Eric Bledsoe

[Tim1515]

Looks like there might be some interest in a PG for the 2009 recruiting class yet. I'm not trying to start any huge rumors because everything is completely unknown but it sounds like we haven't completely given up on the 09 class outside of Wall.

There is an article about him on the Duke rivals homepage for insiders

http://www.duke.rivals.com/

and here's another little article about him...makes an interesting quote about Duke.

http://bhamsrecruitingblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/2009-eric-bledsoe-going-to-decide-late.html

[Bluedog]

Beat me to it. Here's the rivals article via Yahoo Sports:

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=rivals-278086&prov=rivals&type=lgns


I’ve been liking Duke for a long time. I never thought they would call.

Sounds like he's on the fringe of NCAA minimum regarding academics requirements...#8 PG according to scout. #12 PG according to rivals and #67 overall. Offers from Bama, South Florida, UAB and Ole Miss. Committed to Ole Miss in October, but two hours later changed his mind and re-opened recruitment.


BH: If you could go to ANY school, what school would you go to? Your dream school?
EB: "Duke cause I like how they play….their style of play."
BH: What is one thing you are looking forward to the most about going to college?
EB: "Getting to graduate. Girls…partying."

[CDu]

Looks like there might be some interest in a PG for the 2009 recruiting class yet. I'm not trying to start any huge rumors because everything is completely unknown but it sounds like we haven't completely given up on the 09 class outside of Wall.

There is an article about him on the Duke rivals homepage for insiders

http://www.duke.rivals.com/

and here's another little article about him...makes an interesting quote about Duke.

http://bhamsrecruitingblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/2009-eric-bledsoe-going-to-decide-late.html

If it is true that both he and Duke are at least somewhat interested, that's a good sign. I was concerned that we were almost certainly going into next season with no true PG (Smith and Scheyer are wings that have played PG, obviously) next year.

[geraldsneighbor]

Beat me to it. Here's the rivals article via Yahoo Sports:

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=rivals-278086&prov=rivals&type=lgns



Sounds like he's on the fringe of NCAA minimum regarding academics requirements...#8 PG according to scout. #12 PG according to rivals and #67 overall. Offers from Bama, South Florida, UAB and Ole Miss. Committed to Ole Miss in October, but two hours later changed his mind and re-opened recruitment.


Sounds that if Duke as much as offers, he will commit. That being said, be careful with the fact that we are recruiting guards in 2010, and I don't want a log jam back there if hes just a one year fix. I think that really means we are starting to give up on Nolan then.

[JDev]

That is an interesting development, and specifically saying Duke is your dream school can only be a good sign. I think at least part of the reason Duke has not offered Wall is due to scholarship considerations (i.e. if G or Kyle decide to go pro, or Marty playing in Europe, or any other development). I would assume that same issue applies here. He states in the article that he plans on making his decision in April, and Wall is probably looking at the same time (Spring). Will Duke be in a position to offer either player by then?

[COYS]

I think that really means we are starting to give up on Nolan then.

I don't think the staff is giving up on Nolan, at all. I just think it's clear that Nolan is better suited to play off the ball.

[CDu]

Sounds that if Duke as much as offers, he will commit. That being said, be careful with the fact that we are recruiting guards in 2010, and I don't want a log jam back there if hes just a one year fix. I think that really means we are starting to give up on Nolan then.

I wouldn't read it that way at all. I'd read it as Duke is thinking Smith may be better served as a wing player, and Henderson and Scheyer will be gone after next year. Then, we'll have a senior Smith and a junior Williams as theoretically the starting wings, and freshman guards to come off the bench (or start if need be). Having a true PG to develop next year and start in the 2010/11 season would seem to make sense.

[geraldsneighbor]

I don't think the staff is giving up on Nolan, at all. I just think it's clear that Nolan is better suited to play off the ball.

He isn't a shooter though either...

[Tim1515]

I don't think the staff is giving up on Nolan, at all. I just think it's clear that Nolan is better suited to play off the ball.

I agree...plus Nolan could take a big step going into next year...Duke doesn't "give up" on players. LT and Z struggled much more then Nolan as freshman and sophomores. Even Greg had huge struggles until part way through is sophomore year.

The problem is Duke doesn't have a backup PG. Sure it could and might be Jon but if one of them were to get hurt we'd be in a ton of trouble.

I wouldn't be surprised if Duke never offers Wall...too many personality questions...but this kid could end up like Nick Russell...very interested in Duke but grade questions end up having him go elsewhere.

[CDu]

He isn't a shooter though either...

His shooting percentages would disagree with that statement. As a freshman playing more at SG last year, he shot .386 from 3pt range. Even with the struggles adapting to the PG this year, he's shooting .339.

Smith played his entire career up to this season as a wing. It seems completely logical that he's more comfortable in (and more suited to) that role.

[pfrduke]

He isn't a shooter though either...

Neither, really, is Scheyer. But he's definitely better suited to being a wing (in an ideal world).

[COYS]

His shooting percentages would disagree with that statement. As a freshman playing more at SG last year, he shot .386 from 3pt range. Even with the struggles adapting to the PG this year, he's shooting .339.

Smith played his entire career up to this season as a wing. It seems completely logical that he's more comfortable in (and more suited to) that role.

Plus, he doesn't have to be a lights out shooter from deep, anyway. Get him in positions so he can cut into the lane, shoot mid range jumpers, and get to the hole without having to drive through the entire defense from the PG spot. He clearly is not in his comfort zone trying to be a distributor. I think if K does recruit a "pure" pg, it would be to benefit Nolan and the rest of the team, not to replace him in the rotation.

