lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Here’s my read on the Blackwell recruitment based on reading all 4 boards (Illinois, Duke, UCLA, and Louisville) during it:
— Just like Illinois insiders were confident in landing Blackwell from the jump, so were Duke insiders. According to them, Blackwell’s agent was having conversations about transferring there mid-season. I imagine those same conversations were happening on the Illinois side.
— My guess is dad really wanted him at Illinois, whereas he likely leaned Duke.
— While there was some noise around UCLA and Louisville, I doubt they were ever serious contenders. Blackwell’s agent is located in LA and went to UCLA, hence the visit. Louisville was likely used to drive the price up. But it sounds like it was always a two horse race between Duke and Illinois.
— The day Andrej announced his return, we fell out of the running for Blackwell. Two days later, Coleman signed. That points to Brad needing to make a decision: keep both Andrej and Coleman and pass on Blackwell or lose one or possibly even both by continuing to pursue Blackwell.
— Even if the staff chose to continue pursuing Blackwell, there was obviously no guarantee we would’ve landed him. Duke would’ve still been hard to beat.
— Blackwell going to Duke who’s stacked at guard (to me) points to the usage concerns being more internal than with Blackwell.
— I give Blackwell credit. When he entered the portal, he said he wanted to win. Louisville might’ve been a bigger bag, but he honored what he said he wanted. Though, I wish it would’ve worked out for him here.
— Just like Illinois insiders were confident in landing Blackwell from the jump, so were Duke insiders. According to them, Blackwell’s agent was having conversations about transferring there mid-season. I imagine those same conversations were happening on the Illinois side.
— My guess is dad really wanted him at Illinois, whereas he likely leaned Duke.
— While there was some noise around UCLA and Louisville, I doubt they were ever serious contenders. Blackwell’s agent is located in LA and went to UCLA, hence the visit. Louisville was likely used to drive the price up. But it sounds like it was always a two horse race between Duke and Illinois.
— The day Andrej announced his return, we fell out of the running for Blackwell. Two days later, Coleman signed. That points to Brad needing to make a decision: keep both Andrej and Coleman and pass on Blackwell or lose one or possibly even both by continuing to pursue Blackwell.
— Even if the staff chose to continue pursuing Blackwell, there was obviously no guarantee we would’ve landed him. Duke would’ve still been hard to beat.
— Blackwell going to Duke who’s stacked at guard (to me) points to the usage concerns being more internal than with Blackwell.
— I give Blackwell credit. When he entered the portal, he said he wanted to win. Louisville might’ve been a bigger bag, but he honored what he said he wanted. Though, I wish it would’ve worked out for him here.
