they don't need AJ's G-League salary to pay the bills. Those nights in the Holiday Inn in Sioux Falls and Fort Wayne are not as glamorous as they sound.
This. Is it a possibility? Absolutely. Should we expect it to happen? Probably not.
The NCAA has one advantage in general in that most of these kids grew up watching the NCAA tournament. Most still want that "one shining moment." Now, it is absolutely true that their real dream is NBA stardom and NBA money. And for some, the opportunity at $100+K (I doubt most of these guys are going to be getting the $500K that Green will be getting) is going to be enough to forego their "one shining moment" chances. But for guys like Griffin, whose parents are quite well off, that risk is probably lower. It's one of the advantages of building that market with former NBA-ers' kids.
For the kid whose family is flat broke and a six-figure salary is somewhat life-changing? Yeah, that's going to be a tough sell. But for the families that made millions in the NBA, I think there's a strong chance we see them for a year. I'm not ready to jump ship on that based on the decisions of one or two prospects this year.
We'll very likely have a recruit go this route at some point. But I don't know that there's strong evidence to suggest any particular recruit will do it. At least not until I see more guys going that route.
$500K sounds like a lot, but how much money do you think Zion has made from his exposure playing at Duke? Granted Zion is a freak of nature, but.......
And besides, some guys might like to have the college experience. They'll be working soon enough.
As CDu said better than I did, the calculus is different for everyone. If you come from a well-off family that isn't desperate for the money and might actually enjoy going to school for a year surrounded by peers, college is a pretty good option. Especially compared to being an 18 year old kid traveling the country to low-middle grade hotels competing daily with players making 20% of your salary who see posterizing you as their ticket to the show. If the G-League salary is life changing money for you and your family and/or you really don't have a lot of interest in being in college, the equation is a lot different.
Griffin comes from a wealthy family, his dad can tell him all about the grind of being a pro, and he goes to an academically minded HS. According to Google his dad is pursuing a PhD so school is likely important to his family.
So for Griffin, I think (and it seems many others agree with me) that there is a strong possibility that Griffin will not do this. For others, it makes a ton of sense.