Talked to my friend in the south, had 3 interesting things to say, though only item 1 is really relevant to Cal. Rest is just if you're interested in college hoops:
1. Brown has many people supposedly in the "know" in GA scratching their head. Local folks don't know what he's going to do, the Cal visit has thrown them a curve ball. So now just a bunch of speculation. The only thing anyone says for sure about him is he's a 1 and done guy.
Most recently it's been viewed as a UK vs UNC battle - with UNC leading because he grew up UNC fan, and UK is UK - with the 2 GA schools still in his ear. At one point he was hoping to stay local, specifically Ga Tech. They suck, their coach is on the hot seat, so the view is very small shot for them. Fox at UGA has been on the hot seat as well, but their recent ncaa tourney appearance may have slightly cracked the door. And of course he has family from Mich, so he's checking them out too. But in the end, UNC is probably the leader unless Calipari's magic dust is too good.
But then why visit Cal on your own dime? It's fair to infer that while unc may be the leader, he's not completely sold, or at least wants to make absolute certainty that there isn't a better fit for him. Until Brown publicly comments on his Mich and Cal trips, who knows, but I think the fact that he came means there's at least some interest in Cal/Cuonzo. I don't think this is anything like the pg that Grant says Cal has no shot to land.
2. Howland to Miss St. Interesting what a business college sports are, and this is definitely a good topic for an ethics class. Howland wanted back in this year, Howland is loved by adidas, and Miss St is an adidas school. The powers that be (including adidas) had howland locked up with Miss St before their existing coach Ray was even fired.
Now word is that Howland will hire Korey McCray as an asst. Former head of Atlanta's AAU team the Celtics. And surprise, the Celtics are an Adidas aau program. The Celtics are much like the Soldiers in terms of high D1 talent. So a shrewd coaching hire by Howland and I would expect Miss St to land lots of kids from Atlanta that they typically couldn't.
3. Alabama is going all out to hire Marshall at Wich St. Kind of an open checkbook, starting near $4M per. Of course Texas really likes him, so what are they going to do with Barnes? Could see an interesting recruiting battle between Texas and Bama for Marshall. And who knows, he may say no, since he loves Wich St, gets paid well (though not Bama money), and can win there.
1. Brown has many people supposedly in the "know" in GA scratching their head. Local folks don't know what he's going to do, the Cal visit has thrown them a curve ball. So now just a bunch of speculation. The only thing anyone says for sure about him is he's a 1 and done guy.
Most recently it's been viewed as a UK vs UNC battle - with UNC leading because he grew up UNC fan, and UK is UK - with the 2 GA schools still in his ear. At one point he was hoping to stay local, specifically Ga Tech. They suck, their coach is on the hot seat, so the view is very small shot for them. Fox at UGA has been on the hot seat as well, but their recent ncaa tourney appearance may have slightly cracked the door. And of course he has family from Mich, so he's checking them out too. But in the end, UNC is probably the leader unless Calipari's magic dust is too good.
But then why visit Cal on your own dime? It's fair to infer that while unc may be the leader, he's not completely sold, or at least wants to make absolute certainty that there isn't a better fit for him. Until Brown publicly comments on his Mich and Cal trips, who knows, but I think the fact that he came means there's at least some interest in Cal/Cuonzo. I don't think this is anything like the pg that Grant says Cal has no shot to land.
2. Howland to Miss St. Interesting what a business college sports are, and this is definitely a good topic for an ethics class. Howland wanted back in this year, Howland is loved by adidas, and Miss St is an adidas school. The powers that be (including adidas) had howland locked up with Miss St before their existing coach Ray was even fired.
Now word is that Howland will hire Korey McCray as an asst. Former head of Atlanta's AAU team the Celtics. And surprise, the Celtics are an Adidas aau program. The Celtics are much like the Soldiers in terms of high D1 talent. So a shrewd coaching hire by Howland and I would expect Miss St to land lots of kids from Atlanta that they typically couldn't.
3. Alabama is going all out to hire Marshall at Wich St. Kind of an open checkbook, starting near $4M per. Of course Texas really likes him, so what are they going to do with Barnes? Could see an interesting recruiting battle between Texas and Bama for Marshall. And who knows, he may say no, since he loves Wich St, gets paid well (though not Bama money), and can win there.
