UPDATE: John Wall says UNC is not recruiting him. Wall said Roy did call just to “check in” and it was “nothing big.
Translation: Roy called to take Wall’s temperature and see if he might want to pursue him. Since Wall is not taking his official visit at Miami until the 24th there is some time.
Original post after the jump
–
Let’s see.
First off we have this headline on Scout.com’s basketball recruiting page for a premium article:
PG John Wall: Final Four Coach Makes The Call
Then you have this thread on IC Premium:
JOHN WALL SCOOP
Followed that with this thread on IC’s free basketball board which said Bomani Jones during his radio program on 620 AM indicated there was “contact and mutual interest”
That is quite a twist in the recruitment of Wall who is the #1 high school point guard in the class and a for sure a one and done player. Could it be that Roy is thinking about using him as a one year bridge and then start Larry Drew as a junior?
Stay tuned….
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I read the article and all it says is that Wall did take a call from Roy. Everything about this would make sense, but I don’t necessarily see him replacing Drew in the lineup. More likely to see a 2 PG lineup of: Drew, Wall, Ginyard, Davis, and Thompson.
BTW, how badly would this piss off State fans???
And Duke fans…it would be one an incredible recruiting coup and pretty much signal that Roy owns everyone in the ACC. I think Roy is tossing his name in there just because he can and see where it leads. It does not hurt and there is no reason not to given Duke is pressing the case. The thing is, Roy’s offensive style is exactly the kind Wall would love to be in. The question is whether Roy wants the baggage and the fact Wall might not buy into the team concept, though Derrick Rose did at Memphis and it did not hurt his draft status.
All Roy has to do is point to Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright as examples of guys who came in, bought in, and then cashed out!
No, no, no, no…this would REALLY piss off Dook fans. K and his lackies rolled out the red carpet for Wall, and they cannot deny that. If we get this kid (and I’ve been suspect of him, to be honest) and Dook doesn’t, it will crush them. Dook’s coaches all met with him (according to Rivals) when he talked with K. They gave him the grand tour and K said he would use Wall “like Jason Williams” (straight from the Rivals piece). After that whole production, Roy Williams could land him with but a phone call.
How ya like them apples?
Rasheed Wallace-redux???
This would freakin’ rule, and put us right back into the Final Four picture next year. Who cares if he’s a one-and-done? This would bridge the gap to 2010 commit PG Kendall Marshall, and he and Drew could fight it out for that starting spot. I think we’ve seen Roy only use one-and-dones sparingly and when he has someone coming in to fill that spot the next year or two.
I think it would push Drew to the bench, with Wall-Strickland-Ginyard-Thompson-Davis as your starting five, and reserves of Drew, Henson, Wear #1 and Wear #2, Zeller, McDonald, Campbell, etc.
What are Wall’s academics like? I recall hearing on his radio call-in show how Roy once told a recruit that if he came to Carolina, he would be expected to go to class and remain in good academic standing. Roy never heard from that recruit again.
“I think it would push Drew to the bench, with Wall-Strickland-Ginyard-Thompson-Davis as your starting five, and reserves of Drew, Henson, Wear #1 and Wear #2, Zeller, McDonald, Campbell, etc.”
Could very well, be… but I don’t think I’d include Campbell in the group with the rest of the reserves.
Do the numbers work out? Would we be in a situation where someone like Watts would have to walk-on for a year? Someone help me out, please.
There might be a numbers problem.
Five recruits incoming and Ginyard stays for a fifth season = 6
Four seniors plus Lawson and Ellington leave = 6
The wildcard? Whether Will Graves returns. Also, Roy may also be getting into the game with Wall just in case Ed Davis does decide to go pro.
This might be a stupid question, but does Mike Copeland have a scholarship?
@THF Lots of discussion on this, and I’m thinking that Graves isn’t returning and Roy knows that.
