According to Adam Rowe, Duke has offered Troy Brown Jr. of Las Vegas, a 6-4 (or is it 6-6?) PG from Centennial HS in Las Vegas. He's ranked top 5 (I've seen as high as #1) in the class of 2017. Chase Jeter tweeted his approval.
According to Adam Rowe, Duke has offered Troy Brown Jr. of Las Vegas, a 6-4 (or is it 6-6?) PG from Centennial HS in Las Vegas. He's ranked top 5 (I've seen as high as #1) in the class of 2017. Chase Jeter tweeted his approval.
BTW, here's an interview with Troy Brown from last month. He says he's 6-6 now and still growing. Pretty clear that he wants to play the point. Nice shout out to Chase Jeter.
6'6 point guard? while i water at the mouth at a guy that big that can play point, I'm also skeptical of kids who are so driven to play one specific role position or style. does he get angry when his size inhibits his ability to play his desired position? or if he fits better in the team as a 2 or 3?
Kid's young, and his body has a lot of changing to do. I don't know him. I trust the staff to vet character. I just hope any incoming player (not just young Troy) doesn't let their want to fill a specific role end up negatively affecting the team (a la austin rivers, perhaps)
1200. DDMF.
The story on Magic is that he felt he was suited to be the PG, and wanted to play PG. One of the big reasons, if not the biggest, he went to Michigan state is because they said they would let him pursue that. I don't see a difference here. Now, if things change in the near future for this young man regarding his growth and how it affects his game, etc., it will probably become a moot point, won't it?
ricks
He's only 15. He has plenty of time to figure stuff out. But for right now, he wants to be taken seriously as a PG rather than have coaches automatically assume that, given his height, he's a 2. I don't see an attitude issue in that. Here's a mix tape from his freshman year in HS (!). He certainly likes to pass the ball and seems pretty good at it.
Blah blah blah, mix tapes are so selective and edited, they don't mean anything - especially a 15 year old kid. How are you supposed to be able to learn ANYTHING about ANYONE from a mix tape? It's like watching SportsCenter and trying to draft a fantasy football team. They just highlight the flashy plays, yadda-yadda-yadda...
(watches)
Oh, yeah, he's a serious passer. Would love to see a true "pass-first" PG again. Even if it is four years down the road.
(tangent) - When I was playing basketball a billion years ago, there was a real pride in the pass-first mentality of a good point guard. The ability to find the open guy when he's only open for a fraction of a second, being able to squeeze the ball through tight places, and the cockiness to know that you could beat a double-team and find the guy you left free. Is this still a thing? I feel like the generation of Iverson-style PGs brought a "score first" frame of mind that has really changed the game. Even Chris Paul - a great passer - isn't in the mold of John Stockton.
This isn't meant to be a rant, but rather a sincere question - are pass first PGs largely a thing of the past?
(back on topic)
Kid looks great. Be interesting to see if his body continues to develop and how his game changes.
I share your skepticism regarding highlight mix tapes. But if all you have are Ramen noodles, you eat Ramen noodles.
Pass-first PGs? I think Tyus Jones (despite his prodigious scoring in HS) is regarded as one. And there are NBA point guards whose role is that of a distributor and aren't thought of as great scorers. Rajon Rondo comes to mind. They're just so much more dangerous if they can also score.
I think most would agree that in recent memory, Kendall "Left-Hand" Marshall, would be considered a pass first PG. He averaged 8pt/9ast/1.3-3pt (40%) last year in LA. As well, Kyle "Slow-Mo" Anderson (listed at 6'9 on Basketball-Reference), was in a similar mold as Mr. Brown here, just a little taller. IIRC, his pops was very adamant about Kyle playing the PG position, wherever he ended up playing. Though, I'm not sure I would would classify his 5 assists per at UCLA, as a pass first PG.
I agree with Ricks here - a kid who has elite PG skills who's body might continue to grow sounds like a great asset. If he can maintain his ballhandling and dexterity while growing, that makes for quite a matchup nightmare.
Seems a lot easier to keep up your PG skills than to completely retrain someone for post moves after playing nothing but floor general.
+ all the usual rejoinders about 15 year old kids, blah blah, lots can change
Anybody remember a kid named Dunleavy?
I sure do. He played collegiately at USC (the SEC one), played in the NBA for several years, and ended up coaching several NBA teams .Anybody remember a kid named Dunleavy?
Let's not jump the gun on an offer here. Sometimes HS coaches get it wrong, so this needs to be confirmed. He is and will be the real deal, has a great handle, dunks in a smooth manner down the lane, etc. He listed Duke as one of 5 dream schools at 13 and is considered the real deal from scouts, rated the best at his position by ESPN. He is a solid kid from what I have gathered and he did visit Duke over the weekend. The last time Duke offered a soph? DeMarcus Nelson? Long time DBR'ers might remember I broke that news on this very site from the former Gibbons event we all miss so much. Anyhow, it is not Duke policy to offer kids this earlynow and Coach K always has to get a view. Running with what is said on twitter as a sure offer is not always wise in the recruiting world, but I sure as heck would not be upset if it is confirmed. Okay, update, offer has been confirmed. A rare telant for this to hapen
Last edited by watzone; 08-11-2014 at 10:04 AM. Reason: typo
JP Tokoto was the 'top' player in his class when he was a sophomore. Taylor King was the 'top' player in his class as a freshman.