7 comments Someone Please Make Gregg Easterbrook Stop Writing TMQ

Gregg Easterbrook mocked mock drafts last week in TMQ. It wasn't especially funny, creative or interesting to read, but he did infuriate me as he is prone to do when he is discussing television shows and misleading his readers. This week Gregg celebrates Eric Fisher, the #1 overall draft pick for 2013, who is not a highly-paid glory boy because he comes from a small college. I guess coming from a small college excludes Fisher from being a highly-paid glory boy and Gregg sees him as the Everyman...as long as the Everyman is someone who weighs 300 pounds, is 6'7" tall, is a millionaire and has exceptional football skills. Really, doesn't that describe nearly all of us?

Thursday, Eric Fisher of Central Michigan became the third first-round NFL draft pick in recent years from below the testosterone-pumped level of the BCS conferences, joining David Carr of Fresno State in 2002 and Alex Smith of Utah in 2005.

What do David Carr and Alex Smith have in common? Neither of them have shown they can be franchise quarterbacks. As always, Gregg leaves that part out when discussing #1 draft picks from non-BCS conferences. He takes great pride in pointing out which players drafted #1 overall aren't from a BCS conferences, but fails to point out how these players performed once reaching the NFL. There is a reason for this.

Fisher, who grew up in Michigan, went to Central Michigan because neither of the state's big-deal football programs, the University of Michigan and Michigan State, wanted him. So take that, Wolverines and Spartans!

I bet they feel bad they didn't get Eric Fisher. It's so hard for them to recruit, I know Michigan will regret recruiting Taylor Lewan over Eric Fisher. Lewan is such a bum at left tackle and all.

Coming out of high school, ratings services said he was no good. Fisher is the classic Everyman, making it entirely on his own. 

This is as opposed to Luke Joeckel who never had to work hard and had everything handed to him? Joeckel didn't even practice in college, he just got handed a spot in the NFL Draft lottery. How about Lane Johnson who switched positions in college and then got drafted in the first round? Was everything handed to him simply because he went to the University of Oklahoma?

When Fisher was a high school senior, ESPN Recruiting Nation graded him as "not rated," which means scouts thought he was inconsequential. Rivals gave Fisher two stars, in a system where five is hot stuff and two is generic, given to mid-major prospects.

Gregg is too stupid or too deceptive to point this out, but do you notice something funny about Eric Fisher's ranking coming out of high school? Click the link and look again. He was unranked as a DEFENSIVE END. He wasn't even an offensive lineman coming out of high school. So it turns out he was inconsequential as an defensive end because the Central Michigan coaching staff moved him to offensive line from the defensive line. Gregg won't mention Fisher wasn't ranked or recruited as an offensive lineman because that would ruin whatever point he is trying to prove through not providing his readers with the sufficient amount of information to determine whether is point is valid or not.

(The English language begins crying after that last sentence)

Roughly half those lauded in Fisher's senior year by either recruiting service so far have either done very well in football or were sidelined by severe injuries, meaning we'll ever know. 

But almost as many were busts, got in trouble with the law or didn't start for their own college. Dee Finley, Stephen Good, Tyler Love, Enrique Davis, Simi Kuli, Raven Gray, Ray Ray Armstrong, Craig Loston, Jermie Calhoun -- these and others received top billing from recruiting services, and were subjects of recruiting wars by big-college programs, at the same time Fisher was being ignored in his own backyard.

So Gregg is telling us that recruiting services aren't 100% accurate? Thank God TMQ is around to provide us with obvious information like this. Notice Gregg wrote "almost as many" were busts, which means there were more players who got injured or did well at the top of those recruiting services rankings than those that busted. Again, Gregg is taking the exception and trying to make it the rule of thumb that recruiting services aren't perfect...which is something we already knew.

If there were recruiting websites for the most promising high school seniors aiming for med school, years later half the names would have vanished while some total unknowns came on strong. The fact that prospect ratings services often err isn't a surprise -- the draft itself often errs. 

And yet Gregg is acting like it is a big shock that the high school football recruiting services weren't 100% accurate. What's the point of this exercise then? The #1 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft wasn't highly recruited. Gregg says these services miss on players at times, so why is Fisher's draft status even that notable when there are highly recruited players taken right behind him in the 2013 draft? Clearly recruiting services aren't perfect, but there were highly recruited players who were drafted early in the first round.

Don't let anyone else define you -- all that matters is how you define yourself. The Experts said Eric Fisher wasn't good.

The experts also said that Eric Fisher was a defensive end out of high school, which he was.

The top of the draft told that story. The sole quarterback taken in Round 1, EJ Manuel, seems a long shot for the NFL, but was the well-known quarterback most familiar with zone-read tactics.

E.J. Manuel was the well-known quarterback most familiar with zone-read tactics unless you want to count Mike Scott. Scott consistently ran variations of the zone-read in college while Manuel didn't do as much of it at Florida State as Scott did at Arizona.

Also, why is E.J. Manuel a longshot for the NFL again? I'm confused as to the basis for Gregg making this statement.

Three of the first six players chosen -- Dion Jordan by Miami, Ezekiel Ansah by Detroit and Barkevious Mingo by Cleveland -- are lean, rangy edge rushers.

Ezekiel Ansah weighs 271 pounds. I guess the definition of "lean" is relative. If you remember in the past Gregg has bitched that high school offensive linemen are too fat and coaches should encourage their players to lose weight, yet here Gregg calls a 271 pound man "lean."

And the preponderance of offensive linemen in Round 1, coupled to the absence of running backs, is in its way an indicator of the fad. Watch a quick-paced zone-read attack -- the Skins of 2012 or the Oregon Ducks' blur offense. These tactics depend on fabulous blocking: the left tackle is more important than the tailback.

Gregg's stupidity knows no bounds. I bet he can't name the left tackle for the Oregon Ducks. Yes, blocking is incredibly important in fast-paced offenses, but a running back who is well-conditioned and can hit the hole quickly is equally as important.

Blocking matters in any kind of football. 

Where else but TMQ can you find nuggets of such great intelligent content?

The Wildcat seemed unstoppable for a while.

One year is how long the Wildcat seemed unstoppable, if that long.

By the end of the 2013 season, zone-read attacks may be stalled, while classic pocket passers shred college-flavored defenses. A few years down the road, Matt Barkley is more likely to be in the Pro Bowl than EJ Manuel. 

So because E.J. Manuel can run the zone-read he is less likely to be a success in the NFL than Matt Barkley? I'm not sure Gregg has watched a single Florida State football game in the last two years. Manuel can throw the football from the pocket or run with the ball. Simply because the zone-read may be a fad doesn't mean EJ Manuel isn't likely to succeed in the NFL as compared to a pocket-based quarterback like Barkley. It's not like Matt Barkley is suddenly going to become a better quarterback because defenses have caught on with a way to defend the zone-read.

Here's the Tuesday Morning Quarterback draft analysis:

Here's my opinion of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback draft analysis.