[CDu]

Plus, he doesn't have to be a lights out shooter from deep, anyway. Get him in positions so he can cut into the lane, shoot mid range jumpers, and get to the hole without having to drive through the entire defense from the PG spot. He clearly is not in his comfort zone trying to be a distributor. I think if K does recruit a "pure" pg, it would be to benefit Nolan and the rest of the team, not to replace him in the rotation.

Well said. Smith isn't a Redick-like shooter, but he's pretty solid (the Scheyer comp is a pretty good one in terms of both being better scorers off the dribble than pure shooters). There are other aspects of offense besides purely shooting that make for a good wing offensively.

We can certainly make do with Smith and Scheyer as the PG. But getting another PG (whether it be to back up or to start) would seem to both make the team AND Smith stronger, rather than signalling giving up on Smith in any way.

[sagegrouse]

"Giving up on Nolan." Hunh?

Times have changed. I remember when the engimatic Bill Foster decided he only wanted to recruit one player in 1978 because the team of Giminski, Spanarkel, Banks, Dennard, Bender, Harrell, etc. was loaded. The result, Vince Taylor, was a very good player. The sensitivity was that your high-profile recruits will expect to play and extended bench time would be tough. Back then, even Dean Smith once said IIRC (Hey, there's always a first time!) that, really, you would like to have eight first-rate players all getting minutes and a bunch of guys at the end of the bench who are totally happy getting to be on the team and wear the uniform.

Of course, even in 1978 it would have been better if Foster were a bit more welcoming of new recruits at Duke. It would have given K some upperclass talent to work with after Banks and Dennard graduated in 1981.

These days (especially at Duke since Brand, Maggette, and Avery departed in 1999), you are not so much constructing a roster 2-4 years in advance as doing portfolio management, which is decision-making under uncertainty. Players may not perform as expected or may have academic or discipline problems. But now the question is also: how long are they going to stay? You have to plan on having more contributing players than in the past. And that itself promotes turbulence as freshmen look at future competition for PT (Taylor King, e.g.).

So, after all this blather, I am not impressed with the argument that K is "recruiting over" Nolan or "giving up on Nolan," even if he were the best player on the team. K can't afford to take a chance, particularly at PG. I believe K would like to have 12 good players under scholarship and let the best ones thrive. This is a new era, and there is no way that Nolan should (or will) take it personally.

sagegrouse
'This topic could be a thread in its own right: "How many talented players should a team have under scholly and what should be their distribution by position or skill?"'

[Oriole Way]

We absolutely need to grab a pure point for next year's class. I haven't given up on Nolan either, but it is essential to have a backup point guard in case of injuries. There is also the possibility that Nolan may just be more comfortable as a shooting guard/combo guard as he was in high school, so it will be nice to have the option of starting someone like Bledsoe, who is a pure point.

I think Wall would be a great fit, but it's unlikely he decides on Duke. I hope that we show some interest in Bledsoe so that he keeps us in mind, as long as his grades are sufficient. And if not Bledsoe, we need to target other players, because a PG is now a priority for this team that can't wait until Thornton gets here in 2010.

[loran16]

I'm against recruiting him in any case that his academics come CLOSE to the ncaa requirements. I pride myself in our players being held at a higher academic standard. I know that we've probably recruited some occasional players in the past, but even so, I don't want to step into murky territory now just cuz we need a point guard.

[DukeFanInTerpLand]

video of Bledsoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XVRsOZ7Po

[MulletMan]

I'm against recruiting him in any case that his academics come CLOSE to the ncaa requirements. I pride myself in our players being held at a higher academic standard. I know that we've probably recruited some occasional players in the past, but even so, I don't want to step into murky territory now just cuz we need a point guard.


Well... you know, Sean Dockery was a marginal student, and worked very hard to get into Duke. He used that chance to get an education at a world-class institution. The staff made the right call there. If they decide to offer this kid, or anyone, a scholarship, I will trust thier judgement and hope that the young man's intentions re:classwork and studying have been well vetted.

[loran16]

Well... you know, Sean Dockery was a marginal student, and worked very hard to get into Duke. He used that chance to get an education at a world-class institution. The staff made the right call there. If they decide to offer this kid, or anyone, a scholarship, I will trust thier judgement and hope that the young man's intentions re:classwork and studying have been well vetted.

I'd guessed Dock would come up in response. I didn't follow recruiting till back then, though I'd heard about this. Let me put this out here: I loved dock, even before he made my Frosh year with the VT game. And Dock did GRADUATE from here, so I have much props for him.

So maybe I am sort of a hypocrite with regards to players in the past. I admit it up front. As i said before, we may have pushed a fine line with some previous recruits. But the last thing I EVER want to hear as a Duke fan is that one of our players gets ruled at any point as being academically ineligible. If the team can ensure that Bledsoe stays above the line? Fine. But I'd be extremely weary....not every player near the line cares as much as Dock did and will put forth that effort.

[dyedwab]

So maybe I am sort of a hypocrite with regards to players in the past. I admit it up front. As i said before, we may have pushed a fine line with some previous recruits. But the last thing I EVER want to hear as a Duke fan is that one of our players gets ruled at any point as being academically ineligible. If the team can ensure that Bledsoe stays above the line? Fine. But I'd be extremely weary....not every player near the line cares as much as Dock did and will put forth that effort.

I generally agree with the point BUT we have had players ruled academically ineligible (Ricky Price, Joe Cook, Phil Henderson) and there's no guarantee. Phil Henderson was never a questionable recruit when in came to meeting academic standards, but...

I think that Duke's track record includes players like Dockery and, further back, Gene Banks and others who had to work harder than the average Duke student to attain their degrees. If the staff sees a player who has that desire, then I trust their judgement on putting a program in place to allow such a player to thrive both on and of the court. I would be thrilled if another kid like Sean Dockery represented Duke.

