Jabari Parker To Duke!!

[CDu]

I guess everyone entitled to their own opinions, but I just feel a bit strange having to defend the best player in the country (and possibly the best prospect in several years) in his own recruiting thread, especially considering neither Parker nor Randle have given any indication that their commitments to Duke are mutually exclusive. I just think it's a bit outrageous that people on this board seem almost indifferent as to whether or not we land Parker. I still stand by the opinion that Parker gives Duke the best chance of any single recruit to carry the program to another national title in 2014, but it's so far from now, I guess it pointless to waste any more effort arguing.

I think you may be misunderstanding some of us. I don't think anyone would be indifferent toward getting Parker. Getting Parker would be absolutely fabulous. It's just that, positionally, Randle fills more of a need than Parker. We have two guys (Murphy and Hood) who should be able to play Parker's position at an elite level. They aren't as good as Parker, but they are likely to still be elite. The lack of options that can guard the PF/C spots are much more glaring.

It would be incredible to get either of them, and getting both would put us in unbelievable shape. It's just that in terms of roster dynamics, Randle is the better fit.

[jimsumner]

I think you may be misunderstanding some of us. I don't think anyone would be indifferent toward getting Parker. Getting Parker would be absolutely fabulous. It's just that, positionally, Randle fills more of a need than Parker. We have two guys (Murphy and Hood) who should be able to play Parker's position at an elite level. They aren't as good as Parker, but they are likely to still be elite. The lack of options that can guard the PF/C spots are much more glaring.

It would be incredible to get either of them, and getting both would put us in unbelievable shape. It's just that in terms of roster dynamics, Randle is the better fit.

Why would Jabari Parker not be able to guard the 4? He's 6-8, 225, about the same size as Roshown McLeod, Shane Battier, Luol Deng, Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas, all of whom managed to find a way to guard college 4s.

Given the way Mike Krzyzewski has used stretch 4s, Parker is practically made for Duke. And playing power forward at Duke didn't seem to hurt the NBA prospects of Grant Hill, Battier, Mike Dunleavy or Deng, among others.

[CDu]

Why would Jabari Parker not be able to guard the 4? He's 6-8, 225, about the same size as Roshown McLeod, Shane Battier, Luol Deng, Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas, all of whom managed to find a way to guard college 4s.

Oh, he could absolutely guard the 4. In fact, that would almost certainly be his position at Duke. But we already have several guys (Murphy, Jefferson, Hairston) who will be able to guard the 4. None of those guys are suited to guard the 5 (only Plumlee fits that bill). My point was that Randle could guard BOTH PF and C, and that fills a need area.

Given the way Mike Krzyzewski has used stretch 4s, Parker is practically made for Duke. And playing power forward at Duke didn't seem to hurt the NBA prospects of Grant Hill, Battier, Mike Dunleavy or Deng, among others.

Yes, Parker would be an absolutely fabulous fit at Duke. And playing the PF spot would certainly not hurt his NBA prospects (that was never even a consideration of mine). But AGAIN, when talking about filling a need rather than "fit", Randle more accurately fills a need (as a second guy capable of defending 5s) more than Parker. This is not in any way a question about Parker's talents. It's merely a reflection of what we have (and don't have) on the team.

Again, I'd absolutely LOVE to get Parker. He'd be better than any of our options at SF or PF. But I'd also LOVE to get Randle (who can guard both 4s and 5s). They're 1a and 1b. And on just about any other team, Parker would likely be the #1 target. But in terms of fitting Duke's "needs", Randle fits a little more.

[jimsumner]

Both Parker and Randle have been somewhat fluid in their committment time-lines. But it does seem quite possible that Parker will sign this fall, while Randle waits until spring 2013.

Randle might make more sense than Parker. Might not. But Duke cannot possibly take the gamble of backing off Parker and hoping for Randle. Duke loves Parker and he is the highest priority. They feel the same way about Randle. But if Parker is ready to go, then you go.

No offense to Murphy or Hairston or Jefferson but Parker appears to be at another level. Some have described Parker as a "luxury" recruit for Duke. That's like saying Kobe Bryant was a luxury recruit in 1996 because Duke already had Chris Carrawell, Mike Chappell and Ricky Price, all pretty good college wings.

Jabari Parker has the potential to be at that level. Pull out all the stops.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Both Parker and Randle have been somewhat fluid in their committment time-lines. But it does seem quite possible that Parker will sign this fall, while Randle waits until spring 2013.

