2014 Basketball Recruiting thread

[mattman91]

What's up with this?

Scout.com says that Davis Koppenhaver has an offer to play at Duke...he is listed as a 6'5 PF/C, but his profile picture is him in a football helmet. What am i missing here? Is this an example of a recruited walk on? Maybe a two sport athlete? Completely confused.

[roywhite]

What's up with this?

Scout.com says that Davis Koppenhaver has an offer to play at Duke...he is listed as a 6'5 PF/C, but his profile picture is him in a football helmet. What am i missing here? Is this an example of a recruited walk on? Maybe a two sport athlete? Completely confused.

He's a football prospect, and a pretty good one at TE.

Seems interested in Duke.

[mattman91]

He's a football prospect, and a pretty good one at TE.

Seems interested in Duke.

I looked and saw that he was a football prospect for us, I'm still confused that he is showing up as a basketball recruit as well. Here is a video of him playing basketball. Could he be a Reggie Love type player?

[roywhite]

I looked and saw that he was a football prospect for us, I'm still confused that he is showing up as a basketball recruit as well. Here is a video of him playing basketball. Could he be a Reggie Love type player?

He's a 3-star (according to scout.com) TE prospect who also plays high school basketball. There is a premium article on devilsden about his interest in Duke; the article talks about his football ability and what he's looking for in a college program (has 6 or 7 other offers, mostly from Western schools); doesn't say anything about plans to play college basketball.

[Edouble]

Could he be a Reggie Love type player?

What is a Reggie Love type player? A guy that could be forced to play 8 minutes/game if an AA NBA-calibre center goes down?

[MChambers]

What is a Reggie Love type player? A guy that could be forced to play 8 minutes/game if an AA NBA-calibre center goes down?

Completely flummoxes UNC big men and later works in the White House.

[NYBri]

Completely flummoxes UNC big men and later works in the White House.

Nice.

[Kedsy]

Okafor and Turner are mutually exclusive ...

Interesting that on the Turner article linked on the main page, Turner's coach suggests he's more of a stretch four who could play alongside Okafor and is thus not mutually exclusive. No idea if that's really true, but it is interesting.

[jimsumner]

Interesting that on the Turner article linked on the main page, Turner's coach suggests he's more of a stretch four who could play alongside Okafor and is thus not mutually exclusive. No idea if that's really true, but it is interesting.

Turner is an interesting case. He entered the summer-camp-circuit as a solid, high-major project. Okafor was viewed as a one-and-done, while Turner was the long-term project, the guy who developed over a period of time.

But then Turner had a Tracy-McGrady type summer. Just exploded. So, now he's a top-10 prospect and he's viewed as a possible one-and-done.

My understanding is that Duke is absolutely trying to convince Turner that he could play the 4 alongside Okafor at the 5. But how receptive will Turner be to that approach? The recruiting experts agree that Turner almost certainly will not go to the same school as Okakor. Of course, a few weeks ago the experts agreed that Mudiay was a lock for Kentucky. So, there's that.

But numbers come into play. Travis is visiting this week, he has an actionable offer and he may be inclined to make a decision sooner rather than latter. Looney visited last week and every indication is that Duke remains very strong with him. Duke certainly cannot bring in all four. Or can they? Duke is recruiting Looney as a 4. If he's a 3, then maybe but that likely closes the door on Winslow.

Still, Looney and Travis likely would make Okafor/Turner mutually exclusive. Should Duke miss on either or both, then the equation changes.

And Okonoboh is still an option, albeit a secondary option at this point. Of course, Amile Jefferson also was a secondary option at one point and we're glad Duke kept its options open.

I suspect that's what K is doing here. Keeping his options open. Timelines matter. How many of these guys go into November without making a decision? Spring?

There's another variable. The narrative from Duke for several years is that K is open to bringing in one prospective one-and-done per class. That would be Okafor. Is that still the case? Do we want K to go all Calipari? Or maybe Turner has indicated that he's more amenable to sticking around than many think.

It's going to be a very interesting couple of months, with lots at stake. Duke has a real chance to pull in a spectacular class. But there's a lot of work still to be done and K is going against formidable competition for these guys. I would not dismiss Self, Miller, Donovan, Calipari et. al. There be dragons in those waters.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Interesting article focusing on Okafor's visit to UK and recent UK commit Tyler Ulis:

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcspor...th-tyus-jones/

Money Quotes from Ulis: “I think him and Tyus have a really good bond, and they’re probably going to go to the same college,” - “It would be good to go to school with Jahlil, but I think him and Tyus are going to go to the same school.”

