Score one for accuracy in reporting!!! We’re laughing all the way to the fact-checker on this one.
A few weeks ago, The Sporting News’ Mike Farrell penned a blog entry whose accuracy and analysis/conclusions we destroyed in this entry that is well worth the read.
Despite the fact that 100% of Chuck Amato’s seven verbal commitments (at the time) hailed from North Carolina High Schools, the crux of Farrell’s piece was that Chuck Amato doesn’t recruit from NC High Schools Makes sense on the front-end, eh (sarcasm)? (read our entry for the truth on Farrell’s dribble).
We’d like to thank the News & Observer for a little accuracy on the matter in their piece this morning, “Wolfpack Turns Focus to State”.
It’s a good, quick read that includes some great facts about past recruiting and some detail about recent developments on the topic of Chuck Amato’s in-state recruiting:
State coach Chuck Amato has worked to build bridges with in-state coaches this spring. He hosted a lengthy dinner meeting and frank discussion with several area high school coaches. The Wolfpack also has been the first school to offer scholarships to several prospects this spring.
Considering that this^ happened long before Farrell’s article on the topic, wouldn’t you think that he would have done at least an ounce of research on what CTC has been doing recently BEFORE writing his hit piece?
The following info is the biggest hit to Farrell, whose entry curiously crticized CTC’s inability to sign – not try to recruit, but to actually to sign – certain players from North Carolina High Schools in the past.
During the past five years, 22 of the 40 players in the state who were rated four or five stars by scout.com signed with out-of-state schools.
(During the past five years) there have been 10 five-star players since 2002 and only three — N.C. State recruits Toney Baker (2005), Demario Pressley (2004), and A.J. Davis (2002) — signed with in-state schools.
So…NC State has signed 30% of the 5-star players from North Carolina in the last five years, representing 100% of the signees by NC-based colleges. Yet, Mike Farrell chose to criticize Chuck Amato for not landing top high school players instead of the guy who coaches at the “flagship’ university that is the traditional preference for such talent?