Atlanta: It's easy to forget that this team finished 14-4 and came within a few snaps of the Super Bowl. In the draft, the Falcons restocked at corner and added a 6-foot-8 tight end to one of the league's best passing offenses. 

The 6-foot-8 tight end came from a football factory and is a bit of a project. He's not Jimmy Graham quite yet, so Gregg should take a deep breath or two before getting too excited. 

Buffalo: The Bills used a third-round pick on Marquise Goodwin, fastest man at the combine -- he ran a 4.3, excuse me, a 4.27. 

Because there IS a difference in a 4.3 and 4.27 40-yard dash. If the time wasn't rounded to the hundredth of a decimal point then there would be a couple of players who ran a 4.3 40-yard dash at the Combine.

Complication: Goodwin was never a full-time starter in college, recording just 26 receptions as a senior. So he's a track star but his own college coaches thought he couldn't play. Why will that change in the pros? In 1992, the Jets used a first-round choice on tight end Johnny Mitchell, who was incredibly fast but did not start in college. You fill in the rest.

Jimmy Graham didn't play very much in college, Antonio Gates didn't play college football at all, Trindon Holliday didn't play very much at LSU, and Ryan Tannehill played receiver for half of his college career. The one example of Johnny Mitchell not playing well after not starting often in college doesn't mean Goodwin will be a bust. This is typical Gregg Easterbrook though. He uses one example to prove his point, but ignores other examples that contradict his point.

Carolina: Can you name anyone who plays defensive line for the Panthers? Neither can most others who follow football.

Regardless of whether anyone can name a defensive lineman for Carolina, this doesn't mean they don't have two good defensive linemen. Carolina had two defensive ends with 10+ sacks last year, so they didn't have terrible defensive ends.

The Cats paid a huge amount last season to defensive end Charles Johnson, but he played for sack stats and was often burned by draws and screens. 

This is a lie. It's an outright lie. Charles Johnson didn't play for sack stats and he wasn't burned often by draws and screens. I don't get how ESPN allows Gregg to lie, but they seem to allow him to do so on a weekly basis in TMQ. Johnson did have 12.5 sacks last year (which is apparently a bad thing), but he also caused 7 fumbles (second in the NFL), and had 41 tackles. He didn't play for just sacks.

Dallas: The Cowboys traded down, then used their first-round choice on a guy who draft guru Mike Mayock saw as a third-round fellow. Of course draft gurus are often wrong -- last year Mayock did not have Russell Wilson in his top 100. 

Mayock also has Eric Fisher, the guy who is Gregg Easterbrook's new idol, as the top player on his board. Maybe Fisher won't be very good in the NFL and Gregg won't be able to fawn over him anymore. Draft gurus are often wrong, right?

NFL professionals sometimes complain about Mayock, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay spouting off regarding draft picks, since draftnik opinions are so often wrong. If NFL scouts released as much detail about their opinions as do Kiper, McShay and Mayock, they'd be shown constantly wrong, too. 

These NFL scouts don't have to release their opinion to the public because they are the ones recommending players to be drafted. I don't need to know the Bills' opinion of EJ Manuel. They drafted him and that's good enough for me to form an opinion on what they think about him.

Denver: The Broncos seemed poised for the Super Bowl until their secondary went on strike late in what seemed like a sure playoff win over the Ravens. Yet Denver didn't choose a defensive back 'til the third round.

The Broncos were smart not to overreact to the end of the Ravens game. The Broncos secondary played well during the season and Rahim Moore just mistimed his jump. Maybe the Broncos aren't fine in the secondary, but the reason to draft a corner or safety early isn't due to the end of the AFC Divisional Playoff Game. Plus, John Fox loves playing a soft defense at the end of the game so I think he should get all of the blame. When in doubt, blame the coach...or the Hall of Fame quarterback who threw a key interception in overtime.

Not to mention, the Broncos drafted a defensive tackle in the first round, which can help with the pass rush which helps with the secondary having to cover offensive players for a shorter amount of time. 

And don't look now, but the Broncs offense sputtered in the postseason, averaging just 4.6 yards gained per play, well below the NFL all-teams season average of 5.4.

This may be why the Broncos didn't draft anyone from the secondary in the second round and took Montee Ball (a running back) instead.

Detroit: Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, fifth overall choice of the draft, came to the United States hoping to play basketball, and did not put on pads for the first time until 2010. He became a starter for BYU in 2012 and played well, but was hardly overpowering -- 4.5 sacks, 35 solo tackles. There's a huge risk here of a one-year wonder. Does the name Aaron Maybin ring a bell? 

No, but Jason Paul-Pierre's name rings a bell. Again, Gregg shouldn't just use the examples that prove his point without acknowledging examples that go against his point. I say he "shouldn't," but Gregg has an agenda and that's why he doesn't bring up Jason Pierre-Paul in this situation as a college one-year wonder who has thrived in the NFL.

Houston: The Texans win games but lack a certain je ne sais pas. That means I don't know what they lack -- and neither, it seems, does Houston management.

I would say the Texans lacked another threat in the passing game and (it sounds stupid, I know) some veteran leadership on the defense. They have veterans already, but I think Ed Reed is really going to help the defense more off the field than on the field. I'm pretty sure the Texans management knew what the team lacked.

Johnny Manziel was at Radio City Music Hall in New York, giving interviews and receiving admiration. Isn't Manziel supposed to be a college student? Texas A&M is in session, yet a "student" at the university is flying around the country discussing football. "I have another year of college football left, that's my main focus," Manziel said on ESPN. Shouldn't Manziel at least pretend to be a student? 

Those of us paying attention know that Johnny Manziel has already stated he is only taking online classes because taking classes and actually being in class is too distracting. The benefit of being in online classes is you don't have to be at the school to be in school, so Manziel can take the classes while he travels all around the country.

That being said, I realize Manziel isn't really a college student and Gregg has a point, but he also doesn't have a point because Manziel could be taking classes while still flying around the country.

Manziel -- surely abetted by his coach and the Aggies' athletic director -- sets the wrong example for the overwhelming majority of NCAA scholarship holders who will never have sports income. 

If any NCAA scholarship holders are looking to Johnny Manziel as their example then they have big problems.

In "Oblivion," the latest Tom Cruise ego vehicle, once again super-advanced aliens have invaded Earth in order to steal our water. 

As TMQ has pointed out, including two years ago, "Water is among the most common substances in the cosmos. The Oort Cloud on the boundary of our solar system contains hundreds of times more water than Earth's oceans. To get water, sinister aliens wouldn't need to stage invasions, much less don uncomfortable latex costumes.

I greatly dislike Tom Cruise and it hurts to even semi-defend him, but this is just a movie that is supposed to be entertaining. Be entertained and don't try to make every science-fiction film a fact-based lesson on space exploration and astronomy.