These quotes were taken 2 weeks ago(which is like 2 years in the recruiting world) but I still found them interesting.

[UrinalCake]

With all due respect, Ulis is a 5'8" four-star guy raned as the sixth best point guard by Scout. If Jones went to UK he would definitely start over him and still get as many minutes as he could handle. So I don't see UK as being out of the running for Jones/Okafor at all.

[Kedsy]

With all due respect, Ulis is a 5'8" four-star guy raned as the sixth best point guard by Scout. If Jones went to UK he would definitely start over him and still get as many minutes as he could handle. So I don't see UK as being out of the running for Jones/Okafor at all.

Except would Cal waste a scholarship on Ulis if he thought he had a good shot at Jones? It's not like Wall/Bledsoe, because at their heights you really couldn't play Ulis and Jones together.

Put another way, UK may not be out of the running, but I'd guess Cal doesn't really like his chances.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Except would Cal waste a scholarship on Ulis if he thought he had a good shot at Jones? It's not like Wall/Bledsoe, because at their heights you really couldn't play Ulis and Jones together.

Put another way, UK may not be out of the running, but I'd guess Cal doesn't really like his chances.

To further that thought, Jones isn't a lock to be one and done himself. So if Cal had Ulis and Jones, he'd be "stuck" with them both for more than just one year.

The flip side of that, too, is that if Tyus views himself as a multi-year college player, is Kentucky the best place for him to develop? It seems that Coach Cal loses his patience with guys if they stay more than a year, let alone more than two. I just don't see Kentucky as a great "fit" for Jones.

Now Kansas, that's a different story.

[BD80]

Except would Cal waste a scholarship on Ulis if he thought he had a good shot at Jones? ...

Put another way, UK may not be out of the running, but I'd guess Cal doesn't really like his chances.

When has cool cal ever worried about scholarship limits? Getting a very good college PG with little pro prospect (due to size) is a great get for a program that turns over players like cal does. Some stability at PG, even if he doesn't start over the current 1 and done, is hugely valuable.

That said, I imagine Ulis was told he probably would be starting. There are a LOT of top programs in need of PGs where he would likely start day 1.

[UrinalCake]

Except would Cal waste a scholarship on Ulis if he thought he had a good shot at Jones?

I actually think he would. If Cal believed he had let's say a 50% chance at getting Jones (which would be pretty optimistic) then I think he'd burn a scholarship on someone like Ulis as an insurance policy against the 50% chance he DOESN'T get Jones. Otherwise he'd be stuck without a PG. Then if Jones does come, Cal will have no problem kicking Ulis to the curb, a la Ryan Harrow.

[Indoor66]

And who would like the next roll of the dice in the KY Craps game?

[wilko]

And who would like the next roll of the dice in the KY Craps game?

Paging Dr Jellyfinger... ( you said KY and Craps...) If you could hear me, you'd knowIm doing the Bevis and Butthead laff...

[Troublemaker]

There's another variable. The narrative from Duke for several years is that K is open to bringing in one prospective one-and-done per class. That would be Okafor. Is that still the case? Do we want K to go all Calipari? Or maybe Turner has indicated that he's more amenable to sticking around than many think.

I'm not saying this is what's happening, but recruiting more 1-and-dones is a nice way to combat age-ism negative recruiting tactics by other programs. It's weird to think about in his case, but usually a guy Coach K's age (turning 67 in Feb) is getting hammered on the recruiting trail by retirement questions. I actually don't think those tactics are being used against Coach K yet for the same reasons why I say it's "weird" to think about him getting old -- he's got his jet black hair, his energetic persona, his Team USA Head Coach status and resulting "street cred" -- but those days are coming. Theoretically, it's probably easier to convince a recruit that you're going to be around for 1 year instead of for 4 years, so if you're getting up there in age and have one of the prestigious programs that can recruit 1-and-dones, it might make sense to recruit more of them to combat the age-ism.

Timelines matter. How many of these guys go into November without making a decision? Spring?

I think Myles Turner having a spring/summer decision timeline is a key to his and Duke's mutual interest. If Turner doesn't think he can play with Okafor, he'll likely get to see where Jahlil is headed by spring/summer. If he thinks he can be a stretch 4 alongside Okafor, he'll get to see how Jabari's season is going and maybe even wait to see if Jabari declares for the draft.

