I don't follow recruiting as closely as a lot of you guys do, but I'm really drawn into this Giles show, so I've got some questions for those of you that are more informed. Is it pretty standard procedure for a high level recruit like this to start leaking misinformation leading up to his final decision in order to drum up interest and build suspense? If, after the Duke visit, we start hearing about #vibes for Giles to Wake or Kentucky or Kansas, should we take that as an actual indication or as merely smoke? Will college coaches be in attendance for his announcement or is that not allowed or not customary?
The timing of leaking the announcement date is also interesting. From reading Kentucky's blogs/boards, they view it as a positive that he set the date shortly after visiting Kentucky and that the date coincides with the expected decision of one of their PG targets who visited at the same time as Giles. The Duke people seem to think that Giles has already made up his mind that he's going to Duke which is why he set the date before even completing his OV there.
The prevailing thought outside of the Wake boards seems to be that Giles is a foregone conclusion for either Duke or Kentucky. The reasoning there is pretty simple: the best players generally go to the best programs, and right now those two are the best. Coming to Wake would clearly give him the worst chance of winning a title compared to those two options. But it seems to me that coming to Wake also gives him the opportunity to show and develop the full range of basketball skills he possesses (good or bad) and the opportunity to lead a team that badly needs a player to take the reins. Thus, even though Wake may represent the worst chance to win big, it may represent the best chance to prepare for the pros.
Regardless of what happens, I'm glad Manning hasn't been afraid of going up against bigger programs. That's just what we need.
#vibes