Rivers is going to Duke. It is basically a done deal.
If Knight was extremely concerned with his education, he would have went to Florida, a far and away better academic school than Kentucky. He is there for basketball.
A lock-out would perhaps give college basketball its best season in a couple of decades. Kentucky would be flat out loaded while Duke and Carolina would be pretty close behind.
Rivers to Duke was the old rumor, RiverRat. No done deal there, as K would announce that as soon as possible to also nab Quincy Miller (who's been a Duke lean but wavers back to UK as well) and perhaps challenge Calipari for recruiting dominance.
Florida is better academically than Kentucky? Depends on what you want to do. UK's engineering program is top ten nationally, as are their dentistry and agriculture programs. Florida's English department (especially creative writing) is top five or ten overall.
I believe Rivers is being diplomatic. If he commits to Duke right after de-committing from Florida, it comes off as Coach K recruiting a kid who has already committed. And maybe his dad genuinely wants him to go through the process. But when all is said and done, he will sign with Duke.
Perhaps.
But why, then, did he initiate contact with Kentucky and agree to go to Midnight Madness? Rumors around the camp were that Rivers was thisclose to committing after Calipari mentioned Wall, Evans, Bledsoe, and Rose, while K mentioned... Reddick? Jay Williams? Bobby Hurley?
Rivers may very well commit to Duke (they've led for almost a year), but, were I Coach K, I'd be wary of Calipari and Kentucky.
Marquis Teague was a done deal to Louisville too.
Actually, if there is a lock out, do you see some of the top guys going to smaller schools that way they have a guaranteed starting job?
Basically, do you think Marquis Teague stays with UK when Brandon Knight would be there (in his 2nd year) manning the PG position.
For fun.....
PG Knight (So) - Teague (Fr)
SG Lamb (So) - Liggins (Sr) - Hood (Jr)
SF Gilchrist (Fr) - D.Miller (Sr) - Poole (So)
PF Jones (So) - Q.Miller? (Fr)
C Kanter (So) - Vargas (So)
He also initiated contact with UNC and agreed to visit Chapel Hill.
Smokescreen.
And Austin Rivers will be a top 5 pick in '12 whether Coach K, Roy, Cal, you or I coach him in his one college season. The Cal "develops" pros angle is less likely to work on Doc Rivers' kid.
I would guess they all stay. Unlike his last two classes, I'm guessing Cal gets more guys to sign in the fall than the spring so they'll be locked in.
In '12 you'd have the UK roster you listed as the favorite, then Duke would have Irving, Rivers, Curry, Dawkins, both Plumlees, Hairston, and Gbinije. UNC would have everyone back from '11 plus McAdoo and whichever big they can land. Duke and Carolina would have enough talent that they would be the favorite to win the title many of the past years but will still be a step behind an absolutely loaded Kentucky team.
NCAA would be interesting if the lock out happens.
1) You would have 2 recruiting classes
2) The draft is still just 2 rounds, it is basically 2 drafts combined in one... so some top talent might opt for a 3rd (or 2nd) season.
3) This makes the next recruiting class potentially join "stacked" teams which means it could push future players to play another year.
I'm sorry but this is just not true. They might have one program (likely related to ag) that has received a top ten ranking at one point but I can't find anything that remotely supports that claim. Even UK's website, which as expected touts every obscure honor possible, doesn't have an engineering top ten award.
UK has a terrific ag program (as well as pharmacy school) but not much else of national renown. The engineering school was actually ranked 86th by US News for 2009.
Interesting, johnky. The UK recruiters that come to our school have literature that says, "A Top 10 Engineering Program in the Nation". (I went to the school to find the brochure, so as to make certain.) No asterisks nor any small print to explain.
They mention electrical, mining, and mechanical specifically.
Let's not go down the academia road please. EVERY school touts themselves as 'among the best'. UK, U of L, Iona, OSU, Mississippi.
I'd wager most public schools don't have a hill of beans worth of difference in them. We all just want 'ours' to be special because we went there.
Championships for MY teams in my lifetime:
Cincinnati Reds - 75, 76, 90
Chicago Blackhawks - 10, 13, 15
University of Kentucky - 78, 96, 98, 12
Chicago Bulls - 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98
“Everything that happens before Death is what counts.”
― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes
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