[loran16]

It's been over 10 years since any of the three players you've mentioned. Have we had any others in that time? Mind you, the Henderson situation is not Duke's fault if it wasn't even a concern during recruiting, but still we have for this long NOT had any players with that problem.

10+years is a good impressive streak without a problem, though i imagine its poor compared to other schools (maybe not as impressive schools, but you get the point). We should take care to continue this streak.

[yancem]

video of Bledsoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XVRsOZ7Po

Definitely liked his handle! We haven't had a pg who could handle the rock like a yoyo in a few years. It doesn't look like we would ever see him backing the ball up the court! Other than his handle, his game looks pretty well rounded but it's hard to judge to much from a you-tube video.

[yancem]

I'd guessed Dock would come up in response. I didn't follow recruiting till back then, though I'd heard about this. Let me put this out here: I loved dock, even before he made my Frosh year with the VT game. And Dock did GRADUATE from here, so I have much props for him.

So maybe I am sort of a hypocrite with regards to players in the past. I admit it up front. As i said before, we may have pushed a fine line with some previous recruits. But the last thing I EVER want to hear as a Duke fan is that one of our players gets ruled at any point as being academically ineligible. If the team can ensure that Bledsoe stays above the line? Fine. But I'd be extremely weary....not every player near the line cares as much as Dock did and will put forth that effort.

I understand what you're saying and agree that academic integrity is very important but don't get caught thinking that high school grades are a great measure of intelligence or motivation. There are smart kids in bad schools that get lost in the shuffle. There are marginal students that skate by because they are the stud athlete. There are hard working and intelligent kids that struggle in high school because they are either working after school to help the family financially or baby sitting younger siblings so the parents can work a second job. There are smart kids that do great in high school only to fail miserably in college because of all of the distractions.

The point is, it's impossible for us fans to get a good grip on a recruits academic situation from a couple of blurbs on the internet. The coaches have been evaluating recruits for a long time and until they fail to properly evaluate the players they bring in, we have to trust that they will do the right thing.

[Ignatius07]

It's been over 10 years since any of the three players you've mentioned. Have we had any others in that time? Mind you, the Henderson situation is not Duke's fault if it wasn't even a concern during recruiting, but still we have for this long NOT had any players with that problem.

What Henderson situation?

[jgehtland]

How in the world is recruiting a PG for the 2009 class a symptom of giving up on Nolan? Nolan is going to be a JUNIOR next year. He's only been a part time starter this year. Why wouldn't we recruit a PG to come in and have two years in a backup/co-chair role that could take over fulltime as a junior himself?

Does everyone have to start right away? The Chief had to wait for Laettner to leave to get the nod. Wojo had to wait for Capel to graduate. Avery waited for Wojo. Carrawell waited for McLeod. On and on. I just don't see why getting a player in as a backup is such a terrible thing for Nolan.

[loran16]

What Henderson situation?

PHIL henderson. Not G. See the post i was quoting.

[tbyers11]

It's been over 10 years since any of the three players you've mentioned. Have we had any others in that time? Mind you, the Henderson situation is not Duke's fault if it wasn't even a concern during recruiting, but still we have for this long NOT had any players with that problem.

10+years is a good impressive streak without a problem, though i imagine its poor compared to other schools (maybe not as impressive schools, but you get the point). We should take care to continue this streak.

IIRC, the most recent player to have academic ineligibility issues was Andre Sweet in 2001.

I don't understand how a player who came to Duke well above qualifying standards and then having academic issues at Duke is not Duke's fault, but if they had pre-existing academic issues then have problems at Duke that it is Duke's fault for recruiting them. IMO, Duke has an equal responsibility and fault for the academics of all of its players once they matriculate.

While I believe that academics should be a very important factor in recruitment, I agree with yancem and Mulletman above that excluding players solely based on high school academic metrics is a bit absurd. Some players with academic questions will never be able to cut it at Duke while others simply haven't had the social or financial opportunities to maximize their academic potential at this young age.

I have no idea which group Eric Bledsoe fits into, but I would trust the judgment of Coach K and his staff in this area based on the fact that they have done pretty well in this regard over the years.

[gotham devil]

Definitely liked his handle! We haven't had a pg who could handle the rock like a yoyo in a few years. It doesn't look like we would ever see him backing the ball up the court! Other than his handle, his game looks pretty well rounded but it's hard to judge to much from a you-tube video.

Handle/ability to penetrate, court vision, on-the-ball defense, foul shooting, communication, and three-point shooting are the first things I look for in a PG.

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/recruiting/rsci2008.htm

These were his latest rankings from the various services, courtesy of RSCI.

[watzone]

I can tell you that a Duke assistant is taking in his game tonight. Ah!!! Recruiting is my thing!

[FireOgilvie]

video of Bledsoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XVRsOZ7Po

That, my friends, is what a PG should look like.

Keep that in mind when talking about Scheyer as a PG... especially a "fringe NBA prospect" at PG. He's a darn fine SG, and I hate to see him forced out of position like that.

I'm glad we're taking a look at Bledsoe. It's about time we consider a true point guard. We'll see how things turn out. It's encouraging his "dream school" is Duke.

[DUKIE V(A)]

I loved what I saw on the court (especially his getting excited about making an assist)! I also love the fact that Duke is his dream school; this is a big deal. Sounds like graduating college is a goal of his. If he is a hard worker (on and off the court), committed to academics, a good kid, and the coaches like him, I see no reason why he does not deserve a chance.

[BlueintheFace]

I don't know what to say about this situation.

