I am heading to the beach with THF Family after which we will delve head first into football.
In the meantime, go ahead and chew on this hard hitting piece from Gary Parrish who basically asks why Duke got a free pass over Corey Maggette when Memphis had their season vacated when both were guilty of using an ineligible player.
For those unfamiliar, here’s the deal: A summer basketball coach named Myron Piggie made cash payments to Maggette when the elite recruit was still in high school, and that money came from a revenue pool that included donations from at least two sports agents. Connect the dots, and it’s clear Maggette benefited from money supplied by agents, meaning his amateur status was compromised. Still, none of this was public knowledge at the time. So the NCAA cleared Maggette to play at Duke, and he helped the Blue Devils reach the 1999 Final Four before entering the 1999 NBA Draft.
Less than a year later, a federal grand jury handed down an 11-count indictment of Piggie that details the payments to Maggette. Piggie cut a deal and admitted to making the payments; Maggette admitted to receiving the payments. So none of this falls under the he said/she said umbrella, and the NCAA’s Jane Jankowski was quoted in April 2000 as saying that the NCAA “will have to determine if Duke, in fact, had an ineligible player in the NCAA tournament. And, if so, what monies would have to be returned for use of an ineligible player.”
Fast-forward nine years, and nothing.
Despite promising to do so, the NCAA has never officially determined if Duke, in fact, had an ineligible player in the NCAA tournament. It just sort of went away, disappeared, and that 1999 Final Four still officially belongs to Duke. Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel wrote about the case in 2004, reintroduced it to the public consciousness, and the NCAA basically responded by not responding at all. Why? Because the governing body doesn’t typically comment on ongoing investigations … or even ones that have apparently been shoved to the side forever.
Duke benefited from a double standard? Surely you can’t be serious!
See in a week.
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Apparently the NCAA is [not] serious. And stop calling them Shirley.
I remember reading about the Maggette baggage…it all adds up, straight up to the point where you know Mike “Don’t —- my program!” Krzyzewski basically held the door open for him to leave after his freshman campaign. I love the bit about the double standard THF. After all, wasn’t it Mike Krzyzewski who made the infamouse comment about the “double-standard” that he felt was applied to the Carolina program (back in the 80s) by the media and officials?
You know, Mike Krzyzewski really did work over the entire ACC community (press, fellow coaches, refs) at Carolina’s expense. He basically came in as another young coach with high reverance for Dean, but unlike both Bobby Cremins and Jim Valvano, Mike Krzyzewski worked his way up through the shadows at first. He befriended local writers, said all the right things, and played that humble “I’m just a Polish kid from the mean streets of Chicago” bit for as long as he could. As for his recruiting tactics, he basically sold recruits on the idea that Carolina simply did not want them and that there was no waiting period to sign with Dook. Krzyzewski would tell recruits, such as Laettner, Ferry, Grant Hill, etc. that they would not play as much at Carolina. To the point, K was probably honest to some degree, but to me that is no great skill to have…to sit and riff off of somebody else’s successes.
What is truly great for us, at this point in time, is that Roy can sit back and say “well, you can play for North Carolina or Dook, it’s your choice. You know what we’re about and what we’d expect out of you.” For 80% of the recruits choosing between the two, that is enough. There is no need for Roy to say “if you play for them, you’ll play in a screen-and-shoot system and you’ll be instructed where to flop on the floor. You’ll weep and fuss like a friggin’ child and they’ll commend you for it. Play for Carolina and we’ll go in their house and whip ‘em with our spread the court, run-and-gun offense.”
Back to the main topic…I wonder what John Feinstein would write if this were a UNC player. Oh wait, no one really wants his input anymore since he has been outed as a Dook loyalist and every anti-Carolina piece he has written has been the fodder for Dook bashing. Sorry John, looks like being a Dook grad and K lapdog resulted in you running your own blog about…well, I think it is just dribblings about Coach K.
