If you haven't heard of John Wall by now you're either:
A) Not a college basketball fan or
B) Need to get your head from under the rock
The top point guard and number one rated recruit for the 2009 class may be ending his recruitment soon according to Rivals.
Wall has been burning up the recruiting trails lately playing AAU ball and competing at showcase events like the LeBron James Skills Academy and the Peach Jam held. He had a great season as well for his high school, Word of God Christian Academy out of Raleigh, NC.
So naturally when you see that he plays his ball in North Carolina and is the number one rated prospect over all you think he's either signing with North Carolina or Duke.
So why is neither North Carolina nor Duke offering him a scholarship?
Well if you read the linked article you can figure out why.
For those of you who didn't, Wall may actually sign with Baylor after his travel team D-One Sport's head coach Dwon Clifton will be announced as the new Director of Player Development this Friday.
That's why North Carolina and Duke and many other top programs didn't offer Wall.
This deal is about as shady as it can get.
In a world where players must first go to college before the NBA, we've already seen agent scandals, thanks O.J. Mayo, and European deflections, thanks to Brandon Jennings.
So now we get to see the hiring of friends and family to buy a player's way into a college. Under the table deals being made to make sure that a guy is "taken care of."
Now this isn't the first time this has happened; its happened many times, most recently at the University of Memphis when Head Coach John Calipari hired Dajaun Wagner's father as an assistant coach to make sure his boy played for Memphis.
Heck, even Kansas hired Danny Manning's father and got a national championship out of it.
It just sickens me how unattractive the underbelly of college basketball is.
Shoe deals and hanger-ons rule college basketball now, not integrity and team play.
John Wall you are what is wrong with college basketball today; a kid with immense talent that is still not good enough for you. You could probably play on any team but you leverage your abilities to buy your way onto a team.
I for one am sick of the way NCAA basketball is being run and I know as one fan I can't do anything to change it.
I just want the NCAA to know that we as fans recognize it and are disgraced at the way our favorite game has become nothing more than a pawn for the fat pockets for 17 year old kids.
45 comments Last one added about 1 month ago — Leave a Comment
Tristan vick 11 months ago
you are so wrong on so many levels with this story. Mr. Clifton played for Baylor assistant Matt Driscoll at Clemson. Frequently this type of hire opens the way for a pipeline to be established with certain regions. For Baylor, this hire is great. Even if we lose out on Wall, we have a solid pipeline for talent. Also, take a look at Kansas' Director of Player Development, Ronnie Chalmers. Check your facts before you accuse players of "buying" their way into a school. What does that even mean? And who cares? The kid is the top PG of his class, he's got a large portion of the bargaining chips to begin with.
Tristan_vick@baylor.edu
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
A Baylor guy getting upset because his school is called out. Its ok, I would defend myself too. But don't say its not shady when Roy Williams and Coach K wont recruit a Ty Lawson type player becaise of his entourage and then all of the sudden his travel coach is hired.
And check what facts. I said player's friends and families get hired and then they suddenly go to school there. Your Kansas fact actually helped my argument.
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Dre Lebowski 11 months ago
Pipeline?
Are you delusional? The Cliftons have one other top 25 player in their limited program, Ryan Kelly, but he's only interested in strong academic universities. Therefore, Baylor isn't in the picture.
Self has limited morals. He wouldn't have employed notorious Kurtis Townsend if he wasn't willing to do whatever it takes to get a player.
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matt smith 11 months ago
your ramblings are nonsensical. you should be more explicit in your statements, not implicit. give a straight up reason why this is shady. i am not a baylor fan, just wondering why this is shady. seems legit to me.
matt smith: what's wrong with NCAA reporting
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cdub earp 11 months ago
"only interested in string academic universities. Therefore, Baylor isn't in the picture." WHAT??? Baylor is the best academic school in the Big 12, as good as any in the SEC, and can hold there own with any "basketball school" in the country save Duke or Stanford.