Jersey/B: Netting the Buccaneers deal and draft-day decisions, the Jets traded Darrelle Revis, one of the league's best players and in his prime, for the No. 13 overall pick (which the Jets used to select defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson) and a conditional mid-round 2014 pick. Richardson is a speculative choice who was only at the big-college level for two years, and there was once suspended. He and a conditional future pick are better than one of the league's top players in his prime?

Gregg doesn't even understand this situation, so I don't want to even waste my finger energy typing up a response to this...but I will. This situation is more complicated than the Jets simply trading away one of the league's top players in his prime. First off, Revis is coming off major knee surgery. Second, Revis had indicated he wanted a new contract and the Jets did not want to give him a new contract. Third, Revis has held out before and could hold out again to get a new contract, so at that point in Training Camp much of the Jets' leverage in the trade market could be gone. It sucks, but the Jets' position gave them no choice but to trade Revis if they weren't going to give him a new contract. They didn't want to give him a new contract and the relationship between Revis and the Jets was deteriorating.

In 2003, the Jets used the fourth pick of the draft on Dewayne Robertson, who like Richardson had great potential but hadn't done much: Robertson became a bust. 

That was a decade ago. How is there a comparison between two defensive tackles drafted by the Jets 10 years ago...other than the fact they are defensive tackles drafted by the Jets? The Jets have also drafted Muhammad Wilkerson and he has worked out really well and he plays on the defensive line, as has Sione Pouha. Why does this entire TMQ consist of Gregg using one set of data to prove his point while intentionally ignoring sets of data that contradict his point?

Unless Richardson becomes a star, the Revis trade will rank as among the NFL's worst ever. 

Or if Revis is never again the same cornerback then the Revis trade will look smart for the Jets. This could happen as well.

Now that organizational dysfunction for the coming season is ensured by the Sanchez-Geno Smith mess, Jersey/B has waived Tebow. He wanted to entertain the crowd and win games -- get that bum outta here!

Tim Tebow sucks at quarterback. There's no getting around this.

Minnesota: The draft's big splash was three first-round choices by the Vikings. Only one team has ever had four first-round choices, the 2000 Jets. For the next decade, Jersey/B made the playoffs six times, going 6-6 in the postseason. Even half that outcome would make the Vikes happy about their three first-rounders. 

The Vikings would be happy with three playoff wins over the next decade? I'm not sure that's an accurate evaluation of the Vikings expectations for the next decade.

Minnesota snagged the sole punter chosen in the draft, Jeff Locke of UCLA, in the fifth round. It makes sense to use a draft choice on a punter only if a team expects to punt a lot. 

It also makes sense to use a draft choice on a punter if a team wants to have a really good punter on their roster. It's not like there are some NFL teams who don't have to punt and field position has suddenly become unimportant.

Amendola is younger -- in a few years he may still be playing, while Welker is not. Still, to tell one of a team's all-time most productive players to hit the road is vexing. TMQ perceives the sinister hidden hand of Bill Belichick, who may think that in his offense, anybody playing slot receiver role will catch 100 passes. Belichick may tell himself, "Last season I paid this guy $9 million to do nothing but run short curls, and he thanked me by whining to the media. No matter who I plug into the slot role, the result will be the same." 

Belichick could be right. Amendola is younger and could be more productive than Welker in the Patriots offense. We don't know yet.

In addition to these canny deals, new Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie has waived Rolando McClain, on whom the Raiders spent the eighth choice of the 2010 draft, Darrius Heyward-Bey, on whom the Raiders spent the seventh selection of the 2009 draft, and several recent mid-round draft selections. The housecleaning helps McKenzie position himself in career terms -- he can say, "Previous management was so awful it threw draft picks out the window, so don't expect Oakland to win in 2013."

Gregg must not realize that Reggie McKenzie would have a very good point about previous management screwing up the draft. McKenzie is in position to blame previous management because they didn't draft very well. Sometimes blaming the previous regime isn't dodging blame, but correctly assigning blame.

But what about new management? McKenzie just gave Flynn $6 million guaranteed for the coming season, or $69,000 for each of the 87 passes he has completed in his NFL career.

$6 million guaranteed is nothing for a quarterback who could end up being the starter in 2013. It's a risk, but to get a quality quarterback the Raiders have to pay money for that quarterback.

Then Gregg Easterbrook calls out Mel Kiper for giving high grades in his 2013 NFL Draft grades. Now this, I can get behind.

So is Matt Barkley the next Todd Marinovich or the next Tom Brady?

The only similarity between Todd Marinovich and Matt Barkley is that they were both quarterbacks at USC. Marinovich was a first round pick, left-handed and had an overbearing father. None of this describes Barkley. What an incredibly lazy comparison. ESPN.com should be ashamed Gregg Easterbrook writes for them.

If EJ Manuel flames out and Geno Smith falls victim to the Jets' organizational dysfunction, Barkley could end up the star quarterback of the 2013 draft.

If Matt Barkley isn't good enough to play for the Eagles and Peyton Manning gets hurt then Zac Dysert could be the star quarterback of the 2013 draft. If Eli Manning retires suddenly then Ryan Nassib could be the star of the 2013. If zero quarterbacks from the draft play well then there may be zero star quarterbacks from the 2013 draft.

There is more than one hypothetical situation that could be presented where there is a star quarterback from the 2013 draft. It's just Gregg is going to (again) ignore any of those hypothetical situations that don't end up with the result that supports the point he wants to prove.

Though he is a traditional pocket passer; where will Barkley fit if Chip Kelly implements a zany Oregon-style blur offense?

Then Mike Vick will remain the quarterback of the Eagles or the offense will be changed to fit Barkley's skill set. 

Two years ago, who would have believed Landry Jones would last 'til the fourth round and be chosen after a player from William & Mary? Jones is big and strong like Ben Roethlisberger. At Oklahoma, he stood calmly in a clean pocket. With the Steelers, he'll have to get used to being hit as he throws, if not as the snap arrives. 

One of the main criticisms of Landry Jones is that he got rattled at Oklahoma when he was hit hard in the pocket or pressure was put on him. He didn't always stand in a clean pocket.

San Diego: The Bolts staged a trade to get Manti Te'o, and will ask him to fill the cleats of his idol, Junior Seau.

This is an easy comparison, especially for a lazy ass writer like Gregg, but Seau has not played for the Chargers since 2002. It's been a decade since he has left the team, so I'm not entirely sure Te'o is filling the cleats of Seau simply because they have the same heritage.

San Francisco: Niners fourth-round pick Quinton Patton of Louisiana Tech, a wide receiver, had 2,594 yards receiving in the last two seasons. Patton had more receiving yards in the last two years than Tavon Austin, DeAndre Hopkins or Cordarrelle Patterson, the receivers chosen in the first round, and twice the receiving yardage of Justin Hunter, first receiver chosen in the second round. 