DeanFE,
Well done.
“What is truly great for us, at this point in time, is that Roy can sit back and say “well, you can play for North Carolina or Dook, it’s your choice. You know what we’re about and what we’d expect out of you.” For 80% of the recruits choosing between the two, that is enough. There is no need for Roy to say “if you play for them, you’ll play in a screen-and-shoot system and you’ll be instructed where to flop on the floor. You’ll weep and fuss like a friggin’ child and they’ll commend you for it. Play for Carolina and we’ll go in their house and whip ‘em with our spread the court, run-and-gun offense.”
I actually started laughing when I read this, great job Dean!
in other news,
HArrison Barnes has reduced his list to 6 schools, but only has one firm official visit planned so far.
to UNC.
when?
well, this is the awesome part. i understand its next weekend, for the UNC Alumni game. Wallace, Carter, Jamison, Stackhouse, Felton, May, Tyler, Ty, on and on.
in the 100th anniversary of UNC basketball.
Ole Roy is not dumb.
getting Barnes would be a laughing, drinking celebration of a steal, and put one of the final nails in the Dook coffin.
HTTE, I would break out one of my special bottles of Drambui, or Bacardi Reserve for that occasion!!!
From a strategic standpoint, Krzyzewski had better be careful. I don’t know how his ivory tower (and for those of you who don’t know, Mike Krzyzewski’s office is at the top of a six-story complex, all decked out with high-security clearances and automated blinds [amongst other features, see "To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever" by Will Blythe]) will come across compared to the “down there in it with players” appeal that Roy has. Okay, that is an issue that Krzyzewski will struggle with regardless of the Alumni game…the gathering of big names just helps to solidify the fraternal bond that the UNC program projects.
If Krzyzewski has (or had) a trump card, it would be to talk about Dook as an educational leader, blah-blah-blah…That strategy would be really, really good, but (as someone alluded to here) Barnes’ mother was really put off by Coach K’s mouth (during the UNC game). Plus, Harrison Barnes went to the Dook/UNC game wearing a Dook shirt, but witnessed another UNC smackdown of the Blue Devils. He left the game telling ESPN that he was “undecided.”
Undecided? Who goes to a rivalry game, sporting one of the two team’s appearal, and then claims to be undecided? Something tells me that Harrison Barnes wearing the Dook shirt behind the Dook bench was clearly staged…as if Dook were merely winning some kind of battle by getting a blue-chip recruit to wear one of their shirts. Barnes went on to comment that someone simply gave him the shirt before the game. Whatever the case, I felt then and still do, that Dook were propping this up to say “look, Harrison Barnes is wearing our shirt!” Okay, halli-freakin’looya!
I’ve never been sold on Barnes going to Dook. I’ll eat my words (grumpily) if he does, and there is obviously a chance he might, but I’m not seeing it happen. The main reason, and no one has yet to mention this, is the despair on the Dook end. If he should come to UNC, Barnes would come in with two five-star recruits, Kendall Marshall (the best quarterback of all point guards in his class) and Reggie Bullock (the #1 ranked shooting guard in his class); thus, the would not be the enormous pressure of having to “be” the program. Plus, if you’ve seen how the kid can go on scoring spurts, the UNC style of offense would perfectly compliment Barnes’ game.
Dook’s greatest challenge here is to tell Harrison Barnes how thier program would suit him better than the North Carolina program. It is well understood that both Ed Davis and John Henson could be gone after next season, and the wing spot would be open. If things broke the right way, and Henson stayed to add some muscle, Roy could slide him in the four spot, and Barnes could take the wing.
We shall see.
Just read the Cleveland Cavaliers (finally!) signed Danny Green. Go Danny! Congrats!
I’m glad we didn’t get Laettner. Thugs belong elsewhere. I now see that Singler, for whom I held out hope, is following in Laettner’s footsteps (literally and otherwise).