@C. Michael – Only included Campbell because I’ve seen some talk before all this Wall chatter that he might see some time as a back-up point guard, depending on how Strickland could handle the point. My brother thinks Ginyard will be the back-up point, but I just don’t see that happening.
No way Davis is even close to heading to the League, IMO. Needs at least one more year, if not more.
Brooks,
Yes, Copeland was offered UNC’s 5th and final scholarship in 2005 after Uche Echefu chose FSU over UNC.
THIM,
Ginyard was recruited as a PG and played there some last year when Ty was hurt. Your brother is right on, IMO.
Copeland has a scholarship and I stand corrected, they have a slot with Graves. Here is the current outlook of the roster for next season assuming Lawson and Ellington leave:
Ginyard
Thompson
Graves
Davis
Zeller
Watts
Drew
McDonald
T.Wear
D.Wear
Henson
Strickland
That is 12 leaving one spot open. If Ellington elects to return then they would have to dump Graves. I think Roy might be shooting for insurance on Ellington since it is not 100% he will leave but I think a safe bet.
“If Ellington elects to return then they would have to dump Graves.”
Only if Wall signs. Let’s not write that in stone, yet.
C. Michael – I knew Ginyard played point last year, and that’s why I think it’s a bad idea!;)
Seriously, if we can get Wall, I totally trust Roy and the staff to make the right call on the kid. I know he’s had his problems, but Roy wouldn’t recruit him if he thought it was a bad fit.
Wayne’s not coming back because he’s going to have a huge Final Four, shooting himself in the first round of the draft.
^Obviously…though I wonder if we see Graves back anyway.
I think this indicates something Roy knows that we don’t about the team next season. I am also not sold on Wall since there is baggage and some unsavory associations. That being said, Roy figures if Duke can get their hands dirty a little bit he can too.
Also, Bomani Jones thinks this is the real deal and not just some game on the part of Roy.
The big time players who want to play right away are fairly smart to wait and see who leaves for the draft. Considering Lawson was just named the top PG in the country, everyone knows he is leaving. Wayne is also probably leaving.
Roy also knows that our backcourt scoring is looking bad for next year with those two gone. Larry’s body needs to get stronger to compete in the ACC, and he is not looking like a true scorer at the moment. Ginyard/Strick/and Graves are probably not going to put up many points either. We need a true scorer from the guard position next year, and Roy knows this. Wall might be able to step into a nice opportunity.
I think we can go undefeated next year. haha Seriously though, our team is going to look like an all star line-up. Can’t wait!
I want Wall. A) To help us out, even if he is a one-and-done and B) To piss off the dookies! How sweet it would be!
My other issue with this development is what does it mean regarding Strickland? I thought Dexter was a combo guard in the vein of Duke great Jason Williams, and while Carolina will have Drew II for 3 more year and Kendall Marshall for 1 or 2 of Strickland’s years, Strickland would play at least 10 minutes of PG a game.
Then again, if you could sign John Wall, you have to do it, so maybe I am worrying too much about Strickland.
Strickland is much more of a 2-guard than a PG, IMO.
I have always wondered how Echefu’s career would have gone had he come to UNC. Do any of you think he made the wrong decision in going to FSU?
On the one hand, he may have gotten more playing time down there, but he could have possibly been more integral to UNC in 2006 and developed more quickly. He may still be a guy who could improve at the next level because he was pretty raw.
The timing of this supposed contact is strange to me. Why the distraction NOW? (if indeed this is true).
Two possibilities:
1 Roy knows at least one scholarship is now available (Ed/Graves or a redshirt for a Wear twin)
2 Wall has expressed interest through a third party.
The timing is tough to figure, but Roy prolly tried to keep this on the “DL” and it didn’t happen. If Wall called, and Roy wants him, you pick up the phone. This group of kids cold care less, and frankly outside of hard-core fans, this news won’t register heading into Final Four weekend. The players probably don’t even know this is happening.
Will Roy swoop in after we win the national title and woo Wall, a la Lawson after the 2005 title?