I can't remember the last time Duke effectively opened active recruitment of a player as late as this... especially a pg. Do I just have selective memory?

The coaching staff must really feel that we will be keeping some very important pieces for a championship run next year and consequently feel a serious need to bring in another piece that could potentially be missing for that run. Maybe I am making too much of a little thing, but this just seems too unusual a situation ... what are the coaches thinking I wonder?

[roywhite]

I don't know what to say about this situation.

I can't remember the last time Duke effectively opened active recruitment of a player as late as this... especially a pg. Do I just have selective memory?

The coaching staff must really feel that we will be keeping some very important pieces for a championship run next year and consequently feel a serious need to bring in another piece that could potentially be missing for that run. Maybe I am making too much of a little thing, but this just seems too unusual a situation ... what are the coaches thinking I wonder?

Just speculating...the staff was not specifically looking, but were keeping their eyes open for late bloomers; this kid is coming on, plays at a position of need, and has spoken positively about Duke.

Could be a nice acquisition. Hope it works out.

[JDev]

What I wondered earlier is Duke's scholarship situation. Duke will lose two senoirs (Paulus, McClure), and gain two recruits. The scholarship limit is 13. It everyone returns, Duke has Pocious, Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, Smith, Singler, Czyz, Williams, and Plumlee. If Duke does in fact ad a third 2009 recruit, that puts them right at the 13. The following year, Duke will lose Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, opening up four scholarships. They have three commitments from 2010 already, with additional offers out, the most important of which is to Harrison Barnes. That leaves very little wiggle room for some additional guys Duke is looking at in those two classes, including Wall, Knight, and Irving. That being said, I'm sure things will even out. I doubt very seriously Duke gets four years out of Singler. Marty has been at Duke four years, and I do not know if he is on pace to graduate, but he could probably play in Europe if he chose. Plus, Duke is not going to land everyone of those guys anyway (that would be nice though!). I just wonder if the additional looks at the 2009 class are an indication about what will happen with G and/or Kyle.

[Jarhead]

Well... you know, Sean Dockery was a marginal student, and worked very hard to get into Duke. He used that chance to get an education at a world-class institution. The staff made the right call there. If they decide to offer this kid, or anyone, a scholarship, I will trust thier judgement and hope that the young man's intentions re:classwork and studying have been well vetted.
Thanks for the memories, Mulletman. Sean was a credit to his university. Your post made me think of one of my favorites, Gene Banks, aka Tinker Bell. He was one of the classiest guys ever to attend classes and play basketball at Duke.

[CDu]

What I wondered earlier is Duke's scholarship situation. Duke will lose two senoirs (Paulus, McClure), and gain two recruits. The scholarship limit is 13. It everyone returns, Duke has Pocious, Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, Smith, Singler, Czyz, Williams, and Plumlee. If Duke does in fact ad a third 2009 recruit, that puts them right at the 13. The following year, Duke will lose Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, opening up four scholarships. They have three commitments from 2010 already, with additional offers out, the most important of which is to Harrison Barnes. That leaves very little wiggle room for some additional guys Duke is looking at in those two classes, including Wall, Knight, and Irving. That being said, I'm sure things will even out. I doubt very seriously Duke gets four years out of Singler. Marty has been at Duke four years, and I do not know if he is on pace to graduate, but he could probably play in Europe if he chose. Plus, Duke is not going to land everyone of those guys anyway (that would be nice though!). I just wonder if the additional looks at the 2009 class are an indication about what will happen with G and/or Kyle.

From this team after next year ends, we'll lose (for certain) Paulus, McClure, Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, and Pocius. We'll have the following players on scholarship:
Smith
Singler (hopefully)
Plumlee
Williams
Czyz
Plumlee
Kelly
Thornton
Dawkins
Hairston

That's only 10 players on scholarship. So we have plenty of wiggle room to get the right guy this year and still get two guys the following year.

[gotham devil]

I don't know what to say about this situation.

I can't remember the last time Duke effectively opened active recruitment of a player as late as this... especially a pg. Do I just have selective memory?

The coaching staff must really feel that we will be keeping some very important pieces for a championship run next year and consequently feel a serious need to bring in another piece that could potentially be missing for that run. Maybe I am making too much of a little thing, but this just seems too unusual a situation ... what are the coaches thinking I wonder?
Geoff McDermott in March of 2005.
He's been an all-BE Freshman team and an honorable mention all-BE performer. He's scored over 1000 points, grabbed 995 rebounds, and over 450 assists at Providence.

McDermott also had an offer to play quarterback at Syracuse. He was the hs teammate of Ray Rice.

[BlueintheFace]

http://blog.al.com/sentell/2009/02/duke_assistant_on_hand_for_par.html


"We need a guard and we're in a sticky situation right now"

Interesting quote. I'm not sure I would use those words while checking in on a recruit, but whatever works...

[DukeCO2009]

From this team after next year ends, we'll lose (for certain) Paulus, McClure, Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, and Pocius. We'll have the following players on scholarship:
Smith
Singler (hopefully)
Plumlee
Williams
Czyz
Plumlee
Kelly
Thornton
Dawkins
Hairston

That's only 10 players on scholarship. So we have plenty of wiggle room to get the right guy this year and still get two guys the following year.

Fingers crossed for Barnes, too.

[Faison1]

I think it's funny that Bledsoe lists his priorities for college as: 1. Graduating (good way to start off), 2. Girls (still OK), and 3. Partying (uh-oh).

Seriously, he sounds like a nice kid....and if he has a sense of humor, all the better.

[bgibbs1001]

I think it's funny that Bledsoe lists his priorities for college as: 1. Graduating (good way to start off), 2. Girls (still OK), and 3. Partying (uh-oh).

