Leslie McDonald to UNC?

[superdave]

IIRC, McD did come to a game or two in Cameron this past winter.
My guess is this points to some openings in the UNC backcourt that will be created by the 08 nba draft.
Super "Word." Dave

[TheDuke11]

What site are you talking about? I haven't seen a lot of false information my way. It pretty ,uch came down to Duke and UNC. Don't overeact on KB. It'll all work out.

we've got this weird firewall thing here where I work so I can only access rivals free boards and dbr's free boards. Not sure exactly why that is.

Didnt LMac visit dean smith center 1st?

[DukeBlood]

Relax people. It's far from the end of this recruiting class. Yeah, It doesn't feel good losing a recruit to a rival. In the end, Leslie felt it was best for him to attend UNC. Im glad he made the decision that felt right to him.

Watzone, Is it safe to assume Nick Russell will be getting the next scholarship? Nick Russell is basically the same size as McDonald. Russell really had a great TOC outing. He wasn't on the same level as Kenny Boynton but right there.

Also, We still have people like Jamil Wilson, Terell Vinson, Derrick Favors, and maybe one or two others that are slipping my mind. I don't think Favors will ever be wearing a Duke uniform, but he likes Duke. The thing about Vinson and Wilson is they are both SF's.

Everyone, There is NO need to worry. I dont think we need another frontcourt player as we do a true point guard. None the less, still lots of players better then McDonald left to grab.

[TheDuke11]

if this was the first recruit we have lost in awhile then I agree there would be no need to worry.

problem is, this has become a disturbing trend as of late (losing recruits). There is a little bit of a need to worry.

[dukeimac]

I know people get depressed when Duke doesn't land a good recruit like McD but sometimes I think it is because the Duke coaches saw something they weren't real crazy about and decided not put put on the full-court press.

The way things are going these days I'd rather see Duke recruit guys that will stay around 3 (gulp) years rather than try to recruit a 1 or 2 year wonder.

Duke was high on Love and then it seemed like they went soft and he committed to UCLA. Now he is gone (after 1 year) and UCLA never won the title.

Monroe will play for G-Town for 1 year and then he is gone. I don't think they will be in the running to cut the nets down in the next year or two.

If Duke is letting their recruits know they want someone who will think college ball first and nba second and UNC doesn't care then let them go to UNC.

UNC had the POY this year and never cut down the net. Trust the coaching staff to know more than us and do the right thing. The enjoyment I get is that ol' Roy has had some pretty good teams at UK and UNC and the only time they have cut down the nets is when someone recruited for him. Something tells me ol' Roy can win games but not the big one and that will catch up with UNC. The pressure is on Roy and he better deliver soon or the recruits will go elsewhere real quick.

[Bluedog]

Can someone do a list of the four players unc has coming in this year and the five coming in 2009. What does it look like beside Ewill, the Plumlees and Czyz?

UNC's Class of 2008 - coming in next year (scout.com rankings by position):
SG NR (3 star) Justin Watts 6-4/185/22.0
PF 7 (5 star) Tyler Zeller 6-11/220/32.1
PF 3 (5 star) Ed Davis 6-8/215/21.6
PG 4 (4 star) Larry Drew 6-0/170/13.9

Duke's Class of 2008:
PF 14 (4 star) Miles Plumlee 6-10/225/11.0
SG 4 (5 star) Elliot Williams 6-4/170/21.3
PF 30 (4 star) Olek Czyz 6-7/23

UNC's Class of 2009:
SG 7 (4 star) Leslie McDonald 6-4/185
SG 4 (5 star) Dexter Strickland 6-3/175
PF 17 (4 star) David Wear 6-9/225
PF 18 (4 star) Travis Wear 6-9/225
PF 1 (5 star) John Henson 6-10/200/24.0

Duke's Class of 2009 (as of now, still waaaay early):
PF 3 (5 star) Mason Plumlee 6-11/210

We'll be fine. Duke will get more great recruits to add to the ones we already have. UNC just happens to be getting commits super early, but you don't get bonus points for getting them early. Plus, we all know how reliable recruiting rankings can be... I'm not worried at all.

[dw0827]

Something tells me ol' Roy can win games but not the big one and that will catch up with UNC. The pressure is on Roy and he better deliver soon or the recruits will go elsewhere real quick.

