According to “reliable sources.”
Now reliable sources close to the situation tell Buster that if TarHeel point guard Larry Drew II were to “make a decision today” he would transfer out of Chapel Hill and head back home to the West Coast, with either UCLA or USC being likely possible destinations.
Oddly enough, Drew’s girlfriend, Bria Murphy (the daughter of Eddie Murphy), is believed to be an influential figure on where the PG will attend school in 2010-11; word on the street is that she plans to enroll at Chapel Hill, but if she can be persuaded into staying in California, it’ll make Drew’s decision all the much easier.
Bear in mind, too, that this decision ISN’T being made today — Drew certainly wouldn’t bounce from Chapel Hill until after the season ends (ACC Tournament time?) at the earliest, and likely closer to the close of the semester.
But our sources have also indicated that Drew is extremely unhappy in Chapel Hill and that his parents are involved with the program in “an unhealthy way” which certainly hasn’t endeared him to Roy and which is what will likely facilitate him getting out of town.
Two things.
Frist of all, Buster Sports doesn’t always have the best track record of accuracy. Last season they posted that Tyler Hansbrough was still injured midway through the season. During the Harrison Barnes recruitment they posted all sorts of inaccurate information about Roy Williams’ late visit to Barnes in Ames, IA on the last day before the dead period. That is not to say they are inaccurate here but the previous stories calls the grain of salt rule into effect.
Secondly, much like the Ed Davis rumor I posted last week, this kind of stuff pops during a bad season. You can easily label these rumors of convenience meaning they have some air of credibility because the season is so bad there must be crap like this going on. When you look at this story, your automatic reaction is: Well that is not surprising. I have to admit, if this were true, especially the part about Drew’s parents being involved in a “unhealthy way” it would explain a great many things.
However, before you go there, the question is whether this is true. I honestly have no idea. As I said above, the state of the team and this season gives any story or rumor about unhappiness in the program. I also think this story is a bit too perfect. It has all the elements. A unhappy player, under fire for poor play, meddling parents and a girlfriend whose decision on where to attend school hold the key to where the player might end up. The fact this is coming to light now before the season even ends strikes me as odd as well.
If this proves true or if Drew ends up leaving, I would consider it a major blow. UNC would once again be facing a situation with only one legitimate PG and then Dexter Strickland being the backup. Despite Drew’s struggles this season, I honestly believe he will benefit from having another true PG on the roster to take some of the pressure off while simultaneously motivating him. Not to mention, give the injury issues faced by the program, heading into another season without perimeter depth is not a place I am interesting in going.
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I had seen rumors about Drew transferring a couple of days ago on Inside Carolina.
I think Larry is a nice young man and I wish him well. I do, however, think it is bogus when I see all this stuff about how you can’t tell anything about him yet at this stage. There have been plenty of point guards at UNC who have been major stars by this point, and certainly, Joe Forte’s game resembled Drew’s without the long incubation period.
I believe you are wise to use caution when dealing with this report.
I think it is admirably responsible of you to be cautious with rumors like this. That said, if this one and the Ed Davis one were actually true, that might shed some light on the insanity of this season. There’s something wrong that no one can tell us about, so who knows?
i guess we can take it at face value for the sake of argument. shrug.
UCLA got 2 PGs the same year LD2 came here. no reason to think they wont still be there as seniors in two years.
USC isnt going to succeed, are they?
you have 2 years in a system that is getting you about 6 assists a game and the best high school player in the country is about to catch your passes.
i dont know. the risks seem pretty high to leave.
As I recall, the rumor mill on IC said that there were three guys considering transferring, Drew, McDonald and Watts.
I think it could be a good decision for McDonald and Watts, and also for Drew, unless he wants to work harder than he ever has in his entire life to compete for a position.
Drew also need to stay in Chapel Hill this summer, workout with his teammates and contribute to team chemistry by taking part in the pickup games with them and returning alumni.
No. This is NOT true. This can’t be true. No. That is not even an option.
Of course it is an option. Most of us UNC grads went to school four or fewer hours away from home. I can understand Chapel Hill being completely foreign for some guys from other places. Most of our stars from outside the state, however, have come from New York and Pennsylvania, which are fairly easy bus or train rides home.
There will be serious competition for guard playing time next year and Watts seems to definitely be the odd man out. Whether anyone else wants to stay and work himself to the point where he can wear the uniform credibly is a personal decision.
Watts leaving would give Roy some flexibility in terms of recruiting.