Seriously, he sounds like a nice kid....and if he has a sense of humor, all the better.

Partying oh no! A college bound student who may want to party a little bit in college. What is the world coming to?

[Faison1]

Partying oh no! A college bound student who may want to party a little bit in college. What is the world coming to?

I didn't mean to imply that partying at college is a bad thing.....I did my fair share. It's just funny that a recruit would lead with that, considering the tremendous focus it takes to be successful at D1 athletics, not to mention a Duke course load and Coach K practices.

Additionally, if I were to imagine the draw of Duke athletics, girls and partying would not be the first two things I think of. Maybe for a school like UNC or Florida, or in this kid's case, Ole Miss or Alabama, those two things would be strengths of the program. For Duke, I imagine the strengths lie in coaching and future career path, amongst other things.

[Devilsfan]

We certainly are in need of a point guard and if we can't land Wall I'd say why not take Eric? Too bad he's not a shooter. We would still need a marksman like they have at Miami or Clemson.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Watching his highlight video, the thing that stood out to me was that he could drive to the bucket through traffic with either hand! I guess that makes him amphibious! :D

[DUKIE V(A)]

He's no Charles Edward Shackleford!

[jacalcio18]

According to Scout.com, Duke may be looking at trying to recruit a PG for next year. Not really sure who's to look at that hasn't committed already? Any thoughts/information?

[JDev]

Check out the Eric Bledsoe thread

[SeattleIrish]

Does anyone else think Eric has a bit of a funky, shot-putty, kind of shot?

Not a dig at him, but his release point looks really low - pushing the ball a lot.

s.i.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Does anyone else think Eric has a bit of a funky, shot-putty, kind of shot?

Not a dig at him, but his release point looks really low - pushing the ball a lot.

s.i.
I thought his shots had a nice trajectory - not flat and not too high. Wasn't watching his release point. Of course, these WERE highlights, where every shot goes in :rolleyes:

[Faison1]

video of Bledsoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XVRsOZ7Po

Looks pretty good to me......

With passes like that, you gotta figure G and Singler add 2-4 pts to their avg......speculation of course, but fun to imagine.

[MChambers]

Geoff McDermott in March of 2005.
He's been an all-BE Freshman team and an honorable mention all-BE performer. He's scored over 1000 points, grabbed 995 rebounds, and over 450 assists at Providence.

McDermott also had an offer to play quarterback at Syracuse. He was the hs teammate of Ray Rice.

Lavelle Blanchard, 1999, I think, after Maggette left. He had a nice career at Michigan.

[jimsumner]

Duke had had some contact with Blanchard. But Duke didn't even know Andre Buckner's name until after the conclusion of Buckner's senior season.

[roywhite]

Duke had had some contact with Blanchard. But Duke didn't even know Andre Buckner's name until after the conclusion of Buckner's senior season.

I liked Andre Buckner, but I hope the coaches see more chance of a playing role for Eric Bledsoe.

[Newton_14]

Bledsoe looks promising. My hope is that we get him and he ends up being even better than advertised. We could use a break like that actually. If he were to end up in a Duke uniform, and end up being a great find, it would help the team alot. I don't see it as being an insult to Nolan or any of our other players.

I think Coach K was greatly affected by what happened at Clemson, and our inability to handle the press. There is probaly a renewed emphasis on finding point guards that have great ball handling skills and quickness. Thus the looks at Wall and Bledsoe. From the interview, it seems as though Bledsoe would come if asked. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

[moonpie23]

so, i heard from a friend that Coach K went to visit eric this past friday night....any word of that? is it true? does anyone know if and how that went?

[ice-9]

I read somewhere that one of the biggest correlations for college success is rapid improvement in a high school recruits game over his junior/senior year. If so, that bodes well for Bledsoe.

On offense, he sounds like just what the doctor ordered -- a speedy PG who can penetrate and dish; someone who can get Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee a lot of open jumpers over the next 4 years. :)

But what is the scouting report on his on-the-ball defense? It would suck if he doesn't defend well and therefore doesn't play much.

[Faison1]

But what is the scouting report on his on-the-ball defense? It would suck if he doesn't defend well and therefore doesn't play much.

Judging by the highlight reel on youtube, it looks pretty good (and if it's on a 4 minute video, it must be true). Several of the highlights show steals and good D leading to fast breaks.....I would have to assume that if defense is on a highlight reel, he must want to draw attention to it......

[Tim1515]

I've heard while the level of competition he is going against isn't the greatest...he's known for his defense...always taking the other team's best player. But...this is just what i've heard.

[FireOgilvie]

Bledsoe's Parker HS won their game against Woodlawn 49-33 to advance to the Final Four of the Alabama 5A tournament. Bledsoe had 11 pts, 5 steals, and 3 assists. Apparently, he had some early foul trouble. He was named Northeast Regional MVP.

http://highschoolsports.al.com/game/news/261717/article/43136/

[jacalcio18]

Has anyone read the article on Bledsoe on Scout.com? What does it talk about? Are we going to offer him soon? What coach of ours is recruiting him?

[gotham devil]

Great profile:

http://www.al.com/hsbasketball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1235726167174750.xml&coll=2

Oh, yeah, he just led his team to a win over LaFlore, which enter the game as the #13 team in the country, 52-39. LaFlore couldn't stay with his speed. Barkley was on hand for this one.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Bledsoe sounds like a great player. From what I have read and seen, he plays hard, plays defense, and can get the ball to his teammates (probably the most important point). Also, from numerous articles out there, Duke is his "dream school".

I really don't see a downside to this kid. Sure, he isn't John Wall. But in all honesty, I would rather have a 3-4 year player with a lot of potential than a "one-and-done" - I like seeing players develop throughout their college career (and I'm probably the minority here - I'm guessing most of you want Wall).

