Some of you are too young to know that this recruitment was a lock for Duke whether Pitino abided by the "Battier Rules" or not. Could've been a confessional and called him for complete silence and it wouldn't have mattered.
What makes me laugh is the retro recruitment "reasoning" some of these guys who have been/are out of the spotlight bring up to act like their selection would've been different. There are cases of a program completely screwing up a recruitment--I can and will give you a few Georgetown stories to prove there are actual stories that make sense as to why a recruitment/program's future would go down the toilet but Kentucky/Rick Pitino isn't it no matter how much crap Battier is spewing here. He was a Dookie from jump.
Now for some F'd up recruitments, I present to you:
1. Georgetown and Kenny Anderson--Anderson was a lock to Georgetown but John Thompson was in his feelings after the '88 Olympics and then '89 failure to get to Final Four/National Championship with his last great team ('89 team was a team that should've won it all) and refused to go make any in-home visits or recruit Anderson personally. "I'm not kissing the ass of any Hamburger All American"
2. Georgetown and Grant Hill. Hill grew up a Hoyas fan and attended same school of the Ewing Era PG and creator of Inside the NBA on TNT Michael Jackson. On the visit to Georgetown, Thompson had the academic advisor Mary Fenlon pull out a book and ask Hill to read some passages as some sort of "test"--Hoyas fans call it the infamous "Green Egg's and Ham" and low and behold Hill chooses Duke and course of history for Northeastern Basketball and balance of power officially shifts from Georgetown to Duke--imagine Anderson/Hill with Alonzo Mourning? That team may have had enough talent for Big John.
3. Stromile Swift--not in the same caliber as the two mentioned above-but he was seen as a sure thing for Georgetown in recruiting and takes his OV. Swift a native of Louisiana was hosted by Jahidi White and the visit couldn't have gone worse. Instead of taking him out on town in DC or over to Howard University to see coeds--he stays in apartment and they play video games and order in cheesesteaks. Needless to say that's all LSU needed to crack the door, jump through and end that recruitment.
Other guys who Thompson dropped the ball are just a who's who of CBB elite of '80's and 90's---Dennis Scott, Chris Jackson--which at time was seen as fine because they had such a lead for Kenny Anderson and returning vets in backcourt for '89 team--, Rasheed Wallace, Larry Johnson--another whom Thompson didn't bother to call and conceded to UNLV out of JUCO due to the depression of the Summer of '88/'89 Season ending. So the dream of Alonzo Mourning, Kenny Anderson, Larry Johnson, Grant Hill led to the drop into basketball abyss of just being good enough to make Tournaments and not matter.
A side note to Duke's magical class mentioned above BTW--look up the name Myron Piggie regarding Corey Maggette specifically and remember where Duke was prior to Coach K landing Battier, Brand, Avery, Burgess, etc...and what he did to get back to relevancy. Same with Carlos Boozer Sr and Chris Duhon-go watch Blue Chips and pay attention to Butch McCray--and apply that to Boozer Sr and Duhon's Mom.