Randle might make more sense than Parker. Might not. But Duke cannot possibly take the gamble of backing off Parker and hoping for Randle. Duke loves Parker and he is the highest priority. They feel the same way about Randle. But if Parker is ready to go, then you go.

No offense to Murphy or Hairston or Jefferson but Parker appears to be at another level. Some have described Parker as a "luxury" recruit for Duke. That's like saying Kobe Bryant was a luxury recruit in 1996 because Duke already had Chris Carrawell, Mike Chappell and Ricky Price, all pretty good college wings.

Jabari Parker has the potential to be at that level. Pull out all the stops.

Jim, I understand that Parker has the ability to be THE impact player and may be the best player on our team from Day 1. And, as CDu has stated, many of us, including myself, would be ecstatic to get Parker. He is probably more talented than Randle (although I've been reading a lot of praise for Randle as of late). But when you look at our team in 2013-2014 (assuming no early entrants or transfers), that team is both stacked and talented at the 2-4. If Sulaimon is expected to be the next Nolan, Hood is a lottery pick despite taking a mandatory red-shirt year, Murphy fits so well into our system, Jones is supposed to be the best shooter in his class, Dawkins is one of the best shooters in the NCAA, and Jefferson is pure, raw talent that - with bulk and practice - can be such an impact player, I personally feel that we'll have the best balance of 2-4 in the country. If Cook works out this year, he'll be an elite junior PG for Duke with two years experience. If he doesn't work out, Thornton has the leadership and defense to guide this team in the right direction (and if Thornton doesn't work out, there is Nolan 2.0 to take the reigns). We have 1 true center in Marshall, who may be as raw as Jefferson (this isn't a bad thing at all. Raw centers have worked out in the past. See Zoubek, Chef Brian) and not much bulk. For pure need, Randle makes more sense. He is a true "4," knows the inside-and-outs of that position, and can help relieve pressure for our bigs. Parker is a true "3" and will certainly add value, but he doesn't help to address the big man issue.

And lastly, with no offense to Carrawell, Chappell, and Price, but our wings in 2013 have both more upside and talent than the three you listed. A better analogy would be adding Thomas Robinson to our big men last year. He would have vastly improved post offense and defense, but he wouldn't have solved our main concern (perimeter defense). Had we added a healthy PG who could defend with attitude, distribute with effectiveness, and lead with authority, this year would probably have been different.

[CDu]

Both Parker and Randle have been somewhat fluid in their committment time-lines. But it does seem quite possible that Parker will sign this fall, while Randle waits until spring 2013.

Randle might make more sense than Parker. Might not. But Duke cannot possibly take the gamble of backing off Parker and hoping for Randle. Duke loves Parker and he is the highest priority. They feel the same way about Randle. But if Parker is ready to go, then you go.

No offense to Murphy or Hairston or Jefferson but Parker appears to be at another level. Some have described Parker as a "luxury" recruit for Duke. That's like saying Kobe Bryant was a luxury recruit in 1996 because Duke already had Chris Carrawell, Mike Chappell and Ricky Price, all pretty good college wings.

Jabari Parker has the potential to be at that level. Pull out all the stops.

Well OBVIOUSLY we should try to get both of them. I don't know that anyone is actually suggesting we should back off Parker in hopes of getting Randle. Instead, I may have hinted (in another thread maybe?) that we back off of some of the lesser targets (i.e., the other SF and PF under consideration) in hopes of eventually landing Randle. The only "either/or" under discussion here is a hypothetical "if we can only get one, who fills the bigger need?" question. That doesn't mean we are actually in an either/or position, and it certainly doesn't mean we should back off of Parker.

This is what I was getting at when I said folks were misunderstanding each other. At no point was I suggesting we shouldn't go after Parker, and I'm guessing there aren't many (if any) others who were suggesting that, either.

[jimsumner]

Well OBVIOUSLY we should try to get both of them. I don't know that anyone is actually suggesting we should back off Parker in hopes of getting Randle. Instead, I may have hinted (in another thread maybe?) that we back off of some of the lesser targets (i.e., the other SF and PF under consideration) in hopes of eventually landing Randle. The only "either/or" under discussion here is a hypothetical "if we can only get one, who fills the bigger need?" question. That doesn't mean we are actually in an either/or position, and it certainly doesn't mean we should back off of Parker.

This is what I was getting at when I said folks were misunderstanding each other. At no point was I suggesting we shouldn't go after Parker, and I'm guessing there aren't many (if any) others who were suggesting that, either.