And we all know the only determination of whether a wide receiver will succeed in the NFL is based entirely on how many receiving yards he had in college. The type of offense the receiver played in during college, the quality of other receivers on the rosters and the quality of the quarterback have no bearing at all on a receiver's statistics. Gregg is so annoying. I ask again, what has the public done to ESPN.com that they insist on continuing to employ Gregg Easterbrook? How have we angered you, ESPN.com? We apologize for whatever we did.

Seattle: The Bluish Men Group spent its first-round choice to acquire wide receiver Percy Harvin, who has never had a thousand-yard receiving season, whose yards per catch has declined steadily and who complains nonstop. Last season, Cecil Shorts of Division III Mount Union was a better player than Harvin has ever been. 

The two links that Gregg provides to these two players statistics are bad links. Gregg can't even link an article correctly.

It's important to note, though I wouldn't expect Gregg to note this since he's a fucking moron, that Percy Harvin also has a great deal of value in returning kickoffs. Harvin has 5 kickoffs returned for a touchdown and while Gregg says Shorts was better than Harvin has ever been last year, it's not entirely correct. Shorts had 55 receptions last year and Harvin has never had less than 60 receptions in a season. They are too different players and it's another lazy comparison by Gregg. He just wants to compare a highly-paid glory boy to a Division III player, but as always, he doesn't even do the damn comparison correctly. You can't compare these two players without acknowledging Harvin plays a different role in an offense than Shorts plays and that Harvin has a lot of value in the return game that Shorts doesn't have.

For several years, touts have expected Harvin to bust out as a star. It hasn't happened.

He's 24 years old and it sort of has happened already. Harvin had 62 catches and 677 yards in 9 games last year. That projects to 110 catches and 1203 yards over a full 16 game season. Those numbers would eclipse Shorts statistics even if you project him out for 16 games instead of the 14 games he played last year.

Tampa: Darrelle Revis, Mark Barron, Dashon Goldson plus this year's second-round draft selection -- the Buccaneers are now loaded at defensive back. Or are they? Revis has injury issues,

WHAT? How in the hell can Gregg get away with saying "Revis has injury issues." This is what Gregg wrote earlier in this column when criticizing the Jets for trading Revis:

Netting the Buccaneers deal and draft-day decisions, the Jets traded Darrelle Revis, one of the league's best players and in his prime, for the No. 13 overall pick (which the Jets used to select defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson) and a conditional mid-round 2014 pick. Richardson is a speculative choice who was only at the big-college level for two years, and there was once suspended. He and a conditional future pick are better than one of the league's top players in his prime?

Unless Richardson becomes a star, the Revis trade will rank as among the NFL's worst ever. 

This is how Gregg works. He is completely inconsistent in his criticisms. When talking about the Jets, he says they made a mistake in trading Revis because he is "one of the league's top players" and "in his prime." If Sheldon Richardson doesn't become a star the Revis trade will "rank as among the NFL's worse ever."

When Gregg talks about Tampa Bay, and decides he wants to criticize them, he says that Revis "has injury issues." He plays both sides of the issue for two reasons (1) to criticize NFL teams for moves they make and (2) so he can say he was right about the Revis trade. If Revis works out in Tampa Bay, Gregg will point out he criticized the Jets for trading Revis. If Revis doesn't work out in Tampa Bay, Gregg will point out he said Revis had injury issues. He plays both sides because that's the kind of cowardly writer he is. He doesn't do research, he criticizes NFL coaches when he has a very small grasp on how NFL defenses and offenses work, and he makes inconsistent criticism simply so he can go back in two years and say how right he was. Gregg is the worst.

Tennessee: If the NFL Network view was to be believed, the Titans had 14 people in their draft room. If the NFL is really that overstaffed, why do taxpayers keep paying subsidies for stadiums? 

The Titans have 14 people in their draft room and Gregg's only reaction is to wonder why taxpayers keep paying subsidies for stadiums?

Elsewhere, this column zings Johnny Manziel for barely going through the motions of being a college student. This logic doesn't apply to the Senior Bowl, which occurs after second semester begins at universities. Most participants have already either graduated or have left college because they're not going to graduate.

Gregg has a problem with college athletes who don't attend class, but he has no problem if a college athlete just stops going to school altogether because he expects to be drafted into the NFL. Great, so Johnny Manziel will avoid criticism from Gregg next year if he just stops going to class completely, but any attempts to pretend he does attend class next year then Gregg will criticize Manziel for pretending to go to class?

Next Week: Next week comes in August, when the NFL artificial universe resumes. 

So my blood pressure will stay at more normal levels until Gregg comes back in August. My life is going to be incomplete over the summer without Gregg misleading his readers. 

0 comments When Student-Athletes Strike Back

I have created a BotB Yahoo Fantasy Football League if anyone cares to join. There should be some rule changes this year as compared to last year's league. Either way, the league ID is 250429 and the password is "eckstein." I put a message up on the board there about some possible rule changes in the league. If you have an opinion, feel free to chime in. We only have room for two more players. I have also created a College Football Yahoo Pick 'Em league if anyone cares to join that league. The league ID is 5656 and the password is "asu."

Robert Nkemdiche is ranked as one of top high school football recruits in the country (if not the #1 overall recruit) for the 2013 class and he had narrowed his list of colleges to attend (in order to play football of course) down to this list. He wants attend Clemson and told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a few weeks ago he would commit to them if they would offer a scholarship to his friend, Ryan Carter. Do I like this? No, I don't like this. I feel like I should hate the idea college athletes can dictate to colleges which players they should or should not offer a scholarship to. This is the atmosphere the NCAA and their colleges have created and the recruiting world we live in right now. I don't want to like what Nkemdiche is attempting to do, but I smile a little bit at him using what power he has to get his friend a full scholarship so they can play for Clemson together.

Gregg Doyel thinks this move is not noble and is in fact indecent. (Yes, I know this is a bit older article, but it still deserves posting here) I don't think this move is indecent and is merely an example of a high school recruit using what leverage he has before signing his letter of intent. Of course there is the little matter that Nkemdiche has stated he would play for Clemson even if they don't offer Ryan Carter a scholarship. This little fact makes the whole discussion moot, so it is being conveniently ignored in favor of a good ol' fashion debate.

I'm still not entirely sure college athletes should be paid and I do despise the idea of a "package deal" where a recruit chooses a college with the knowledge an AAU coach or high school coach will also be hired at that school. I see this situation differently from a package deal where a college hires a recruit's high school coach in order to get that recruit to commit to the college. A player wanting a college to offer a scholarship is a different kind of package deal and it probably happens more frequently than we all know. This situation is different because Nkemdiche came out and said what he wanted rather than have it be a mutual understanding between him and the college he chooses to attend. I would imagine situations where a recruit wants a college to offer a friend of his a scholarship mostly take place behind the scenes. It does sound shady. Still, I sort of like (mostly because Clemson isn't the college football team I cheer for) how Nkemdiche is using what power he has to help his friend out. Clemson could always say, "Hell no" and back off their recruitment of Nkemdiche, but they haven't chosen to do that as of yet.