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cowpie006 ray about 1 month ago
I hope that you aren't representative of Baylor's stellar academic program. You just made two spelling errors in only a few short lines.
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Randy Herschelman 10 months ago
When has Baylor NOT been considered a strong academic school? That comment came out of left field and without much knowledge!
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CJ Wilson 11 months ago
HAHAHAHA, what a joke
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Bill Stewart 11 months ago
I am not a Baylor fan, but this is a joke, Baylor is the most watched team by the NCAA, one slip up and it equals the death penalty. Just because he doesn wanna go to Duke or NC it becomes shady. Name a better story in College Athletics then the Baylor mens basketball team. Scott Drew and dstaff have out recruited nearly every other coaching staff, when Baylor was at the bottom he got players to come that should have been going to UT, A&M, or Kansas. And now that Baylor is good, I fully expext them to contend for top 10 players year in and year out.
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Big Z 11 months ago
What's wrong with NCAA recruiting is the NCAA. They go nuts when a Memphis booster at FedEx called a fellow employee of eleven years (even if she happens to be the mother of a star point guard, Abdul Gaddy), yet turn a blind eye to the parents of Chris Duhon and Carlos Boozer suddenly getting cushy new, high-paying jobs (that they were nowhere near qualified for) in the Durham area right when Duke happened to recruiting their kids. If the NCAA cared to unilaterally enforce the rules and make an effort to regulate recruiting, they you may have a basis for your whiny rant. Until then, don't cry foul when a school like Baylor uses the rules to their advantage to land top-flight players that they otherwise may not get. Then again, I'm guessing you must be a fan of one of the blue-blood schools that love thumbing their noses at schools outside the "chosen group" that happen to have success.
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cowpie006 ray about 1 month ago
I believe that you are just continuing to make the point for Mr. Smith. He just chose the most recent example to bring to the forefront. This happens across basketball. With the major programs like the ones that you mention as well as the smaller programs. He wanted to start this dialogue to get this information out there and get people to start talking about it. Hopefully, one day the NCAA will listen.
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D S 11 months ago
Big
Might want to check your facts there Big Guy. Neither of the parents you mentioned got "cushy new, high paying jobs". Nor did they get their jobs when Duke was recruiting their kids. After this was "reported", further investigation found that Boozer's dad exaggerated his position, and was in fact working at a low paying maintenance position (Does his Maryland degree leave him under-qualified for this position?). Duhon's mother got a moderate paying job after moving to Durham from Lousianna. So we're supposed to believe that Duke lured a player from the heart of L$U country with a mid-level job?
I actually think you're confusing the 2 with Joe Forte's mom (from UNC). While he was a student she was hired as a finance officer by the Sports Agent firm Octogon. This despite having outstanding warrants for embezzling money. She somehow afforded to hire a top $ DC firm to represent her (she claimed that Civil rights activist Andrew Young hired the law firm as a friend. He had never heard of Forte's mom). Oh, and SURPRISE! Guess what agency Forte ended up signing with? A cookie for you if you guessed Ocotogon.
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JP 2 months ago
One -- Yes, his Maryland degree certainly left him unqualified.
Two -- Joe Forte. Yeah, we would rather forget about him.
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AJ Johnson 11 months ago
D,
You also might want to check your facts. Duhon's mother's house was being foreclosed on just before Duhon came to Duke, and yet suddenly she had a new job, and money to buy a new house? And from all the reports I've read, neither the job she was given, nor the one that Boozer's father received were "moderate paying" when compared to previous jobs they had.
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Johnny Da Bone 11 months ago
Wake up people!!!
There is a VERY BIG PROBLEM with the recruitment of John Wall if he does in fact end up at Baylor. I don’t know much about his particular situation, so I can’t speak to the facts of this article, but I can tell you that Wall to Baylor does not pass the sniff test. In fact, it reeks of the Michael Beasley to KSU situation. Why would a player of Wall’s caliber go to an outhouse college basketball school? Res Ipsa Loquitur guys.