Okay, let me ask you and others a perhaps hypothetical question.

Assume Parker and Randle are mutually exclusive.

Assume Parker signs in the fall, Randle next spring.

Parker wants to commit to Duke. That may well close the door on Randle.

I take Parker and take my chances with Randle.

What would you do?

BTW, in my earlier example, Carrawell turned out to be ACC POY, while Price was All-ACC as a soph. Not chopped liver.

But Price and Chappell were significant underachievers, after showing great early promise. An indication of why this is as much art as science and why the coaches get paid the big bucks to figure it all out.

[-bdbd]

Both Parker and Randle have been somewhat fluid in their committment time-lines. But it does seem quite possible that Parker will sign this fall, while Randle waits until spring 2013.

Randle might make more sense than Parker. Might not. But Duke cannot possibly take the gamble of backing off Parker and hoping for Randle. Duke loves Parker and he is the highest priority. They feel the same way about Randle. But if Parker is ready to go, then you go.

No offense to Murphy or Hairston or Jefferson but Parker appears to be at another level. Some have described Parker as a "luxury" recruit for Duke. That's like saying Kobe Bryant was a luxury recruit in 1996 because Duke already had Chris Carrawell, Mike Chappell and Ricky Price, all pretty good college wings.

Jabari Parker has the potential to be at that level. Pull out all the stops.

Well OBVIOUSLY we should try to get both of them. I don't know that anyone is actually suggesting we should back off Parker in hopes of getting Randle. Instead, I may have hinted (in another thread maybe?) that we back off of some of the lesser targets (i.e., the other SF and PF under consideration) in hopes of eventually landing Randle. The only "either/or" under discussion here is a hypothetical "if we can only get one, who fills the bigger need?" question. That doesn't mean we are actually in an either/or position, and it certainly doesn't mean we should back off of Parker.

This is what I was getting at when I said folks were misunderstanding each other. At no point was I suggesting we shouldn't go after Parker, and I'm guessing there aren't many (if any) others who were suggesting that, either.

Honestly this seems like a kinda silly discussion. If you you have a shot at a couple of top-2 very special players, then you go after BOTH of them full-throttle. There is no 1a and 1b. They are both #1 as far as the staff (and the kids) are concerned. Just because a team happens to have more wing players at the moment than 4/5 guys in no way should affect their recruitment. Randle and Parker are special, special talents. And, historically, that is how are staff has approached these situations. "Needs" be damned, if you have a shot with an incredible once-in-a-few-years talent like a Parker, or a Randle, then you go after 'em like there's no tomorrow. And while nobody has actually SAID we should go after Randle and not Parker, what else is to be inferred from repeated statements about Randle filling a bigger need for us or being "a more imporatant get" for Duke?? Getting either one would be a game-changer for this program, and if you want to ask "Do we take a Parker over a top-10 Center recruit (other than Randle) if it comes down to our final schollarship," then I say, "IN A HEARTBEAT!"

As good as we seem to be doing for the 2013 class - how exciting is that?!? - it appears that we may actually expect to use up ALL of the available schoolarships for this roster this time (contrary to K's normal practice of leaving 1-2 unused). Don't leave any bullets in your gun belt cowboy!!

[flyingdutchdevil]

Okay, let me ask you and others a perhaps hypothetical question.

Assume Parker and Randle are mutually exclusive.

Assume Parker signs in the fall, Randle next spring.

Parker wants to commit to Duke. That may well close the door on Randle.

I take Parker and take my chances with Randle.

What would you do?

BTW, in my earlier example, Carrawell turned out to be ACC POY, while Price was All-ACC as a soph. Not chopped liver.

But Price and Chappell were significant underachievers, after showing great early promise. An indication of why this is as much art as science and why the coaches get paid the big bucks to figure it all out.

Considering that for us to get either of these players is probably less than 50%, you definitely take Parker and, as you stated, take your chances on Randle. From a strategic point of view, that gets you the best odds and will lead to the highest chance of getting one player.

But in the hypothetical world where you can only choose one player, I'd choose Randle for team needs.

And lastly, does anyone think that our chances of getting both players is equivalent is unconditional probability? Me thinks that if the probability of getting each is 33% (NOTE: this is an example, not my actual thought on the odds), then the probability of getting both is significantly less than 11% (33% * 33%). I think its completely conditional, so that the odds of getting one severely reduces the odds of getting both. With such a stacked Duke team already, I just don't see it. Call me a pessimist.