“I do, however, think it is bogus when I see all this stuff about how you can’t tell anything about him yet at this stage”.
lol—and this coming from the president of the “senior” QT fan club.
That was based on Thomas’s defense and, if Larry Drew’s ultimate threshold is only the Quentin Thomas level, then, well, I am not sure whether that is going to work for a UNC team that doesn’t have Hansbrough,Green, Ellington, and Ty Lawson healing on the bench….
If its true good riddance. If its not, work hard and get better. I don’t think it’d be bad to have another scholarship or two to work with.
well if Drew’s Soph level is his ultimate threshold, then I would agree.
If there is anything to the “meddling parents”, then despite Roy’s BS press conference call-outs, I say good riddance too.
I don’t think it is his ultimate threshold. I think somewhere in the neighborhood of King Rice is his ultimate threshold. King Rice was a legitimate ACC player and almost made it to the Finals his senior year, but he just never seemed to play at the level of most of our other point guards, in spite of decent statistics.
Transfer rumors are extremely unreliable, before this season there was the rumor that Zeller was going to transfer to Indiana. Buster sports is notorious for unsubstantiated rumor mongering.
I mean the story does seem too perfect but it makes sense. I can definitely see the “meddling parents” side. He’s got an NBA asst. coach for a dad who probably thinks he knows more and he probably doesn’t take to well to hearing Roy’s comments about his son’s play.
But having said that I think he might not be happy playing under Roy, I remember he said after one game how players are more interested in trying to please other people instead of playing their game. So who knows what’s going on? But his prospects don’t improve at UCLA or USC.
Hard to imagine that anyone would enjoy playing under Roy this year.
well, time will tell, but I think more likely a Derrick Phelps, with more offensive upside, and probably less defense. Larry could do worse than modeling Hubert Davis’ work-ethic.
If memory serves, Drew Sr, was a middling NBA player…sometimes good, but mostly middling?
Evidently Drew is not the kind of PG that fits into Roy’s “system”, he has numerous shortcomings which have been discussed ad nauseum here. Moreover, from what I have read neither is Kendall Marshall a run and gun type of PG. So it will also be interesting to see how much Roy is willing to modify his system to fit these players.
Totally understand your skepticism (and I usually approach anyone with “sources” the same way) but, fwiw, I wasn’t at buster last year (re: hansborough) and that barnes stuff was just a botched podcast, but this is a legit source.
Although a middling NBA player, say 8 points and 8 boards, or 8 points and 5 assists, is pretty damn good compared to a college player, and these days a career of those numbers might earn you $50 million dollars, although they weren’t making that in Drew Sr.’s day. Remember when Jon Koncak of SMU got $13 million for six years? And he was basically a journeyman and that was when the big money really started. The Ralph Sampsons, David Thompsons and Phil Fords all missed out on it.
Hopefully Roy will think twice before recruiting someone from Cali now.
1. QT- Miss
2. Alex- transfer
3. Larry- looking like a miss
4. Wears- jury is out
5. Deon- always been Deon
I hope everyone that wants to leave, goes!! I am going into next year with one HOPE, a team that plays with passion and pride for the jersey. The years of being confident before the season are long gone.
Today it struck me that it will be March 1st on Monday, and we are not going to be in the tournament. Just think about that for a second……… Sad,
The question I have is how “involved” can an NBA assistant coach be during the season? Seems like he would have a great deal on his plate already to be too involved.
I of course have no idea if this rumor is true, but if it is, Drew will have pulled off one of the all-time top acts of ingratitude. Roy stayed with him through his whole mediocre performance this year, and not entirely because of lack of alternatives (although that admittedly had a lot to do with it).
He stayed with Drew, I think, on the tenuous theory that Drew would improve and be a solid performer in his junior and senior seasons. If Drew rewards Roy’s quite possibly misplaced hope, and loyalty, by walking out, it would be amazing. He will then go down, not merely as the guiding hand of one of the worst Carolina offenses in memory, but a guy who jumped ship to boot.
As I say, I have no idea if the rumor is true. I don’t think Drew will ever be good enough to lead us back to serious national contention, but he could be an adequate 12-15 minute sub on a high-level team.
BTW, I agree with Ms. Bumptious that there is something wrong with this team we’re not seeing. All the visible reasons would explain a poor performance, but not this catastrophe. At some point, I suspect, we’ll find out what the X Factor was, but SOMETHING has to be going on, maybe in the locker room, that accounts for this year’s display.