Also, don’t jump all over Matt’s story. Even if he didn't get the details right (although he may have) in the examples he provided, he hit the nail on the head regarding the “nature” of college basketball recruiting. If you doubt it… you’re in la la land.
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
I don'y even know why they're arguing the facts.
Wall's coach was hired.
Wagner's and Manning's dad's were hired.
They're fighting about Duke and UNC, but not about hiring family members, they're fighting about other things.
No one has yet defended the kid for getting his coach hired except for the first guy so I don't know what they are arguing about!
Thanks for your comments as well, finally someone else sees the problem.
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
I think this is a different situation then it was with Beasley. It had been known for some time that Beasley would play for his long time mentor and older brother figure, Delonte Hill. To add some perspective, Beasley had been committed to Charlotte before Hill was hired at KSU. The only catchup is that Hill is actually a very good recruiter. He has reeled in tons of DC Area kids like Jamar Samuels, Wally Judge(five-star committ), Rodney MacGruder(four star), and Ron Anderson. He has also pulled in a North Carolina prospect in Dominique Sutton, who will look to have a breakout season this year.
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Marissa Graham 11 months ago
If North Carolina wasn't recruiting Wall, why did they keep inviting him to home games? It's real convenient to say you weren't recruiting someone when the truth is that they don't have interest in you.
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
Of course everyone instate recruited Wall at some point but that was over a year ago, Roy cut ties when he found out what he was dealing with.
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Marissa Graham 11 months ago
Yeah. It's tough dealing with a great kid that's ranked as the number one recruit.
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
Apparently you don't get it. No top program wants to deal with someone's "handlers". Wall may be a great kid, I've never heard his own moral integrity question, but when you have to hire a kid's coach to get him to come to your school something is fishy and the Heels don't want to deal with that. Its a great get to Baylor no doubt, but with the sanctions they've had over the years do you really think this is a smart move?
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d ws 11 months ago
AJ
Don't let facts bother you. Mrs. Harper actually lived in an apartment, so she didn't "have money to buy a new house". That's a pretty big difference. I wonder why you would falsely claim she bought a house? I guess the truth just didn't fit your needs. You also failed to mention that the "sources" for these claims were disgruntled "former employee(s), including one who sued the company for sexual harrasment- who offered vague accusations but no facts. Someone claims she made more than $35,000. Again, this doesn't sound quite as exciting as a "cushy, new high paying job". Oh yeah, her supervisor, who allowed her name to be used, stated that she was ""more than qualified to do any job".
The claim that Boozer's dad had high paying job is based on the fact that he told a reporter he made $125,000/year. Somehow, people conveniently forget that " when told former co-workers said he was an administrative assistant, Boozer recanted, saying he earned about $40,000 annually". What do you want to bet that he "embellished" this figure also to save face (just like the claim he played with John Lucas at Maryland)? Oh yeah, Boozer also lost his job when his division was moved to PA. What happened then? He was hired to work for HUGE Duke supporter and alumni Michael Jordan at his Nissan dealership. I mean, there must be something nefarious there. Companies with Duke alumni connections are a dime a dozen in RTP - but somehow working for one of these companies raises a red flag. But the number of Pro basketball players there is much, much smaller. So surely there is something very, very wrong here. Or not
Also, you forgot to mention Chris and his mom's extensive community outreach efforts through time and money. I guess his "Community Player of the Year Award" and "Sporting News’ Good Guy Award" of the year don't quite jibe with the picture you're trying to paint.
Oh, and one last thing. If you truly think K had back surgery when it wasn't needed - then that speaks volumes about your intelligence. Any doctor will tell you that back surgery is extremely serious and not undertaken lightly. I love it when cowards on the internet question the toughness of a West Point grad who played under Bobby Knight. That's rich.
Oh yeah, one other convenient thing you forgot to mention: Duke was ranked number 11 in the country when Coach K left. That's a whopping 3 places below their preseason ranking of 8. Thay had beat 2 top 25 teams(Illinois and Michigan). And lost to top 25 UConn and Iowa (22 in next poll). K had to leave at the half of the Clemson game (which they lost by 5). Clemson was 18th in the next poll.