[CDu]

Okay, let me ask you and others a perhaps hypothetical question.

Assume Parker and Randle are mutually exclusive.

Assume Parker signs in the fall, Randle next spring.

Parker wants to commit to Duke. That may well close the door on Randle.

I take Parker and take my chances with Randle.

What would you do?

BTW, in my earlier example, Carrawell turned out to be ACC POY, while Price was All-ACC as a soph. Not chopped liver.

But Price and Chappell were significant underachievers, after showing great early promise. An indication of why this is as much art as science and why the coaches get paid the big bucks to figure it all out.

Obviously you take the bird in the hand over the slightly-more-need-filling bird in the bush. No hesitation in that hypothetical - it shouldn't even be debatable. But that's an entirely separate point of discussion than what I was discussing. Again, I was never suggesting we spurn Parker in favor of Randle. I HOPE WE GET BOTH OF THEM!!! I was merely stating that Randle happens to fill more of a need.

The hypothetical I was discussing would more accurately be one in which we had an equal shot at both and they both decide on the same day, I think Randle fits the team's needs more than Parker. But if it came down to choosing between the certainty of getting Parker or waiting on the possibility of Randle (I absolutely hope we aren't stuck in this situation, and I suspect we won't be), you take Parker and never look back. Then, you hope that Hairston is good enough as a backup C for that season, or you hope that Randle decides to come anyway.

[CDu]

And while nobody has actually SAID we should go after Randle and not Parker, what else is to be inferred from repeated statements about Randle filling a bigger need for us or being "a more important get" for Duke??

Contrary to your suggestion here, there is actually quite a bit of room between "one guy fills more of a need" and "don't go after the other guy." There's no reason the only inference should be that we should go after Randle and not Parker. As I said (and you said), we should be going after BOTH. The only point of discussion is that, in the hypothetical where we could only get one and there was an equal probability of each and similar timing of decision, Randle fits more of a need. So in that purely hypothetical scenario (and ONLY in that scenario), yes, the inference would be to go after Randle and not Parker. But obviously that hypothetical is unlikely to play out, as (a) we should have scholarships available to both, (b) they'll decide at different times, and (c) there's no reason to assume they have equivalent interest in Duke. So there's no reason not to go for both.

But again, there's absolutely no reason that the only inference one could obtain is that we're suggesting we go after Randle and not Parker. That's just poor reasoning of what was written.

[Greg_Newton]

From recent rumblings (example), it seems Jabari is pretty unlikely to commit before the Spring period anyway. Good news for Duke, IMO, and makes the debate (non-debate?) below even less of an issue. For now, at least.

[jimsumner]

From recent rumblings (example), it seems Jabari is pretty unlikely to commit before the Spring period anyway. Good news for Duke, IMO, and makes the debate (non-debate?) below even less of an issue. For now, at least.

A number of folks more clued in to recruiting than me continue to tell me they still expect a fall decision from Parker.

We'll see.

But there's a very real possibility Duke will enter the spring with only one scholarship left.

Let's go to the scorecard.

Duke currently has ten committed scholarships for 2013-14.

By class

Seniors-Dawkins, Thornton, Hairston
Juniors-Cook
Sophomores-Murphy, Plumlee, Hood, Sulaimon, Jefferson
Freshmen-Jones

That leaves three scholarships.

Now let's deal with Dawkins. I have no idea if he comes back or when he decides. Not trying to drop any wink-wink, nudge-nudge hints here.
But until and unless he categorically tells Duke he's not coming back, Duke has to hold a scholarship for him.

I can't see anyone leaving early for the NBA after this season and I don't think we can assume other attrition. Can't rule it out but sure can't count on it.

So, we still have three available scholarships.

Duke wants a big other than Randle. Actionable offers are out to Marcus Lee and Austin Nichols and Duke is at least kicking the tires on Damion Jones.

Duke wants a wing other than Parker. Duke has offers out to Semi Ojeleye, Robert Hubbs, Al Freeman and Ishmail Wainwright.

Everything I have heard indicates Duke very much wants a fall LOI from one of group A and one of group B.

So, you can do the math as well as me.

[luvdahops]

A number of folks more clued in to recruiting than me continue to tell me they still expect a fall decision from Parker.

We'll see.

But there's a very real possibility Duke will enter the spring with only one scholarship left.

Let's go to the scorecard.

Duke currently has ten committed scholarships for 2013-14.

