2018 Basketball Recruiting Thread

[Pghdukie]

I'm waiting for Battier to throw his hat into the political ring. Then run for the oval office in 24.

[BD80]

I'm waiting for Battier to throw his hat into the political ring. Then run for the oval office in 24.

[redacted]

[Olympic Fan]

It's not that big a deal, but 247 has issued new rankings and Duke recruit R.J. Barrett has lost his No. 1 spot in the rankings.

But he was replaced by Duke recruit Cameron Reddish (previously No. 3).

That means Duke now has No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 (Tre Jones) in their rankings.

https://247sports.com/Article/Colleg...p247-112262428

[ChillinDuke]

It's not that big a deal, but 247 has issued new rankings and Duke recruit R.J. Barrett has lost his No. 1 spot in the rankings.

But he was replaced by Duke recruit Cameron Reddish (previously No. 3).

That means Duke now has No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 (Tre Jones) in their rankings.

https://247sports.com/Article/Colleg...p247-112262428

There's been an awful lot of buzz about Reddish in the last couple weeks.

Whether that's mainly the news cycle trying to refresh interest in next year's class, I don't know.

But the fact remains, there's been an awful lot of chatter about marked improvement from Reddish in all areas - mainly from his performance at the National Hoops Festival where he scored 87 points in 2 games on 14-22 3PT shooting.

- Chillin

[flyingdutchdevil]

It's not that big a deal, but 247 has issued new rankings and Duke recruit R.J. Barrett has lost his No. 1 spot in the rankings.

But he was replaced by Duke recruit Cameron Reddish (previously No. 3).

That means Duke now has No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 (Tre Jones) in their rankings.

https://247sports.com/Article/Colleg...p247-112262428

Reddish as #1 shouldn't be a surprise. He's seen as the most "complete" player in the league. If Tre needs a rest, Reddish is more than good enough to run the show.

The knock on Reddish is that he "doesn't want it" badly enough (and that was one of the main drivers behind going to Duke). Clearly he's already worked on this some.

IMO, this is the player I'm most excited about. He's so good as many aspects of the game. It'll be like watching Winslow with more basketball talent. That's a scary thought.

[BD80]

Reddish as #1 shouldn't be a surprise. He's seen as the most "complete" player in the league. If Tre needs a rest, Reddish is more than good enough to run the show.

The knock on Reddish is that he "doesn't want it" badly enough (and that was one of the main drivers behind going to Duke). Clearly he's already worked on this some.

IMO, this is the player I'm most excited about. He's so good as many aspects of the game. It'll be like watching Winslow with more basketball talent. That's a scary thought.

It is not a surprise he's very highly rated.

It IS a surprise he is ranked ahead of Barrett who single-handedly demolished the calipari led American team over the summer. The hype on Barrett was LeBron-esque.

[UrinalCake]

Reminiscent of 1997 when Battier, Brand, and Burgess were all ranked #1 by different services at different points in time. If we can just get Williamson on board then we'll have another trifecta.

What I had been hearing about Reddish up until recently was that he had all the physical tools to be the #1 player, but didn't play hard all the time. He could coast at times and disappear for stretches in non-high profile games, which caused him to be ranked lower (FWIW people said similar things about DeAndre Ayton this past year). But as another poster said he just put up a monster performance so I guess the gurus are now seeing that he is closer to realizing his potential.

Barrett is obviously still a phenomenal talent as well. Having both of them is going to be absurd.

[arnie]

Reminiscent of 1997 when Battier, Brand, and Burgess were all ranked #1 by different services at different points in time. If we can just get Williamson on board then we'll have another trifecta.

What I had been hearing about Reddish up until recently was that he had all the physical tools to be the #1 player, but didn't play hard all the time. He could coast at times and disappear for stretches in non-high profile games, which caused him to be ranked lower (FWIW people said similar things about DeAndre Ayton this past year). But as another poster said he just put up a monster performance so I guess the gurus are now seeing that he is closer to realizing his potential.

Barrett is obviously still a phenomenal talent as well. Having both of them is going to be absurd.

Different times when the 3 B’s came to Duke as top recruits. They stayed with the program for 2-4 years and to varying degrees we watched them develop.

[kAzE]

Looks like 3 guys left uncommitted in the top 10, which I believe is quite unusual for this early in the recruiting calendar.

Romeo Langford looks like he's down to Indiana and Vandy. If he chooses Vandy, they will have the #2 class hands down (with Langford, it would be 3 top 15 guys). Bryce Drew is making magical things happen. I'm can't believe I'm actually excited watch a lot of Vandy basketball next year.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Not to get too far afield but I would LOVE to see Battier on the Duke sideline. I suspect he would make an amazing coach/recruiter. Probably has too much saved up to want that grind... all those Bud Lights too. I think he does stuff for the Heat now but MAN would he be great.

Kevin White's gotta retire one day.

[gam7]

I seem to recall that the staff often uses the finals/holidays time period to check in on some existing or new recruiting targets. This year ... crickets. Did I miss something?

[Olympic Fan]

I seem to recall that the staff often uses the finals/holidays time period to check in on some existing or new recruiting targets. This year ... crickets. Did I miss something?

There are multiple reports that Vernon Carey, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2019, made an unofficial visit to Duke today.

Carey's high school team was playing in a post-Christmas tournament in Raleigh, so don't read too much into it.

I know this is the 2018 thread and Carey is technically in the 2019 Class, but I also think that there is a solid chance he reclassifies (as Bagley and Barrett did). The 6-9, 245-pound Carey is just what next year's class appears to need.