It's like we've entered some bizarro world where down is up, wrong is right, and high school senior Robert Nkemdiche is a hero for trying to extort Clemson into giving his buddy a football scholarship.

Considering he has stated he would go to Clemson even if they didn't offer his buddy a football scholarship, it isn't really extortion. Who cares about silly details like that though? Let's get angry!

What Nkemdiche is trying to do is wrong, and more than just wrong -- which is obviously an opinion, and therefore up for debate -- it's against the spirit of the NCAA rulebook. And that's not an opinion. That's a fact.

It is against the spirit of NCAA rules for Clemson to offer a scholarship to whichever player they choose to offer a scholarship to? Or is it against the spirit of NCAA rules for a player to want his chosen college to offer a scholarship to a specific player? Either way, I don't care about the spirit of the rules if a specific NCAA rule isn't being broken.

The NCAA wouldn't allow Clemson to give Robert Nkemdiche's buddy a $37,000 car to win Nkemdiche's signature on scholarship papers. Why would the NCAA let Clemson give Nkemdiche's buddy a $37,000 education for the same purpose?

Again, considering Nkemdiche has committed to Clemson no matter if they offer Ryan Carter or not, this is a moot point. The NCAA would allow Clemson to offer a $37,000 education if they choose to do so. There is a difference in Clemson giving one of Nkemdiche's buddies a car worth $37,000 and offering one of Nkemdiche's buddies a scholarship worth $37,000. One is an NCAA violation and the other is not.

If a recruit like Nkemdiche says he'll go to a specific school if that school offers a friend of his a scholarship, how is that different than an elite four/five-star high school quarterback saying he is going to commit to whatever college his favorite high school receiver, who happens to be a two/three-star recruit, commits to? This happens. It's understood these players are a package deal even if they don't come right out and say it. Would the NCAA step in and say, "No, no, no, you both can't go to the same college. You have to make decisions on what school to attend completely separate from each other." Of course not. This would be a cute story announcers would tell during a game about this enduring friendship where the two players wanted to play with each other so badly they went to the same high school and college. A college football program would know in order to get the quarterback they would also have to offer the wide receiver a scholarship.

It's entirely possible that College X wouldn't recruited the wide receiver if they knew it wouldn't give them a shot at the quarterback, but it is an understood thing. The difference in this case is the recruit verbally requested a school (Clemson) sign his friend. Whether Clemson does this or not is up to them, just like it up to school X to offer a scholarship to a wide receiver knowing his high school quarterback will commit to that same school.

Package deals happen all the time. It seems few people care until a recruit comes out and announces what he wants rather than keep it hidden using innuendos.

So this is wrong, a big-time recruit named Robert Nkemdiche trying to finagle a scholarship for a much smaller-time recruit named ... wait, you know what? I'm not going to make it worse for the much smaller-time recruit by naming him. It's not (name redacted)'s fault that Nkemdiche is trying to leverage his status into a scholarship for a friend.

Ryan Carter. His name is Ryan Carter, he is a two star recruit and he has scholarship offers from Ol' Miss, Arkansas State, East Carolina, Tulane, and Southern Mississippi. These aren't ACC schools, but there are quite a few Conference USA schools on the list. It's not like he got no scholarship offers from Division I schools.

He doesn't deserve the scrutiny that has come, and will get worse, because of this. Google doesn't forget, so this will follow (name redacted) wherever he goes, and while I'm not exactly saving (name redacted) that anguish by refusing to print his name, I'd rather not add to his woes. This isn't his fault.

I don't understand why Ryan Carter would get scrutiny for this. Nkemdiche and Clemson are the ones getting scrutiny concerning this story. Carter is only news because he is the player Nkemdiche wants on the Clemson team. There is no reason Carter should get criticism.

If Clemson offers (name redacted) a scholarship? Well, sure. Then it would be Clemson's fault, because giving (name redacted) a $37,000 scholarship just to win the services of Nkemdiche would violate the spirit of the NCAA rulebook.

If Clemson wants to spend one of their scholarships on Ryan Carter, that is their business. I see this as a different situation from Nkemdiche insisting his high school coach be hired by Clemson University. If Clemson wants to use a limited resource, scholarships, in order to attract a player then I don't necessarily like it, but I don't see this as an evil deed. Ryan Carter would get a full ride to a great school and a chance to play in the ACC. As much as it seems the NCAA takes advantage of student-athletes, it is interesting to see a student-athlete use his recruitment to help one of his teammates and friends gain a scholarship to a school that plays in a major conference. It feels dirty initially, but I'm not entirely sure it is dirty if Clemson is willing to play this game.

The NCAA would hide behind the same thing that Clemson fans are hiding behind now: Maybe (name redacted) is worth the scholarship on his own merit!

Or perhaps Clemson could hide behind the idea they can offer a football scholarship to whichever college-eligible recruits they choose to offer a football scholarship to. Here's another fake scenario...would it make a difference if Nkemdiche was a junior in college and said he would stay at Clemson for one more year (and not go to the NFL) if they offered his brother a scholarship so they could play together for one year? At this point is Nkemdiche being dirty and under-handed?

Until this week, (name redacted) was at the front of the menu with the chicken fingers and potato skins. He was listed as a two-star recruit by some services, with offers from non-BCS schools Arkansas State, Georgia State, Southern Miss and Tulane.

Because major conference schools are in no way allowed to recruit an athlete Gregg Doyel perceives is "below" their conference standing. Ryan Carter is probably getting an opportunity at Clemson he may not otherwise receive, but simply because he is not receiving scholarship offers from major conference schools does not mean he could not turn out to be a quality college football player. He very well may not be a good college football player, but if Clemson chooses to use a scholarship on him for four years then I have no issue with their recruitment of Ryan Carter.

And now comes Package Deal 201, a package suggested by the recruit himself. Robert Nkemdiche seems to be a smart young man, and with Clemson's help he has seen how the system works.

No, Nkemdiche is playing the system. He is ensuring the opportunity he has created for himself also helps a few of his high school teammates.

Oh, right -- Clemson isn't completely blameless here, not after taking commitments from two of Nkemdiche's teammates at Grayson (Ga.) High, running back Wayne Gallman and defensive back David Kamara, and accepting as an invited walk-on a third, quarterback Nick Schuessler, who bolted from Mississippi State once the Grayson-to-Clemson pipeline started gushing. Recruiting experts agree, Gallman is worthy of the scholarship to Clemson. Kamara? Probably not. (Name redacted)? Absolutely not.

When have the recruiting experts ever been wrong? Just looking at the ACC players who were drafted just this past year...it turns out recruiting experts can be wrong quite a bit. There were six players drafted out of the ACC this past year who were 2-star recruits out of high school. Andre Branch, who went to Clemson by the way, was a two-star recruit and he was drafted in the second round of this year's draft. I'm not saying Ryan Carter will be drafted or even has the talent to be drafted, but recruiting experts don't know everything and the highest drafted player out of the ACC was a three-star high school recruit. Four four-star recruits were drafted in the 6th and 7th rounds. I take exception to the idea we can look at recruiting rankings and say Clemson has no business offering Ryan Carter a scholarship and Ryan Carter has no business going to Clemson.