By class

Seniors-Dawkins, Thornton, Hairston
Juniors-Cook
Sophomores-Murphy, Plumlee, Hood, Sulaimon, Jefferson
Freshmen-Jones

That leaves three scholarships.

Now let's deal with Dawkins. I have no idea if he comes back or when he decides. Not trying to drop any wink-wink, nudge-nudge hints here.
But until and unless he categorically tells Duke he's not coming back, Duke has to hold a scholarship for him.

I can't see anyone leaving early for the NBA after this season and I don't think we can assume other attrition. Can't rule it out but sure can't count on it.

So, we still have three available scholarships.

Duke wants a big other than Randle. Actionable offers are out to Marcus Lee and Austin Nichols and Duke is at least kicking the tires on Damion Jones.

Duke wants a wing other than Parker. Duke has offers out to Semi Ojeleye, Robert Hubbs, Al Freeman and Ishmail Wainwright.

Everything I have heard indicates Duke very much wants a fall LOI from one of group A and one of group B.

So, you can do the math as well as me.

One other thing that needs to be considered is what the coaching staff expects from Amile in terms of physical maturation over the next year+. Those who have seen him live at the Pro Am suggest that Amile is already a legit 6-9, and possibly 6-10. IF (and I recognize that this is a very big IF) he can put on ~20-25 pounds of lean muscle, he could very well be able to defend the 5 as a sophomore. If so, a primary post rotation of Parker, Plumlee and Jefferson sounds pretty good to me.

[gumbomoop]

Duke currently has ten committed scholarships for 2013-14.

By class

Seniors-Dawkins, Thornton, Hairston
Juniors-Cook
Sophomores-Murphy, Plumlee, Hood, Sulaimon, Jefferson
Freshmen-Jones

That leaves three scholarships.

Now let's deal with Dawkins... Until and unless he categorically tells Duke he's not coming back, Duke has to hold a scholarship for him.

I can't see anyone leaving early for the NBA after this season and I don't think we can assume other attrition. Can't rule it out but sure can't count on it.

So, we still have three available scholarships.

Duke wants a big other than Randle. Actionable offers are out to Marcus Lee and Austin Nichols and Duke is at least kicking the tires on Damion Jones.

Duke wants a wing other than Parker. Duke has offers out to Semi Ojeleye, Robert Hubbs, Al Freeman and Ishmail Wainwright.

Everything I have heard indicates Duke very much wants a fall LOI from one of group A and one of group B.

So, you can do the math as well as me.

This is a very useful post [and I realize jimsumner doesn't really need any praise from me....] I appreciate the use of the word "big" for 4s/5s, and "wing" for 2s/3s.

Most intriguing to me are the 2 statements re "other than Randle" and "other than Parker," both of which imply - doing the math, as suggested - that the staff are willing to hold one scholarship until spring 2014 in hopes of securing either Parker or Randle, but do not prefer to hold 2 scholarships until spring 2014. Further, the staff's preference for a Fall 2013 LOI from one wing and one big "other than..." helps explain the pretty obvious wide, wide net being cast already in terms of "actionable offers."

And this ...

One other thing that needs to be considered is what the coaching staff expects from Amile in terms of physical maturation over the next year+. Those who have seen him live at the Pro Am suggest that Amile is already a legit 6-9, and possibly 6-10. IF (and I recognize that this is a very big IF) he can put on ~20-25 pounds of lean muscle, he could very well be able to defend the 5 as a sophomore.

... is pretty intriguing, too! I continue to believe that for 2013-'14, Josh, not possible Fr Randle nor possible frosh Lee, will be the main backup C [esp on D, which seems to be the main concern]. I don't deny that a Randle or a Lee might log a few minutes defending the 5. And the prospect of a stronger, not to mention longer, Jefferson is tantalizing, for in HS he certainly seems to have defended the 5 willingly, regularly, and competently.

We're gold.

[Kedsy]

backup C [esp on D, which seems to be the main concern]

Personally, I think it's the only concern in this discussion. With the kind of talent we're amassing, we don't need a backup back-to-the-basket offensive player. We just need to make sure we can defend all five positions for 40 minutes.

[ChillinDuke]

Personally, I think it's the only concern in this discussion. With the kind of talent we're amassing, we don't need a backup back-to-the-basket offensive player. We just need to make sure we can defend all five positions for 40 minutes.

My take, exactly.

And we already have this! Between MP3, Josh, and Amile, we definitely have the bodies to guard the tallest dudes in Div I basketball for 40 minutes. Not to mention our wings could probably chip in as well if we really needed it. After all, they are 6'8".