You also don't mention (dishonesty, ignorance) that Duke had many very close games against top teams that year, even though they were never the same without Coach K. They lost games to 4 games to UNC, Wake and Maryland by 1 point, 2 points, 2 points and 2OT. These teams were 3,4 and 10 in the final AP poll. So to claim that Coach K was bailing on a bad team he knew couldn't compete is absolutely not true. But again, don't let the truth stop you.
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dws 11 months ago
AJ
Don't let facts bother you. Mrs. Harper actually lived in an apartment, so she didn't "have money to buy a new house". That's a pretty big difference. I wonder why you would falsely claim she bought a house? I guess the truth just didn't fit your needs. You also failed to mention that the "sources" for these claims were disgruntled "former employee(s), including one who sued the company for sexual harrasment- who offered vague accusations but no facts. Someone claims she made more than $35,000. Again, this doesn't sound quite as exciting as a "cushy, new high paying job". Oh yeah, her supervisor, who allowed her name to be used, stated that she was ""more than qualified to do any job".
The claim that Boozer's dad had high paying job is based on the fact that he told a reporter he made $125,000/year. Somehow, people conveniently forget that " when told former co-workers said he was an administrative assistant, Boozer recanted, saying he earned about $40,000 annually". What do you want to bet that he "embellished" this figure also to save face (just like the claim he played with John Lucas at Maryland)? Oh yeah, Boozer also lost his job when his division was moved to PA. What happened then? He was hired to work for HUGE Duke supporter and alumni Michael Jordan at his Nissan dealership. I mean, there must be something nefarious there. Companies with Duke alumni connections are a dime a dozen in RTP - but somehow working for one of these companies raises a red flag. But the number of Pro basketball players there is much, much smaller. So surely there is something very, very wrong here. Or not
Also, you forgot to mention Chris and his mom's extensive community outreach efforts through time and money. I guess his "Community Player of the Year Award" and "Sporting News’ Good Guy Award" of the year don't quite jibe with the picture you're trying to paint.
Oh, and one last thing. If you truly think K had back surgery when it wasn't needed - then that speaks volumes about your intelligence. Any doctor will tell you that back surgery is extremely serious and not undertaken lightly. I love it when cowards on the internet question the toughness of a West Point grad who played under Bobby Knight. That's rich.
Oh yeah, one other convenient thing you forgot to mention: Duke was ranked number 11 in the country when Coach K left. That's a whopping 3 places below their preseason ranking of 8. Thay had beat 2 top 25 teams(Illinois and Michigan). And lost to top 25 UConn and Iowa (22 in next poll). K had to leave at the half of the Clemson game (which they lost by 5). Clemson was 18th in the next poll. You also don't mention (dishonesty, ignorance) that Duke had many very close games against top teams that year, even though they were never the same without Coach K. They lost games to 4 games to UNC, Wake and Maryland by 1 point, 2 points, 2 points and 2OT. These teams were 3,4 and 10 in the final AP poll. So to claim that Coach K was bailing on a bad team he knew couldn't compete is absolutely not true. But again, don't let the truth stop you.
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Marissa Graham 11 months ago
Matt: To answer your question about being a smart move for Baylor, the answer is "100% yes" it's a smart move. Coach Driscoll, who is an assistant at Baylor, recruited and coached Dwon Clifton when he was an assistant at Clemson. If this was illegal, it would be another story. If you don't think Baylor is heavily scrutinized and doesn't realize that they are, then you're the one who just doesn't get it. Whenever you can add someone like Dwon, and hopefully Wall, you do it in a heartbeat. If you say otherwise, that doesn't make sense to me.
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j l ran 11 months ago
What do you expect from Baylor?
Here is a damned good coach with qualities we're looking for. There is the best point guard in next year's class. But they happen to know each other, so we can't try to get both of them in our program.
