Jordan Brand Classic

Rasheed has played most of the half at PG for the West. He got off to a slow start, but has looked very good since he started playing hard. 7 straight points on a spot-up three, FTs off a drive, and a pull-up 18 footer.

He's also so active on defense, which is fun to watch. My favorite thing about him is how he sneaks around like 2 feet off the ground in the backcourt after a defensive rebound, ready to pounce on the outlet pass. :p He got several like that in the Hoop Summit, almost had one earlier.

Second half should be starting soon, check it out!

What year do they renamed this event the Barnes Brand Classic?

Man, I hate Duke stopped recruiting the Poythress kid. He has looked real impressive in all of these All Star games. Great length, good skills, hops, etc. He could have definately helped at the 4 spot. Good player.

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Originally Posted by Newton_14

Man, I hate Duke stopped recruiting the Poythress kid. He has looked real impressive in all of these All Star games. Great length, good skills, hops, etc. He could have definately helped at the 4 spot. Good player.

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Yeah, he's looked really good, both in the McDonald's game and in this one. The kid can play.

Sulaimon hasn't looked quite right out there tonight. I wonder if it is the shoes. He's slipped a couple of times and he looks like he's not sure of his footing. On top of that, he doesn't look nearly as quick or explosive as he looked in the McDonald's game. Something is off.

I'd have rather been at the dentist during the first half but the second half picked up a little. I think Rasheed is going to be a great Dukie!

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Originally Posted by CDu

Yeah, he's looked really good, both in the McDonald's game and in this one. The kid can play.

Sulaimon hasn't looked quite right out there tonight. I wonder if it is the shoes. He's slipped a couple of times and he looks like he's not sure of his footing. On top of that, he doesn't look nearly as quick or explosive as he looked in the McDonald's game. Something is off.

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Not at his best, but Rasheed was still effective when he got his chances. That last 3 was huge in breaking the momentum of the East and giving the West a bit of breathing room.

Could be a little under the weather or just not comfortable for some other reason. His defense looked pretty good again though.

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Originally Posted by Newton_14

Man, I hate Duke stopped recruiting the Poythress kid. He has looked real impressive in all of these All Star games. Great length, good skills, hops, etc. He could have definately helped at the 4 spot. Good player.

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I've been banging my head about that ever since the news came out. I wasn't surprised when the commentators said that Bazz told them that he was the one guy he couldn't score on - I actually think he could end up being a better player when it's all said and done.

He'll need to refine his skill set significantly, but he's one of the quickest, most effortless athletes I've ever seen. It's like he doesn't even need to brace himself or bend his knees to explode upwards or laterally... he might as well be a 7-footer around the rim.

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Originally Posted by Newton_14

Man, I hate Duke stopped recruiting the Poythress kid. He has looked real impressive in all of these All Star games. Great length, good skills, hops, etc. He could have definately helped at the 4 spot. Good player.

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Originally Posted by Greg_Newton

I've been banging my head about that ever since the news came out. I wasn't surprised when the commentators said that Bazz told them that he was the one guy he couldn't score on - I actually think he could end up being a better player when it's all said and done.

He'll need to refine his skill set significantly, but he's one of the quickest, most effortless athletes I've ever seen. It's like he doesn't even need to brace himself or bend his knees to explode upwards or laterally... he might as well be a 7-footer around the rim.

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Perhaps the staff feels good enough about AM and MG that they were comfortable in ceasing their recruitment of Poythress. I kinda share the same thoughts though as you folks and will curse the dirty &%$#s at kin-tucky for "reporting" our alleged "violation" in pursuing him.

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Originally Posted by devildeac

Perhaps the staff feels good enough about AM and MG that they were comfortable in ceasing their recruitment of Poythress. I kinda share the same thoughts though as you folks and will curse the dirty &%$#s at kin-tucky for "reporting" our alleged "violation" in pursuing him.

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It would be terrible if that one phone call which may or may not have been inappropriate was the reason Duke backed off. For whatever reason though, they did, and it seemed that Poythress was really interested too. Woulda coulda shoulda I guess.

