This is just another nail in MD fans coffins. Not until MD goes out and brings in a big name Roy Williams, Calipari, Self, type coach are we gonna get back to were they were in the top 4 every year in ACC play.

Gary fails to sign top local talent, now that's a headline!!

1) The fact that Pastner and Memphis think that nothing will happen to them and feel like they've done nothing wrong is a little bit discouraging as a fan of the game. It's obvious that Memphis has extremely lax admissions standards and has bent the rules over the past seasons, yet even while under investigation for several players, they feel like they will be let off without any consequences, which should be a sign to the NCAA that something needs to be done or they will continue bending the rules until they are punished. Even if they didn't break any rules, the program smells funny.

2) I found it a little funny that Ms. Bush mentioned academics and how important they are to her when her sons will be attending Memphis as opposed to the other schools who recruited them and are internationally recognized for their academics, just a little ironic.

3) I with them both luck, I just think they might have rushed the decision a little bit, just a personal thought,

For the record, the NCAA clearing house cleared Derrick Rose. Memphis had another player, Angel Garcia, who was not cleared by the NCAA clearing house. The result? Memphis played Rose and did not play Garcia. If you did a little research you'd find out that Memphis academics have nothing to do with this incident.

By the way, the Kansas team that beat Memphis for the national championship may have had an ineligible player as well. It was discovered after the national championship that Darrell Author may have had his grades changed in high school. However, this story was quickly swept under the rug and no one even mentions it now.

Before you say, "oh but that was in high school" keep in mind that Memphis does not administer SATs. Memphis and Kansas...same allegations, different reaction...Now THAT is a real reason to be discouraged about the game.

Anyway, best of luck to the Bartons!! They have chosen a great program with a great coach! GO TIGERS!

Just because a local kid (or kids) decides to go to another school out of the area, doesn't mean that Gary blew it! These boys liked the atmosphere at Memphis; Memphis wanted them both.
That's all we know. Even in the best of times not every local kid is going to come to the local school, we all know that.

they wont end up at memphis. we'll see the famous "well we might have rushed our decision. we justr want to see what else is out there." take it to the bank. and the fact that memphis (pastner) is telling them now, while the school is under investigation, that nothing will happen with the investigation, is a joke.

Hope it works out for them. Seems a little naive to commit before the scandal resolves, but what bothers me is that Pastner is telling them that there won't be any penalties. Perhaps ultimately there won't be, but it's a very public lie at this point in time.

Right or wrong, the penalties don't follow the coach, they target the school. I don't see the wisdom in committing at this time. It would be smart for them to keep their options open at other schools. As a package deal or otherwise.

Since the NCAA has not finished its investigation, I can't see how anyone can definitively say that there will be no penalties.

Maybe they figure if it's the class of 2010, and they get two scholarships before the NCAA revokes four, they will be safe. Of course, that could be so, but what happens when Memphis gets restricted from the tourney and national TV for two years to boot? I suspect the Bartons will suddenly be amenable to reopening their recruiting.

I hope Memphis gets slammed. That would be great if they lose some scholarships and get banned from post-season for a couple years. All we heard about was how they didn't get any respect, now we see why they didn't deserve it. Let's see how sanctions affect their choice.

I wish the Barton brothers the best of luck. I just hope Memphis doesn't get nailed too badly for their sakes.

As far as the Terps go,I love the fatalism. Maryland's already signed blue-chippers' Terrance Ross and Terrell Stoglins for 2010, and their not done yet. Every time a local blue-chipper goes elsewhere the sky is falling. They'll be just fine. Calm down.

Maryland fans were fooling themselves if they thought there was a shot to sign either Barton. His family has targeted Calapari for 2 years. He was never going to stay home.

I laugh at all these "Why can't Gary keep local talent tangents". I took a similar path towards football and turned my back on Maryland for UW. I wanted to get away and experience something new. It is a giant reason why Durant, Anthony, Beasley, etc... went away.

Gary needs to get talent in general, no matter where. It would be great to get the top local talent, but they have to want to come to Maryland first. I just see none of them are even sniffing in his direction. Where is that Gary's fault?

First off I want to identify myself from the other Ryan on here that routinely makes, to put it nicely, ill-informed statements. Anyone that wants to blast Gary for not keeping home the kids from Baltimore needs only go back to the front page headlines 2 days to understand why. #1 or 2, depending on stats, in muders for large cities in the country, and we expect Gary to get kids to stick around??? Now, as for the Bartons, this has to be one of the dumbest decisions Ive ever seen...commit to a school under investigation for major recruiting violoations?? we'll see where they ultimately end up.

Do some reading folks. It's hard to find a credible name out there predicting that Memphis will face any kind of sanctions or bans as a result of this investigation. In fact, the "major" in "major violations" most likely refers to the women's golf team, which actually makes up the bulk of the allegations in the NCAA report. The worst prediction I've seen is that Memphis will have to vacate the 2007-2008 season. That won't effect the program at all moving forward. Sure, the NCAA doesn't have to be rational or logical with its punishment, but it looks like thats the most that Memphis will get.

Bitter crowd in here. Bitterness tends to blind.

