2014 Basketball Recruiting thread

[dukedoc]

Via his twitter account, Tyus Jones is going to announce Friday the 15th at 3pm. Jahlil Okafor will do so at the same time.

If I'm not mistaken, Cliff is also announcing Friday. Perhaps even at the same time? Kind of odd. Maybe ESPN arranged it that way. That's quite a big recruiting Friday.

[superdave]

Dear God, don't let this ruin my health. High stakes this week.

[-bdbd]

Nice fantasy, but it can't happen ... for the last 20-30 years (not sure when they changed the rule), college coaches are forbidden from appearing at a recruit's signing press conference.

Well, er, Ole Roy did make an "appearance" at Harry Barnes' announcement pep rally/self-love-fest...



For this new news I'm going with, THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US. If the decision were to drag on into Dec. or later most would come to the conclusion that the status quo - where most felt Duke was leading - had changed, and that the two young men were in the process of changing their minds or simply couldn't agree on a final decision. The fact that they are making the announcment relatively quickly should minimize the chances of any significant "change of heart." Well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway...

[TexHawk]

If I'm not mistaken, Cliff is also announcing Friday. Perhaps even at the same time? Kind of odd. Maybe ESPN arranged it that way. That's quite a big recruiting Friday.

Not mistaken. All three are announcing on the same day, at 4pm est. This is good for Duke, imo.

[FerryFor50]

Not mistaken. All three are announcing on the same day, at 4pm est. This is good for Duke, imo.

Why would you think this is good for Duke? Just curious...

[kAzE]

Well, er, Ole Roy did make an "appearance" at Harry Barnes' announcement pep rally/self-love-fest...



For this new news I'm going with, THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US. If the decision were to drag on into Dec. or later most would come to the conclusion that the status quo - where most felt Duke was leading - had changed, and that the two young men were in the process of changing their minds or simply couldn't agree on a final decision. The fact that they are making the announcment relatively quickly should minimize the chances of any significant "change of heart." Well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway...

I agree, I think this is good news. I can only draw these conclusions at this point:

A. The packaged deal is probably a for sure thing at this point
B. Either they've already made up their minds, or are waiting on the outcome of tomorrow night's game (which Okafor will attend in person, so you've got to think that the game will at least have SOME effect on his mindset)
C. It's probably between us and Kansas. I don't see a Baylor last minute upset in store

I hope I don't have a heart attack this week.

[DavidBenAkiva]

For this new news I'm going with, THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US. If the decision were to drag on into Dec. or later most would come to the conclusion that the status quo - where most felt Duke was leading - had changed, and that the two young men were in the process of changing their minds or simply couldn't agree on a final decision. The fact that they are making the announcment relatively quickly should minimize the chances of any significant "change of heart." Well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway...

Yeah, this gives me good vibes, for whatever it is worth.

1) They made the announcement about the time of their announcement (whoa... metta) BEFORE the Duke-KU game on Tuesday night, which makes me think they know now and will not change their minds based on the outcome of the game. They probably made up their minds where to go (together or separate schools) over the weekend.
2) Coach K and the entire Duke team arrived in Chicago right before the end of school. Enough time to check in at the hotel, get in touch with Okafor, and then head to the Bulls-Cavs game to watch Kyrie Irving take on Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Mike Dunleavy. There was certainly enough time for K to talk to Okafor and suggest they release their announcement date/time before the game. By the way, Dunleavy and Boozer in particular had great games. Deng and Irving both struggled with their shots in the first three quarters until making a few late in the game. All four scored in double figures.
3) Okafor and Jones visited Duke most recently and had that visit most in mind when making a decision.
4) Cliff Alexander is also announcing on Friday, right about the same time. He just got back from a visit to Kansas. It is widely expected that Alexander and Okafor will not play together in college.
5) Jones and Okafor sent out the same tweet, replacing the name of their respective high schools. They are going to college together.
6) Fran Fraschilla (national college basketball analyst) and Jon Greenberg (local Chicago sports analyst for ESPN) both seem very convinced that the choice is Duke. Fraschilla in particular is very convinced. Both have made recent (over the weekend) predictions.

Why am I so obsessed with this?

[TexHawk]

Why would you think this is good for Duke? Just curious...