Um, didn't ol' Roy just win the big one a few years ago? Like in '05? So why is the pressure on ol' Roy to deliver soon any more than the pressure is on Coach K to deliver soon . . . who, incidentally, hasn't won the big one since '01. So does that mean our potential recruits will go elsewhere real quick? Is that what's happening?

I think your logic is bizarre.

[Cali-Duke]

UNC's Class of 2008 - coming in next year (scout.com rankings by position):
SG NR (3 star) Justin Watts 6-4/185/22.0
PF 7 (5 star) Tyler Zeller 6-11/220/32.1
PF 3 (5 star) Ed Davis 6-8/215/21.6
PG 4 (4 star) Larry Drew 6-0/170/13.9

Duke's Class of 2008:
PF 14 (4 star) Miles Plumlee 6-10/225/11.0
SG 4 (5 star) Elliot Williams 6-4/170/21.3
PF 30 (4 star) Olek Czyz 6-7/23

UNC's Class of 2009:
SG 7 (4 star) Leslie McDonald 6-4/185
SG 4 (5 star) Dexter Strickland 6-3/175
PF 17 (4 star) David Wear 6-9/225
PF 18 (4 star) Travis Wear 6-9/225
PF 1 (5 star) John Henson 6-10/200/24.0

Duke's Class of 2009 (as of now, still waaaay early):
PF 3 (5 star) Mason Plumlee 6-11/210

We'll be fine. Duke will get more great recruits to add to the ones we already have. UNC just happens to be getting commits super early, but you don't get bonus points for getting them early. Plus, we all know how reliable recruiting rankings can be... I'm not worried at all.

Not only that, but UNC has 5 power forwards coming in over the next two years. UNC will also have deon thompson for those two years (and luckily Hansblah for only one more). Sure they have great recruits, but what is the point if they can't play them all.

We have a good balance, and I'm pretty happy about that.

[DukeBlood]

if this was the first recruit we have lost in awhile then I agree there would be no need to worry.

problem is, this has become a disturbing trend as of late (losing recruits). There is a little bit of a need to worry.

Yeah, I can see your point. Step back and take a look. We lose Murphy to Florida, end up offereing someone who at the time was thought to be much less of a player in Plumlee, and ends up being better.

Greg Echenique, Turns out somehow his age is different then what it was previously said. Duke doesnt need any kind of distraction like that IMO.

What about Leslie McDonald? A solid player, sure it hurts to miss him. He CAN and WILL be replaced. Most likely by Nick Russell. Who cares WHEN they committ? As long as they are wearing Duke Uniforms, I could care less.

As said by everyone on here, Kenny Boynton is the #1 target. If we miss on him, then there is some need for worry. My understanding that Kenny Boynton is head and shoulders above Leslie McDonald..

Lets take a look to when the 09 class will be freshman. Assuming we have Boynton, and hopefully Gerald Henderson.

Kenny Boynton(FR)
Nolan Smith(JR)
Jon Scheyer(SR)
Gerald Henderson(SR)
Elliot Williams(SO)

Thats 5 players for 3 positions. Now, If we lose Henderson to the draft(very likely) and Boynton doesnt join the Duke family(doubtful). Then we still have 3 above average players at 3 positions. Coach K WILL add a couple more guards to that class. Once again, Relax.

I will worry IF Kenny Boynton does not become a Duke player.

Duke does not have to keep up with UNC. Coach K just needs to fill spots for the team needs, and he is doing that. I almost will promise you that SOME of these Carolina guys will transfer. Most likely only one or two of them. But once again, we do not have to keep up with UNC as far as signing 9 reccruits in two years. That has transfer written all over it.

[pamtelp]

By all objective standards, the 2008 class and the pending 2009 class look to be very fine recruiting classes. They would be the envy of the vast majority of schools and we will undoubtedly field winning teams with them. Very excited to have those players on board.

That having been said, Duke's recruiting has fallen more than a few notches in the past few years. 3-4 years ago we talked about picking and choosing our players. Never really an accurate description of the process, but the results seemed to suggest we could seemingly get anyone that we wanted. Today, we are working very hard to fill out top 10-25 classes. We simply aren't bring in top classes anymore and our hit rate is much more mortal right now.

I think Roy's arrival has had an impact. He has beaten us like a mule over the past couple of years. Beyond that, I am simply at a loss to explain it. Perhaps the anti-Duke sentiment has had a real impact. Perhaps our assistants and Coach K just aren't as persuasive as they once were. Perhaps the Olympic commitments are having an effect.