C. Michael, you are right on about Strickland. He will only be at point when necessary. We have 3 guys that CAN play the point, and only 1 that truly is. I don’t know if you want your backup to be someone that CAN play point, it needs to be someone that DOES play point. My point is, no pun, that we could use anyone out there that is disposable after a year. Next year’s class should give us Kendall, who will play point. Although, even Kendall has spent time as combo guard, which I imagine is much more common in HS.
We haven’t mentioned Leslie McDonald. Could he give us part-time pg as well? Truth is, I’d rather have two permanent point guards than a handful of ones that just have the ability to.
I smell trouble, and don’t think UNC should touch the guy. He’s still available for a reason, I could suppose, no matter the talent.
Anyone care to recall the great career of Acie Earl (I think that’s right) ? he didn’t pan out, and wasn’t nearly worth the trouble several schools went through.
Check that, it was Lester Earl; supposed to be out of this world, but helped to get LSU in trouble after he had already transferred to KU.
TxTarheel, do we know that he fits that kind of mold? I really don’t know much about him. I guess the fact that he has yet to be chosen says something about him. Or it could be that he hasn’t found his school of interest yet. I agree, with being one of the most loved, yet hated schools, we need that degree of separation from other teams in terms of staying on the high road. But, if you have Duke, who has had it’s share of players with on-court attitude problems such as Laettner, Dante Jones, it may be OK. What I don’t want is to have a kid that gets involved in things off-the-court that could ruin a reputation for our school.
It’s very difficult to discern fact from fiction, and I can not certainly say what “mold” John Wall may fit. But look at the example of Tyreke Evans, most recently, who was also a late commit to Memphis; and OJ Mayo, who attended USC largely on his own choosing (and prior to that was highly traveled).
UNC doesn’t have to dip it’s standard, and if Makhtar Ndiaye is any indication no one is worth nearly that amount of trouble or bad exposure. Maybe i shouldn’t say this, but that dude is my least favorite Tar Heel. Ever
Duke had Corey Magette, while he was extremely athletic he was not the next coming of Grant Hill for his one season. and the whole Myron Piggie thing as well
I agree Tx. I’d rather not even appear like we have to “adjust” our recruiting. It actually may make us look more vulnerable if we do. Having said that, PG will be the position most needed next year, so filling that void may look like “shoring up our team” rather than “adjusting our recruiting standards”. That is a big if though. I’d rather not take the chance of looking like a team that is going to be vulnerable, and certainly recruiting Wall could appear that way. But if there was a time to take a chance, it may be now. Just because we could pass this off as filling a void in our lineup. If it was a big time center, I’d say definately NO. That would make us appear even more vulnerable, yet getting us a bad kid that we may not even need.
Well, Drew II wasn’t a scrub when he came in last season and with a little elbow grease in the off-season who knows what he can become. Plus, as mentioned earlier Ginyard has played some PG and Strickland could be an additional answer if he’s able to play immediately (I don’t enough about Strickland though).
It’s not like this is a reclamation project coming out of 2002.
Oh I agree TX. It’s not like we’re in dire need for a point guard. But I can see how an explosive pg could make us a top contender next season, and there still is a chance that Drew could become just that. What I hate is the fact that outside of Drew, we have players that are “capable” of running the point, but aren’t pg that are capable to the Felton/Lawson extent. Maybe Wall isn’t that either. I really do not think we will need that next year, but a true back-up pg would be nice, just like Lawson has Drew and Frasor this year.
“It’s very difficult to discern fact from fiction, and I can not certainly say what “mold” John Wall may fit.”
I think we should all wait to see how this plays out before we start passing judgment on who John Wall may or may not be. Based on the caliber of kids that Roy has brought to UNC to this point, then if he chooses to pursue, and potentially land, Wall, then that is good enough for me.