This is the flip side of all the good attention of national championships – when you have a down year, every second of everyone’s life is analyzed, and the rumor mill kicks in.
Internet rumor to fact steps:
1. RUMOR
2. Is _________ true?
3. Someone said _________ .
4. _________ is true.
5. FACT
“Hopefully Roy will think twice before recruiting someone from Cali now.”
Hard to say. Roy has deep roots, and more importantly, a lot of success, on the west coast. Jacque Vaughn, Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, and Marvin Williams all turned out to be excellent signings. I don’t think it will be a problem for the elite players, but for the “4-star” players, who see less time and more fan criticism, being 3000 miles away might be an issue.
^^Spot on. I believe Roy has only had one player transfer out of his program (Stepheson), and there was certainly a good reason for that. Until a more credible source (UNC or Drew’s Twitter) announces this, I’m not going to waste much (any) time thinking about it.
Recently, Roy has not had a good record with West Coast recruits, but lets not forget that he built many great teams at Kansas by going to the West Coast, under the assumption that he couldn’t compete with the UNC’s, Dukes, and Kentucky’s of the world to get East Coast recruits (Bill Self disagrees, but I digress…)
There was certainly no shortage of playing time for LD2 this year – he was the starter from day 1. So it would be a real slap in the face if he left. Of course this is also the year of “everything that can go wrong will go wrong”, so I guess I should brace myself…
Remind me again why we didn’t try to get Ben Hansbrough to come here?
^^me too CM, and on that note, how in Hades does Apollo Ono get disqualified for the Silver last night, and the Korean (who literally reached out and grabbed the Canadian’s skate to try to trip him up) get awarded the Silver instead??? I guess a foul only counts if it’s executed properly???
“Remind me again why we didn’t try to get Ben Hansbrough to come here?”
No scholarships available. When Hansbrough decided to transfer after his sophomore season, UNC already at the scholarship limit for last years team, and was looking at (potentially) being over the limit for this year’s team.
Ok – sigh… we sure could use him. Oh well. Wow. If Ed goes pro and LD2 transfers then only Zeller remains from last year’s recruiting class. So much for the being the part of the cornerstone for future success.
2 things about the Cali pt.
1. Roy aint in Kansas anymore
2. Marvin was from the Emerald City, not Cali, which according to SI is the new hot bed for NBA talent.
In 5 years how bad will Roy look, if there was no trouble with Wall, and Drew transfers out next year.
I think its a done deal that Drew is gone, he looks miserable on the court, and needs to go be with his hollywood girlfriend, and play in front of people that think he is a good PG.
Loyalty over Talent_ The Williams Way.
No doubt that John Wall is the best in a while at PG and we’d probably be better on the court with him. I love to watch him play. But Roy made a good call in not going after him – just too many questions. And let’s assume he (and his numerous associations) are clean as a whistle – can you imagine if the “him” in “I just try not to listen to him and go out and play basketball and try and help my team win” was Roy and not Cal? Not thinking that would go over well.
And on a tangent, I’d rather suffer through this miserable, nauseating season than have future cautionary tale DeMarcus Cousins in a Tar Heel uniform. Having to suffer through his inevitable tenure with the Knicks will be torment enough, thank you.
Is Roy perfect? Of course not, same as any coach. But I think he keeps a long view on being a good steward of the program and not courting NCAA disaster. Glad to let UK be Cal’s latest doormat before he heads on to the next one.
I love Drew 2. I want him to stay!
“Having to suffer through his inevitable tenure with the Knicks will be torment enough, thank you.”
Fortunately, the Knicks don’t have a #1 pick this year, so if he does ever end op with the Knicks, it won’t be until he is traded there, after signing a max contract and gaining 50 pounds (in a bad way). At least you have a few more years!
Yeah, the Eddy route, of course. Being a Knicks fan makes you appreciate when UNC has a great year like 2009 a little more, no? With both teams down this year I hope the Mets are due for some good things.
I am truly fascinated, if often disgusted, with the alternating way our players are viewed according to rumors, Twitter tidbits, perceived body language and so forth.
One day they’re a good kid who is trying to do his best, the next day good riddance. Tough crowd.
“With both teams down this year I hope the Mets are due for some good things.”
Knock. On. Wood.
