Because it’s awesome right?
CBS Sports looks into the question for both UNC and Duke. As expected, current and former players alike attributed their decision to UNC’s rich history, the past players like Michael Jordan and gut feeling. For Jerry Stackhouse it came down to Duke signing Joey Beard?
Unlike Marshall, former Tar Heel Jerry Stackhouse did go through with his official visit to Duke. In his case, it took only one conversation with Krzyzewski to realize it wasn’t the place for him.
“Carolina and Duke were both my list and I was real close with Grant Hill, so I spent a lot of time up at Duke just hanging out,” Stackhouse said. “But while I was there for an unofficial visit, Coach K pulled me into the office and told me I needed to make a decision right then or he was going to sign Joey Beard. I was ornery enough at that time to say, ‘Well, just recruit Joey Beard.’ ”
He did.
Beard ended up playing just 16 games for the Blue Devils before transferring to Boston University. Stackhouse led the Tar Heels to the Final Four in 1996 before becoming a first-round NBA Draft choice. He is currently Marvin Williams’ teammate with the Hawks.
Of course, Stackhouse might still have chosen UNC over Duke even without Coach K’s unsuccessful ultimatum. There were, after all, higher powers at work. As a native of rural Kinston, N.C., Stackhouse grew up in a family of devoted Tar Heel fans.
That point was driven home on a day when Steve Fisher of Michigan and UNC’s Dean Smith were scheduled to make recruiting visits within hours of one another.
“Steve Fisher came to the house in the morning and Coach Smith came in later that afternoon,” Stackhouse recalled. “When Coach Fisher came in, my mom put out doughnuts and coffee for him. Coach Smith was coming in at two.
“At about 12:30, I started smelling pork chops, fried chicken, cabbage and all this going on in the kitchen. So she made the decision for me. She was a big Dean Smith fan.”
And then this happened:
The only shame of that dunk is Joey Beard wasn’t under the basket when it happened.
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duh
It’s easy to call that move by Coach K classless or stupid. From the facts, it sounds like Stack would’ve probably just been holding a scholarship hostage if he was heavily leaning towards UNC. I wonder how common that type of move is by a coach as he’s trying to weed through recruits at a top program. Does anybody know?
Leader of Men!
I’d have to think that the “Carolina family” and being able to hang out in Chapel Hill during the summer and play with current and former pros is a big draw. That appeals to recruits who want to improve and who want to network. Those who believe they are above all that probably go elsewhere.
The Jordan’s play a role as well. I can remember during the AirCraft game, twitter was a buzz at the kicks the team was wearing.
i was at that 100 yr basketball game. i would rank it as the TOP sporting event i have ever been to. not that i’ve been to a lot, but the magnitude of the history was overwhelming times 10.
i know i said at the time that if a recruit was there and didnt want to come here…then he just doesnt get it.
I don’t know that Roy ever puts an ultimatum to a kid. According to Delvon Roe’s parents, Roy pressured their son into committing on a visit which Roy denies. I am sure all coaches do a hard sell on campus visits and as long as Roy has been at this, I’m sure there are a few stories out there.
^^That was very special night for our family too.
I’ve often thought of the players recruited by both schools, and how they ended up picking one over the other. You would like to feel that the ones that ended up coming here were meant for UNC, and vice versa. But what if it was a real toss up, and that player could just as easily have gone to Duke? It’s odd to imagine that one of the players we have so many fond memories of , and are so endeared to, that same person could have been one we ended up hating at Duke. I don’t even like to think of it……in fact, I’m not going to think of it again.
The whole experience of being a player at UNC has to be highly valued by the players. Some don’t realize what’s going on for a while. If you are a highly sought after player like Barnes and you are not local, appreciating the rivalries with schools like WFU and NCSU is going to take some time.
Measuring yourself against returning pros and developing the relationships that a program like UNC offers take time, but are huge parts of why some players choose to return. The excellence and atmosphere of the university is a factor.
Also the Men’s Basketball program’s success fuels a large part of the university athletic endeavor. That is a real responsibility.
Grant Hill and Jason (now Jay) Williams were the 2 players that I always thought would have been great fits in Carolina Blue.
The rest of them I wouldn’t walk across the street to piss on if they were on fire…………….
(jk)
Wow. I remember reading how Coach K while on a call with Nick Collison. Said that it was okay that Collison was turning down Duke’s offer because Casey Sanders was going to be a Blue Devil.
Difference bt dook and UNC is at DOOK NBA scouts can see everything you have, and UNC players still leave with potential.
Isn’t the story that Jay Williams wanted Carolina, but we had signed Ronald Curry and Coach Gut told Williams he’d have to play the two? I remember Brick Oettinger telling me that Williams was very high on Carolina at one time, anyway.
^ ^At Duke if you are over 6’4″ your skills are limited to setting illegal screens, rebounding, and fouling. And if your are 6’4″ and under your skills are limited to jacking up 3 point attempts while kicking your legs out, grabbing and holding while in a defensive stance (in between slapping the floor of course), and flopping whenever possible……….
yawper, correct, something along those lines, and another reason why Gut was more the cause of the 2002 debacle than Doh.