I think your brain has been in the sun so long that you wouldn't recognize something shady from five feet away.
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Gothzilla 11 months ago
Several comments:
1. Yes, this type of situation stinks, but it's entirely legal and above-board. If someone doesn't like it he can complain to the NCAA, the U.N., or Congress. But the result will be the same: nothing.
2. I'm disappointed Baylor did this too, but to besmirch Baylor's academics is just wrong. It's true it doesn't rank with the top tier private schools, but it is head-and-shoulders above most public universities by most academic measures.
3. Big, you really should get your facts correct before you post on a public forum because you look, well...stupid. I doubt you are stupid, and prefer to think you have been victimized by moronic internet nonsense because it fits with what you WANT to believe. Too bad. Anyway, D has set the record straight if you you are man enough to accept it.
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CYNTHIA JONES 11 months ago
It is alright to talk about coachs, but it is not alright to talk about John Wall, whom none of you really know. John is not gaining anything from this messed up situation. He did not make Baylor offer his Coach a job. John is still legally a KID, seveenteen years old and you grown adults are taking stabbs at him left and right. If it was your child would you like it and how do you think John's family feels about the whole situation. It is hard being in his position, with people giving him advise left and right and he and his family not knowing WHO to trust.
This is not about Baylor or whatever school John goes to, it is about making sure that all young, gifted and talented athletes are guided down the right path. John is a great kid, well mannered and respectable kid, who just love to ball and it is people like you, that always comment negatively about him, that could easily destroy his dream, but because there is a higher power that looks over him, YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED!!!!!!!
JOHN HAS A GIFT AND HE HAS TO USE THAT GIFT TO INSPIRE OTHER KIDS HOW TO PULL THEMSELVES UP, WHEN THEY ARE NOT DOING WELL ACADEMICALLY, BRUSH THEMSELVES OFF AND START ALL OVER AGAIN AND TO CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT ALONG WITH HARD WORK AND DEDICATION THIER GOALS WILL BE REACHED.
I also know that many people say that he is in a Big mans world now, so he has to play with the Big Men, yes that is true, but please please wait until he is considered legally to be a BIG MAN, he is still 17 fellows, GET OFF OF HIS BACK.
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
I never said it was about Wall and I know you didnt directly say me but I said before in a reponse it is not about John's character. I dont want to destroy his dream or anything, I as a UNC fan would love to have him. He seems like a "Lawson" type kid who is fast and loves to play. I don't think its fair for those around him and associated with him to take advantage of his recruitment situation and gain things from his ability. Thats all, nothing about John Wall personally, just what others are gaining from his recruitment. Thanks Cynthia.
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Kevin C. 11 months ago
this is...intense
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James Franklin 11 months ago
Okay,
John Wall was somewhat in the mode of Tracy McGrady in that he was discovered nationally late. In fact a lot of people in Raleigh didn't know who he was. He was cut from his JV team.
Carolina had a commitment from a higher rated (at the time) point guard. Thats why they didn't offer. Duke tried to get in late and didn't make much headway. Dukes recruiting strategy of coming in late and getting recruits has not been working lately.
The insinuation that he is shady because he's not going to Duke or Carolina is way over the top.
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Matt Smith 11 months ago
Not shady that he didn't go to UNC or Duke, shady because he may go to Baylor because his coach was hired there.
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drew shaw 11 months ago
Knee Jerk article of the year...I don't know much about this kid, he may be the next Pac -Man Jones or Ron Artest type of guy (or even Carlton Dotson), but hiring his AAU coach who is also a friend of a BU assistant coach is just smart. K-State did it with Beasley, and even when Huggins left for WV Beasley stuck around because of his affinity for his former coach. Another example is Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, who took his former coach and friend Johnny Narron with him from Cincy to Texas because he felt like he needed him to stay clean. He was being "recruited" by the Rangers who found out Narron was part of a package deal.
