Class of 2017 SG/SF Jordan Tucker (NY / GA) Leaving Duke to Butler

[Briancuse]

Everyone needs to relax. He's gone. He didn't want to be here. We have a group that does. This season wasn't going to be some magical Championship because of damn Jordan Tucker. He can enjoy his time at Duke, and I wish him the best. We will get someone who wants to be here, and build for the future. A kid like HW. Maybe Nahz, or Sid. This recruitment was all over the place, and I'm glad it's basically done. He wants to play in front of a bunch of fans who don't know a thing about basketball, great. They are great at being book smart. Good for JT. Enjoy that campus.

Apparently no one wants to be here, because our roster is pretty lousy right now.

 

[dasher]

Someone's word is only good if their situation doesn't change. His situation has changed, and we can't be mad if he decides to go to Duke. It's our own fault for backing off for 6 months. There will be other options out there. I prefer to not take grad transfers because I don't think it's a sustainable operation year after year. We need to start using our scholarships for players that will be here longer than a year. The one thing that I know is we need shooters, without them, we won't win many games next season.

And the only place we are going to get shooters is on the 5th year grad market. you are right. It isn't sustainable. But it's the best we can do right now. And you are very wrong about your word. Either you honor it or you don't. people who honor their word are honorable people. People who don't, are liars.

 

[two3zone]

and Duke's staff must be really awful at selling (Knox)

And their second place prize got them Tucker. Our second place prize is a unranked recruit.

 

[Hoopsfan]

Oh, you know that he didn't commit to the coaches over the weekend. Because he did. honoring your word is being a man.

And you, of course, know that he did? Lol.

 

[RF2044]

Well if we can't out recruit Duke and UK we probably shouldn't give the cold shoulder to the Isaiah Washington, Matt Coleman, Lonnie Walkers of the world

I think our model for recruiting is what needs an overhaul, or at least a good, hard honest evaluation from the coaching staff. In the past, we'd identify our target system fits, and often land them early. We excelled at identifying guys who were a little under the radar, but who had the tools to be terrific college players. So honing in on a smaller number of guys worked and was a successful strategy.

Lately, we've been good with the player evaluation part. But we've honed in on guys who weren't passionate about coming here. So restricting ourselves to only a small number of targets isn't a good strategy anymore.

I also have to question why we backed off of Tucker so early. I know, I know - they thought that they were going to land Brandon Randolph, but we know how that turned out. You can't keep sawing yourself off at the knees and then complaining when it becomes difficult to stand.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Lately, we've been good with the player evaluation part. But we've honed in on guys who weren't passionate about coming here. So restricting ourselves to only a small number of targets isn't a good strategy anymore.

Views differ on this. Otherwise generally agree.

 

[two3zone]

Practically everyone but you says wilson has more potential but alright buddy

Amazing Duke wants Tucker and not Wilson considering this.

 

[justgold315]

Ayala isn't waiting for something better. It's a different agenda.

Well, I hope he is a last minute add when he is done playing this summer.

 

[Jrock6986]

Love all the optimistic fans who believe everything is ok. Wish I could have your state of mind, but I don't. I'm really mad over our recruiting process this year. Need to start setting deadlines with these kids. If Dasher is right and he told coaches this weekend he was coming, why didn't they close then?? They knew Duke would cone calling if Knox spurned Duke. It's not like It. was some secret. Ugh. So frustrating being a fan sometimes.

 

[orange79]

If you want to discuss other recruits, do it in their own thread on the recruiting board, or in the derail thread. Thank you.

 

[UnknownOrange]

This thread is laugh out loud funny. Grown men in absolute panic mode over a kid receiving an offer from Duke

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Jordan Tucker's the luckiest high school recruit I've seen in years, looking at this situation as it is.

I'm going to say how much I hate what college basketball has become. A team like Syracuse is really screwed if they don't sign a kid early. And great kids aren't signing early for the most part. And the great ones are holding out until the very end. Even though we have a great track record, we are definitely becoming second class citizens in this new game of college basketball.

Tucker isn't lucky. I want to say instead that he is smart. But reality is, if he wants to go to Duke or Kentucky and play limited minutes instead of playing 35 at the Cuse, more power to him. Where we lose is that we get one of these kids a year, and JAB always says that he's never ready for the NBA. Calipari gets six of these kids a year and tells the NBA how great they are. Reason being is that he knows he will get six more kids. JAB has an inferiority complex on when he will sign the next one. And he is right to feel insecure.

I'm not blaming any of this on JAB. It's the problem of college basketball. As a program, right now we are f*cked as we are really stuck between a rock and hard place.

 

[Funk Doc]

Amazing Duke wants Tucker and not Wilson considering this.

Potential is impossible to predict.

But what you are saying is that if you are comparing two players..,the one who gets the Duke offer has more potential?

 

[AWMKY]

This thread is laugh out loud funny. Grown men in absolute panic mode over a kid receiving an offer from Duke

It's not necessarily Tucker. It's the frustration over the entire recruiting cycle and what a debacle it has been. People want flash and there's been little of that. Brissett, Sidibe, and Washington are going to be good players for the program. The immediate impact is what is in question - and we are currently in dire need of it after last season's result.

 

[two3zone]

Potential is impossible to predict.

But what you are saying is that if you are comparing two players..,the one who gets the Duke offer has more potential?

At this point I trust their staff talent evaluations over ours by a large margin.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[AZOrange]

This thread is laugh out loud funny. Grown men in absolute panic mode over a kid receiving an offer from Duke

Agreed. Kid didn't even accept on the spot.

 

[AZOrange]

At this point I trust their staff talent evaluations over ours by a large margin.

Why? We've been on Tucker for 3 years and they've been on him for 3 minutes

 

[two3zone]

Why? We've been on Tucker for 3 years and they've been on him for 3 minutes

They weren't on him because they were on someone better.

 

[Cusesky8214]

Agreed. Kid didn't even accept on the spot.

For all we know he did accept over the phone

 

[Briancuse]

They weren't on him because they were on someone better.

Ya, hey we wanted someone better than you, but now that we didn't get him, we really want you, would you like to be our sloppy seconds?

 

[AZOrange]

They weren't on him because they were on someone better.

Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. You basically said you like their talent eval ability better than ours and now we're on the same guy that we've been on for 2-3 years...our talent eval is just fine.

 

[Trueblue25]

I can't wait to watch our boys, live, pull off another one for the books in Cameron indoor this year.

Only shame will be the amount of times I'll have to take a break from taunting Duke students to tell them "Man, I wish this pepsi was a dome foam" .

 

[AZOrange]

For all we know he did accept over the phone

That shizz would be all over twitter

 

[Orangefan1]

Everyone knew Tucker was going to do this. But honestly any kid in America would have to consider this offer. It's coach K.However that being said Tucker is truly a backup and he knows it. That says it all. I think GT is out now completely