John Wall to Baylor: A Done Deal?

Baylor announced the hiring of AAU coach Dwon Clifton to be their "Director of Player Development." Clifton's background and the actual tasks involved in this job (if any?) are meaningless.. but the important thing to note here is that Cifton is the coach of D-One Sports, an AAU team that features the #1 prospect in the country, John Wall. Wall will almost certainly announce his decision to attend Baylor now, ending an odd recruitment that came down to Big 12 schools Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Post your thoughts below on whether you think this type of practice.. hiring a player's coach or father (ie, Milt Wagner to Memphis), is legit or not..

The Baylor Press Release is posted below:

WACO, Texas - Dwon Clifton, who played basketball at Clemson in the early 2000s when current Baylor assistant coach Matthew Driscoll was a member of the Tigers' staff, has been hired as Baylor's Director of Player Development, Bears' sixth-year head coach Scott Drew announced Thursday.

"We're pleased that Dwon Clifton will be joining the Baylor family," Drew said. "His professional playing experience and ability as a former player to relate to young student-athletes make him a great addition to our staff."

Clifton played two seasons (2000-02) for Driscoll and the Tigers before transferring to UNC Greensboro, where he completed his collegiate career (2002-05).

"Having coached Dwon and then following his career after Clemson it is nice to be able to mentor him in a profession that he really wants to pursue," Driscoll said. "With his wife Lucinda and son Kingston joining our family it will make for an easy transition to begin his career."

Clifton joins the Baylor staff after spending two summers as head coach for the D-One Sports Basketball 17 and under travel team.

"I had interest from numerous other schools but what's unique about the opportunity at Baylor is my tie with Coach Driscoll, who recruited me to play at Clemson out of high school," Clifton said. "I have tremendous respect for Coach Driscoll and his work ethic that he's always displayed. Even now, his work ethic is the same as I remember, he's the same person."

Clifton enjoyed a brief professional playing career in Portugal as a member of Vila Pouca in the FIBA professional league, averaging 22 points per game in 2005. He later played for Club Averio, leading the league in steals while averaging 10 points per game in 2005-06.

"I want to thank Coach Drew for this opportunity," Clifton said. "I've always wanted to work with the right people, coaches that fit the description of what I want to become. I felt that this opportunity will allow me to get to where I want to as a coach and as a person."

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Clifton began conducting instructional clinics in the summer of 2006 at the Five-Star Basketball Camp.

Clifton received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2005.

-www.BaylorBears.com-