Here we go again.
For the third time a rumor has been published that Juneau's prep basketball standout Carlos Boozer had decided on where to attend school. This time it was from a seemingly respectable source.
ESPN ran a story from Fastbreak Magazine on its website with the headline "Boozer chooses Duke." When asked if there was any truth to the most recent rumor that he had chosen Duke over the other two finalist schools, UCLA and St. Johns, Boozer answered flatly, "No."
He said he doesn't even bother getting mad at such stories any longer.
"I can't put that much into it. We have a season here and we're nearing the end of it. That's my main focus. I'm not wondering about rumors or anything else about college right now. Maybe once in a while I'll watch a college game on TV, but that's about as far as it goes."
The speculation is part of the process, he said. Since Boozer narrowed his choices the three finalists, recruiting services have tried to become the first to break news of his choice.
"People have been doing that (speculating about his choice) since the beginning. I didn't know it would go to the extent that it has," he said, noting that one inaccurate rumor circulating during the Capital City Classic had him dropping St. John's from his list; other inaccurate rumors have had him choosing UCLA. "I guess it's normal, this sort of stuff happening."
The St. Johns rumor was reported by the San Francisco Examiner.
ESPN's article cited Kurt O'Neill of the ACC Recruiting Hotline as its source. The hotline is a 1-900 service that covers recruiting of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball teams like Duke. In it's most recent update (Feb. 2), a recorded message backed off the Boozer story, but predicted that he would eventually make the Blue Devils his choice.
The message did not cite a source and O'Neill could not be reached for comment.
Boozer's father, Carlos Boozer Sr., said all the schools are still in the running. Boozer Sr. said he had no ill will toward the services, but did say he didn't think it was right to report something without verifying it first.
"They want to be the first to report it, so they just throw it out there," the elder Boozer said. "Jr. would never give out that information until he's talked with his family first."
Juneau coach George Houston said he has been fielding calls all week about the rumor.
"It actually started last week. I had four or five guys call - one was Bob Gibbons (publisher of the All-Star Sports recruiting newsletter) - asking me if it was true. A lot of guys were attempting to verify it.
"We just said unequivocally `No.' You don't know how things like this get started. It's just one of those things, I guess - you put it out there on the internet and it's considered gospel. We don't put a lot of stock in it."
Both Houston and Boozer Sr. said Carlos is concentrating on this season and defending Juneau's state championship.
"There's enough pressure on us right now," Houston said. "We're getting pumped for the end of the (high school) season."
"As far as college goes, we're not even thinking about it right now," Boozer Sr. said. "He's playing to try and win state again."