I've never been on this site before, but I would have put down a lot of money that the writer was a UNC or Duke fan, and after reading the comments and seeing that he's indeed a Heels fan, it all makes sense
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Austin Penny 11 months ago
A problem kids like this have is that they have people that do everything for them and people that figuratively 'sell' them to schools with the promise of so much production and success, and they have to live up to that image or they are HEAVILY scrutinized by...well...us.
The best thing that high school kids can do these days as far as basketball goes is to just let your game do the talking. It's not about what shoe deals you can get after college, it's about playing the game at a school where your skills will give that team it's best chance to get to the Dance and win a title. This has not been the focus for years, however, because of all of the phenoms that have come to the League straight out of grade school. There is only a LeBron or a Kobe a couple of times in a generation, but with the way the media covers those guys and with all of the money they make, who on earth WOULDN'T want to jump straight in to the NBA?? The media and marketing goons have created a situation where no high school kid wants to go to college for four years and develop his game to a point where he will be able to play in the League for several years and make a living doing it. They want to rush to the bright lights, get their shoe deal and their signing bonus, and blow out their knees or backs in a few years trying to compete with big MEN.
I'm not knocking any player who has come out of High School but I'm not blaming them either. If you take a list of all of the players who made the jump straight from High School to the NBA and put a check by the ones who lived up to their hype, you would have a relatively blank page.
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Austin Penny 11 months ago
as far as Wall goes, I don't think Matt is trying to say that it's wrong because he didn't go to Carolina or Duke, it's just weird that a kid of that caliber would leave North Carolina and all of the great schools in this state and in the surrounding states for...Baylor.
Not a knock on Baylor neccessarily but you would think the highest caliber player would want to play for the highest caliber team.
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Ty'mon Norman 11 months ago
Personally John Wall is a great kid, and his entourage is to blame for taking advantage of his talents for their benefit. Great question raising article!
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Dre B 11 months ago
I must comment because I know John... I know for a fact that UNC was on John's list for a while. He was on UNC's list along with Dexter Strickland. Dexter was on the national recruiting scene for a while and John was a late bloomer. Once John proved against other big time players that he was the best UNC offered him a scholly. The same day UNC offered Dexter Strickland who UNC had already offered a schooly to accepted UNC's offer to keep John from coming. This took UNC off of John's list of course and since UNC had offered Dexter had no choice but to accept.
I hate articles like this from people who don't know John nor his circumstances. This is a great situation for John and this cannot be compared to OJ Mayo. USC is in LA... a huge media market. Baylor is in a part of Texas that is a small market... there will not be a lot of media coverage there. John needs a place where he can develop his game and maturity from a good coach where there is not too much media scrutiny.
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Justin Young 11 months ago
So John Wall came here to Baylor. Why do you care? It's not like UNC or Duke aren't getting better recruiting classes. And as far as not having strong academics, Baylor is to the Big 12 what Vandy is to the SEC. That might explain why our football hasn't done well in years.
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amber nichols 9 months ago
the story is wrong. The hiring of his coach means nothing. john's my cousin and i support him in everything. I know that deep inside he's going to do whats best for him...he's going to go wherever he feels comfortable. He's tired of rumors being held about this baylor thing he has not as of now chosen a college. Coach clifton is not pursuading him to go to baylor he's letting john make the decision because it is JOHN"S decision. cliffton will support john wherever he goes. hop off and stop saying because his coach is at baylor that he's going there. he has not decided and wherever he goes he's going to do great soooo you might as well deal with it and support wherever he goes. deals has nothing to do with it.
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amber nichols 9 months ago
the story is wrong. The hiring of his coach means nothing. john's my cousin and i support him in everything. I know that deep inside he's going to do whats best for him...he's going to go wherever he feels comfortable. He's tired of rumors being held about this baylor thing he has not as of now chosen a college. Coach clifton is not pursuading him to go to baylor he's letting john make the decision because it is JOHN"S decision. cliffton will support john wherever he goes. hop off and stop saying because his coach is at baylor that he's going there. he has not decided and wherever he goes he's going to do great soooo you might as well deal with it and support wherever he goes. deals has nothing to do with it.