As a Terp fan, this Barton Brother thing does not upset me. It makes me laugh.

It's like someone choosing UNLV when Tarkenian was the coach.

Memphis also makes me laugh. Fans get all upset about a coach leaving with the team under investigation, but is proud of all its achievements. Very Interesting.

I am proud of these two young men. They come from a strong, supportive family. Big ups to the mom and may God bless them all.

These kids must be really bright.
Also, whoever it was that said, " Just because we lose 1 local talent doesn't mean Gary can't recruit".
HE HASN'T RECRUITED ANY LOCAL TALENTS!!

Everyone saying Gary can't recruit local talents is wrong. They made it a task to step up locally in the last couple of years. We have seen Gregory, Dupree, and Mosley come here from Baltimore, Bowie and next year Ross from DC. Albeit some of these guys have not been the superstars like Durant, Anthony, etc, Gary is still making the effort. Anyway, it's hard for anyone to recruit the superstars no matter where they live (John Wall did not even stay in the state of NC despite feverish efforts from NC State and Duke).

On the Barton brothers, yes, it's disappointing they did not pick UM, but maybe they will open up their recruiting again scandal or not. No matter what, Best of luck to them and God Bless both of them.

I'm sorry but that is the case, Gary may have tried to recruit top tier talent in the local area but he is just not very good at it. Just becasue Dupree and Dino were local didn't make them very good in college, Lets just put it out there Gary needs help trying to get these kids to come to MD because we have had enough talent combined in this state to have a second national championship trophy at College Park. When you get out recruited by colleges with NCAA violations, sudden coaching changes, and schools that haven't won an NCAA title in over a decade then something is wrong. Now granted Calipari is in my mind a shady dude but he puts kids in the NBA (1st round) and if he came to MD today those kids would follow him becasue they want to play for him. The agents (AKA mentors) would direct those kids to him during the AAU summer leagues these kids attend. Now MD is a sound fundamental, team oriented basketball team who's last one and done player was Steve Francis. The only way MD will get to a top ranked recruting class is to win a national title and not before. Since Kansas brought out the big guns for there recruiting efforts such as using a former player and now coach Danny Manning to talk to these kids why not use Juan Dixon to talk to these kids, in Baltimore they still remember him and might sign alot faster then Gary recruiting process takes already.

If anything happens to Memphis, it'll be that they get stripped of their final four appearance. memphis had nothing to do with the failures of the SAT administrators. they had no knowledge until the NCAA notified memphis via email a few days after the 2008 championshipe game.

will barton will excel at memphis---if he really does end up there!

Gary is a good coach, hands down. But local talent just don't want to stay home and play for a coach that will teach what it takes to succeed in the not only basketball, but life in general. I'm from the inner city and I know for a fact that a lot of the kids don't want to play in his system or "way". They'd rather go play for some flashy, run n gun, stop n pop coach that will get them to the NBA quick. The days of the four year, 5 star player are gone.

Jarsheem- My point exactly, these kids don't want to stay in school for four years and get a degree. These kids that go to schools like UNC, and Memphis when Calipari was there anyway knew that there was NBA talent on the team before they even get there and now that those guys will be gone soon and they will get there chance to do the same. Right now Maryland can't say that with only one NBA second round possiblity on the team there is no alluring aspect for them to attend MD no matter how many unofficial visits they make. One thing I dissagree with is that one kid can't play in a system because Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, those type of players would have done well in any system because the concept is still the same, if your a very good ball player you know how to put the ball in the hole period. You use any offensive system to your advantage to get your shot off. If you can't play in a certain system then you and the mentor that said that need to reevaluate your skill set because when and if you make it to the NBA there are normally stars already in place so you either fill a role or go home.

I'd like to comment on "Another Ryan's" assesment of the Barton's decision. Last time I checked, Memphis isn't exactly the safest city in the country. And especially if you consider that College Park is safer than both Baltimore and Memphis, I seriously doubt that factored into their decisions at all. I'm sure you're much more informed than that other Ryan, though. Keep up the good work, buddy.

To those questioning potential penalties against Memphis:

The only sanction the basketball program is threatened with is vacating the 2007 season that Rose played for the team.

There are no violations under investigation that would carry any sanctions against the program moving forward.

Mr Deez...

Its not about "safety"...its about getting out of town. I simply brought up one important point, among many for the fatalists to consider. We're talking about decisions 18 yr old kids are making, and 18 yr olds with an opportunity to get away from home are going to take that opportunity a large percentage of the time. I'll put that on, among other things, the fact that Baltimore's got its problems more than Gary Williams' recruiting. I guess youre one of the screamers ranting about Gary not keeping players home...look at the roster the past few yrs??

This is a great story about 2 great ballen brothers whom I truly think made a great decision in picking m'town tn. These 2 brothers have achance @ making history with this great new young coach. People need 2 stop hating on this great basketball city and start giving the respect that this team along with this city has built and been known for the past several decades. It's not only about duke, north carolina,& kansas you have 2 include memphis.

Who cares about these fools anymore? I mean really, can we move on and talk about MD players and not Memphis commits? They're gone, its done its over, they don't deserve publicity from MD anymore.