FWIW: 54 percent of the 19 voters predict that Carey will wind up at Duke (Miami and Michigan State are the other two leading contenders)

[plimnko]

if you have time warner/spectrum, the game is on channel 1260. you can also go the myrtle beachball classic website and stream the game

[Pghdukie]

Zion seems to be down to Clemson and Kentucky. Just my hunch - he'll wait to see who goes and who stays. Again just my 2 pennies worth

[BD80]

... FWIW: 54 percent of the 19 voters predict that Carey will wind up at Duke ...

10.26 votes?

[DoubleBlue]

if you have time warner/spectrum, the game is on channel 1260. you can also go the myrtle beachball classic website and stream the game

Myrtle Beach Ball Classic - Live Stream
(RJ Barrett, Monteverde Academy starts soon)
http://www.htcconnect.com/bbcstreaming/

[Troublemaker]

There are multiple reports that Vernon Carey, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2019, made an unofficial visit to Duke today.

Carey's high school team was playing in a post-Christmas tournament in Raleigh, so don't read too much into it.

I know this is the 2018 thread and Carey is technically in the 2019 Class, but I also think that there is a solid chance he reclassifies (as Bagley and Barrett did). The 6-9, 245-pound Carey is just what next year's class appears to need.

FWIW: 54 percent of the 19 voters predict that Carey will wind up at Duke (Miami and Michigan State are the other two leading contenders)

Wow, thanks for the update, Oly. That would be nuts because Carey Jr is actually somewhat young for his current class with a birthday of 2/25/01. That means after re-classifying he would play at Duke as a 17-year-old until late February of 2019 when he turns 18.

However, it's believable because (1) I trust your reporting and (2) I've been wondering why we're recruiting three 2019 big men in Carey, Bacot, and Stewart this early; usually we "widen the net" much later in the process, and this is the time when we would give almost total focus to recruiting Carey, the highest-ranked prospect. I think it makes sense that we're trying to get at least one of those three bigs to re-classify.

[jimsumner]

Wow, thanks for the update, Oly. That would be nuts because Carey Jr is actually somewhat young for his current class with a birthday of 2/25/01. That means after re-classifying he would play at Duke as a 17-year-old until late February of 2019 when he turns 18.

However, it's believable because (1) I trust your reporting and (2) I've been wondering why we're recruiting three 2019 big men in Carey, Bacot, and Stewart this early; usually we "widen the net" much later in the process, and this is the time when we would give almost total focus to recruiting Carey, the highest-ranked prospect. I think it makes sense that we're trying to get at least one of those three bigs to re-classify.

Bacot is also rumored to be a potential re-class.

Before Bagley and Barrett, K had Andre Dawkins, Alex Murphy and Derryck Thornton re-class. So, it's fair to say he knows how the process works.

[Troublemaker]

Bacot is also rumored to be a potential re-class.

Before Bagley and Barrett, K had Andre Dawkins, Alex Murphy and Derryck Thornton re-class. So, it's fair to say he knows how the process works.

Oh, I agree. My use of the word "nuts" was to express astonishment (of hypothetically a 17-year-old battling ACC bigs), not criticism. I have no doubt that the process would be legal or that this 17-yr-old could have success at the college level; Carey, from his youtube videos, seems to have the body needed.

Thanks for mentioning that Bacot could be a possibility as well, Jim.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Oh, I agree. My use of the word "nuts" was to express astonishment (of hypothetically a 17-year-old battling ACC bigs), not criticism. I have no doubt that the process would be legal or that this 17-yr-old could have success at the college level; Carey, from his youtube videos, seems to have the body needed.

Thanks for mentioning that Bacot could be a possibility as well, Jim.

As usual, I have nothing on which to make this claim, but I have an alternative theory: Duke isn't recruiting a big in the 2018 class for two reasons:

1) The class of 2018 is lacking in big men.
2) Coach K and staff are perfectly happy with the way the roster looks.

Regarding item 1, the class of 2018 is widely seen as being guard and forward rich. Of the top 10 players, only Bol Bol and Simi Shittu are a power forward or center. Zion Williamson is, of course, a forward. But he's more a combo forward in the college game. By comparison, both the classes of 2017 and 2019 are comprised of 3 of the top 4 players and 6 of the top 10 overall as either a power forward or center. 2018 is not a good year for big men. Teams that have relied on one-and-done talent like UK, Kansas, Arizona, and UCLA won't have the usual high-end freshmen in the frontcourt next year. This is great news if you want to roll into 2018-19 with a frontcourt of juniors and seniors.

Regarding item 2, Duke could feature a frontcourt made up of Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden, Antonio Vrankovic, and Justin Robinson. I like that rotation. It's both deep (by Duke standards) and talented. DeLaurier is the swiss-army knife and primary rebounder/help defender. Bolden is the big man and shot blocker. Vrankovic can provide minutes and some scoring from the bench while Robinson can rebound and has a pretty decent set jump shot all the way out to the 3-point line. Sub in Alex O'Connell or Jordan Tucker and you can even go small-ball with just one of Bolden or DeLaurier on the court. Add in continued improvement from all 4 of those players and Duke could feature an unheralded but talented frontcourt next season to compliment the roster of young, talented backcourt players. One of the reasons Duke isn't pushing hard for big men in 2018 might be that there isn't a need for another big.

As for 2019, I think it's clear that there will be a need for multiple big men that year. The team will lose Antonio Vrankovic at minimum and it's quite possible that Bolden will be gone by then as well. It's also clear that Vernon Carey is a one-and-done talent while Armando Bacot and Isaiah Stewart currently project as more long-term players. In my ideal world, Javin DeLaurier and Vernon Carey are the starting frontcourt in 2019-20 before Bacot and Stewart succeed them the following year.

This is, of course, highly speculative. It's just how I see things shaking out.