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Anthony Faison 7 months ago
Personally I don't think it may matter where he goes to school because more than likely he's only gonna be there one year anyway. Maybe that's could be a small factor as to why Duke & UNC backed off as well. And guys from what I know he still has NC State on his list, which is here in NC also last I checked....Also, as was previously said, UNC got Strickland, and Duke didn't bother to try to recruit Wall until they didn't get Kenny Boynton.....
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Anthony Faison 7 months ago
I meant maybe that could be a small factor. Sorry for the typo.
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Brock 5 months ago
another good scandal involves Bill Self this winter in Springfield,Missouri at the tournament of Champions. Self is so interested in this guy he was at the game on the saturday they played Colorado around noon in Lawrence, KS and then in Springfield by 6.. Then he persisted to walk into the crowd.. which he doesn't do and talk to someone who was oddly near the team.. just as the team was headed to locker room.. then after the game he was waiting outside of the locker room which was in a whole other section of the building behind locked doors awaiting the "chance" meeting they are allowed?? That's shady. However, this boy is amazing and these coaches are wise to take out all the stops for him. He plays like D-wade and if he develops his average shot from outside to go with his superior ball control ability he will be a major force to reckon with.. We watched the self incident unfold and were wishing we had a camera, but a local blog/reporter broke the story online about the hallway incident after the game and mysteriously we haven't heard anything else...
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Demon East 4 months ago
Matt im a crazy UNC fan. Yet believe it or not not everybody in the world is a carolina or duke faithful. actually many people in the nation dont see the acc being the best overall conference. in decision making for these prospects alot comes into play besides prestige of a school. If thats the case ucla would be landing the top prospect in the country every single season ( not to say that they dont land very good ones of course.) Style, location, maybe prestige maybe not, playing time, and overall comfort level and security are what makes these guys pick schools. Duke as far as style of play is not for wall period. they shot shot and shot somemore in order to win games. Apparently walls downside right now is his shot. Plus Coach K dosnt like to recruit these guys who are one and done players. Though carolina has a good style fit for wall, he needs the ball in his hand alot to get the maximun of his game which carolina has alot of people to share the ball with at all times. Look at the overall recruitment of tyreke evans. based on what he loved as a kid, carolina was his school until he figured out the style and playing time were just not going to cut it for what he wanted to establish. This brings the point of memphis. If tyreke dosnt go to NBA and with the signing of xavier henry, wall dosnt dominate the game as he would like so that could be a reason he dosnt go there. NC state right in his back yard helps them out, but their style of play is slow. Baylor is having a good year and always plays decent in the tourney. they have upside and potential. Clffton going also adds to wall feeling safe in a place where he knows he can trust people. Point is there dosnt have to be something shady going all the time when someone wants to be diffrent. Maybe Wall dosnt want to be under the ucla duke carolina indiana kentucky etc legacy maybe he just wants to make his own.
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Demon East 4 months ago
By the way i wont sit and act like i dont know that shady things dont happen like you said earlier oj mayo etc. but even when these guys do end up doing things the wrong way you cannot blame it all on them. You saying John Wall is the poster child of what is wrong wit college bball right now isnt fair. these guys are as you stated above still kids. they are influenced and pressured very heavily by families couches and friends who may or may not have the best intentions for them. you cant always pick the people you look up to, to help you make the right desisions at that age. immaturity is easy to persuade and convince because it is a thing that makes people very nieve wouldnt you agree?
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Demon East 4 months ago
i apologize for arguing the wrong topic. after reading your replys matt i undertsand what your article was really questioning now. not john wall himself but the situation of the coach being hired. your sayin the school and the coach are the problem. If the school only hired the coach for the purpose of hoping to get Wall and the coach used Wall as a ride then yes the commitment of wall to baylor isnt proper. But who knows. this could just be a situation that was lucky for baylor. is the coach truely qualified for the job is my question. if yes then cant really argue about it and just have to say baylor got lucky.
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