If Cliff had said he was going to wait until next week, or a couple hours after the other guys, it might be different... But the easiest explanation is that Cliff knows where the other two are going, which probably means the package is alive and well. So, of the three most likely options...

1--- Cliff to KU, Okafor/Jones to Duke.
2--- Cliff to somewhere else, Okafor/Jones to KU.
3--- Cliff to somewhere else, Okafor/Jones to Duke.

Two of the three show Duke for Okafor/Jones. Just playing the odds. (I am increasingly worried that its #3 fwiw.)

[freshmanjs]

i've had a soft spot for KU ever since attending the 1991 final four during my freshman year. we bonded with the KU fans over Dean Smith's ejection and our game vs. UNLV. The KU crowd responded to our chants of "stand up Kansas" to help cheer the Devils to victory. I hope we get these guys, but no gripes with KU regardless.

[JPtheGame]

My vote is the duo to Duke and Cliff to KU eventually to be joined by Vaughn and Turner. The fact that Self went to see Okafor tells me he thought he had ground to close. He didn't. the fact that Cliff''s HS coach said Cliff was visited by Illinois, Memphis, and Depaul tells me they had ground to close. They didn't.
Whats interesting is that the thought is that Jones was a Duke lean and Okafor a KU lean. The case could be made that Duke has a much greater need for Okafor and KU for Jones. Goes to show how much the fight for playing time means to the big boys. They don't seem to care.

[BD80]

ESPNU has a "Signing Day" special scheduled @ 4 on Friday

[TexHawk]

The case could be made that Duke has a much greater need for Okafor and KU for Jones. Goes to show how much the fight for playing time means to the big boys. They don't seem to care.

Well, KU has the same issue with Jones as Duke does. Naadir Tharpe will be a senior, just like Cook (and Cook is a much better player). KU also has Frank Mason and Connor Frankamp taking minutes at the PG spot. Obviously it doesn't bother Jones, but one coach is going to need to be creative with sharing the ball.

And if Embiid goes pro (likely), and Ellis has a good year and tries to go with him (doubtful, but possible), with Black graduating, that KU frontline would look awfully thin for 2014-15.

[oldnavy]

Everyone take a deep breath. It is exciting and I will be watching for the news like all of you, but trust me if we get them it will not be as good as we expect, and if we don't it won't be as bad as we expect...

Been through this about a zillion times now... life will go on, Duke will still be awesome with or without the duo.

Of course having said that my confidence level does rise quite a bit if we do get them, but I will not be contemplating suicide if we don't.

Remember how we all felt a few years back after that idiotic Skype show... well that didn't turn out near as bad as we felt it would now did it???

GO DEVILS, and here's wishing for good news come Friday!!

And best wishes to the kids making their decisions, I wish them great success and happiness no matter where they go.

[wsb3]

Everyone take a deep breath. It is exciting and I will be watching for the news like all of you, but trust me if we get them it will not be as good as we expect, and if we don't it won't be as bad as we expect...

Been through this about a zillion times now... life will go on, Duke will still be awesome with or without the duo.

Of course having said that my confidence level does rise quite a bit if we do get them, but I will not be contemplating suicide if we don't.

Remember how we all felt a few years back after that idiotic Skype show... well that didn't turn out near as bad as we felt it would now did it???

GO DEVILS, and here's wishing for good news come Friday!!

And best wishes to the kids making their decisions, I wish them great success and happiness no matter where they go.

A voice of reason Old Navy. Thank you.
I remember watching the HB announcement, something I rarely do. His UNC decision coupled with Gerald and Elliot leaving. I was pretty down. Months later we were cutting the nets down and UNC played in the NIT.

[jaredv]

“He made up his mind,” Chuck Okafor, Jahlil’s father, told the Chicago Tribune. “He is confident in his choice.”

Indicates to me that tonight's game has no bearing??

[bob blue devil]

Everyone take a deep breath.

Seems like a good place to start. In... Out. Okay that felt good. Ready to continue.

It is exciting and I will be watching for the news like all of you,

Get excited you say? That's easy, this is the biggest thing ever out of all the things!!! OMG, OMG, I'm gonna pass out in a sec! Wait, step 1, step 1, deep breath.

but trust me if we get them it will not be as good as we expect, and if we don't it won't be as bad as we expect...

