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Could A Decision Be Coming Soon For Arthur?


Darrell Arthur By John Decker

Date: Oct 27, 2005

Indiana hasn’t won the recruiting battle for coveted Texas big man Darrell Arthur, but Hoosier Coach Mike Davis has certainly won over the 6-9, 215-pounder.

Indiana hasn’t won the recruiting battle for coveted Texas big man Darrell Arthur, but Hoosier Coach Mike Davis has certainly won over the 6-9, 215-pounder.

That’s the case according to Arthur’s AAU Coach, Jazzy Hartwell, who was in Bloomington along with Arthur and his mother earlier this month for his official visit to Bloomington.

“He really liked Coach Davis, and his mom really liked Coach Davis,” said Hartwell. “When he went up there to visit, (Davis) kind of won him over. Darrell really liked it there.

“Indiana and the coaches were really down to earth with him. There wasn’t anything fake with them. They were being themselves and I think that went a long way with the mom and Darrell and me. They were so genuine – that’s what Darrell really liked about Indiana and more specifically about Coach Davis.”

Arthur, the nation’s third-ranked power forward according to Scout.com and a top-20 player nationally, averaged 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks as a junior at Dallas’ South Oak Cliif H.S.

He’s considered a gifted athlete who can play all three frontcourt positions.

“I think he can play a variety of spots,” said Hartwell. “I think it’s the 3 and the 4 that he’ll play the most. The way he’s shooting the ball from the perimeter now, the way he’s running the floor and how he can put the ball on the floor, he can play the 3. He has the inside game that he can play inside and score and defend that spot as well.”

His IU visit was one of four officials he’s already made. In addition to his IU trip, Arthur has also made officials to North Carolina, Kansas and SMU, and plans on making a fifth official visit to Baylor this weekend. He’ll wrap up his trips with a yet-to-be-scheduled unofficial to Texas.

While his visits will be wrapped up before the November signing period, Hartwell said it’s unclear whether Arthur will sign in the fall or in the spring.

“We’re going to have to talk about a few things and see how he feels (about signing in the fall),” said Hartwell.

Hartwell might be unsure when Arthur will sign a letter of intent, but he said it’s clear that Indiana and Kansas are the two programs that have separated themselves from the recruiting pack. Arthur visited Kansas for the Jayhawks’ Midnight Madness festivities the weekend of Oct. 14, and that visit also made a lasting impression.

“With any kid, when you go to something like Midnight Madness, it’s going to be an unbelievable scene,” said Hartwell. “It’s going to be like that at any big school, the first night of practice.”

Another thing that both Indiana and Kansas have going for them is the sort of talent on their rosters that won’t put too much of burden on Arthur’s shoulders too early in his college career. Both programs are ranked in the nation’s preseason top 25, and both will return plenty of talent to the roster in 2006-07.

“I think one thing with Darrell, he needs a supporting cast,” said Hartwell. “I wouldn’t want him to go to a school where he’s by himself and he’d have to carry the load. You want a supporting cast, and I think with Indiana and Kansas, they would have a supporting cast.”

While three of the six schools that he’s visiting are within the state of Texas, going out of state is something that Arthur is very much open to, according to Hartwell. While there might have been a time where Arthur’s preference was to stay close to home so that he could be near family and friends, his eyes have been opened a bit with the caliber of programs that have been recruiting him.

“Sometimes you have to venture out,” said Hartwell. “Sometimes you have to venture out, find your own calling in life. It might mean you have to go to another state – it’s part of life.”

That opened the door for Indiana and Davis, who let Hartwell know that he was very much interested in Arthur for its 2006 recruiting class.

“When Coach Davis said he really liked him and really wanted to recruit him, I talked to Darrell, and he said I’m open, Coach,” said Hartwell. “After that, Coach Davis started recruiting him, he went on a visit and that’s where we are today.”

Somebody answer this question for me. What is this Jazzy guy getting out of the deal? Who paid for him to go up on a recruiting trip? Does the NCAA allow that? Weird.

This guy sounds like a broker, Max Yao ( laundry ). Or is he Arthur's mom's boyfriend.

Please explain.

Hartwell is Darrell's AAU coach. If he went on the trip, he would have to pay his own way. Or rather, the school couldnt pay for it. However, the shoe company that sponsors his team could foot the bill, if they wanted to. The money could come from anyone who wasnt affiliated with the university.

In the article, Hartwell says alot of things about the what HE wants, and presents them as if it were what Darrell wants. That doesnt mean he wont eventually convince Darrell he's right, but right now Darrell still hasnt made up his mind. Actually I should qualify that: The day this article was written, before Arthur took his visit to Baylor, he was still undecided.

Hartwell is a guy the family is depending on for advice, he has alot of influence with Darrell.

Thank you for the information. This AAU and coaches seem to have some stroke in recruiting.

Who pays them and does the NCAA look into their income stream? Donation to shoe company, pay to coach, player goes X or y university?

I know Tubbs is tight with the DISD coaches, what about the AAU coaches (or their sponsors/bosses- the shoe companies)? These guys (with their shoe deals) seem to be the brokers/advisors for many of these top kids. I know Dement did not want to get into that underside of coaching, and SMU certainly can't and won't get into anything remotely skirting NCAA rules. But if the NCAA is letting these guys run recruiting under the radar, its time for SMU to start figuring out how to stack that deck in our favor. Are our teams wearing the right shoes? Or is it more complicated than that?

