I hear Duke is taking a look at him..... If he does come, does he walk on like Robinson ? Does this mean we're not in a good position to get DT (this year) as everyone seems to think ...?
Crew Ainge
- Thread starter Dominator4321
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K repeatedly lamented how his team often couldn't conduct full practices in the spring b/c they only had 8 scholarship guys and a total of 10 total players -- i.e., if a couple scholarship guys were out, we couldn't even run 5-on-5.
Personally, I interpret the Vrankovic recruitment and this one, to the extent it comes into fruition, as evidence of K trying to address that problem by recruiting some lower-rated guys from more stable backgrounds (all kids of former NBA players) to fill out the back-end of the roster. In today's day and age, the old approach of a recruiting a 11 or 12-man roster of top 50 guys is just very hard to sustain b/c elite kids are going to lose patience and transfer very quickly.
Personally, I interpret the Vrankovic recruitment and this one, to the extent it comes into fruition, as evidence of K trying to address that problem by recruiting some lower-rated guys from more stable backgrounds (all kids of former NBA players) to fill out the back-end of the roster. In today's day and age, the old approach of a recruiting a 11 or 12-man roster of top 50 guys is just very hard to sustain b/c elite kids are going to lose patience and transfer very quickly.
The Spurs take their 11th and 12th roster spots seriously too. It's sure nice to have situational flexibility.
Those handles and court awareness are for real. There are only a handful of PGs in this class with that kind of ball skill that are measurably bigger and more athletic, and they are all in the top 50. He could provide some stability on offense as the elite guard 'tide' ebbs and flows.
^This. Not sure of the competition, but he has a nice handle for a 2*?! Would be a great fill in to expand the roster and may surprise some people down the road.
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
I dont doubt K. he usually has a plan for those he offers. If he decides to offer this kid a scholly, we should all assume there is a reason for it.
We don't have any point guards, that's the reason. He would be a four-year backup point guard. Kind of similar to Andre Buckner, although he looks much more talented than Buckner. He has offers from UNC Greensboro, Binghamton, Marist, Brown, and Holy Cross. He's a small player playing for a small school... naturally that's not going to attract a lot of interest.
Like the recently signed Vranc, he seems to be a guarantee of four-year depth, which is never a bad thing. Coach K hung a banner with 8 guys, but it seems he is not interested in taking that route again. The family pedigree is obviously there, and I will default to Coach 1K on talent evals (go figure).
I'm liking this route of taking former NBAer's kids as walk ons or in Vrankovic's case deep depth.
Ainge, Robinson and Vrankovic probably won't ever contribute much in actual games for Duke but they'll be nice four year practice players.
Ainge, Robinson and Vrankovic probably won't ever contribute much in actual games for Duke but they'll be nice four year practice players.
With Danny being his dad , I'm pretty sure him paying his own way and walking on wouldn't be a problem...! I don't think K will be offering him a scholly
Okay I misspoke; it looks like Marist hasn't offered. Only offers at this point are Binghamton and UNC-Greensboro. He has said he's going on a church mission right out of high school - perhaps that has scared some mid-majors away?
I think he looks pretty good. But at the same time that completion looks like the kind my high school plays and we've had some guards look like that before and go D2 but they were under 6 foot
Yeah call me crazy but we still need a deep reserve PG for practice and a maybe a few spot minutes.
I think a solid backup PG is a take, simply because we're likely going to be losing guys early over the next few years. I don't mind using a scholly on a guy like Ainge or Robinson, simply because he'd be told it's only for a year or as long as we don't need it for someone that's going to play more minutes. These two guys don't need the money and will gain admission to one of the best schools in the world. Everyone involved should be pretty happy about this, unless Crew or Robinson want to play heavy minutes at a lesser program.
Yes, I think it's all about expectations. I'm all for adding end-of-bench guys if they really just want to be a part of the program -- with the understanding that their role may be limited to a glorified walk-on for much of their careers. Bringing this type of kid into the program helps with continuity, improves practice, and provides a little insurance against injury. In 11-12 when Kendall got hurt, UNC actually won a sweet 16 game with Stillman White starting and very easily could have won the elite 8 game against KU if guys like HB had shot the ball a bit better. Had UNC advance, there was a chance Kendall could have returned the following week at the Final Four. The odds are we're not going to win a title with Crew Ainge at the point -- but, never know if he could give you a lift here or there if things come up.
Was going to make the same point. Everytime I see Greenberg talking on ESPN, I see Dell Curry is thinking "Yeah, probably shouldn't have passed on Stephen or Seth..." I am pretty sure that ANY coach could call up Crew's dad and he would tell the coach what they would get....
I honestly like the idea of getting old NBA players sons. Pretty soon the ncaa competition will get tough all around, its going to come to a time where practice players can't be regular walk ons. No disrespect to Sean Kelly and Nick Pagliuca, but i think Robinson and this kid could be better practice squad players. If Vrank redshirts....Our "Practice Squad" could have Ainge (Hypothetical) at point, Robinson at wing, and Vrank at center.
Crew Ainge...I thought that was a moniker for his handlers.
If K and staff think he can help, that's good enough for me.
OFC
If K and staff think he can help, that's good enough for me.
OFC
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