Welcome to Duke, Jordan Tucker!

[duke74]

Maybe it's not over...

It's not over until we say it is. 😉

[DukieInBrasil]

Nice to have him, the second Jordan on the team!
I was thinking about his development over time and how he might compare to Luke Maye, who was 97 in ESPN and like 135 or something on 247. So Jordan comes in with considerably more of a reputation, although similar size as Maye. Maye wasn't all that productive as a Fr., and honestly wasn't super impressive as a So., but he was a solid, smart player who happened to have a humongous game at just the right time.
Jordan doesn't have a reputation as a super-athletic kind of guy, and the only mix tape i saw of him featured a grand total of 0 dunks, but he seems to be a pretty good outside shooter.
Jordan has some competition at his position, and Trent Jr. will probably be the nominal SF/Wing/3, while Jack White and O'Connell fit the SF/3 position, but O'Connell has a lower reputation and is more of a tall SG. White is almost identical in size to Jordan, but a bit heavier.
If Duval commits to Duke, we'll have Grayson, Duval, and Trent Jr as our "rotation" guards, with Jordan², White and O'Connell as backcourt depth. Frontcourt will have Carter, Bolden, Vrank and Javin. I could see Jordan getting a few minutes in most games, although i'm not sure that counts as "rotation", particularly if K makes good on his observation that he needs to start playing more guys.

[mgtr]

I am a car guy, so of course I noted that Jordan Tucker is named for two (former) cars. So welcome, sir.

[CDu]

Nice to have him, the second Jordan on the team!
I was thinking about his development over time and how he might compare to Luke Maye, who was 97 in ESPN and like 135 or something on 247. So Jordan comes in with considerably more of a reputation, although similar size as Maye. Maye wasn't all that productive as a Fr., and honestly wasn't super impressive as a So., but he was a solid, smart player who happened to have a humongous game at just the right time.
Jordan doesn't have a reputation as a super-athletic kind of guy, and the only mix tape i saw of him featured a grand total of 0 dunks, but he seems to be a pretty good outside shooter.
Jordan has some competition at his position, and Trent Jr. will probably be the nominal SF/Wing/3, while Jack White and O'Connell fit the SF/3 position, but O'Connell has a lower reputation and is more of a tall SG. White is almost identical in size to Jordan, but a bit heavier.
If Duval commits to Duke, we'll have Grayson, Duval, and Trent Jr as our "rotation" guards, with Jordan², White and O'Connell as backcourt depth. Frontcourt will have Carter, Bolden, Vrank and Javin. I could see Jordan getting a few minutes in most games, although i'm not sure that counts as "rotation", particularly if K makes good on his observation that he needs to start playing more guys.

I would expect one of Tucker and O'Connell to get pretty good minutes, actually. Even if we get Duval. Right now we have just Allen and Trent as surefire rotation guys. Coach K will absolutely play at least four and sometimes five guards/wings in the main rotation. So even if Duval commits, at least one of the wings (likely O'Connell or Tucker) will play meaningful minutes.

[richardjackson199]

Yes!!! Puts down malt liquor...wait it's Saturday! Gulp gulp. This kid can really shoot. Very happy.

I'm saving my malt liquor for the Duval announcement. In the meantime, we can start an MMMM... Malt Liquor Thread, Hops are Overrated to compete with Ymm Beer on Off-Topic. If Duval and Bamba become wildcats, we can spend next season debating the fine nuances of Colt 45, Schlitz, Steel Reserve, and Olde English 800. I'm going with King Cobra, because they eat mambas, and probably wildcats too.

[chriso]

I'm saving my malt liquor for the Duval announcement. In the meantime, we can start an MMMM... Malt Liquor Thread, Hops are Overrated to compete with Ymm Beer on Off-Topic. If Duval and Bamba become wildcats, we can spend next season debating the fine nuances of Colt 45, Schlitz, Steel Reserve, and Olde English 800. I'm going with King Cobra, because they eat mambas, and probably wildcats too.

Sounds good. I like beer but malt liquor makes me see double and throw up. A good ale is called for today!

[DukieInBrasil]

I would expect one of Tucker and O'Connell to get pretty good minutes, actually. Even if we get Duval. Right now we have just Allen and Trent as surefire rotation guys. Coach K will absolutely play at least four and sometimes five guards/wings in the main rotation. So even if Duval commits, at least one of the wings (likely O'Connell or Tucker) will play meaningful minutes.

Do you think either/both of those guys are gonna play ahead of Jack White? Seems to me that all 3 more or less play the same position. With one more year in the system, and solid production in his extremely limited time on the court, it seems to me that White gets 1st crack at it.