Anyone else recall this guy, from back in the late 80′s? I want to recall UNC being hot to land him, and then backing off. Kenny Williams; I recall him since Elizabeth City was nearer my neck of the woods in northeastern NC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_City_State_University
C. Michael, I don’t know enough about him to pass judgement or praise. If we land him, then that is good to me. I’d love to have another pg on the table for next year. But I think it is fair to speculate that having him has a decent chance of enabling us to go much farther than currently expected or projected.
TX. I read that article on Kenny. I suppose I’d rather not have a guy like that even if he is has good character while in school. I guess some would say that it sheds negative light on a school if things happen with a kid way down the road that didn’t manifest itself while in college. MJ’s gambling situation didn’t wrong UNC. But one could say that his historic nba career overshadowed anything negative that may have came with the package. I just don’t know how history will look at it. I don’t even know what kind of character Wall entails. We may just have to wait & see. As of now, if our staff like him, then so do I.
I was getting ready to say something along the lines of what C.M. said. If Roy wants and thinks he a is UNC material, then I think that is enough for me regardless of what ANYONE else has written about this KID. If he is that good in basketball, then maybe UNC will be good for him if he is in need of a positive influence in his life in other areas.
This sheds some light, at least for me, on this situation.
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/prepsnow/wall-hears-from-unc
Obviously, Clinton wouldn’t deal with Roy, so that’s why we weren’t in on him for the start, at least in part. It sounds like Wall has chosen to check out UNC on his own accord without Clinton’s blessing. I recall in the fall everyone said Wall was sealed and delivered to Baylor once Dwon Clifton became an asst. there (hello, Danny Manning there, may I help you?).
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If we nab him, it’s a huge score for Roy on many fronts. Twists the knife into a hated rivals’ backs (Dook and NCSU) and super-cedes a supposed power broker (Clifton) on the summer circuit.
Great analysis TarHeelInMinny!
I’m still a little confused. According to the N&O piece, Roy was the one who called Wall. Did I miss other information indicating Wall had changed his mind about being at all interested in UNC? Also, I’ve read all the scouting reports on John, and know he’s the #1 or #2 player and top-rated PG, but have never seen him play. How good really is he? Nevertheless, and beyond the fact that this is all pretty speculative, it’s highly intriguing to consider getting the first or second best player in addition to the very good class we’ve already got.
LarryS, another N&O blog post quotes Wall as saying it was merely a call and he’s not being recruited by UNC, but obviously he and Roy are talking. Roy wouldn’t call if he’s not interested.
Yeah THIM, I just read the follow-up THF did. I’m assuming you meant Roy wouldn’t call if he (meaning John) is not interested, and that makes sense. I just can’t see Roy initiating contact out of the blue without some positive information to prompt him.
LarryS. True, why even make the call to a kid (BTW, that just got through visiting your biggest in-conference rival) if you have limited interest?
You have to think the Wall ‘camp’ reached out in some way to give Roy an indication Wall would take the call or is open to UNC’s advancements.
Remember, kids, recruiting is like dating. This phone call was “Do You like me? Check yes or no.”
Maybe he’s thinking…Baylor, seriously, Baylor ?? Who on earth goes to Waco to play college hoops…heck go ahead to Austin. at least 6th street is cool, and you get the SXSW every spring
I am at a loss as to why you’d choose Baylor. If you are looking to be a one man show, there are other schools you can do that at.
“You have to think the Wall ‘camp’ reached out in some way to give Roy an indication Wall would take the call or is open to UNC’s advancements.”
Read my latest post…Wall’s AAU coach hates Roy apparently.
Roy probably isn’t as mean-spirited as I can sometimes be, but if I were a HOF coach, who does things generally right and in kids best interests, and I am becoming disgusted with the leeches, and hangers-on, I might not be adverse to (or even see it as an opportunity to) “flushing one of those leeches out” in the media. We’ve seen before that Roy can come out of left field sometimes….just sayin.
“I am at a loss as to why you’d choose Baylor. If you are looking to be a one man show, there are other schools you can do that at.”
Because his former AAU coach/handler was just given a job there…