Austin Rivers raves about, names Duke as leader

By Adam Silverstein
May 5, 2010

Speaking with Rivals.com on Tuesday, five-star 2011 guard Austin Rivers named the Duke Blue Devils as his new leader while barely mentioning that the Florida Gators were even left in the picture for his services next year.

“I want to go to a school where I can fit in and play well,” Rivers told Rivals’ Jerry Meyer. “Duke and North Carolina run a similar offense and like to get up and down the court. Florida runs some too, but their offense is different. They like to slow it down and make more passes. That’s fine, but that’s really not me.”

“I also want to work on my defense and become a better all-around player. I like how Duke picks up their man full court, and Duke does a great job developing their players. Duke is the lead school for me right now.”

A long-time Gators commit and life-long Florida resident, Rivers appears to be looking to the state of North Carolina for his basketball future.

Photo Credit: ESPN Rise

15 Comments

  1. Evan says:

    It’s not like we didn’t see this coming….

  2. Wingtee says:

    With Rosario coming in , I would rather have a guy who has battled UConn, villanova , Syracuse on a nightly basis rather than Oviedo and Winter Springs. Enjoy Austin!

  3. alex says:

    Kid is tremendous, he dominates the competition. I just do not understand why he committed so early. I hope he reconsiders

  4. Wingtee says:

    Why any of these kids do this commitment when it means nothing ?

  5. JayV says:

    I know its hard for some Gator Fans to swallow with the problems at Guard we have been experiencing.. but by the time Austin could get here we will have an awfully crowded back court. The kid is correcting his mistake of committing too early, and doing the right thing for him.. Sucks for us, but we’ll be okay.

    I will consider the whole thing a net positive if Cal goes to the NBA.

  6. Don’t count on Calipari going to the NBA – talk about a posturing move to get an even bigger contract. Then again, anything is possible with him.

    The only thing Rivers did wrong is commit too early. The only way a HS player should ever commit early is if he is 100 percent sure he is going to X school. Rivers never felt that way and, therefore, should not have committed in the first place.

  7. Bazemore says:

    I don’t know guys, who are you to say when a HS player can commit or not? Maybe when he committed to Florida he truly felt like that is where he wanted to go. Have you guys never met a girl and thought she was the one you would marry and committed to dating her only to find out later she’s not right for you? People make decisions and change their minds we ALL do it. So I don’t understand when people who have never been in the shoes of a highly sought after athlete, try to pass judgement on him committing then de-committing from a school. I think ultimately you guys are just mad because he de-committed from the GATORS.

    • Speaking for myself, I was just making a general statement that a lot of these kids tend to jump the gun on committing to a school without going through the process. To use your example, it would be like getting engaged after the first date rather than courting a girl and making sure she is the right one for you. It was a suggestion – not a mandate.

  8. gatorzone says:

    The only players that should commit early are either the ones that are 100% sure OR the ones that need to reserve a space because their space could be taken by an equal or better player. Austin is neither of those. He is a great player and a big loss for us. Not sure about the style problems he is referring to. It had more to do with the personel on the team.

    If Cal were to leave (I heard its agent posturing), would Knight be free to go anywhere?

  9. Mitch says:

    Maybe with conference re-alignment UNC will be in the SEC. If Rivers goes there we can beat him on the court. As for our style of play, I guess it suited him for 2 years, but now it doesn’t. Sounds lame to me. Go where you want Austin, good luck. We could sure use you at UF.

  10. Bazemore says:

    But what I’m saying is he probably was 100 percent. Some players are enamored by the recruiting process and take the first offer that comes their way. You are always going to have players that commit early and hold it and some that commit early and then de-committ. I just don’t see why some gator fans are knocking him for being undecided now. Yeah it hurts, but I can’t blame him. It’s a tough decision.

  11. g8ter27 says:

    Well I for one am sick of Austin so I say unless he signs with UF we end the stories on him Adam. Now if Cal leave UK, then Knight will be an interesting story.

  12. As long as he continues to have Florida on his list, OGGOA will continue covering him. Sorry.

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