Actually, it's pretty simple. Wannabe's ingratiate themselves to young impressionable stud ball players and their moms. Then they live the "life" through these kids. When it comes time to pick a college, they try to get the kid in the best spot possible hopefully to cash in if the kid goes pro. So, I don't think Jazzy will be pushing for SMU. Not glamourous enough.

The kids want to go play for the big name programs that show up on ESPN Big Monday and on Saturday with [deleted] Vitale screaming at the top of his lungs. That ain't happening at SMU.

Darrell really wanted North Carolina (he used to wear Carolina tee shirts under his jersey. Two problems. North Carolina liked several player more than him and the big one.......Darrell wants to play the 3 position and most everyone realizes he's not ready for that - not at an elite prime time level.

Self will tell Darrell sure you can play the 3 and then move him to the 4 and Davis is worse than Self. Scott Drew, too.

So what can Tubbs do? Convince Darrell that he can help him make the conversion to a 3 and play him there - immediately. Do whatever it takes - find someone who can tutor Darrell on becoming a player that faces the basket all the time. And convince Darrell he should want to be the man. Second and more realistically, position SMU to be the fallback position when Darrell realizes Davis is a joke or Self is a liar and that neither is going to help him - and he quits and comes home............

By the way, if you want to get a better feel for this world, go to Kingwood shootout in April or Vegas Big Time in July. You'll get a better understanding of how these summer coaches control everything.

Here's a story. I was in Kingwood with my son several years ago when Lebron played there. His mom walked in with her posse all dressed in white nike attire. Then the step dad walked in with his posse all dressed in green addidas attire. Lebron's posse came in wearing yellow nike attire. We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.

friarwolf wrote:Actually, it's pretty simple. Wannabe's ingratiate themselves to young impressionable stud ball players and their moms. Then they live the "life" through these kids. When it comes time to pick a college, they try to get the kid in the best spot possible hopefully to cash in if the kid goes pro. So, I don't think Jazzy will be pushing for SMU. Not glamourous enough.

The kids want to go play for the big name programs that show up on ESPN Big Monday and on Saturday with [deleted] Vitale screaming at the top of his lungs. That ain't happening at SMU.

Darrell really wanted North Carolina (he used to wear Carolina tee shirts under his jersey. Two problems. North Carolina liked several player more than him and the big one.......Darrell wants to play the 3 position and most everyone realizes he's not ready for that - not at an elite prime time level.

Self will tell Darrell sure you can play the 3 and then move him to the 4 and Davis is worse than Self. Scott Drew, too.

So what can Tubbs do? Convince Darrell that he can help him make the conversion to a 3 and play him there - immediately. Do whatever it takes - find someone who can tutor Darrell on becoming a player that faces the basket all the time. And convince Darrell he should want to be the man. Second and more realistically, position SMU to be the fallback position when Darrell realizes Davis is a joke or Self is a liar and that neither is going to help him - and he quits and comes home............

Self is a liar, but he has a way of smoothing things over. Smooth operator. He will absolutely tell a recruit anything he wants to hear. It seems like SMU should be positioned to get some transfers back home, but it never seems to happen because kids dont want to sit out a year.

To me, EastStang is right on the money: Coach Tubbs could be best friends with every DISD coach there is -- and he's very tight with a bunch of them -- but these AAU guys seem to get more and more influence every day. I have no knowledge of how well -- or if -- Coach Tubbs knows Hartwell and the AAU coaches. But that clearly has to become (if it's not already) an area of heavy emphasis, I would think.

Tubbs knows Hartwell and Granstaff and all the regional AAU coaches very well I'm sure. BHop used to play for these same guys. And no doubt he worked with them all in a big way while at OU too. The thing is the AAU coaches are loyal to money and prestige. If the Dallas Mustangs or Team Texas can say it has ex players at Kansas, North Carolina and Indiana, that does quite a bit to increase the amount of their "support" from shoe companies and it also helps them attract top younger players. Make no mistake, there is as much recruiting going on for these kids when they are 15 as there is when they are 18. It does more for Jazzy for Shady to go to IU than it does to SMU even if Jazzy is Reebok and IU is Nike or whatever. The reason is that it shows a track record that he and his program produce top talent for the top basketball factories. That is how the AAU coaches negotiate their stipend from the Shoe Boys. Its not as powerful to say I sent a kid to TCU, North Texas, Baylor or SMU.

Where does a school like Gonzaga fall on the prestige heirarchy?

abezontar wrote:Where does a school like Gonzaga fall on the prestige heirarchy?

Is Gonzaga high on Arthur's list? I get your point, but I think you are missing mine. We're talking about Darrell Arthur and generalities regarding blue chip recruits and AAU coaches. Gonzaga did not build their program with blue chips and they dont get very many now even with the great success they have had. That probably supports the point about the prestige programs even more, if anything.

I analyzed the Gonzaga roster on this board several years ago and remember that at least that team was built with Jucos, Prep players and Division 1A transfers.

With many players transferring after a year in basketball despite the one year sit out rule, being every one's number 2 choice, might not be so bad. You could build a pretty good team with transfers as long as you had a steady stream of them. The superstars leave for the NBA after one or two years anyway. A solid transfer is with you for two years. Perhaps the strategy should be to focus on two transfers each year. Look at who's riding pine at UNC, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, etc. and see if its someone we heavily recruited before. Keep the old lines of communication open, but wait, we need to fix those transferable hours first.

That is exactly the reason it is always good for Caoch Tubbs to have a extra scholarship available. He never knows when a player will call to express an interest in transferring. Year in and year out, Coach Tubbs will get opportunities for transfers...many of whom are better than our 10th player on the roster.