Makes you long for those amazing days where we were fielding the top class in the country every other year. No fan can rationally expect that to go on forever, but I sure do miss those days!

I don't know, but in a college basketball world where one to two very strong classes seem to yield championships (as opposed to consistency), we seem to be treading water.

I know others are frustrated with the lack of athletic "star" players as well. That is a post for another day.

Pamtelp

[roywhite]

By all objective standards, the 2008 class and the pending 2009 class look to be very fine recruiting classes. They would be the envy of the vast majority of schools and we will undoubtedly field winning teams with them. Very excited to have those players on board.

That having been said, Duke's recruiting has fallen more than a few notches in the past few years. 3-4 years ago we talked about picking and choosing our players. Never really an accurate description of the process, but the results seemed to suggest we could seemingly get anyone that we wanted. Today, we are working very hard to fill out top 10-25 classes. We simply aren't bring in top classes anymore and our hit rate is much more mortal right now.

I think Roy's arrival has had an impact. He has beaten us like a mule over the past couple of years. Beyond that, I am simply at a loss to explain it. Perhaps the anti-Duke sentiment has had a real impact. Perhaps our assistants and Coach K just aren't as persuasive as they once were. Perhaps the Olympic commitments are having an effect.

Makes you long for those amazing days where we were fielding the top class in the country every other year. No fan can rationally expect that to go on forever, but I sure do miss those days!

I don't know, but in a college basketball world where one to two very strong classes seem to yield championships (as opposed to consistency), we seem to be treading water.

I know others are frustrated with the lack of athletic "star" players as well. That is a post for another day.

Pamtelp

Welcome to the board.

It's hard enough to evaluate fairly our 2008 recruiting class; it's darn near impossible to evaluate our 2009 recruiting class at this point.

Plenty of good days ahead for Duke basketball. I wouldn't trade our team and future for any other college program, particularly one just down the road.

[taiw93]

I look forward to seeing E-Mail and McDonald, friends and rivals in high school, continue their "rivalry" on the college level - I can't think of a better way to continue it than on Tobacco Road. Should be fun in the coming years seeing E-Mail and McDonald go at it on the biggest stage, especially when Elliot and Duke are dominating the rivalry.

[trinity92]

Haven't seen much of LM, but with Nolan, EW, Scheyer, Pocius and maybe Henderson on the roster for 2009-2010, we really have enough guard talent without him. OTOH, we desperately need KB, and would have needed him even if LM came.

While (obviously) they're not absolutely gone, I really don't expect Singler or Henderson to come back for their Junior and Senior seasons, respectively. As far as youtube and recruiting rankings go, EW projects to be GH's replacement. As such, and with McClure graduating this season, I'd like to see us get a superb and athletic SF to join a great PG (hopefully KB) and, of course, that killer PF/C we've been searching for to join Plumlee in the class of 2009.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Yeah, I can see your point. Step back and take a look. We lose Murphy to Florida, end up offereing someone who at the time was thought to be much less of a player in Plumlee, and ends up being better.

Greg Echenique, Turns out somehow his age is different then what it was previously said. Duke doesnt need any kind of distraction like that IMO.

What about Leslie McDonald? A solid player, sure it hurts to miss him. He CAN and WILL be replaced. Most likely by Nick Russell. Who cares WHEN they committ? As long as they are wearing Duke Uniforms, I could care less.

As said by everyone on here, Kenny Boynton is the #1 target. If we miss on him, then there is some need for worry. My understanding that Kenny Boynton is head and shoulders above Leslie McDonald..



Lets take a look to when the 09 class will be freshman. Assuming we have Boynton, and hopefully Gerald Henderson.

Kenny Boynton(FR)
Nolan Smith(JR)
Jon Scheyer(SR)
Gerald Henderson(SR)
Elliot Williams(SO)

Thats 5 players for 3 positions. Now, If we lose Henderson to the draft(very likely) and Boynton doesnt join the Duke family(doubtful). Then we still have 3 above average players at 3 positions. Coach K WILL add a couple more guards to that class. Once again, Relax.

I will worry IF Kenny Boynton does not become a Duke player.

Duke does not have to keep up with UNC. Coach K just needs to fill spots for the team needs, and he is doing that. I almost will promise you that SOME of these Carolina guys will transfer. Most likely only one or two of them. But once again, we do not have to keep up with UNC as far as signing 9 reccruits in two years. That has transfer written all over it.

