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CrazyNotCrazie - I agree that you did not say what Old Gold thought you said.
Bringing it back to recruiting, I'm excited that Cole Anthony has an offer and that apparently the #1 Crystal Ball predictor (Andrew Slater) has picked Anthony to Duke.
If the NBA keeps OAD, you could potentially have a pretty interesting discussing with Jordan Goldwire in four years about which of his PG teammates was the best - Trevon Duval, Tre Jones, Cole Anthony, or R.J. Hampton.
For the record, I think Cole's the best of them. Again, very excited here.
Look at us, having an extended discussion around college basketball recruiting! Good job, everyone.
Heading into the winter, Duke has a commitment from Joey Baker (6'7" forward) and identified a group of top targets.
PG: Cole Anthony
SG: Bryan Antonie
SF: Scottie Lewis, Wendell Moore
PF: Vernon Carey, Mathew Hurt
C: Armando Bacot, Isaiah Stewart
Here is where I predict where things end up with this class. This is a stupid exercise as Duke's roster is wildly in flux from year-to-year and we have no idea what the NBA age limit will be for the Class of 2019. But why let that stop me?
Duke will have a bevvy of wings on the roster with Alex O'Connell, Jordan Tucker, and Jack White competing for minutes with Joey Baker. A senior Javin DeLaurier will also be a candidate for the wing/stretch 4 position and presumptive starter. That effectively rules out Scottie Lewis and Wendell Moore. Between the two, Moore seems warmer towards Duke, but playing time might be an issue. Mathew Hurt is not looking very keen on Duke at the moment, either. DeLaurier and Hurt look alike on paper (height/weight/position at least). I figure he ends up at a B1G school, Kansas, or some other destination. Duke will have a lot of room in the froncourt and at the guard position. We get:
Cole Anthony (#1 PG)
Bryan Antoine (#1 SG)
Joey Baker (Top 25 SF)
Vernon Carey (#1 Overall Player)
Armando Bacot (Top 25 Center) and Isaiah Stewart (Top 50 Center)
That's three Top 10 players and three other 4-5 star forwards/centers. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Starting lineup:
Anthony
Antoine
O'Connell
DeLaurier
Carey
The odds of this happening are like 5%, but it was a fun exercise.
To paraphrase, the argument goes: Anthony's step-father is a senior executive at a huge corporation; therefore, his step-son is a "Duke kid".
Thankfully, Coach K and his staff do not appear to recruit with that type of mindset. According to my understanding, our program learns about each individual and each individual's family.
Sure, economically successful parents tend to value education and tend to devote resources that boost their children's chances for academic success. But many children of successful parents are not great students. Some of them are jerks. Some of them are immature. Some of them are geniuses!
Maybe I just have a different vision of our Duke basketball program. My image of Coach K's program is that no one gets a pass. No one. No one is presumed worthy of being labeled a "Duke kid", especially not based on their parents' success. Every single kid has to prove he is worthy based on his own peculiar talents, record and characteristics.
By the way, it looks like Cole Anthony is quite a "Duke Kid!"
https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/articl...the-16-project
Go Duke!
I agree about Dawkins, but he was only 6’1 or 6’2, even though he was an exciting finisher on alley oops.
As for socioeconomic recruiting, it’s a sore subject. Jalen Rose backed off his film statements somewhat by insisting he was reporting his own 18 year old self who viewed Duke as a school for Uncle Toms athetes who come 2 parent college educated middle class households. Obviously, this didn’t sit well with guys like Grant and Jaywill:
http://www.espn.com/chicago/ncb/news/story?id=6270285
Duke and UNC target Vernon Carey Jr. enjoying status as a No. 1 basketball prospect
Saw this today,
Quote:
When Duke basketball commit R.J. Barrett decided to reclassify from the class of 2019 to the class of 2018, that left a void at the No. 1 recruiting spot.
Barrett held down that position as the top prep basketball player in the country for 2019, but his move meant the top spot was there for the taking. After a successful summer circuit with USA basketball, University School forward Vernon Carey Jr. made the leap. Carey has been locked in at the top spot since September.
....
The Blue Devils are at the top of Carey’s list of top five schools, which include Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Miami. North Carolina, UCLA and Michigan State round out his top eight
Rivals recently updated its rankings for the Class of 2019. Here are whey think some notable players sit relative to their peers:
1. Vernon Carey, Jr. (#1 PF)
4. Cole Anthony (#1 PG)
5. Matthew Hurt (#3 PF)
7. Bryan Antoine (#1 SG)
9. Scottie Lewis (#2 SG)
14. Armando Bacot (#5 PF)
24. Wendell Moore (#4 SF)
27. Joey Baker (#8 PF)
32. Isaiah Stewart (#11 PF)
Baker is Duke's lone commitment at the moment for the Class of 2019. At this early stage, it appears that Duke sits in a great position with all of these players with the possible exception of Matthew Hurt. For those that are wondering about such things, both Bacot and Hurt turn 18 this spring.