That's right! If we get them, it will be better than we expect and if not then it'll be worse!! You forgot the hyperventilate step... But I didn't and am there!

Been through this about a zillion times now... life will go on, Duke will still be awesome with or without the duo.

Experience is overrated - just ask Cal, he's going 40-0 with no chance to win any of his games.

Of course having said that my confidence level does rise quite a bit if we do get them, but I will not be contemplating suicide if we don't.

Is that a typo? I think you added a 'not'.

Remember how we all felt a few years back after that idiotic Skype show... well that didn't turn out near as bad as we felt it would now did it???

I remember how that felt - like the end of the world... And this will feel worse - exactly 2x worse. Would somebody put their finger on the red button already? I mean, just in case.

GO DEVILS, and here's wishing for good news come Friday!!
And best wishes to the kids making their decisions, I wish them great success and happiness no matter where they go.

As long as its not UNC, Kentucky, Maryland or the Russians.

[slower]

If Cliff had said he was going to wait until next week, or a couple hours after the other guys, it might be different... But the easiest explanation is that Cliff knows where the other two are going, which probably means the package is alive and well. So, of the three most likely options...

1--- Cliff to KU, Okafor/Jones to Duke.
2--- Cliff to somewhere else, Okafor/Jones to KU.
3--- Cliff to somewhere else, Okafor/Jones to Duke.

Two of the three show Duke for Okafor/Jones. Just playing the odds. (I am increasingly worried that its #3 fwiw.)

Hey, until the papers are signed, I'm not discounting ANYTHING, including #4 - they all sign with KU.

If I'm Charlie Brown, I'm not trying to kick that football - it's been yanked out from under me too many times.

[MCFinARL]

A voice of reason Old Navy. Thank you.
I remember watching the HB announcement, something I rarely do. His UNC decision coupled with Gerald and Elliot leaving. I was pretty down. Months later we were cutting the nets down and UNC played in the NIT.

Well, sure, and obviously that felt great--but HB was still in high school. He (and Kyrie) didn't arrive on campus until the following fall. So, while I think it is completely fair to say that not getting Barnes didn't turn out to be nearly as big a deal as people expected, I don't think the championship counts as something Duke did despite not getting Barnes. Or maybe I just misunderstood your post?

[superdave]

Everyone take a deep breath. It is exciting and I will be watching for the news like all of you, but trust me if we get them it will not be as good as we expect, and if we don't it won't be as bad as we expect...

Been through this about a zillion times now... life will go on, Duke will still be awesome with or without the duo.

Of course having said that my confidence level does rise quite a bit if we do get them, but I will not be contemplating suicide if we don't.

Remember how we all felt a few years back after that idiotic Skype show... well that didn't turn out near as bad as we felt it would now did it???

GO DEVILS, and here's wishing for good news come Friday!!

And best wishes to the kids making their decisions, I wish them great success and happiness no matter where they go.

This is not one recruit. This is two recruits (hope I got that math right). Two top-5 recruits. A lot of eggs in this package deal basket. This is bigger than Barnes for that reason, and because Barnes turned out to be a ninny with a hero complex. Not to be a downer, but we dont have Coach K forever. The recruits we get from the 2014 and 2015 classes are likely the foundation for K's final seasons. That makes this time very special.

The best way to deal with this from a self-preservation perspective is to assume the worst, hope for the best. I am assuming TexHawk will be a happy camper and that I'll need a stiff drink.

I'll try to be un-dramatic. But the stakes are high.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Well, sure, and obviously that felt great--but HB was still in high school. He (and Kyrie) didn't arrive on campus until the following fall. So, while I think it is completely fair to say that not getting Barnes didn't turn out to be nearly as big a deal as people expected, I don't think the championship counts as something Duke did despite not getting Barnes. Or maybe I just misunderstood your post?

While you are 100% right, the NC seemed like a turning of the tides. Before the NC, UNC had been fairly dominant over Duke. 2 Natties, better record with Roy v K (I think), better recruiting.

After the NC, UNC went into a downward spiral. NITs, low seedings, missed recruits, recruits who didn't live up to the hype (Barnes, McAdoo), lack of speedy PGs who single-handedly defeated Duke, etc.