Memphis Roar

Finishing up the second open period for college coaches to scout, it seems as though the talk of the town is the unspoken “code of ethics” between college coaches, more specifically how that code of ethics is nowhere to be found. The recent decommitment of Josh Selby from the University of Tennessee was all the buzz at tournaments across the country, spurring speculation, innuendo and rumor to the highest degree. For years, the unspoken word between coaches was “don’t recruit a guy that has already verballed to another program.” Since the period in which a recruit can officially sign IS LIMITED, the periods prior have always been based off of a verbal, unofficial commitment that was honored based upon an ethical understanding.

Not anymore. Not in today’s landscape. The face of college recruiting, specifically basketball recruiting, is hideous. It makes even the unscrupulous coaches in college basketball cringe.

“I think as coaches, we want to ethically make sure that if a guy’s got a commitment, leave him alone,” Pearl told ESPN’s Andy Katz on Monday in Orlando in a segment that appeared on ESPNU. Continuing, Pearl said, “I think the big thing is…Once I see a guy committed, that’s it. No more phone calls.  You don’t put it out there, ‘In case we had interest, would you open up your recruiting?’ It’s over, leave him alone.”

It seems as though this long-standing ethical agreement is no longer conventional. Falling in line with that trend, many have speculated that other schools have continued to recruit class of 2010 shooting guard and Memphis verbal Will Barton. Before we get into that, here’s a little background.

Will Barton is the top-rated shooting guard out of Baltimore, MD who verbally committed to Memphis, alongside his brother Antonio, following the Memphis Elite Camp in June. Weeks prior to their commitment, multiple Kentucky related media outlet were stating that Will Barton was a “done deal” to verbal to the University of Kentucky. EXAMPLE 1. EXAMPLE 2.

As one media outlet wrote, “Will Barton is setting up a visit to UK in the near future and as soon as his mother will let him, he will commit to UK.  This should not be a long drawn out process and should happen as soon as they can arrange the visit.”

With this unfulfilled “prophecy” in mind, it’s not out of the realm of imagination to envision that the University of Kentucky is one of the schools continuing to recruit Will Barton, in one creative way or another. As one Kentucky media source recently stated, “It wouldn’t surprise me if Barton changed his mind.” In addition, the head man at TrueBlueKentucky recently stated that he has heard “vague whispers” about the possibility of Will Barton opening his recruitment back up. Even ESPNU commentators began speculating on Barton shortly after interviewing Kentucky’s head man John Calipari. During the featured AAU game, which came on directly after Calipari’s interview, announcers began hinting that some believe Will Barton “still needs to be recruited” by Josh Pastner to keep his Memphis commitment.

Strangely enough, there have been no rumors or speculation on a potential Barton decommitment originating from any other school’s media outlets that were previously involved prior to his verbal (e.g. Maryland, Georgetown, Arizona, Pittsburgh, N.C. State, etc). Isn’t the saying “where there is smoke, there is fire”?

The general consensus seems to implicate the University of Kentucky in the Selby decommitment, whether vaguely or not. According to an unnamed college coach in a recent article by Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline, “That kid was committed to Tennessee for almost a year, then he goes to a Nike event, the mom talks with Wes, the kid decommits from an ‘Adidas’ school, and now he’s looking at Kentucky.  Come on, man. That’s messed up. I mean, that’s just messed up.”

According to a commentary on the Selby decommitment written by the Kentucky site A Sea of Blue:

“…a reasonable person could conclude from the timing of the decommitment that something happened at the LeBron James event which caused Selby to reconsider his options.  And if one believes Selby’s own words, that someone, or several someones were “trying to get him to de-commit,” then the tampering charge seems much more likely, and much more believable.

In my opinion, a courtin’ coach, or a courtin’ coach’s representative, whispering sweet nothings into the gullible ear of a committed recruit is akin to “coming on” to a foe’s fiancée.  In my part of the world, “them’s fightin’ words.”

To view the full commentary read this article.