Lastly, I feel that his poor academics aren't that major of a factor. Dockery came into Duke with worse academics and he graduated! Other good academic schools with good recruiting reputations, like Georgetown, BC, Virginia, Cal and Michigan, don't all have A and B students.

[BamaBlueDevil]

His high school team just upset LaFlore and Demarcus Counsins (Top Ten Recruit Nationally) in the Alabama 5A Semi-Finals (6A is the division with the largest schools - but 5A basketball is virtually indistinguishable competition-wise).

He will play in the State Championship tomorrow in Birmingham.

[DukeFanInTerpLand]

His high school team just upset LaFlore and Demarcus Counsins (Top Ten Recruit Nationally) in the Alabama 5A Semi-Finals (6A is the division with the largest schools - but 5A basketball is virtually indistinguishable competition-wise).

He will play in the State Championship tomorrow in Birmingham.

I saw the last 5 minutes he played online (he got in foul trouble), and he was the difference maker in this game. No one, I mean no one, could stop him. In those 5 minutes, the game went from being tied to them winning by 14 or so. He had a couple of steals, a block, a few assists, scored probably 8-10 points.

I've only seen his YouTube videos, but I think this was against some pretty stiff competition. No one should be worried about his quickness, that's for sure.

[Newton_14]

Here is a link to info on the semi-final game. Bledsoe dominated the last 4 minutes or so and turned a tie into a rout. Apparently got into the head of the Cousin's kid a bit as well, as Cousins got T'd up late.
http://highschoolsports.al.com/game/score/261720/

In another article I saw tonight, it said that Nate is the recruiter and has been going to games and gave Bledsoe some advice lately. Nate told him to be more selfish on the offensive end. Apparently he took it to heart. The article also mentioned Bledsoe recently had an hour long phone conversation with Coach K.

Looks like a promising situation...

[calltheobvious]

http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2009/02/melick_tiny_parker_gets_the_la.html

Fantastic closing line.

[Houston]

Bledsoe sounds like a great player. From what I have read and seen, he plays hard, plays defense, and can get the ball to his teammates (probably the most important point). Also, from numerous articles out there, Duke is his "dream school".

I really don't see a downside to this kid. Sure, he isn't John Wall. But in all honesty, I would rather have a 3-4 year player with a lot of potential than a "one-and-done" - I like seeing players develop throughout their college career .

Congrats to Eric and good luck in the state finals. However, I am skeptical that the 12th best PG in the 2009 class can play at Duke. The schools that are competing for Eric's services are also not the usual suspects. Eric would be the third attempt to find a PG in the 2009 class. If Duke wants to advance deep in the tournament, we will need the "one-and-done" type talents.

[FireOgilvie]

Congrats to Eric and good luck in the state finals. However, I am skeptical that the 12th best PG in the 2009 class can play at Duke. The schools that are competing for Eric's services are also not the usual suspects. Eric would be the third attempt to find a PG in the 2009 class. If Duke wants to advance deep in the tournament, we will need the "one-and-done" type talents.

He's had offers from Kentucky and Florida. The rankings mean almost nothing outside of the top 15 or so prospects... Duke fans should know that by now. He's our back-up behind John Wall, a one-and-done. I don't know if he can play at Duke, but he just outplayed DeMarcus Cousins and his number 13 ranked high school.

[jimsumner]

"However, I am skeptical that the 12th best PG in the 2009 class can play at Duke."

Where was Jeff Teague ranked in high school? Jack McClinton? Malcolm Delaney? Could they play at Duke?

Besides, I kind of suspect that the Duke coaching staff will make their evaluation independent of rivals.com and scout.com, as useful as their services might be.

[ChemGod]

1. He looks like he has a pretty soft shot (in a good way) to me...
2. He can REALLY get to the hole...but against pretty soft D it looks like.
3. I like having a PG who can dunk...no offense Wojo and Bobby H!
4. Can we also recruit the forward in the video who is dunking all over everybody??

[trinity92]

Congrats to Eric and good luck in the state finals. However, I am skeptical that the 12th best PG in the 2009 class can play at Duke. The schools that are competing for Eric's services are also not the usual suspects. Eric would be the third attempt to find a PG in the 2009 class. If Duke wants to advance deep in the tournament, we will need the "one-and-done" type talents.

You can't be skeptical about a player ranked #12 at his position:

2002-- #12 PG Deron Williams, #13 Justin Gray
2003-- #24 PG Acie Law
2004-- #25 PG Taurean Green
2005-- #13 PG Levance Fields

Other ratings:

Tyrese Rice-- Two star recruit, unranked by Scout
Jeff Teague-- #8 PG in his class
James Johnson-- #9 SF in his class
Ishmael Smith-- #17 PG in his class

I think we'd all take any of these "lowly" recruits over our last two #1 PGs-- Shaun Livingston and GP.

The numbers don't lie.

[ChemGod]

PHIL henderson. Not G. See the post i was quoting.

Guys,

My first class at Duke was a freshman English Seminar (bleah) with Phil. He was a pretty good guy. I was under the impression taht his early academic trouble was not lack of intelligence but lack of effort. This is not exactly unheard of in a freshman, particularly in a high profile academic program. It is worth noting that he did pull it together with strong "encouragement" from K and the staff and had a VERy productive career at Duke.

And who can forget "I dunked over Alonzo Mourning!" quote in the Chronicle?

