Dave I do agree with some of what you are saying, but Cal is a great recruiter. He can get three or four kids to commit that would play the same position. He has been there done that. On the other side of that coin... hes a horrible coach! "Money makes the world go round" Thats what these kids and parents are looking for. Ky=NBA. I loath even saying some of these things, but they are true. He can get both of them to commit. Will he? I hope not because Roy is busting his tail for this kid.
Calipari is selling one of the great scam hustles of all time. He goes after OAD kids who could get to the damned NBA from the University of Peoria Bible College and then claims he "puts" them in the league. And then he reinforces this circular concoction with his "combines". And with magpies at ESPN pumping the myth and since so many of these kids know each other thru AAU, it takes on a "cool" factor for kids with their heads already blown full of smoke.
Unfortunately it is what it is. I'm more concerned with Roy breaking the negative recruiting shroud from the NCAA junk and people like Cal and Miller and K/Capel trying to steer elite recruits away. I SMH at those who think we should try to emulate their model. That is NOT the way. IMO the way to break the cycle for is for UNC to return to pulling in
select elite players who are Carolina Kids --- kids who understand they can be a part of a real program and family and still meet all their NBA goals. We last did that in 2014 with JB, TP and JJ. Getting Tony this last class was a good start back. PJ joining Jalek would put us right back in the ol' Carolina groove.
Roy knows this and he tabbed PJ as THE guy several months ago and frankly, there is no logical legitimate reason for him to go anywhere else at this point. That's not being a homer, that's just truth. Whether that comes to fruition however remains to be seen.
All the Calipari propaganda notwithstanding, I stand by what I have gathered that PJ himself has been at least a UNC lean since the post-Peach Jam trip, but of course there are other factors beyond Roy's control working behind the scenes. Given that, to see a notoriously shady competitor like AZ pulling out I can only see as a positive. And more recently Paul finally verbalizing the (frankly inarguable) case of Carolina being an ideal and predictable fit, and then moving up the signing schedule
should in theory bode well.
There is actually a reason I was told about as to why the Washingtons
could cross everyone up and choose UNLV (which I'll post if it happens), but let's stick with the more likely conventional wisdom that it will be uk or UNC. I'm pretty sure a lot of the impetus behind the narrative of PJ leaning to uk has come from Kenny Payne's long-time cultivation of Paul as well as the confidence projected from the uk camp and amplified by their friendly media which then takes on a life of its own. That notwithstanding, it sounds like Roy has at least closed if not overtaken that gap with Paul, and therein
may lie the key.
All other things being equal, we should stand a very strong chance of landing PJ Washington in a couple of weeks. Now we hafta wait to see if all those "other things" are indeed equal.....