First Selby and now a barage of Blue Grass originated speculation on Will Barton. Strange, isn’t it? Another saying I still find hilariously true in this situation is when mother used to tell me, “It’s easy to tell when you’ve been playing with pigs because you’ve got mud all over you.” Most recently, another University of Kentucky source wrote the following in a recent report from the AAU tournaments in Orlando, FL.:

“More IFFY stuff. About Will Barton…I had a great deal of fun kidding with Will’s mom and her brother. They are fun to be around, always laughing and cutting up (always nicely dressed too). When I mentioned to her after several meetings with them (we always seemed to bump into each other) that there was a rumor floating around about Will being not so sure about his quick trigger with Memphis, she looked me straight in the eye and said ‘he’s going to Memphis’. End of discussion. I dropped it. But you know what, behind the scenes I know there is some movement, just not sure what. And, I think she didn’t understand my capacity as a non-coach, just a fan, so that she thought she shouldn’t be talking with me in those tones.”

As Will Barton said in an interview with MyFoxMemphis shortly following his commitment, it’s obvious that this is “more of a Calipari thing.” The reason for this whole commentary? Well, MemphisRoar had a chance to catch up with Will AND Antonio Barton this past weekend and it was obvious that “Memphis-based speculation” was needed.

During our interview shortly after a game in Orlando, FL, Will Barton said, “My commitment to Memphis means a lot to me, and a lot of people were shocked that I committed so soon, so early. So, I don’t think some people are over it. That’s why I still have people and coaches are watching me, talking to me. But, I’m 100 % committed to Memphis.”

Antonio repeated his brother’s sentiments and added, “[Memphis coaches continuing to watch] means a lot to me. Tells me that they’re with me 100%. It shows their commitment to me and reflects in my commitment to them.”

When asked about their true relationship to Josh Selby and whether or not they have talked about playing together, both Bartons seemed to be on the same page.

Will stated that he and Josh had “talked about going to Tennessee together” before he commited to Memphis and that they are “close”, but continued by explaining that he is trying to avoid that craziness and focus on “what’s best for [him] and his brother.”

Continuing to speak on Antonio, Will said, “He’s been playing really good and I’m happy to hear that. We support one another and I love to see him do well.”

In terms of Will’s summer, he has continued his torrid pace, lighting it up at the Nike Peach Jam with the highlight being a 47 point, 15 rebound performance.  Another highlight of Will’s summer was getting to witness the infamous Jordan Crawford dunk on Lebron James.

“I was right on the baseline,” explained Will.  “I see people get dunked on every day but it was just that so many people got excited. Oohin’ and ahhin’ so it made it really fun to watch.”

Antonio continues to have a very solid summer as well. Playing in the West Virginia Harley Davidson Tournament, Antonio’s team lost in the Elite Eight, losing in controversial fashion. They followed up that tournament appearance with a Sweet Sixteen birth at the Reebok Classic in New Jersey.

“The summer is going great,” responded Antonio. “I’ve been playing good, my team has been playing good. Our team is getting closer every time.”

Both brothers mentioned “the love for the game” and their “competitive drive” that made the play so hard. Certain things seem to run in the family; drive, family values and a love for sweet potatoes to name a few.

Antonio said, “We haven’t had our mom’s sweet potatoes in a while. We’ve been traveling so much, but I know she’ll have some waiting on us when we get home.”

Now that summer is winding down, it seems as though mom’s cooking and their senior year are the new focus. According to Will, he is all set to start at Brewster Academy on September 12th.

“I’m on the quest to be the #1 player in the country. Playing basketball is my life,” explained Will. “Not too many kids get a chance to travel the way we do. It’s a blessing and a privilege to get to do the things I do. It’s my life and what I do. So that’s what keeps me going.”

EXTRA QUOTES FROM WILL:

“I am a winner and I want to come in and win from day one. Coming in with good guys who are winners is important to me. We can come in, practice, and potentially win a national championship, because that’s what I want to do. Playing with good players makes it fun to play.”

“I’m just very competitive and I look at it like it’s my last time to play with my guys from back home. This is when basketball is fun. When I go to college and then to the pros, playing ball will be more like work, but for now it’s fun.”