[Olympic Fan]

I have not seen this kid play, except on a couple of mix tapes, but based on what I've read or heard from people I respect, I think Andre Dawkins is a better comp for Tucker than Luke Maye (as one poster suggests). It's hard to compare rankings, since Dawkins was such a late re-classification that he never showed up in the 2009 class rankings, but he was likely just outside the top 25 in that class, somewhere in the 30s ... close to Tucker's No. 40 in ESPN (the final RSCI is not out yet).

Of course, we'll never know long-term until we find out what kind of work ethic the kid has and how strong he is mentally, but in physical terms, he's not a great athlete, but he's better than Maye. Yes, he's close to Maye in height, but he has a much better vertical and is quicker ... Maye is probably stronger.

The big difference is skills -- the strength of Tucker's game at the moment is his shooting ability. He needs to work on his handle and on his defensive game .,.. sound like anybody we know with the initials AD?

I hope that Tucker can play the same kind of role in 2016-17 that freshman Andre Dawkins played in 2010 -- as a spot-up shooter off the bench. Beyond that, I hope he does a better job of developing his game than Dawkins (who, to be fair, had to deal with some very serious off-court stuff).

I like the front page comparison with Knox, in that Knox is likely to be significantly better as a freshman, but as a 3-4 year player, Tucker is likely to contribute more over the course of his career than a OAD.

In a way, it's like Kenny Anderson vs. Bobby Hurley. Over his two years at Georgia Tech, Anderson had more individual success than Hurley at Duke. But Anderson left after two years and Hurley had two more great years. His four years were a greater contribution than Anderson's two. You could say the same thing about Joel Berry vs. Tyus Jones ... both were freshmen in 2015, when Tyus blew him away ... but Berry has stayed and has given the Cheats three (and soon to be four) years, including a national title and another Final Four. Tyus was the better player, but Berry has had the better college career.

[DukieInBrasil]

I have not seen this kid play, except on a couple of mix tapes, but based on what I've read or heard from people I respect, I think Andre Dawkins is a better comp for Tucker than Luke Maye (as one poster suggests). It's hard to compare rankings, since Dawkins was such a late re-classification that he never showed up in the 2009 class rankings, but he was likely just outside the top 25 in that class, somewhere in the 30s ... close to Tucker's No. 40 in ESPN (the final RSCI is not out yet).

Of course, we'll never know long-term until we find out what kind of work ethic the kid has and how strong he is mentally, but in physical terms, he's not a great athlete, but he's better than Maye. Yes, he's close to Maye in height, but he has a much better vertical and is quicker ... Maye is probably stronger.

The big difference is skills -- the strength of Tucker's game at the moment is his shooting ability. He needs to work on his handle and on his defensive game .,.. sound like anybody we know with the initials AD?

I hope that Tucker can play the same kind of role in 2016-17 that freshman Andre Dawkins played in 2010 -- as a spot-up shooter off the bench. Beyond that, I hope he does a better job of developing his game than Dawkins (who, to be fair, had to deal with some very serious off-court stuff).

I like the front page comparison with Knox, in that Knox is likely to be significantly better as a freshman, but as a 3-4 year player, Tucker is likely to contribute more over the course of his career than a OAD.

In a way, it's like Kenny Anderson vs. Bobby Hurley. Over his two years at Georgia Tech, Anderson had more individual success than Hurley at Duke. But Anderson left after two years and Hurley had two more great years. His four years were a greater contribution than Anderson's two. You could say the same thing about Joel Berry vs. Tyus Jones ... both were freshmen in 2015, when Tyus blew him away ... but Berry has stayed and has given the Cheats three (and soon to be four) years, including a national title and another Final Four. Tyus was the better player, but Berry has had the better college career.

Nice critique. If Tucker does in fact play a similar role to that of Dre during their respective Fr seasons, that would be great, seeing as how that team also only had 3 backcourt players aside from Dre. As you point out, if Tucker is able to develop other facets of his game during his career, his value expands a lot when compared to Dre. One important difference though, Dre had an awesome vertical and was really quite athletic in the run-jump way. Another important difference, Jordan is considerably taller than Dre and could probably develop into a stretch-4 player during his career and should be a significantly better rebounder. Jordan could develop into a "poor man's" Tatum/Ingram (could being the operative word).
Since there really is such a strong drop off in career production at Duke for players ranked 35 or below, it seems Tucker is right in that area of potentially being a solid starter as a Jr or Sr, and possibly providing good minutes in a limited role as a Fr. It does seem quite likely that his career arc is likely higher than Luke Maye, but seeing as how Maye already has 1 Natty, Jordan and his teammates have a lot of work to do...