We have height and versatility already. That's why I'm not really buying into the whole "position of need" discussion. We want both. We'll take either.

And more importantly, as Jim Sumner has already emphasized, the coaching staff has already extended offers to big men other than Parker and Randle which seems to mitigate the relevance of Randle filling a position of need.

- Chillin

[Greg_Newton]

Hate to keep being a Debbie Downer on this thread, but we really don't have anyone than Marshall who has given us reason to believe that they can effectively defend the 5. Jefferson was forced to defend the 5 in HS; he also struggled doing it. When he played Tarczewski's team, he was pretty thoroughly dominated on the defensive end, physically, and he's said himself that his frame isn't one that will allow him to add major weight. Hairston is bulkier, but is a short-armed 6'7 with very little vertical explosion. When he's guarded centers thus far, they've simply shot right over him.

[-bdbd]

Contrary to your suggestion here, there is actually quite a bit of room between "one guy fills more of a need" and "don't go after the other guy." There's no reason the only inference should be that we should go after Randle and not Parker. As I said (and you said), we should be going after BOTH. The only point of discussion is that, in the hypothetical where we could only get one and there was an equal probability of each and similar timing of decision, Randle fits more of a need. So in that purely hypothetical scenario (and ONLY in that scenario), yes, the inference would be to go after Randle and not Parker. But obviously that hypothetical is unlikely to play out, as (a) we should have scholarships available to both, (b) they'll decide at different times, and (c) there's no reason to assume they have equivalent interest in Duke. So there's no reason not to go for both.

But again, there's absolutely no reason that the only inference one could obtain is that we're suggesting we go after Randle and not Parker. That's just poor reasoning of what was written.

Despite the assertion otherwise (twice), the word "only" appears nowhere in my post. That's just poor reading of what was written.
"And while nobody has actually SAID we should go after Randle and not Parker, what else is to be inferred from repeated statements about Randle filling a bigger need for us or being "a more imporatant get" for Duke??"
And it is pretty clearly AN inference, if one feels compelled to wax on about which of the two recruits is more important to us -- ultimately it is to choose in the "hypothetical" circumstance of only having one schollie and having BOTH superstars wanting to accept. That's the whole point of prioritizing usually, one as "1a" and the other as "1b." The reason I think it is a silly discussion is simply b/c the odds of such a situation occuring are essentially nil - where we've used up all other scholarships, AND both kids want to commit here, AND we have no other outs (such as convincing another player to go off scholarship for a year, etc). K and staff are just way too deliberate in their recruiting process for this alignment of disparate stars would ever be allowed to occur.

I think a bit more likely scenrio, if we have to do hypotheticals, would be whether to hold a (final) scholarship for Randle if, say, we still are one of five schools still in play and another interior super-recruit, such as Lee wants to commit now. But these decisions are never made in a vaccuum, and I think there is always a third or fourth path that could be created (such as telling the Randle-type recruit the slot is his IF he takes it before X date, OR getting another kid to go off-scholarship for a year, or something else...). Hell, Calipari's method was just to refuse to renew the scholarships of some existing upper-classmen players. Problem solved! (at least at KY)

I like Jim Sumner's summation:
we still have three available scholarships.

Duke wants a big other than Randle. Actionable offers are out to Marcus Lee and Austin Nichols and Duke is at least kicking the tires on Damion Jones.

Duke wants a wing other than Parker. Duke has offers out to Semi Ojeleye, Robert Hubbs, Al Freeman and Ishmail Wainwright.

Everything I have heard indicates Duke very much wants a fall LOI from one of group A and one of group B.

And I suppose nobody here knows, but with all of those outstanding scolarships, are any of them conditional (??) and what happens if two kids from the same group - sich as Semi Ojeleye and Robert Hubbs - call up K and say "we want to commit together." Once you get into these hypotheticals, any number of scenarios become imaginable I guess, though some obviously more possible than others...

[dcar1985]

Hate to keep being a Debbie Downer on this thread, but we really don't have anyone than Marshall who has given us reason to believe that they can effectively defend the 5. Jefferson was forced to defend the 5 in HS; he also struggled doing it. When he played Tarczewski's team, he was pretty thoroughly dominated on the defensive end, physically, and he's said himself that his frame isn't one that will allow him to add major weight. Hairston is bulkier, but is a short-armed 6'7 with very little vertical explosion. When he's guarded centers thus far, they've simply shot right over him.

Agree completely...having bodies doesn't mean they can actually defend