Has there been a college athlete who excelled at both football and basketball since John Havilicek? Charlie Ward was a good point guard, but was there anyone better?
If I recall correctly, Julius Peppers was pretty good at both.
Tony Gonzalez comes to mind…Charles Wadell was another at UNC.
great story about Stackhouse. Dude has always had the piss & vinegar which is why I love him. We could use some of that this year.
Julius Pepper could have been great. Tony Gonzalez was okay. I don’t remember him being great. He averaged about 6 points per game during his career.
What a tool freshman Rivers is:
Indeed, Barnes said that defensively, it could be tough keeping up with a smaller foe, especially considering his left ankle, which he sprained last Tuesday, is not yet 100 percent.
Rivers, who figures he’ll be matched up on Barnes quite a bit, is counting on it.
“He might not be fun to match up with, but it’s not fun to match up with me, either,’’ the freshman said. “He’s going to have to guard me, too.”
Stackhouse to Dook would have never happened anyway. They breed a special type of Dook-hate over there in Kinston. Maybe something in the water…
If I was a Dook fan (shuddering), I’d be more upset if Rivers didn’t say something like this ^. What do you want him to say, “I stink and we’re going to get murdered?”
Even if he is telling a lie…
^ That’s bulletin board material. The PC way around it is to say, “It’s certainly going to be a challenge. I’m going to work extremely hard on both ends of the floor to contribute as much as I can to my team.”
^ That would imply a bit of class, which is apparently too much to ask of Rivers. This is not the first time something asinine rolled off his tongue. Really wish Strick was on him to jaw in his ear, but I’ll settle for Barnes tossing him like a ragdoll all game in between Rivers’ travels.
thats really the matchup? hm.
if thats true, Barnes needs to post him up every time.
Side note: thanks scl11 for reminding me of Doh. So glad we have Roy right now but always thought that could’ve been done differently. Doh had fire and recruited a bada$$ team that won in 05. He also won a few games against dook when they had favored squads.
My guess is that Rivers will guard Barnes some, but Barnes will likely match up w/ someone else. Reggie is much better guarding dribble penetration.
Jimmy Dykes just said Anthony Davis is so good with positional defense, and that Henson is out of position more often, basically.
the other guy had said no one has a guy like Davis. um….hm.
Davis is the leader for NPOY. really?
^Davis plays center. Most centers simply sit on the block. Henson plays power forward. Power forwards are more versatile and can be away from the block.
I hate to say it, but I think right now Davis is better than Henson. Davis is better free throw shooter. I believe Henson’s lack of confidence in his free throws has caused him to be more of a jump shooter. I honestly believe it has less to do with NBA scouts.
They are both great players. Henson is susceptible to lapses of focus when he forgets to block out or takes an ill-advised shot. But he is much more versatile than Davis, and can do more on the wing (as faustus suggests) like hitting 16-footers and guarding the perimeter. Davis is definitely far along for a freshmen, but I’m not sure who’s got the bigger upside. I’m just glad one of them is on my team.
And NPOY is a stretch for Davis. This never goes to defensive stoppers, and his O is just not that good…yet.
Davis may not have that versatile an offensive game, or score that many points (because the points are spread around so much at Kentucky), but I don’t know how much better one could ask him to be, offensively, with 66% (#9 nationally) FG% and a 138 OE (#2 nationally). That is outstanding.
^Those numbers sound impressive. I’m basing it off the eye-ball test from the one game I saw (vs. UNC) in which he did very little against Z and Henson (his own size). He obviously had a huge impact on the game regardless.
I hate to say it but the appropriate comparison is Zeller to Davis.
Zeller in conference games has been amazing.
Here is his stat line.
17.8 ppg 59.8% FG% 84.4% FT% 11.0 RPG 2.1 BPG 1.0 SPG
just saw T hit a jumper, get back and draw a charge, then fight through a double team and find a teammate for a basket and foul.
man, i bet guys just hate facing Psycho T.
^^And a 125 Offensive Rating. That’s some mighty fine playing.
^I’ve always thought that many of the pros probably don’t really like guys like Hansbrough because he makes them look like their not playing hard enough…..which many of them are not.
Davis reminds me of Cole Alderich on defense….in other words, if they called defensive three seconds in college basketball, Davis would be a primary offender. I would actually take Henson over Davis, because Davis can’t guard anyone. Henson has the athleticism to actually guard and hang with an offensive player. I would venture to say that 85% of Davis’ blocks come from him just camping out in the paint and providing help defense on smaller guards. Doesn’t mean he’s not good, but I’d rather have someone who can actually guard someone rather than camp out and own about a 12 foot area.
^What is funny is that Henson is labeled as only good at helpside shot blocker and Davis is considered a better overall defender. However, what I have seen is the opposite is true.
Somebody should ask CJ Leslie if Henson is any good at defending his man or blocking shots as primary defender.