[pfrduke]

You can't be skeptical about a player ranked #12 at his position:

2002-- #12 PG Deron Williams, #13 Justin Gray
2003-- #24 PG Acie Law
2004-- #25 PG Taurean Green
2005-- #13 PG Levance Fields

Other ratings:

Tyrese Rice-- Two star recruit, unranked by Scout
Jeff Teague-- #8 PG in his class
James Johnson-- #9 SF in his class
Ishmael Smith-- #17 PG in his class

I think we'd all take any of these "lowly" recruits over our last two #1 PGs-- Shaun Livingston and GP.

The numbers don't lie.

I would actually take Livingston if he showed up on campus. Dude was 6'6" with sick handle and vision. His knee injury was a real shame.

But I totally agree with your broader point, and think it's silly to dismiss a kid who, from all reports, can seriously play just because he happens to be ranked as the 12th best point guard.

[ice-9]

Well, the question is not so much "Can a 12th ranked PG play at Duke" but more of "WHY is this PG ranked 12? Are those reasons deal breakers for Duke?"

Incidentally, comments from this thread make Bledsoe sound good (can penetrate and dish, good handle, good defense)...sooo...WHY is he only the 12th ranked PG?

[Newton_14]

Well, the question is not so much "Can a 12th ranked PG play at Duke" but more of "WHY is this PG ranked 12? Are those reasons deal breakers for Duke?"

Incidentally, comments from this thread make Bledsoe sound good (can penetrate and dish, good handle, good defense)...sooo...WHY is he only the 12th ranked PG?

There are likely several reasons he is ranked 12th. For one he has been a late developer. He apparently made a big jump in his development over the past summer. His location may also be a factor. Also, Rivals and Scout are not the end all be all authorities on the ability of these kids. Like others in the thread have pointed out, there are many documented cases almost every year where lower ranked players end of being far better players than some ranked well ahead of them. I put much more value into what the coaching staff has to say rather than sites like Rivals or Scout. Once you get past the top 6 to 10 players in the rankings, it is a crapshoot for kids ranked from there to the top 150.

[Oriole Way]

"However, I am skeptical that the 12th best PG in the 2009 class can play at Duke."

Where was Jeff Teague ranked in high school? Jack McClinton? Malcolm Delaney? Could they play at Duke?

Besides, I kind of suspect that the Duke coaching staff will make their evaluation independent of rivals.com and scout.com, as useful as their services might be.

I completely agree. Rankings shouldn't be the primary evaluation method for these players, nor should it be a predictor for future success.

Where was Dwyane Wade ranked? Steph Curry? Juan Dixon? On the other side of the coin, how about Greg Paulus? Sean Dockery? If the staff thinks Bledsoe could be a candidate for a scholarship, there are plenty of reasons why. One of those reasons is that they think he can play PG at Duke.

[roywhite]

Well, the question is not so much "Can a 12th ranked PG play at Duke" but more of "WHY is this PG ranked 12? Are those reasons deal breakers for Duke?"

Incidentally, comments from this thread make Bledsoe sound good (can penetrate and dish, good handle, good defense)...sooo...WHY is he only the 12th ranked PG?

Some possible reasons:
1. Recruiting rankings are subjective and inexact
2. He is a late bloomer and the ratings are not adjusted often enough
3. He is less publicized and less known than some other players

I'm pleased to hear and read about his ability and his interest in Duke. My only concern is whether he is a good fit academically, and may even have some difficulties meeting NCAA minimum test score requirements. (Yes, I am aware of other Duke players with similar qualifications, and don't mind such a kid getting an opportunity, but these cases don't all end up in successful admissions or graduation/academic progress.)

[FireOgilvie]

Well, the question is not so much "Can a 12th ranked PG play at Duke" but more of "WHY is this PG ranked 12? Are those reasons deal breakers for Duke?"

Incidentally, comments from this thread make Bledsoe sound good (can penetrate and dish, good handle, good defense)...sooo...WHY is he only the 12th ranked PG?

He's ranked 8th by Scout... Rivals has him 12th. I tend to think Scout is more accurate, but it depends. Neither one of them is THAT accurate. ESPN is the worst... it's terrible. It had Nolan Smith ahead of Michael Beasley. Like Boozer said, recruits that move up late in their career are really hard to rank accurately. Almost every player in the top 10 has been in the top 10 for the last 2 years. People have said Bledsoe has improved a lot even throughout this year. Also, this year's class is very deep at PG.

[yancem]

Well, the question is not so much "Can a 12th ranked PG play at Duke" but more of "WHY is this PG ranked 12? Are those reasons deal breakers for Duke?"

Incidentally, comments from this thread make Bledsoe sound good (can penetrate and dish, good handle, good defense)...sooo...WHY is he only the 12th ranked PG?

Exposure (especially early exposure) has a lot to do with rankings. There are only so many top flight AAU teams out there. If a player doesn't end up on a great AAU team than he will play in fewer tournaments and fewer games per tournament so he will get less exposure. Also, like some had said Bledsoe appears to be a late bloomer so he may not have played in the big tournaments until last summer. In this kind of case, it seems like the talent evaluators are hesitant to rank a kid like that too high unless he absolutely tares up the competition.

[jimsumner]

I'm confused. Why would being the 12th-ranked PG in the class of '09 be a bad thing? Why does that imply flaws in his game? Duke loses all the time to teams that are full of players who were ranked 12th or lower at their positions in high school. Might happen today. The NBA is full of guys with similar high-school credentials.

Have we become so smug that we turn up our noses at anyone not in the top 20?

Why is he ranked 12th? Maybe, because he's a pretty darn good player.

[sivartrenrag]

I'm loving this kid and there's a part of me that thinks he'd be a better fit than John Wall anyway... the more I read about him and his story and the more I see him play (in videos) the more I want to see him in a Duke jersey.