Rasheed played PG most of the game when he was in. His point guard skills are lacking right now though, not very creative in the half court. He is more of a Jon Scheyer PG than a Kyrie Irving PG. Showed the ability to handle the ball and bring it up court but I rather see him at the SG, than the guy that initiates the offense.

I look forward to seeing him and Cook in the back court together. But I'm going to curb my expectations from him until his Sophomore season.

I seem to remember it being explained as more a function of Poythress wanting to play the 3, to hat not being a position of need, and Duke still feeling good about Parker/McGary/etc. along with Parker/Randle in the following class. I thought it was a mistake at the time, because I thought he the kind of all-around talent that you just take no matter what.

Fast forward a few months, and we're going after every SF that pops up on the transfer market. Go figure, I guess...

Purvis looked really good out there. State is looking like they will be at or near the top of the ACC.

Here is the box score:

http://www.jordanbrandclassic.com/im...l_finalbox.pdf

Sulaimon with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. A guard who is aggressive going after rebounds is good to see. Twice as many turnovers as assists isn't impressive, but the whole game was sloppy and the West was a turnover machine especially in the 1st half so I'm not going to allow it to concern me. The 50 percent success achieved on 3-pointers is good to see, but again it was an All Star game so the defense wasn't intense. If I'm not going to be worried about the turnovers it seems fair to not be excited about the 3-pointers. :D Overall, a less enjoyable game than the Nike Hoop Summit.

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Originally Posted by Bob Green

Here is the box score:

http://www.jordanbrandclassic.com/im...l_finalbox.pdf

Sulaimon with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. A guard who is aggressive going after rebounds is good to see. Twice as many turnovers as assists isn't impressive, but the whole game was sloppy and the West was a turnover machine especially in the 1st half so I'm not going to allow it to concern me. The 50 percent success achieved on 3-pointers is good to see, but again it was an All Star game so the defense wasn't intense. If I'm not going to be worried about the turnovers it seems fair to not be excited about the 3-pointers. :D Overall, a less enjoyable game than the Nike Hoop Summit.

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Thanks for the link to the box, Bob. Was looking for it late last night and couldn't find it.

Another solid outing for Rasheed. He definitely has a varied skillset, which will be quite apparent once he hits campus.

I would say a couple of those turnovers were of the, he should have zigged instead of zagged variety and the reciever wasn't where Sheed anticipated him being. Rasheed will be a very nice insurance policy for Quinn's knee down the road, as he really does remind me of Nolan.

While it may have been a bit depressing to view these All-Star games and see 4 or 5 ACC schools with better recruiting classes, I'm quite pleased with the one kid we are bringing in.

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Originally Posted by ncexnyc

While it may have been a bit depressing to view these All-Star games and see 4 or 5 ACC schools with better recruiting classes, I'm quite pleased with the one kid we are bringing in.

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As Al Featherston points out in his article Next Year currently linked on the Main Page, to accurately assess Duke's incoming class one must include Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee. Once an analyst does that, Duke has a Top 5 class:

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Duke’s three-man recruiting class is in reality a top 5 class nationally and (especially considering that Plumlee and Murphy have had a year of practice with the Duke team) rivals N.C. State’s three McDonald’s All-Americans as the best class in the ACC.

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Originally Posted by Bob Green

As Al Featherston points out in his article Next Year currently linked on the Main Page, to accurately assess Duke's incoming class one must include Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee. Once an analyst does that, Duke has a Top 5 class:

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But then you have to subtract Alex and Marshall from last year's recruiting class, which without Austin and possibly Gbinije in terms of future contributions, is now a relatively sorry 1-man class of Quinn Cook.

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Originally Posted by duke09hms

But then you have to subtract Alex and Marshall from last year's recruiting class, which without Austin and possibly Gbinije in terms of future contributions, is now a relatively sorry 1-man class of Quinn Cook.

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I think it is fair to subtract them from last year's class if you add them to this year's class. In terms of figuring out what we might get next year, I really couldn't care less what our class ranking was last year. All I'd use the rankings for is to get an idea of what gains we can expect from newcomers. So in that regard I'd include JuCo guys, transfers, and redshirts along with true freshmen in the incoming class rankings. That's the only meaningful way to look at it in my opinion. Anything else is just for water cooler talk.

Hope he turns out to be a Kobe, because we really need a Kobe next year.