By Steve DiMiceli
For the 3rd time in the class of 2013, the Dukes have just missed out on a highly regarded combo as Duane Notice picked South Carolina over the Duquesne Dukes. Notice joins Rene Castro of Butler and Dayshon Smith of Dayton whose final choices included the Dukes as well.
South Carolina swooped in and grabbed Notice late similarly to how Brad Stevens grabbed Castro after jumping into his recruitment late. While SC struggled as badly as Duquesne did last season, their athletic department has been extremely aggressive over the past decade first hiring former Florida coach Steve Spurrier before headhunting Frank Martin from Kansas St last season. They've also been investing heavily on athletic facilities including the $8.5 million Rice Athletics Center and an athletics union called The Dodie which opened in 2012 and 2010 respectively.
It's tough to compete with any BCS program but the Dukes need to start winning more of these public battles. Ferry and company have already landed highly regarded Isaiah Watkins who held quite a few high profile offers, but Notice would have been icing on the cake and a great perception win. Notice also had offers to St Bonaventure, Rhode Island, Hofstra, Creighton and Seton Hall and interest from others.