Actually, it is pretty amazing how similar the Mets’ season last year, and this UNC season are. Big (and probably unfair) expectations to start the season. Reasonable start to the season (UNC: 11-3, Mets: 28-21). And then the wheels just completely fell off as nearly every single player gets injured…
^^I will clarify my “good-riddance”. I am still very much in LD’s corner, and really don’t put much stock in a dubious rumor, but, if Drew isn’t willing to tough it out, and Mom & Pop are stirring the pot (as hoops parents are sometimes want to do), then I won’t shed any tears if he bolts.
If the players need to learn somethings from this season then the coach needs to reassess a few things too:
1) Sometimes it is good to recruit a player with a little ego, specially when the player wants to play for your team.
2) His run-and-gun frenetic pace is not suited for all ball-handlers (in fact I would bet that even Kendall Marshall will find it very difficult), so he needs to develop alternatives and build his team around the talent he has, instead of forcing them into the same system. I read somewhere (may on SI) that Roy Williams’ PGs are not heavily recruited by the NBA because they never learn to play at different speeds or effectively learn the pick and roll. Maybe it’s time to slow things down every once in a while, change the offense and defense, instead of making rapid and sometimes unnecessary personnel changes.
3) Personal pets/pet projects are all well and good, players may “buy into” the system and grade well in practice but if they don’t bring the same attitude to the game, it’s time to start someone else.
4) Let’s get Coach Holladay back on the bench. Let’s stick to what was working.
^Those are some good points that I doubt you’ll get much disagreement from around here.
The one thing I’m wondering is why you have so much concern about Kendall Marshall adapting to a faster-paced style of play. What about his game would prevent him from doing that? Isn’t he supposed to be a very good passer on the fast break, and isn’t passing ahead to open players one of the key elements of a transition game?
^ Most high school players don’t play with that kind of pace. There are few players that can play with that Lawson speed that Roy seems to prefer from day 1, John Wall was one and dare I say Kyrie Irving and Ryan Harrow both have explosive speeds that allow them to just breeze past their defenders to the basket. Marshall is more of a passer, he is a good player and an excellent but I don’t know if playing at Roy’s speed is his thing because the pressure to do all things at the same time requires a very different skill set.
I read somewhere (may on SI) that Roy Williams’ PGs are not heavily recruited by the NBA because they never learn to play at different speeds or effectively learn the pick and roll.
I think Tywon and Raymond, would disagree, both drafted in the lottery, and Raymond is a huge part of the Bobcats team, while Ty will be huge for Denver in a few years.
Roy just needs better players, LD2 aint getting in done, and playing slow aint Roy style.
Ty Lawson was not a lottery pick and the reason given for that was what I alluded to. Raymond Felton and Kirk Hinrich were the only two lottery picks. Ray was a much more mature PG who was ready to mix things up, whereas Hinrich played more like a combo guard and his selection was borne out of desperation for the Bulls who had just lost Jay Williams to a motorcycle accident.
Stand corrected, however Ty being shorter than 6 foot probably played a bigger role. Ty @ 6 ft 1 would be a tough man to defend. I would argue that a number of teams in the lottery would rather have Ty then their current pick. Looking at Memphis with Thabett, Philly, and NY. Denver got one of the steals of the first round.
^I’m still amazed that the Knicks didn’t take Lawson. He would be perfect for D’Antoni’s run-and-gun system.
I think the NE is easier for recruits as it is close. If riding a bus or a train to the NE is quick then walking is slow and jogging is fast. I think it’s 12-14 hours to NYC but you really need to login to Amtrak and enjoy the scheduling/booking process. As to riding a bus, maybe 20-30 hours? It’s pretty cheap to fly into LaGuardia though as I’ve paid about $135 round trip several times of the last six months.
I think this is a rumor but the whole leaving for the West Coast over the summer was total BS and we are all paying the price for it presently. That’s close enough to meddling for me.
Also tonight:
“Kinston’s Reggie Bullock is 85 points shy of 2,000 for his career. He has 1,915 points in 112 games for the Vikings, and is averaging 17.1 points per game. … Beddingfield defeated Elizabeth City Northeastern 72-62 Wednesday to advance. … Tonight’s admission is $7. … Gulledge is in search of his 221st win at Kinston, and his 267th overall. He is 220-45 in nine seasons with the Vikings, and is 266-78 in 11 seasons total, two at Jacksonville. … Tonight’s winner will play its first regional game Wednesday night at either 7 or 8:30 at ECU’s Minges Coliseum. The regional final will be at 1 p.m. on March 6.”
- Ray Herman Kinston.com