Fine. We’ll take the Ginyards, Frasors and Hansbroughs, and they can have their bunch. That way, we win what’s most important before the opening tap.
I don’t know Rath, Laettner would have looked good in Sky Blue. Coach Smith would never have allowed him to get to the “thugness” in him. Laettner was just emulating his coach, arrogant and childish.
In other news, it looks like Isiah Thomas’s first act as head coach of Florida International is trying to duck playing Carolina. Here’s the link… http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4422145
keithunc — I would like to think you’re right. Still, I suspect Laettner brought with him an attitude that didn’t have to be implanted by his coach. There are some things that, by 18, you know better than to do. Laettner just never got the message.
It’s too bad, because he was, as you suggest, an exceptional college player.
Keith-
What’s interesting is that Krzyzewski once described Laettner as an a-hole. You’re right though. If ever there was a shining example of a Mike Krzyzewski-made player, in terms of court demeanor, it would be Laettner. I would pass on Christian, but Grant Hill SHOULD have been a Tar Heel. The 1992 UNC squad could have looked like this (had early commits followed through):
G-Derrick Phelps
G-Hubert Davis
F-Grant Hill
F-George Lynch
C-Shaquille O’Neal
Can you imagine Eric Montross being the backup center? If you really want to play the game of coulda-woulda-shoulda, try this lineup for the 1991 squad:
G-Kenny Anderson
G-King Rice
F-Grant Hill
F-Rick Fox
C-Shaquille O’Neal
In Dean’s system, I see Anderson scoring less and creating more, say 15 ppg, 7 apg. King Rice would basically help move the ball and would be the one liability in that starting lineup. Freshmen Grant Hill would have averaged about 8 ppg, because Dean would have had trouble starting him over Pete Chilcutt. However, by season’s end (much like Rasheed Wallace), Hill would have earned his stripes by playing hard on both ends of the floor. Rick Fox would have been good at the three or four, and think about the possibilites with George Lynch coming off the bench. This team also had Clifford Rozier, who went on to be an All-American at Louisville (he transferred following the 1991 season, citing that there was too much discipline in the UNC system), who could dominate for short spurts.
The center position would be loaded, with O’Neal, Montross, and Wenstrom.
Aaaaaahhhhhh…coulda-woulda-shoulda.
That 1991 lineup would have been better (in my mind) with Hubert Davis starting at the SG spot, but I’m sure Dean would have allowed King to start since he was a senior and Hubert was still developing.
In fairness to Laettner… he had a good rep coming out of Buffalo, and he has been a stand-up citizen since he left Duke. Hmmm, I wonder what can be implied from this…
New schedule is out:
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/unc-m-baskbl-sched.html
Nice mix of winnable and challenging games. MSU, UK, and Texas should be good measuring sticks.
UNC enters the season with a 40-game non-conference winning streak…
I’m really amused by all this Isaiah Thomas fussiness over having to play the Heels. You know what, “silky smooth?” It’s called PAYBACK. Dean never forgot an unkind word (directed at he or the program), and a true UNC fan NEVER forgets the humbling defeats…
Oh yeah, this is all about 1981 son. We’re coming back to wipe the floor…LOOK OUT!
Here’s an always welcome hit at dook!
GQ ranked “America’s 25 Douchiest Colleges”, and check out where dook landed! Not to mention all the honorable mentions they racked up.
http://men.style.com/gq/features/slideshow/v/0909COLLEGE?loop=0&slideshowId=slideshow60220&iphoto=23&nphoto=25&play=false&cnt=1
Hard to believe that in 51 days well see late night with ol’Roy.
As I sit here thinking about the new season I’m hit some sadness about who will not be there but the memories those guys left will last me a life time. Thanks again 2008-2009.
If our guards come along which I’m sure Roy will get them to where they need to be I can see us around 26-5, if not better.