You're forgetting Singler too. How's this for a lineup in 09-10:

Smith/Boynton (whichever turns out to be better)
Scheyer
Henderson
Singler
Plumlee/Zoubek/Thomas

it's looking like we'll definitely have some good options.

[GopherBlue]

Speculation regarding the Leslie McD decision:

- Who on the Duke staff was the primary recruiter for LM? Might the departure of Coach Dawkins have played in UNC's favor?

- The Kenny Boynton factor: Duke does not seem to hide that KB is their #1 guard priority in 09. His potential arrival on Duke campus may have significantly impacted LM's role on the team. Could LM have been influenced by this? On the flip side, LM to Duke may have negatively affected our chances with KB, so LM to UNC may ultimately be a good thing.

- Was UNC in the KB sweepstakes, and will Roy now back off KB (or vice versa)?

Certainly, the sky is not falling, but it does seem to be a bit more carolina blue today than I prefer it to be

[Bob Green]

I think it is time to revisit two great articles from Featherston and Sumner:

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=24202

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=24203

For the many new members of the DBR community, the articles linked above are a must read when it comes to recruiting and perspective.

[DukePA]

Um, didn't ol' Roy just win the big one a few years ago? Like in '05? So why is the pressure on ol' Roy to deliver soon any more than the pressure is on Coach K to deliver soon . . . who, incidentally, hasn't won the big one since '01. So does that mean our potential recruits will go elsewhere real quick? Is that what's happening?

I think your logic is bizarre.

The point is that Roy hasn't won the big one with players he recruited. Duke has 3 titles with K-recruited players.

[SupaDave]

UNC has done this before. Back in the day they signed that stellar class with Brian Reese and a bunch of other folks. There was a transfer in that group as well...

[SupaDave]

It also seems that many are overlooking the fact that Duke is very much built for right NOW.

Sure - we'll miss on some recruits but there are SO many players out there. There are the kids that grow 4 inches in a year (like our very own Mason) and the kids who are already starting to peak (Favors is a man) BUT there are so many other factors involved. You never know when a local kid will pop up either... (or a 8 footer in Asheville).

Recruiting will be fine. I've seen the new gym and it's bananas. Gerald Henderson alone could influence recruits this year.

It's the Devils baby! We'll be fine. Diaper dandies come our way on a regular basis.

By the way, I've read several accounts that say that Williams and McDonald have similar types of games. I knew the coaching staff wanted McDonald but never saw it as a need.

[studdlee10]

Has Duke fallen a bit in recruiting? I would definitely appear so, but it's not a problem that cannot be repaired. You have to remember that Duke has a much smaller pool of recruits to choose from than some other programs. While we do allow a certain amount of leniency to recruits, the bottom line is that they have to be somewhat academic oriented in order to find the Duke education appealing. I was in a few classes with Duke players, and while they were given a good deal of breathing room, they still had to earn their grades and go to class. The academic standards and rigors automatically rule out players such as Michael Beasley, Brandon Jennings, and Demar Derozan and players with no interest in academics, ie Ty Lawson, are ruled out as well. Duke has always missed on recruits, as has UNC. But when Duke is only able to offer a handful of players, that issue is magnified greatly. If Duke could offer every player in the top 30-40 like UNC seemingly does, then I'm sure we'd see a few commits by now. Unfortunately, because we are recruiting from a pool of players that are both talented and outstanding students, there is a great deal of demand and competition for their services. The ascension of once great programs back into prominence such as UCLA and Georgetown haven't helped our cause either. It wasn't that long ago that Duke was just about the only school for academic-minded basketball recruits to go. Now we have to compete with the Georgetowns and Stanfords of the world.

So what can be done? I like that Duke is seemingly recruiting more players. Perhaps the Duke staff has rested on their laurels a bit and haven't been as proactive as other schools, so its' good to see that they're keeping in contact with more players. As cheesy as they sound, tactics such as dinner in the Dean Dome, or dancing at Midnight Madness, help humanize coaches and shows that they really want a player. Duke needs to somehow start doing this as well. Adding Chris Carrawell and Nate James to the staff is a step in the right direction.

Leslie was not that big of a recruit for us. While I most certainly would have liked to have him, the fact is is that we are somewhat loaded at his position. Landing Leslie would have prolly meant the end of the Andre Dawkins or Brandon Knight as targets, and to be honest, both those players are heads and shoulders above Leslie in terms of talent and athleticism.