Why UNC is doing so well in recruiting…
As I do when I have the time I was checking all the articles/posts that I had bookmarked to see if I can use them in anyway when I came by this one by Justin Young of National Hoops Report, where he says this about Harrison Barnes and where he is was heading to play college ball: “Harrison Barnes – Duke. I’m sticking to my guns with this one. I’m also sticking to my belief that Oklahoma, not North Carolina, is second.” I have followed Young for a long time, love what he has to say on high school players, but on this one he truly kept on going on the wrong path. But I won’t say anything negative about Justin Young, because everyone knows that these 18 year old athletes might change their minds 100 times over before making their decision on where they are going.
But while we are talking about recruiting and North Carolina I have to add that this piece from WRAL Sports Fan has Jay Bilas talking about how no one can outrecruit head coach Roy Williams right now. The great quote of this article is the following:
“I think what makes Roy Williams an unbelievable recruiter is, he works at it,” Bilas says. “He’s an unbelievably hard worker. He’s in the gym all the time, and he takes recruiting personally.”
I think that the game of recruiting, more so than the game played on the court, is a lot about momentum, and right now, between two national championships and many ex players now on NBA rosters, coach Williams has that going his way like no one else. When people talk about Harrison Barnes it’s not so much that North Carolina beat out Duke, but that Williams beat out Coach K, and that has to hurt when it comes to recruiting. It hurts because most people that have watched/been part of recruiting know that it is a lot more personal than someone on the outside would know. Recruiting is personal, both with the player and his parents, and no one makes it more personal that the head coach of the Tar Heels, and that is why right now Williams is bringing almost all of the players that he wants.
When it comes to Duke a lot of people, both pro and con that program, have talked about how the US Team might have affected how the recruiting is going for Coach K and his staff. I will say this about that subject, I definitely do not believe that it’s helping, since time away from the program can not be helpful, but I am not too sure that it’s hurting the program as much as the fact that you have Roy Williams eight miles down the road working as hard as possible. In the end, a great class in `09, another one in `10 and a top recruit in `11, it does not seem that Williams will slow down anytime soon! It’s a great time to be a Tar Heel, just enjoy the ride!
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