Rick Pitino and Louisville Making Moves to Help Land Marquis Teague
Words. Jason Jordan
Louisville coach Rick Pitino may be fighting for his professional life, but he still found time to make a key addition to his staff.
Shabaka Lands, who was hired as a special assistant to Pitino this week, won’t help the Cards win the Big East this season. But what’s that matter? He’s connected to Pike High (Ind.) star guard Marquis Teague, priority No. 1 for Pitino in the class of 2011.
Teague will be the No. 9 prospect in the HighSchoolHoop top 50 when we unveil the new rankings, which disregard class, next week. Lands was an assistant coach at Pike last season, and was obviously hired to lure Teague, who visited Kentucky recently.
To be fair, it’s not an illegal practice. College coaches do it all the time. The question is, will it work in this case?
We caught up with Teague’s father Shawn to get the answer to that and pick his brain about how he feels about Pitino’s latest headlines.
HighSchoolHoop: Let’s get right into the situation with Shabaka Lands.
Shawn Teague: OK.
HSH: How close are Marquis and Shabaka?
ST: Very close. He coached (Atlanta Hawks rookie and Marquis’ brother) Jeff in his first year at the high school and he followed us during the middle school years. He’s always offered pointers and things that Jeff and Marquis should work on. So he’s always been around us. And we’re pretty close.
HSH: Gauge it for me; on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being very, very close, what would Shabaka be to you and Marquis?
ST: I’d say about an eight. We’re very close. He’s not in the family, but we consider him family.
HSH: This reeks of a lure tactic…
ST: Well, here’s the deal: I heard the rumors just like everyone else. People were saying that this may happen and something was in play with Shabaka being hired or whatever. But it was just that – a rumor. It wasn’t anything that came from Pitino or anything like that. When we went to go visit Louisville, Shabaka went with us there and he was able to develop a relationship with them just like we did. He’s without question a quality coach. I guess he’s gonna be on the ground floor and doing whatever he’s got to do to get where he wants to be, but he’s willing to do that. That’s something that coach Pitino and those guys are helping to provide for him. But nowhere along the line have we even remotely thought that since Shabaka is there, we’re obligated to go there. Not at all. There are other schools and other relationships that have been developed and it’s a tough decision. No decision is going to be 100 percent like “wow!” I’ve told my son that wherever you go, you’ve got to make it the right decision. But Shabaka being hired by Louisville will not guarantee that Marquis is coming there.
HSH: But does it make Louisville more attractive?
ST: In all honesty it has no bearing. Now a lot of people are gonna say it does no matter what I say, but that’s an opportunity for Shabaka not Marquis.
HSH: But do you agree that it appears to be a lure tactic?
ST: Well, I’ve seen different situations where the parents are hired to help different players feel more comfortable coming and things like that. Does this fit that particular, I’ll call it, luggage? Yeah. But I’ve never seen a situation like this where it’s two years removed. Plus history says that in two years Shabaka won’t be there anyway.
HSH: Why wouldn’t he be there?
ST: Well, looking at the history with Louisville and other people who have held this position all moved on to another coaching position after a two-year period.
HSH: So with him on staff he’s got to follow the NCAA rules as far as contacting you all. So have you stopped talking?
ST: You’re right, but with me being Marquis’ AAU coach it puts me in a different situation with being able to communicate with him. It’s the same as with all of the other schools in that regard.
HSH: You played for Pitino back in the day, right?
ST: Yes, I played back during the 1983-84 season when he was at Boston University. I had to sit out the first year.
HSH: What’s your take on all of the news surrounding Pitino?
ST: I know that he and his wife have been married for as long as I can remember, and without question, that was a shocking situation. I never thought that things could ever go like that for them, but you know with years in the NBA and things like that a lot of things can happen. He’s admitted that it was a mistake, and I know he wishes that he could erase all of that, but that’s the way it happened. But in terms of who he is and what he’s always been about that doesn’t have a bearing on what we feel about him as a person. We’re not fine with what happened, but we know that he stood up and admitted his faults and we could live with the decision if that was where Marquis decided to go. Now I understand the feeling that parents would have when they’re entrusting a person like that with their children. Those would be valid question marks, but in my opinion, for my son, he has a foundation that is going to follow him to college. He knows that things happen and people make mistakes. He knows that there are a lot of bad things that happen out there, it doesn’t mean he has to be a part of it.
HSH: Let’s talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. How was that?
ST: It went great. He had an opportunity to play six or seven games and the guys were really cordial to him. He really enjoyed it, but outside of the games it was pretty much the same stuff.
HSH: I heard he and John Wall were going at it a little bit.
ST: Man, John Wall is the truth! He is nice! I like that guy, I like him! I love the way he just goes and goes and goes at you. He was really stroking Marquis and giving him his props. Marquis really admires John a lot. But yeah John can flat out play! Wooh!
HSH: Is Marquis’ list the same?
ST: Yes, it’s Louisville, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati and Ohio State.
HSH: No timetable?
ST: No, no timetable at all. It could be next week or it could be next year. We’re just taking our time with it and gathering all of the information.
HSH: Surely you’ve heard the rumors so let’s address a popular one: It’s a two-horse race between Louisville and Kentucky?
ST: I’d say there are still five other horses on the track. (Laughs) No, I understand why they’re saying that. But there’s no truth to it.
Great article JJ AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! The bottom line is the kid can play, coach pitino made a mistake just like anyone else…the only thing that this means is that he’s human. At the end of the day it’s a private matter between he and his wife, she’s the one he has to answer to!!
It’s really good that his father is there to guide him and b that rock that so many of our black athletes don’t have these days for one reseason or another.
This is nothing new in college sports, hiring a coach to help get that kid to there school, so people shouldn’t b surprised or quick to criticize one.
He will go to whatever school is best for him. I’m sure he knows that J. Wall(wall might b gone and bledsoe is really good) and E. Bledsoe is at kentucky, and siva is at louy, is there a great chance he lands at louy? yeah. Kentucky Yeah? Wall probably will b gone, the system fits him great, he is a great scorer so i can see him and bledsoe playing together.
The same goes for him and siva, siva is a more purer point guard in my eyes.
OSU has a lot of talent coming in and all they need is someone to drive the car, and he certainly can drive the heck out of that car with all of that talent. They honestly could make a run at a national title if those guys stick around (sullenger, lighty, legion diebler, turner, J. Smith, buford….). I know i missing a few players.
Wake is a great guard system, a team who likes to get up and down up, but will A.Aminu b there? M. Tabb will have a year under his belt with the twin towers will b juniors (ty walker and Tony woods). L.D. will b a senior, I.smith will b a senior.
He has to give Purdue and Indiana a look, just for common curtosey, they are both home town schools. Purdue has a really good squad, but some of their talent might b gone by the time he gets there (M. johnson, K. Grant, R. Hummel i forget the name of their defensive stopper). I know i’m missing a couple of players.
IU is starting to come back, but does he want to b a part of a rebuilding process?? touch question, but i dont think so.
I believe Cincinnati is out of the running, there is nothing that inticing about their team and system, they are mostly a half court team, thats why d. downey of south carolina transferred, and L. Stephenson will b gone…so…..!
I just hope the nation will get to see this kid play this season on one of the espn stations.
Again, Good Job Mr. Jordan and congrads on the marriage again.
ok the cards are not in the SEC there in the big east so u need read what u put i thought u suppose to basketball iQ
Check out what courtcred.com did on Teague’s AAU teammate DeShaun Thomas- http://www.courtcred.com/2009/09/courtcredcoms-2-most-complete-wings/
It’s too bad that Shabaka Lands got canned when Teague chose UK.