[westwall]

Do you think either/both of those guys are gonna play ahead of Jack White? Seems to me that all 3 more or less play the same position. With one more year in the system, and solid production in his extremely limited time on the court, it seems to me that White gets 1st crack at it.

This makes sense to me. Based on a year's experience, White gets the 1st crack --- and, like Tucker, he can shoot the long ball.

[Pghdukie]

I'm saving my malt liquor for the Duval announcement. In the meantime, we can start an MMMM... Malt Liquor Thread, Hops are Overrated to compete with Ymm Beer on Off-Topic. If Duval and Bamba become wildcats, we can spend next season debating the fine nuances of Colt 45, Schlitz, Steel Reserve, and Olde English 800. I'm going with King Cobra, because they eat mambas, and probably wildcats too.

I'm still trying to figure out who starred in the 1st Lite beer from Miller commercial!

[Doria]

Welcome to Duke, Jordan. I hope you enjoy playing here as much as I'm sure you will enjoy the school!

[bob blue devil]

good news. welcome to duke, jordan.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

It's not over until we say it is. 😉

Was it over when Frank Jackson bombed Pearl Harbor??

[moonpie23]

AWESOME!!!! Welcome to the family...


BRING IT!!!!

[Kedsy]

It's hard to compare rankings, since Dawkins was such a late re-classification that he never showed up in the 2009 class rankings, but he was likely just outside the top 25 in that class, somewhere in the 30s ... close to Tucker's No. 40 in ESPN (the final RSCI is not out yet).

From research I did at the time, Andre Dawkins was ranked around 20 or so in the 2010 class. How that would have translated to the 2009 class is anybody's guess, but I doubt it would have been nearly so low as Jordan Tucker's #46 in the summer RSCI. It will be interesting to see if Jordan's rank moves much in the final RSCI, but if anything I'm guessing his rating moves more toward the mid-50s than it does the low 40s (if I'm reading their websites properly, he appears since last summer to have dropped from #42 to #68 in Rivals, from #38 to #51 in 247, and from #39 to #40 in ESPN). So, at least from a recruiting ranking perspective, he seems to be a lesser prospect than Andre Dawkins.

That said, as others have pointed out he has a real shot at playing time in 2017-18, as regardless of rank he's in a similar situation to Andre D. If we get Duval, we still need a fourth perimeter player which should be an open competition among Jordan, Alex, and Jack, and one would think that shooting ability would be a key component in that competition. If we don't get Duval, then two of those three guys should see rotation minutes (again with shooting being a premium attribute).

[Olympic Fan]

Just to put this signing into context, Jordan Tucker is the eighth highest rated prospect signed by an ACC school this season (so far). The list of top 100 ACC recruits (based on the ESPN rankings, since the final RSCI rankings aren't posted)

4. Wendell Carter, Duke
7. Gary Trent, Duke
12. Lonnie Walker, Miami
20. Niekiel Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech
26. Jalek Felton, UNC
27. Malik Williams, Louisville
31. Chaundee Brown, Wake Forest
40. Jordan Tucker, Duke
45. Chris Lykes, Miami
50. D.J. Harvey, Notre Dame
51. Darius Perry, Louisville
53. Jordan Nwora, Louisville
70. Wabissa Bede, Virginia Tech
80. Ikey Obiagu, Florida State
84. Alex O'Connell, Duke
91. Deng Gak, Miami
94. Lavar Batts, NC State

There are three guys still out there that could change that list -- No. 3 Mo Bamba and No. 5 Trevor Duval (both considering Duke) and No. 25 M.J. Walker (considering Florida State)

I think the list is interesting because it shows that in the context of ACC incoming talent, both Tucker and O'Connell are significant additions.

[Kedsy]

I think the list is interesting because it shows that in the context of ACC incoming talent, both Tucker and O'Connell are significant additions.

Yes, that is interesting. To think that the entire ACC would only have four top-25 freshman and 17 top-100 freshman sort of boggles the mind a little.

[royalblue]

At the Nike EYBL in ATL and just watched Coach Boeheim check his cell phone at noon! No expression(as usual) on his face.He probably knew ahead of time. Let's go, Duke!

I hope Tucker takes it to the Cuse!
I normally don't like Duke playing a game in Greensboro that could be in Cameron but I would be in favor of Any Cuse games that Jim coaches being there.

[CDu]

Do you think either/both of those guys are gonna play ahead of Jack White? Seems to me that all 3 more or less play the same position. With one more year in the system, and solid production in his extremely limited time on the court, it seems to me that White gets 1st crack at it.

I think both would play over White. Even given White's year of experience.