Matthew Hurt can bring a lot to the table. An awful lot of skill and talent - but a slender body. With nutrition and weight room agenda - he could be a very very good addition.
At the Hoop Hall Classic, #1 junior big man is facing off against Oak Hill Academy of Maryland. Oak Hill features senior big man David McCormick. McCormick seemed to be high on Duke for a few minutes before committing to Kansas. Carey is seriously outplaying the older center, showing off his shooting, rebounding, and handling skills. He seems equally adept at posting up in the low block as floating around the perimeter. On defense, he is owning the paint. It's quite a show.
This morning, ESPN updated it's Super 60 for the Class of 2019. Here are the above players:
2. Vernon Carey, Jr. (#1 C)
5. Matthew Hurt (#2 PF)
6. Cole Anthony (#1 PG)
7. Bryan Antoine (#1 SG)
8. Scottie Lewis (#1 SF)
13. Isaiah Stewart (#3 PF)
15. Joey Baker (#4 PF)
20. Armando Bacot (#5 C)
22. Wendell Moore (#5 SF)
The Class of 2018 features a ton of wings and guards among the Top 25. This class is big. The Top 5 are all 6'9" or taller and listed as power forwards or centers. Half of the guys ranked between 11 through 20 are also power forwards or centers (although they list Joey Baker as a PF while most have him as a stretch 4 in college or a SF if he makes it to the NBA).
Another note is that they grade the top players in the class - James Wiseman, Vernon Carey, Jr., and others - at 96 out of 100. That's the grade given to the trio of R.J. Barrett, Cameron Reddish, and Zion Williamson in the Class of 2018. In the Class of 2017. Marvin Bagley III has a grade of 98 while Michael Porter, Jr. and DeAndre Ayton had a grade of 97 each. The current crop of freshman in college is pretty special.
Still a lot in flux here since the NBA early entry rule may be changed. That would likely take Carey off the table, at least.
We look good with Anthony, Antoine, Bacot (and, obviously, Baker). We seem to be in pretty good position for Carey. That's a huge recruiting haul, if it happens.
Yeah, we are in great shape with a lot of these players. I have a working hypothesis of what will happen if one-and-done remains for the Class of 2019 and a different scenario if it goes away.
If one-and-done remains, Duke remains focused on Carey, Jr., Anthony, Antoine, Lewis, Bacot, and Stewart (maybe just one of Bacot and Stewart if Marques Bolden sticks around for all four years). And of course there's Joey Baker, who has already committed. Most of the recruitniks seem to think that Antoine is more likely than Lewis (they are both guards/forwards and high school teammates) to commit to Duke. And Duke has a lot of the momentum for Bacot with a good shot at getting Carey, Jr and Anthony (if Tre Jones goes to the NBA). That class would join upperclassmen of DeLaurier (and maybe Bolden), White, Robinson, O'Connell, and Goldwire. That would be a nice mix of top talent, experienced players, and a couple of guys that will stick around for a few years.
If the NBA abandons one-and-done in favor of a preps-to-pros model with a secondary route of 2 years in college, the top 10 guys like Carey, Jr., Antoine, and Lewis are no longer sure bets. Duke is still in good shape with Bacot, Stewart, Baker, and Moore. Another name or two will emerge as well.
As I noted on the 2018 recruiting thread, I doubt too many players will go directly to the NBA from the Class of 2019. Let's assume the change in draft eligibility is announced this summer, after the 2018 draft. If that's the case, then the 2019 NBA Draft would feature both one-and-done (Barrett, Reddish, Williamson, and maybe Jones) AND the top high school players. That would be quite the talented mix of players. Unless you are a Top 10 player like Vernon Carey, Jr., your chance of going in the first round is suddenly quite low. I imagine the guys in the 11-25 range, like Bacot, Stewat, Baker, and Moore, will all look hard and long at two years in college versus a 2nd round (or not getting drafted at all) opportunity.
Anyway, this is just my hunch based on how things might shake out. I still think Duke is in good shape with key guys on the 3- and 4- year track on the current roster.
I think you are right and it will create a super loaded 2019 draft. There will be lottery-level talent available into the 20s and guys who can be solid NBA contributors will be going throughout the 2nd round. I agree that you will see a number of guys who might be fringe one-and-done players will opt to go to college for 2 years so they can be drafted higher versus going late in the first round or in the 2nd round. You will also see a number of guys who really have little interest in college turning pro even though their chances of being drafted will be small. I suspect the G-League will find itself full of guys who had no interest in college but simply are not mature enough for the NBA yet.
And, one other thing, it will create an extraordinarily weak 2020 draft. The top 2019 freshmen who went to college will not yet be eligible. The 2020 draft will have mediocre soph and a bunch of unproven high schoolers. Guys who are soph or juniors in 2019 who are considering the draft would be wise to stick around jump into that weak 2020 draft class.
-Jason "all of this assumes the NBA changes the rules with the 2019 draft... could happen in 2020 or 2021 or beyond. We've been waiting a while for this!" Evans