Since we are close to ending the week and next week is all about football at THF here’s some content from an FSU blog that is pretty nice – think william with graphs but lippy like a Seminole fan would be…I thought it was a good read, maybe you will like it as well, courtesy of ACC Football News – http://www.accfootballnews.net/
http://ow.ly/ltsO
Go Heels!
I just read a couple of articles about Harrison Barnes…
If I were a betting man, I would say that his top choice, right now, is North Carolina, followed (in no particular order) by Kansas, Oklahoma, and Dook. My concern is that Jeff Capel will try to pull a Roy and tell Barnes that if he doesn’t go to Oklahoma he should go to Dook.
Newsflash Jeff Capel:
Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t love you the way he loves Shane Battier, Bobby Hurley, Jay Williams, or Grant Hill. OKay, he loves you a lot more now that you are a coaching success and he can add your successes to his list of credentials…but you remind him too much of 13-19, or whatever Dook’s record was the year of the “back injury.” So don’t do him any favors, okay?
http://www.tarheeltimes.com/uncbasketballrecruiting.aspx
i think he’s leading toward Carolina, too, but its just an alumni-clouded hunch.
why WOULDNT he want to play here? why wouldnt anyone who’s interested in getting NBA-ready, and running and gunning, while learning great D and getting a top notch education?
i like that the Dook visit is several weeks later. he’s going to have a long time remembering how great his weekend here was before even going back to Durham for…for what? Hm.
the football game vs Central?
I just wanted to chime in and (once again) reflect on the recruiting genius of Roy Williams. Despite the commitments of five-star guards Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston (2011) class, the one recruit I am most excited about is Kendall Marshall. Kendall has been linked to the Heels for nearly three years, since his sophomore year in high school. He committed early on, and was in the high 60s in terms of national ranking. When I first saw that he gave a verbal, I thought “cool, a Q-type role player who can still spell starters at key moments in a game.” That’s what I thought then…and he was a four-star recruit.
Fast forward to today, and Kendall is now the #9 ranked guard by Rivals, and is probably more like a top-three, with the exception of scoring a ton of points. It’s not that he can’t, he can get to the basket. However, what excites me most about this young man is his ability to read the court, his teammates, and deliver the coach’s game plan to the other four. He is a special talent, and, from all that I have read, a wonderful young man. He has kept a journal on Scout.com for quite some time…I suggest you all check it out. He also picked up an MVP trophy over the summer, despite playing with some more MVP-type players.
Once again, Roy ignores the John Wall hysteria, and sticks to his guns…and we may have a truly great point guard to witness for (most likely) four years. His stock keeps rising, and he is now a five-star (Rivals) who is considered to be “the best quarterback” in his class.
Here is one HUGE bottom line:
IF Kendall Marshall stays for four years, and Roy keeps the Heels at the current elite level…Ed Cota…no, wait…Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA career assist record may be in jeopardy.
Here’s hoping.
As a follow up to my earlier post about Kendall Marshall:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kendall-Marshall-5095/
“It will be fascinating to see how Marshall’s game translates to the college level, as it appears that he has a chance to be a very special player for Roy Williams at North Carolina, especially as he approaches his upperclassmen seasons. Marshall may not have the athleticism or upside to jump to the NBA as early as some of his counterparts in this class, which will probably be just fine by the Tar Heel faithful, and actually makes him a much more valuable get in the long-term. Watching him practice and interact with his teammates, it appears that Marshall has an excellent work ethic and all-around outstanding intangibles, which only adds to the picture.”
Yeah, I’m thinking that somebody’s assist record could really be in jeopardy. If he stays four years, and gets some decent playing time as a freshman, I could very well see Kendall Marshall becoming the NCAAs all-time leading assist man.
And the truth is told, ESPN does love Dook more than any other ACC program:
http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/d1scourse/2009/aug/25/the-acc-the-mothership/
The author of the article seems to think that Dook are on the schedule so much because so many people tune in to watch them get beat…mmmkay, would somebody please let Mike Krzyzewski know of this?