I see Roy coaching for another ten years. The only two things that would derail that trajectory would be either health issues or serious recruiting heartburn. In the late 90s Roy was so turned off by many of the seedy occurances he encountered on the recruiting trail. Given his track record of success, I can’t see that being a huge reason for him to retire prematurely (anymore). As far as I know (huge knock on wood), his health is just fine.

Heels Perspective-

I can see why it would take anyone a few minutes to disect the “higher ground” statement, in that the typo (should have been bypassing, not bypassed) would lead anyone astray. I basicaly meant that Roy put integrity before lust.

As for all this UK talk, that is gonna be around for awhile so buckle up. Thier fans are already annoying me on the blog scene. One fan wrote: “Kentucky are the Rolls Royce of college baskebtall, no other program matters.” Ewwwwwkay.

Well, it must be nice to be hit with recruiting violations about once every other decade. Man, at least UCLA had their sugar daddy during their fabulous stretch from the early sixties to the mid-seventies. That’s why Cal is such a good fit for the program. The UK fan base is SO thirsty for elite success that they would take five years of glory even if it came with a three-year probation afterwards. You don’t beleive me? They’ve already been there, done that.

Also, it is apparently okay to like Tubby Smith again in Lexington. As far as I know, Tubby never committed any recruiting violations, won a national title, and averaged nearly 25 wins per season. I’m just anxious to see how Rick Pitino will respond to all this Calipari bru-haha. Pitino could care less about Calipari and I’m sure that he is seeing red right about now. And that really is something that we UNC fans need to consider. Yes, Roy will be battling Cal for top recruits, but Cal vs. Pitino will be all-out warfare.

At the current rate, the UK-Louisville rivalry might again be in the same class as all the other rivalries that fall a DISTANT second to UNC-Dook.

As for Duke, I sense anxiety and desperation creeping in. They were prostituting themselves in recruiting Wall, and losing out, if in fact they were ever in, is not positive for their program in my judgment, once they threw their hat in the ring. My guess is Nolan Smith would have made a call to Johnny Dawkins about transferring to Stanford.

The Duke Basketball Report has a thread on William Avery, by their own admission one of the many academic exceptions joined by Sean Dockery and Chris Carrawell, among others, in this dubious category. Greg Newton and Ricky Price aren’t mentioned as exceptions, but having to cheat to pass a dance class suggests they had their own intellectual crosses to bear. Did you ever wonder why Duke would never let a microphone anywhere near Shelden William’s mouth? Maybe they should have nicknamed him the Rapist or the Scholar instead of the Landlord.

Regarding UK, they have served notice – they are again a force in college basketball. Calipari will go up against Carolina for recruits now. Memphis was recruiting an enterely different player than we were, so the competition just got keener.

The Wolfpack were also in the hunt for Wall, but they have gotten so mediocre and insignificant I can’t think of anything relevant to say about them.

KU = Kansas Jayhawks
UK = Kentucky Wildcats

For future references away from the “THF home site”, it might prove useful.

I had to digest that statement a few minutes but I do agree. I do wonder if Roy had this mindset? Or did he not want to get involved at all with the possibility of a media discussion with Clifton?

Next year will technically be a rebuilding year and one could make the argument that the Heels are “reloading”. If we’re talking about the point guard position I truly believe Larry D will surprise us (don’t get caught up in comparing him to the way Lawson played in the NCAA) and remember Kendall Marshall is heading our way in 2010.

Good points all.

1. He was a great recruiter at Memphis and he’ll be a great recruiter at KU – he has already been taking talent out of the pool for his team.

2. This isn’t additive, there is only one Cal, we suddenly don’t have two coaches with his ability to recruit and coach.

3. Only so many scholarships – I agree strongly that experience and trust is the big key to winning in college, something that is hard to come by when you are a revolving door of one and done players and people get cut for the next great player.

4. Violations – Maybe but there aren’t any as yet and it will be probably three years before we hear of any regardless so this is a non-issue in the short-term. I know a few KU fans and they are split about 3 to 1 on Cal, most fear the NCAA violations more than anything.

That’s all I have for Calipari as for Duke they seem to have a shortage of guards next season. This was pointed out yesterday on the radio and I do think it will be a problem for them aside from the lack of a big man…I think Duke would have been big trouble with Henderson returning but without him and their other issues I think we might see some games dropped early and perhaps some persistent back pain.

Additionally, congrats to the baseball team and a great showing for Warren at the best time of the year. We have great talent and it looks as though they are hitting their stride presently. This might be a good year to visit sunny Nebraska.

Go Heels!