Sometimes, hard work just isn't enough. That can ring especially true when it comes to basketball recruiting.
Especially the case of Neil Duvall, a 6-foot-8 small forward from Southlake, Texas. After narrowing his list down to Penn and Furman, Duvall ultimately chose the latter, a South Carolina school with fewer than 2,700 undergraduates.
After Duvall played in the Las Vegas Summer Championships, he drew calls from "30-35 schools," according to his father, Clint Duvall. Reports suggest the list included high mid-major programs such as Wichita State. But "none of them sounded like they wanted him as much . as Penn and Furman," the father said.
Penn assistant coach Mike Martin "kept in touch with [Neil] a whole bunch," he said. "We received a lot of info about Penn in the mail, they came to his games, texted him, talked to him."
Ultimately, though, it wasn't enough to persuade Duvall - who does not speak to the media about his recruitment - to wear the Red and Blue.
While Duvall's father indicated that playing at Penn was a strong possibility, an official offer could not be confirmed. Penn coaches are precluded from commenting.
Instead, Duvall opted to play for Cornell alumnus Jeff Jackson in the Southern Conference. The Paladins graduated their top four scorers from last year and have not made the NCAA Tournament since 1980.
Neither Martin nor head coach Glen Miller made any promises, but father and son thought "playing time in a year or two was realistic" after looking at Penn's roster.
"There was a difference financially [between Penn and Furman] with what was offered, but that wasn't really a factor," the elder Duvall said. "He got to meet the players and coaches from both schools, saw the facilities, the style of basketball, the quality of opponents.
"I guess in the end he just favored Furman a little more."
- Staff writer Brandon Moyse contributed to this report.