Or he was, until he told the New York Times on Sunday that he's not trying to extort anybody, that he will go to Clemson whether the Tigers offer a scholarship to (name redacted) or not. That's a nice touch, but it's too late.

Well, not really. He very well could be telling the truth and saying he and his teammate aren't a package deal. From all appearances it seems Nkemdiche is going to Clemson even if Ryan Carter doesn't get a scholarship offer.

A lot can change in seven months, but Clemson already has been told what it would take to make Nkemdiche a done deal.

And they can choose to ignore this. If they choose to offer Ryan Carter a scholarship then that is their business. It's Clemson's scholarship allotment to worry about, and as much as I don't like the idea of a package deal, I see this in a different light than if Ndemdiche was trying to get his high school football coach a job on the Clemson coaching staff.

The billion-dollar college football system screws the labor, so people are loving it now that this one laborer, Nkemdiche, is trying to screw the system right back.

I wouldn't say Nkemdiche is trying to screw the system right back. He is trying to use his position as the #1 overall recruit in the 2013 class to get some of his high school teammates on the Clemson football team. I don't necessarily want recruits to make a habit of doing this, but he is using what power he has now to get his friend a scholarship to an ACC program.

This is the bizarro world I mentioned earlier. College football writers, smart ones like Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com and Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, are OK with this whole thing.

They are ok with it because they believe student-athletes can be exploited by the colleges they choose to attend. In terms of economic value it is probably worth it for Clemson to offer scholarships to both Carter and Nkemdiche, especially if Nkemdiche is the star the recruiting experts are predicting he will be.

Feldman wrote about Nkemdiche's request and noted that "he probably is worth it for Clemson." Staples went further, ridiculing anti-Nkemdiche arguments and concluding his story: "bless Nkemdiche for using all the juice he has before it runs dry."

Staples column is especially helpful on this subject. He refers to this as a negotiation before Nkemdiche signs his letter of intent. Once he signs that letter of intent, Nkemdiche has no more leverage. In a world where college coaches make millions and can jump around from school-to-school, but some college athletes have to sit out a year when they transfer, I don't see Nkemdiche bringing down the college football establishment or violating the spirit of NCAA rules in this situation. Again, Clemson could always decline his request.

Because college football is a cesspool, it's OK that Nkemdiche is pumping more sludge into the deep end? Nonsensical. Bizarro.

He's using what leverage he has to get an outcome he desires. I don't know if this violates the spirit of NCAA rules.

They see nothing wrong with a recruit using his NFL-level potential to muscle Clemson into giving $37,000 in goods and services to a Tulane-level buddy.

Clemson isn't giving Carter $37,000. They are giving him a scholarship offer, which is a limited resource for a football program. Clemson has had two-star recruits on the football team before and they will have two-star recruits on the football team in the future. I don't understand how it all of a sudden becomes a problem when a recruit uses his leverage when committing to a school.

I'm not necessarily in favor of paying student-athletes, but there are plenty of examples of colleges using these student-athletes to make millions of dollars for the school. This is an example of an athlete striking back and trying to use his talent to get his friend a scholarship to an ACC football program.

This is where we are in college sports: It's hopelessly dirty, so let's play in the mud!

It's purely an opinion this is a dirty move by Nkemdiche. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. I don't think I would want every recruit pulling the same move, but it will work as long as college football programs are willing to play the game. It's not anywhere more hopelessly dirty than some of the recruiting tactics college coaches use.

Your move, Clemson. Nkemdiche and (name redacted) are waiting. The world is watching. The cesspool is beckoning. You're already in the cesspool -- but how deep do you want to go?

Poor Clemson University. They only made $30+ million in 2010-2011 from the football program. How far into the cesspool is Clemson willing to go to add a top-level recruit to the team in order to make even more money for the school? I'm guessing pretty far into the cesspool since the coaching staff mainly cares about winning football games. If Clemson doesn't care and wants to offer Carter a scholarship, then I don't see the issue. Clemson has a limited resources they would be offering to Carter in the form of a scholarship and they are not offering straight cash. So Clemson has to give up something in order to offer a scholarship to Carter. I don't want high school recruits to make this type of demand a habit, but it is interesting to see an elite recruit use leverage in this way.

11 comments BotB Podcast #7

Everything from TCU/Wisconsin to Jerry Sloan. Enjoy, kind folk.

0 comments BotB Podcast #6

In this week's edition, BGF and I discuss quite a few topics, most of which were unplanned. College basketball and football recruiting, twitter, some more Melo and a host of other random gems that I cannot remember make their way into our weekly ramblings.

5 comments Everything That Is Wrong With College Basketball Recruiting In One Neat Package

I am tired of the A-Rod circus (I have even given up on calling him A-Roid because I am bored with that also...at least for today) and that is pretty much what everyone is writing about these days. It seems like I will have the rest of Spring Training to dissect articles about that.

I love college basketball but I hate college basketball recruiting. It is so dirty, I don't like to know anything about how my favorite basketball team lands recruits. John Wall is the consensus #1 recruit in the 2009 class and he is also the perfect example of why college basketball recruiting sucks. His story has got shady "advisors," a 18 year old with a massive ego, the brother of his high school coach being hired by a college team that is recruiting him, a "friend" of the student goes to a nearby college of said college team, and the student-athlete that will be in college for a maximum of 7 months. Pretty much everything I hate about college basketball.

Less than an hour earlier, the senior was, as usual, imposing his will on the basketball court. In his lean, 6-foot-4 frame is packed the ability to dribble a ball at a sprinter's speed before delivering a perfect pass, to throw down a one-handed jam from eye level with the rim, to weave through opposing players to get to the basket.

Think of Derrick Rose and that is what John Wall appears to be. Put in the questions I had last year about Michael Beasley's maturity and you have what John Wall is...at least in my mind. I am one of those traditional ol' guys who thinks a player should be able to go to the NBA out of high school, but if they choose to go to college, they have to stay for 2-3 years. Sort of like how baseball currently does it. I don't like one-and-done players because I think it is bad for the university and for the player. The university gets a student-athlete who is going to quit his classes in April to get ready for the NBA Draft and the player has to pretend like he actually wants to go to school for a year. It is a charade that I think doesn't create anything positive for either party.

I think a player has every right to go to the NBA after high school if that person would like, but I also think if he chooses to go to college, he has to stay there for a certain time period, and I don't think one year is enough.

Finishing a spectacular play, he will often smile, the game a means of expressing himself with absolute clarity and self-assurance.

This kid knows he can play basketball...and that is part of the problem because so does everyone around him.

After two years at Garner High and a brief stint at Broughton, which cut him from the team, he is in his fifth year at his third high school, having repeated his sophomore year.

This kid is a stud player, so it makes you wonder what he has done to get cut from his high school team.

