I got word last night that David Stokes AND Logan Pause are both leaving UNC a year early to turn pro.
This is going to leave the Tarheels in a world of hurt in the back. Bolowich had better be out looking for some big and fast defenders. His recruiting class to date leaves a major hole in the back.
stokes signs Stokes signed his MLS contract two weeks ago and is currently training for the combine. He told the UNC coach in November he was leaving so hopefully there is a recruiting plan to deal with the loss.
Pause??? I had heard that Stokes was definitely going to leave school, but no one has ever confirmed Logan Pause leaving school. Did that come from a reliable source? That would leave the Tar Heels' D totally depleted, and with no help on the way in their recruiting class, they could be in trouble next year. With rumors of Ford Williams not returning after the U-20 World Cup, UNC could be in a ton of trouble next year.
Re: Pause??? I hadn't heard this one. I have heard that he his taking off next semester, but not that he is leaving school early. I'd find the news that he is leaving school very surprising. Do you have a credible source on this BC or are you just speculating?
What I had heard (from a fairly credible source) was that he had struggled with having missed quite a bit of class this past fall, and with having to take the semester off this Spring, Ford was concerned with having to play 'catch-up' with his course load. The flip side of any possible ideas from him leaving early was that after talking to a source involved in MLS, there was not anything concrete about any definite opportunities for Williams in MLS at this time. Project-40 spots for GK's are pretty hard to come by right now, and even if Rongen sees him as one of the top 2-3 GK's in his pool for the U-20s doesn't mean that there are that many P-40 spots or that he has generated that kind of interest at this time.
Fairly credible? All the above information appeared in the Raleigh N&O with quotes from Ford himself. There's a huge difference between "taking a semester off " for the U20 world championships and "quitting school to join the MLS."
K1v1n My reliable source was a member of the UNC Athletics Department. As for the N&O (which I'm guessing is the Raleigh or Chapel Hill newspaper), I don't live in the Triangle area so I wouldn't get that paper. From a perspective from down in the Triangle (other than your own), you might want to hear from LuvDaBears, since her son is the same age as Williams. With her son having participated in ESP last year and living in the Raleigh area, LuvDaBears' son is probably a CASL kid and must have played with Ford. I hope he doesn't go out, because he is and will be a huge part of their team. Having UNC lose most (if not all) of their defense wouldn't help anyone....including ACC soccer fans.
Re: K1v1n Having UNC lose most of their defense would be a wonderful thing for the Wolfpack. Maybe they can break that three year losing streak with a home win against the Heels next fall. I don't need to check with LdB--even though I still owe her a beer. My source is better than "a member of the UNC Athletics Department."
Re: K1v1n here's the link: N&O Article on Williams BC, apparently you have a more informed opinion of Williams now than you did early last Fall. (IIRC, you were touting the Duke keeper over Williams, and were cautioning that we all should "wait and see" how a freshman would handle the ACC battles.) Well, he came thru the season OK with a pretty decent GAA, finishing behind only Hesmer and Palmer, and ahead of Warren (and way ahead of Trowbridge ) IMHO it's really stupid to think that a keeper, even one with Williams' potential, would leave a great school like UNC after just his freshman year. Keepers mature a lot later than field players, and as you said in an earlier post, P-40 and the MLS has a glut of young keepers right now. No doubt that UNC will have a tough time replacing Stokes and Pause, but everyone said the same thing about replacing Ueltschey, Jackson and Leitch, and the UNC defense had a very solid year this past season. At least the 2003 team will start with one of the better returning keepers in the country, giving them stability and experience at that spot.
Ford is academically conscious, and wants a degree. Unless something crazy happens, he'll be back at UNC next Fall working towards his degree.
My opinion has changed slightly on Williams, and I'm sure he will only get better as his career goes on as well. And, sloweddie - for what it's worth....I would still take Trowbridge ahead of Williams, though. The Duke GK is more consistent than Williams, and although he is going to be in residency with the U-20s, Ford still has a reputation for poor decision-making (ask Elmer and his staff). That doesn't mean that he can't be a very successful collegiate goalkeeper, I just don't hold him in the same regard as many of the CASL loyalists in the Triangle area.
Pause recently got capped by the U23s against Canada and impressed the hell out of everyone present as a dmid in a 3-5-2.
Pause is one of the most versatile players in the country. For those of you who haven't seen much of him, he's a saavy player, who is able to control the pace of the game, a trait that is not often recognized but is vitally important to a team's success. As a freshman, he played an a-mid for the UNC team that was ranked #1 and lost to IU in the quarters. He suffered a knee injury in the summer before his sophomore year after being one of the last players cut before the U20 WC. He wasn't even supposed to play for UNC in the 2001, but came back for the first ACC game, scored the gamewinner against Duke, and played in the middle of the park the rest of the year- a vital cog in the NCAA tournament championship run. This past year he showed his versatility by moving to the back and playing as a central defender in a 4 back system. Pause rarely made mistakes, was a tough tackler, and played great balls out of the back. He has good speed, but not blazing, and has an amazing knack for getting the job done. He's a player, pure and simple. I can see him playing anywhere in the back or midfield, though he was a forward as a youth player, so he can score goals as well. He's a real leader, captaining UNC this year as a junior. You could tell he had a real presence on the field. If he impressed as much as everyone said he did in the U23 friendly against Canada, then it would be no surprise to see him leave early. He's been involved in youth national teams before, and he has to know that playing as a professional for a year is almost necessary to try to get a spot in the Olympics. I'll be sad to see him leave UNC, but I do wish him the best if he does leave early. Any success that he attains couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
If he goes pro now he'll have this whole MLS season to develop before the Olympic qualies. Should he make the team, then he'll have this off-season to go on loan and probably five months of the next MLS season before the Olympics. Dmid is a weak position for the Olympic pool at the current moment, though I suspect it's going to get a lot stronger after Ricardo Clark turns pro.
I've seen a lot of Pause and Clark, and my son has played against both of them. As a d-mid, Pause is a better player because he gets stuck in, doesn't come forward just for the sake of coming forward, and has really good vision. IMO, Clark is more athletic, but Pause is a better soccer player. Logan is not fast, but he is quick, and he reads the game well. He's very good at getting everyone involved in the attack, and he's a very good passer of the ball. Glad to see that a local NC kid is doing well!
Your assertion that Pause is not fast is not entirely correct. Does he have blazing Damarcus Beasley or Marcus Storey speed? No. But he showed while playing in the back this year that he can run with the best forwards, keeping up with White from Wake, and others. He may not be blazing, but good speed along with that quickness will serve him well.
Dmids don't have to have super blazing speed. Clark is ranked so high because he's so athletic. Over the course of time, his skills will improve.
No offense meant either---I agree actually. From reports Pause is more 'polished' than most college players. Clark still needs polishing.
So if these guys, or any other underclassmen for that matter, declare for the MLS draft--do they get to go to the combine and play with all the seniors and others that have been invited? Or are teams supposed to just have scouted them earlier?
so the question has been asked a couple of times regarding pause...but i haven't seen the answer. is your information reliable and is he, indeed, finished at unc? or is it "speculation"?