Austin Rivers' Final Four

Austin Rivers, last seen abusing John Wall on the basketball court, i.e. the most celebrated recruit of the 2011 class, has nailed down his final four schools…or at least the four he plans to visit.

This fall, Doc Rivers kid will be visiting North Carolina (October 1) and Duke (October 16), followed by trips to Kansas and finally Florida.

Two notables here.

First…Austin is not visiting Kentucky. Does that mean Calipari is done? I can’t say for sure simply because you can never count out Coach Cal. He’s already brought in four studs in 2011, but none of them are shooting guards. The only issue is, they did bring a shooting guard (Stacey Poole) this year. Poole is good, thus potentially can be a one-and-done, I just don’t think he will be, so does Rivers want to share time?

Second…He’s got Carolina first. This is a tough sell for Coach Williams. You have to believe Roy is going throw everything at this kid. Hell, if dressing up Michael Jordan as Santa Claus and letting Rivers sit on his lap could help him land Rivers, he’d already have a baby blue Santa suit ordered.

Austin isn’t going to commit on the spot. This means by the time Rivers is done, Carolina’s pitch will probably be the first one forgotten. I’d feel better about Carolina’s chances if they went after Duke.

The fact is, Duke is still the favorite in my book. I’d be shocked if he ended up anywhere else. Of course I probably would have said the same thing about Harrison Barnes a year and a half ago.

It’s clear that Austin is a big fan of Duke and Coach K. He’s been caught wearing the gear and brings them up, even when he’s not ask about them.

I think he’s a good kid and a smart kid, so he’s keeping his options open. If championship coaches like Roy Williams and Bill Self are going to recruit him, he’s certainly going to lend them his ear.

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