Around him, Wall hears both the pitches of college coaches eager to land him and the suggestions of mentors eager to nudge him to the place they feel most suits him.

My favorite thing about his "mentors" is that they act as if they are looking out for him, by keeping out the bad elements, but they are really getting an ego trip out of helping a top athlete choose his college destination. They will probably use their experience with this player and parlay it into something lucrative for themselves when he goes to the NBA. Many of these "mentors" are actually looking to make a dime off the player for their advice and guidance. It's one of the few times taking advantage of a kid who has few role models is widely accepted.

"Yeah, it's all my decision," said the player, who's expected to announce his intentions sometime after his season, likely in April.

If you believe this....well, you shouldn't.

He is being primarily recruited by Baylor, Miami, Duke, Kansas, Memphis, Oregon and N.C. State. The only team among these that has not made him a scholarship offer is Duke.

But John Wall doesn't come without conditions. Like Rose, he will be "one-and-done," playing college ball as a freshman before jumping to the pros, he and his closest advisers say.

If Duke and Kansas were really serious about their programs being seen as having student-athletes, they would quit pursuing him based solely on this issue. That is my opinion. Both programs in the past have disliked recruiting one-and-done players because it takes up a scholarship for kids who actually want to play basketball AND be in school. Maybe they have changed their mind in this case.

At times, his attitude needs no adjective -- it suffices to say he has one -- so he needs a nurturing, thick-skinned coach, not a my-way-or-the-highway absolutist, say Beckwith and Brian Clifton, the director of D-One Sports, Wall's Greensboro- based summer-league team.

So basically his two main advisors don't want Wall to have a coach who is willing to put up with Wall's constant shitty attitude and play. Doesn't it sound like he is going to be an incredibly wonderful NBA player to build a team around? Directly in the line of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, we now have John Wall.

I realize I am being hard on an 18 year old kid but I don't think coaches in the NBA or college should defer to their players. Mostly I believe college coaches should never defer because college is an opportunity to learn how to play basketball at a higher level and it prepares you for the NBA. Suffice to say I think college coaches should have it my-way-or-the-highway because they are the experts.

He will thrive in a fast-paced system that encourages rather than squashes individual creativity, they say.

Basically just let him do whatever the hell he wants to do and leave him alone.

More than anyone else, Wall said, he trusts Clifton and Beckwith to help him make the choice.

I see this as the problem. Not to mention just a few lines up Wall was quoted as saying the decision was completely his, but now his "advisors" are helping.

To any college coach who'd rather not deal with the two dominant male figures in Wall's life, the message is clear: No hard feelings, but that coach would be advised to look elsewhere.

It doesn't take a genius to see these "mentors" are leeching themselves to this poor kid. I don't give a shit if they are his high school coaches or what they are. No hard feelings but these coaches need to let the kid make the decision and quit "advising" him.

What's wrong with his mom, uncle, or some other family member advising him?

"I think he should go to Baylor," Clifton said.

There, he said, Wall would benefit from the team's fast, wide-open style of play and the "unassuming" nature of a head coach, Scott Drew, who wouldn't put his ego ahead of Wall's.

Yeah, you wouldn't want that coach, who knows a lot more about basketball, to put his ego ahead of his 18 year old student-athlete who is going to be there for exactly one year and then leave for the NBA. If I were Scott Drew, I would read this quote and immediately stop recruiting Wall. Of course, I am sure he has a great reason he is recruiting him that doesn't have anything to do with the fact he wants to keep his job and win games.

It also happens that Clifton's younger brother and former D-One coach, Dwon, was hired last summer as Baylor's director of player development, and one of Wall's best friends, former Garner High and D-One teammate Tyrone "T.Y." Williams, has enrolled at nearby McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, as a scholarship player.

This is laughable. Baylor could have looked for ANY high school coach, college administrator, or any person in the world to fill this position, and it just so happened they chose the ex-coach of Wall's team, who also happens to be one of his "advisor's" relatives. This is such horseshit. I have no problem with Wall, I have a problem with how slimy the system is and how these "advisors" weasel their way into the system. It makes me root against this kid.

Dwon Clifton, 28, also has another tie to Baylor: assistant coach Matt Driscoll coached him at Clemson.

Well that explains it then. Even though Clifton graduated from UNC-Greensboro and played his last two years of college basketball there, Driscoll was so impressed by Clifton's two seasons at Clemson and his ability to coach a roaming HS team for 2 year, he felt he was qualified to be Director of Player Development at a major program three years after graduating college. I don't have any statistics but at Oklahoma in a similar position there is a guy who has more experience than having coached a roaming HS team for two years. The other site I went to, Texas A&M chose an alumni who was a distinguished basketball player and has coached in college or high school basketball since 1977. I have a feeling if I looked up some statistics they would say that Clifton is one of the most underqualified people for this job compared to the background of other people who have a similar position at other schools.

I'm just saying...

Clearly, Clifton is offended by the assumption that colleges and fans who don't know the player at all belong on a higher moral plain than he does.

I have no idea how this pertains. When in doubt, get morally offended I guess.

"If John Wall right now stopped playing basketball, and he was no longer the prospect that people thought, there would be no concern whatsoever over where he went to college or if he went to college," Clifton said.

He would be treated exactly like every other person trying to get in college in the United States and around the world. The fact that Wall would be normal without college basketball does not make Clifton's "advice" that much more necessary.

But then you have people around him like my brother and myself and his high school coach, who do care about him, who are concerned about whether he is successful in life or not, and just because other people recognize and notice him now, you're supposed to relinquish any types of thoughts and hopes and dreams that you have for this kid and step back and listen to somebody who knows nothing about him?

Notice in this whole quote there was absolutely nothing about what John Wall wants or the hopes and dreams he may have for himself. It's all about the hopes and dreams three grown adults have for John Wall and how they want him to be successful. If they were really concerned about him being successful in life, they would encourage him to attend four years of college. That goes without saying though, even though I did just say it.

So, the hiring wasn't done to lure him to Baylor?

"Oh, I think it was," Wall said. "You know, whichever AAU coach gets a job in college is hoping that he gets the point guard or the best player from that organization with him."

I get the feeling Wall doesn't know who to trust. He knows Dwon was hired to get him to Baylor, so how can he feel like his "mentors" are giving him the correct advice? He can't.

Although the NCAA prohibits the hiring of a high school or prep school coach with the intent of enrolling an athlete, intent is difficult to prove, and in fact, college head coaches routinely hire assistants with ties to recruits.

This is near impossible to prove.

Tiffany Williams said her son, one of four players on McLennan's 15-man roster from outside Texas, found out about the school "through John and his D-One coach."

This is John's good friend who goes to school near Baylor. He found out about the school through John and Clifton, whose brother works for Baylor now and Baylor is just down the road from the school Williams is currently attending. I feel dirty just writing this.