[airowe]

I wrote post 1103. If Travis signs, maybe Looney says, "hey! I've been your #1 guy at the 4 for a year and a half and now you're bringing in another 4 at the last minute, a guy I'm better than? What the hell?" And turns his attention elsewhere.

Looney sees himself as a small forward at the next level.

[-bdbd]

Turner is an interesting case. He entered the summer-camp-circuit as a solid, high-major project. Okafor was viewed as a one-and-done, while Turner was the long-term project, the guy who developed over a period of time.

But then Turner had a Tracy-McGrady type summer. Just exploded. So, now he's a top-10 prospect and he's viewed as a possible one-and-done.

My understanding is that Duke is absolutely trying to convince Turner that he could play the 4 alongside Okafor at the 5. But how receptive will Turner be to that approach? The recruiting experts agree that Turner almost certainly will not go to the same school as Okakor. Of course, a few weeks ago the experts agreed that Mudiay was a lock for Kentucky. So, there's that.

But numbers come into play. Travis is visiting this week, he has an actionable offer and he may be inclined to make a decision sooner rather than latter. Looney visited last week and every indication is that Duke remains very strong with him. Duke certainly cannot bring in all four. Or can they? Duke is recruiting Looney as a 4. If he's a 3, then maybe but that likely closes the door on Winslow.

Still, Looney and Travis likely would make Okafor/Turner mutually exclusive. Should Duke miss on either or both, then the equation changes.

And Okonoboh is still an option, albeit a secondary option at this point. Of course, Amile Jefferson also was a secondary option at one point and we're glad Duke kept its options open.

I suspect that's what K is doing here. Keeping his options open. Timelines matter. How many of these guys go into November without making a decision? Spring?

There's another variable. The narrative from Duke for several years is that K is open to bringing in one prospective one-and-done per class. That would be Okafor. Is that still the case? Do we want K to go all Calipari? Or maybe Turner has indicated that he's more amenable to sticking around than many think.

It's going to be a very interesting couple of months, with lots at stake. Duke has a real chance to pull in a spectacular class. But there's a lot of work still to be done and K is going against formidable competition for these guys. I would not dismiss Self, Miller, Donovan, Calipari et. al. There be dragons in those waters.

To the point raised by a couple posters, all indications are that this WILL be a pretty spectacular recruiting year for us. Having watched this play out many, many times, we are in tremendous position for so many top-flight guys this year, that it almost seems foreordained that this will be a recruiting year where the stars align very nicely for us. (Could things go south quickly? No doubt. But we are just very high on so many top lists, that I really, really like our chances all around.)

Boy, Jim, I love your posts, but most of this stuff will simply "work itself out" in the next few weeks. No worries. I do believe, having closely watched him recruit for 30+ years, that K has a strategy in mind. That's part of what I really admire about K -- there's ALWAYS a plan. I think that it starts with Jones and Okafor. If you get those two, then all else is gravy, really. But no need to fret so re. not having sufficient scholarships... First, we should HAVE such problems! Second, even if you are 80% likely to get each of three top recruits, the odds of getting ALL THREE is still just apx 50%. IOW, very smart to keep one's options open, as even our back-ups are way better than 95% of D-1 programs' FIRST options! Also, most of these kids really don't KNOW, yet, if they'll even have the opportunity to be one-and-done (Okafor and Jones maybe excepted) - as things happen between now and draft-day 2015 - injuries, performance disappointments, issues between the ears, personal things, kids decide that they LIKE college, etc. But if, say, TWO of the 2014 kids end up as one-and-dones, I don't think anyone is going to accuse K of "going all 'Cal' on us..."

But a class including Jones, Okafor, Looney, and one of Travis/Turner, added to our already committed super SG, sure sounds pretty damn special to me!! And I doubt strongly more than 2 of those would then be one-and-dones. But if they did, it probably would be only b/c Duke had a very special season with them...

Looney sees himself as a small forward at the next level.

Does that mean that Looney and Winslow possibly view themselves as mutually exclusive? And if so, then from our perspective e who becomes the priority? First to commit?? A shame if so, b/c I'd been hoping to see them together, thinking that maybe our chances were a little better with Looney, but viewing him as more of a college 4, and Winslow as an obvious 3.