Last night Ames, IA became the latest stop on the UNC-Duke Rivalry Train with both Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski making in-home visits with class of 2010 #1 player Harrison Barnes within two hours of each other. Jim Young at ACC Sports has the scoop:
A source close to the UNC coaching staff has confirmed to ACCSports.com recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger that Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski both had in-home visits with Barnes this evening.
According to the source, Krzyzewski was expected to visit Barnes first in the early evening, with Williams coming in two hours later.
This is a twist in the plot line, as it had been expected that Duke would have the last in-home visit with Barnes.
Just to set the stage here. October 5th was the final day of the contact period which is a span of time set by the NCAA in which coaches may be in contact with recruits whether that be in-home visits, talking to them on the phone etc. This is followed by an evaluation period where a coach might visit the prospect’s school to watch them practice or play but not make contact with them apart from letters and phone calls. Now with all that in mind, here is what is happening between UNC, Duke and Harrison Barnes:
- Duke scheduled what they thought would be the last in-home contact with Barnes on the evening of October 5th which would constitute them getting the last word in as far as the fall contact period goes.
- At the last minute, Roy Williams flew to Iowa and was able to secure a 2nd in-home visit with the Barnes family two hours after Mike Krzyzewski left the jurisdiction.
By itself this is interesting business but couple these moves with Barnes’ upcoming visit schedule and you understand why Roy felt it necessary to make the 2nd in-home visit(an unusual move, most schools only take one.) Barnes is scheduled to be at Duke on October 23rd for his official on-campus visit. Every recruit gets five and Barnes took his at UNC during the first weekend in September which coincided with the Pro Alumni Game. While Barnes has other visits schedule between now and October 23rd as well as one or two after that, Duke’s plan was likely to have Barnes ear on the latest possible day of the contact period and then speak to him on campus 18 days later. In theory Duke would have Barnes undivided attention by being the last school he talked to at the conclusion of the contact period then bring him to campus. Overall it was a sound plan until Roy decided to trump it by swooping into Ames last night and making another visit with the family.
Young at ACC Sports points out that the Barnes family had to approve Roy’s visit. This is not a case of the UNC coach sitting in his rental car outside of the house waiting for someone to take the dog for a walk and working his way inside. Now there is a strong possibility Billy Donavan was sitting in his rental car outside the Barnes’ house doing exactly that but with Roy something was arranged ahead of time. The question is who initiated the contact to setup the last in-home visit? Did Roy make the first move or did the Barnes family decide to have Roy over again? As Young points out, Roy and UNC have made an incredibly good impression on Barnes’ mother who is also a huge Michael Jordan fan. There were also unconfirmed rumors that Barnes’ mother did not care for the atmosphere at Cameron during an unofficial visit there this past basketball season. I have no idea if that is true but I do know that Roy often develops a great rapport with prospect’s parents and that appears to be the case here.
The bottom line? Who knows. It can be spun either way as Young points out but you have to think UNC is in great position especially since Duke has been in Barnes’ ear for a very long time and UNC has basically been recruiting him in earnest since April. No matter how this turns out you cannot say Roy Williams was outworked or did not make every effort to secure Barnes’ services. UNC and Duke rarely go head-to-head for recruits so watching this unfold adds another layer to rivalry that already had a zillion to begin with.
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Come on Harrison. You know you don’t want to turn to the dark side. Put on the light blue and win some championships!
I would love nothing more than for Roy to snatch Barnes away from Duke, just to hear Coach K belly ache.
“The pebble has been snatched from my hand.” – Karl Malone.
The way I see it, Duke NEEDS Harrison Barnes. UNC WANTS him.
that the Barnes family approved it is awesome. i wonder what you even say if youre Roy. do you even bother to say anything meant to sway him, or do you just hang out? was it late, like 11pm? did he bring up some Bojangle’s biscuits? krispy kremes?
seriously. if Barnes picks Dook over UNC after all this, and afer that Alumni game, there’s something wrong with him. because that would be crazy, am i right?
when Barnes does pick UNC, there’s a very good chance i’ll do a little silly jump/dance with an optional fist pump and high five, if anyone’s near. and i will laugh, perhaps even cackle. can’t wait.
Former Wake Forest coach Dave Odom talks with Buster Sports about the two visits here:
http://idek.net/YDJ
I only listened to the first 6 minutes or so but they say the Barnes family called Chapel Hill AFTER Coach K left their house. They had questions to ask and Roy hopped a private jet and spent some time with them after K’s visit.
To me that looks good for the home team.
Ron,
I am not sure about that…according to IC sources said the meeting was planned a week out and kept secret until now.
THF — Thank you ten thousand times for giving me something to think about OTHER THAN last Saturday.
Now if you could just morph Drew II into Phil Ford……..
I’m obviously biased in favor of the Heels but have been trying to figure out if Duke has any advantages. Barnes plays small forward. Many people think Ed Davis and Henson will be gone next year. Will Graves is a G/F coming off the bench. The Wears look like power forwards to me. So it does look like Barnes would get significant playing time. Duke has the Plumlees, Ryan Kelly, Czyz (supposedly awesome in summer leagues but warms the bench) and we’ll see if Singler is still around next year. I don’t see Duke with an advantage in available playing time – if Barnes is that good he’ll start at either UNC or Duke. So, look at the supporting cast. Drew II will handle the ball and we get Kendall Marshall next year. It’s too early to see if Dawkins is the answer to Duke’s lack of PG issues, and frankly I don’t know who else they have coming in 2010. Again, no advantage for Duke. Barnes may surprise us all and go with Kansas but as far as UNC vs. Duke, the Heels offer a better situation for superstars expected to go pro early. Ask Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright.
Roy does not talk playing time with a recruit but he does discuss how they might fit on the team. We know that because I think Roy told John Henson they would want him to play at the three.
Hey peeps,
Still not sure what to make of all this…
After thinking about it at lunch, and then re-visiting my thoughts again later on, I get the feeling that Barnes’ heart is with Dook, but his head is with UNC. Now, he is an intelligent young man, so perhaps the thinking man in him will settle the score. I completely disagree with Coach Odom’s comment amount Bill Self setting back and laughing at all this (see the link that Ron posted above…I think Coach Self has enough on his plate to turn that frown upside down right now.
This is still quite strange to me…it’s like, UNC have the tradition, Dook have the tradition. Both have coached players whose skills were even more advanced than Harrison Barnes (at this age). Why this rush to meet with this one prospect?
Barnes was thought to be a Dook signee. Is this a case of Roy just wanting to prove that he can, YET AGAIN, shove it in the face of Krzyzewski? OR, and perhaps FAR more likely, Roy just REALLY wants this kid, and what Roy wants…
I can’t see Roy wasting time on a recruit just because he wants to make headlines or put it in K’s face. He clearly wants Barnes and is doing what it takes to win him over. You would have to think the Alumni Game was powerful and put doubt in his mind regarding Duke. Roy smells blood in the water and is going in to win. The last in-home meeting is pretty powerful stuff, especially when the chair is still warm.
Maybe we can offer Barnes the quarterback job as well. What the heck, it can’t get any worse than it is now.
Roy really wants this kid. As PRGuy pointed out, Barnes would really help us at the 3 position. We may have options there but Barnes would be the sure thing.
But for an unbiased third party, henderthug ended up “better” than DMFG (thanks, bobcats!), so I can see one argument one can make.
A last minute visit can only be a sign of serious interest. So it is a competition. It is always a competition, but this one is really out in the open; devil be damned!
I would have hated to be to tell K that Roy would get the last in-home! Bwahahahahahaha!