There is nothing inherently wrong with going to a school near to where your friend goes to school, but I have a feeling this was all set up. Why would a kid from North Carolina go to a junior college in Texas?

What concerns Clifton and Beckwith more than others' interpretation of their motives is the prospect of their protege winding up somewhere they feel he might not fit.

To put it another way: They're worried about him going to Duke.

That would be awful. Why go to a school 30 miles from where your entire family is located that has a tradition of winning and actually graduating players when you can go to a school 1,500 miles away that is mostly known for having a player that killed another player?

"It would behoove him to be in a situation that he would be able to play for a coach who has a more free-flowing offense, who is going to afford him the opportunity to be expressive and to do the things that he needs to do [to prepare for the NBA]," Clifton said.

Because in the NBA, they play completely like it is street ball. You see players throwing the ball off seats into the basket, players get street nicknames, and they go on tour around the country showing off their moves. Wait, that's not the NBA? They actually run plays and have an offense that the point guard has to stay within in the NBA? And Wall will have no choice about what team chooses him, so he is probably going to have to get used to doing things a coach's way and not free lancing any chance he gets?

Shhhh.....don't tell Brian Clifton, I want this to be a huge surprise for him in two years.

"I'm going to say, 'Look, this is what John's going to do. Now, what are you going to do when he does that?' " Beckwith said. "When you're playing Carolina and things aren't going well, when you take him out of the game and he mumbles, 'I shoulda gone to Carolina,' which to you is disrespectful and it's not the right thing to say ... how long are you going to sit him out? If he's going to be done for the year, then don't take him."

I don't think a coach would sit a player for the rest of the year based on one mistake. I like how Beckwith says that mumbling under your breath at the coach MAY BE considered disrespectful by the coach. I think that IS disrespectful to any coach. At some point a player has to take ownership of his mistakes and admit there are things he doesn't know about the game of basketball. Players who don't want to be taught are not going to succeed in my opinion.

Duke point guard Nolan Smith, a sophomore, was asked what he would tell a prospect used to creating individually in high school.

"The main thing I'd tell him is, 'Get ready to play team basketball, but keep your style of play. Yet, play your style of play within the Duke style of play.' It's something you have to learn while you're here. You can't really tell somebody how it is until they get here."

Yeah, ask Nolan Smith what it takes. Take it from the guy who had 9 assists in 7 conference games, he really knows what to do. I think Nolan Smith is transferring after this year. That is just a side note.

"If we have J.J. Redick, we're going to look to get him the ball, get him shots," Collins said. "If we've got Jason Williams, we're going to [let him create].

"If we have DeMarcus Nelson, we're never going to teach him to shoot a jump shot or shoot foul shots. If we have Kyle Singler we will never take him out of the game and will force him to guard guys who he absolutely can not guard under the basket, then encourage him to take jump shots and not drive to the basket because he is too tired from playing defense...oh and we are going to play him 38 minutes per game, even though we have a perfectly good freshman on the bench who can spell him for a few minutes. We're Duke and apparently lost a clue on how to design a rotation of players to put in the game back in 2004."

I am surprised Coach K did not play 8 guys from the U.S. Olympic team and just bench the rest of the guys. The team dodged a bullet because I bet he wanted Kobe Bryant guarding power forwards. I wonder who talked Coach K out of that idea.

Beckwith said he likes Memphis, Baylor and N.C. State as good fits for Wall, who noted that his mother, Frances Pulley, has been a State fan "since she was born."

So Beckwith and Clifton like Baylor and his mom likes N.C. State. I wonder who John Wall likes? Sadly, we may never find out.

"At N.C. State, I think they've got to get a little bit better. I don't see any way around that," he said. "The personnel they have now, I can't see them [running] baseline to baseline. They just can't do it with the guys that they have."

The one thing N.C. State has been missing that would make them a great team is a point guard and John Wall could be that guy. Wall can't go there because they don't run the offense he likes to run and apparently his "mentors" have no interest in him learning a different way to run the offense.

Wall better hope he gets drafted by the New York Knicks or else he is going to be lost in the NBA if he only wants to run an up tempo offense. Basically he is going to have to learn to run a half court offense at some point and I think college would be a great chance to do that.

I think he should go to N.C. State.

For example, Clifton said North Carolina was interested in Wall but tersely noted that D-One has no relationship with UNC.

So Clifton doesn't think Wall should go to UNC, which is one of the most if not the most prestigious basketball school in the country, because his AAU team has no relationship with the team. This is clearly in the best interest of John.

When he brought a previous prospect to Chapel Hill, he said, "the feedback I got was, 'Roy [Williams] doesn't want to deal with you because he doesn't deal with AAU guys.' "

I respect ol' Roy Boy for this. He recruits players, and recruits those players exceptionally well. He doesn't need to talk to AAU guys because they are not the player or the player's family.

I realize this is how it is now in college basketball but it still feels slimy to me. I am not the biggest UNC fan in the world but if I got interest from there, I would have interest in them regardless of who my AAU coach is. Not considering UNC because D-One doesn't have a relationship with them does not sound like it is in the best interest of John Wall.

If they really cared about Wall, they would step back from being his main advisors so UNC or another school that may be a good fit for him could have more interest in him...but that would never happen because that is not what is in the best interest of Clifton or Beckwith.

Broughton coach Jeff Ferrell declined to discuss why he cut Wall. Brock Young, a guard on the team and now at East Carolina, said it was a behavior issue, adding that he and other players felt Wall should not have been cut.

He may look like Derrick Rose but my concern is that he has Michael Beasley's immaturity and attitude problems. Or he may not, his "advisors" and his past at Broughton make it seem that way.

Since when are players going to want the best player on the team to be cut anyway? A quote from a former teammate doesn't really change my opinion.

Wall said he's looking mainly for a team that runs and a coach with whom he can get along.

"If you go to a school where you don't get along with the coaches, y'all are having a lot of arguments, you're not going to play, you might take more years than you expect to go to the next level," he said. "I need a coach to push me to make sure I get to the next level as soon as possible."

Wall is lying here. He doesn't want a coach that can push him to make sure he gets to the NBA as soon as possible. He and his "advisors" want a coach that will let Wall do whatever he wants, design the offense around him, and not cause him any problems that could affect his draft stock. If they really wanted a coach that would push him, they would not rule out any programs with coaches that are tough minded and are able to expand his basketball skills by running a different offense from the one he is used to.

A college basketball coach needs to be able to put his/her players in the position to succeed and any coach worth his money would do that for John Wall. A recruit needs to choose the right school for him, but that recruit also can't expect to run the same offense his entire life and play for a coach that won't have a bigger ego than him for the rest of his life. College basketball is about a player learning how to better play the game and learning to adapt to different situations. It seems Wall's handler's have no interest in him learning how to do either or these two things.

A recruit has to do what is best for him when it comes to choosing a college, I think it is hard to do that when that recruit has "advisors" who are not looking out for the player and his best interests. This is the part of college basketball recruiting I don't enjoy hearing about.