[FireOgilvie]

I'm confused. Why would being the 12th-ranked PG in the class of '09 be a bad thing? Why does that imply flaws in his game? Duke loses all the time to teams that are full of players who were ranked 12th or lower at their positions in high school. Might happen today. The NBA is full of guys with similar high-school credentials.

Have we become so smug that we turn up our noses at anyone not in the top 20?

Why is he ranked 12th? Maybe, because he's a pretty darn good player.

I think only one or two people thought it might be a bad thing. PG is a pretty important position, and let's be honest, Duke doesn't recruit very many people ranked 12th at their position... not that this is necessarily a good or bad thing. But, I think you make a good point.

Eric Maynor was a 2 star point guard coming out of HS. He's averaging 22.9 pts, 6.1 assists a game for VCU this year. He is also pretty clutch (I hear).

[BD80]

This kid sounds great to me. Quick. Good handle. Willing and able to play D.

LOVES DUKE!

PG rankings are skewed toward scoring. Assists are also considered, but they can greatly depend on the quality of players surrounding the PG. It sounds like EB is the only major talent on his hs team, making assists tougher to come by. He shot up when he played AAU ball with some talented teammates. It also sounds like Eric has a skill set that would mesh well with the team we are assembling - even if it doesn't yield the gaudy numbers that recruiting services base their rankings on.

Eric could be very valuable next year after Greg leaves to provide some minutes off the bench, particularly when we are trying to press or hold onto a lead. If Wall chooses to come, EB would not see as much time. In later years, even if he doesn't start, he could earn lots of minutes off of the bench. It is extremely beneficial to have an experienced point guard available on the bench, and Coach K is known to like to have two pgs in the game at crunch time.

I would trust our staff's current evaluation over the scouting services, who seem to have caught onto EB late. You never know when the services actually updated their evaluations and the rankings. Once Duke gets listed as interested, Eric will probably shoot up into the top 40, not too bad in a deep recruiting class.

[roywhite]

There's a live stream of the finals.

http://highschoolsports.al.com/video/

Bledsoe's team is down 32-19 at halftime.

[InSpades]

I'm confused. Why would being the 12th-ranked PG in the class of '09 be a bad thing? Why does that imply flaws in his game? Duke loses all the time to teams that are full of players who were ranked 12th or lower at their positions in high school. Might happen today. The NBA is full of guys with similar high-school credentials.

Have we become so smug that we turn up our noses at anyone not in the top 20?

Why is he ranked 12th? Maybe, because he's a pretty darn good player.

There's a certain guy out of Pittsburgh who was the #12 ranked center coming out of high school 2 years ago. You might have heard of him, his name is Dejuan Blair. I think most teams would take him in their lineup (incidentally another guy who liked Duke).

[FireOgilvie]

There's a live stream of the finals.

http://highschoolsports.al.com/video/

Bledsoe's team is down 32-19 at halftime.


This is one ugly game. Bledsoe is raw, but he clearly has a ton of talent. He averages a triple-double on the year... 20 pts, 11 reb, 10 assists. He's really fast/quick with the ball. He has 13 so far in the game, and I saw him drain a 3 and make a bunch of fts.

[roywhite]

This is one ugly game. Bledsoe is raw, but he clearly has a ton of talent. He averages a triple-double on the year... 20 pts, 11 reb, 10 assists. He's really fast/quick with the ball. He has 13 so far in the game, and I saw him drain a 3 and make a bunch of fts.

Bledsoe's team lost in the state final 55-45. Watched a good part of the second half on the streaming video, and agree with your observations. Bledsoe didn't have much of a supporting cast, at least in this game.

In addition to his speed and ball-handling ability, Bledsoe is also a good leaper; they ran an alley-oop for him on an inbounds play; the play was not successful, but he got up really high for a guy who is not very tall (the announcers said he is 6'1").

Interesting prospect.

[FireOgilvie]

He's way too unselfish... I can see why Nate James told him that earlier. He's definitely a natural point guard. He didn't look for his shot very much at all, even though he was clearly the best player on the court on both sides. He's a good passer, and the announcers mentioned that he's best at driving and kicking the ball out/making plays. He actually reminds me a LOT of Ty Lawson... he's obviously much more raw, but he's also taller (6'1") and more athletic. He really elevates for rebounds. He had a really nice steal where he surprised a guy from behind and stole it without breaking his stride... he would have been gone for the layup, but the opposing PG fouled him as he ran by. He's really quick. His jumpshot isn't great at this point, but that can be improved. The quality of the competition was pretty bad, especially for a state championship... a lot of raw athletes, but not great on the fundamentals. It was hard to judge his on-the-ball defense because he was in foul trouble and was playing conservatively. I would love to see him play for Duke (assuming everything goes well with academics and Coach K, etc)... he wouldn't start right away or anything, but I could see him getting some playing time his freshman year (late off the bench... think Plumlee now). I would really like to see us offer him even if we get John Wall (which I doubt)... Wall would be gone after 1 year and Bledsoe wouldn't be ready to contribute big minutes right away anyway. I could definitely see him averaging 10 points and 5 assists a game in college without THAT much improvement.

[ice-9]

I'm confused. Why would being the 12th-ranked PG in the class of '09 be a bad thing? Why does that imply flaws in his game? Duke loses all the time to teams that are full of players who were ranked 12th or lower at their positions in high school. Might happen today. The NBA is full of guys with similar high-school credentials.

Have we become so smug that we turn up our noses at anyone not in the top 20?

Why is he ranked 12th? Maybe, because he's a pretty darn good player.


I assume a correlation exists between a recruit's ranking and his actual skill and talent. So if that's true then by definition "experts" at Rivals believe there are 11 PGs better than Bledsoe. I think the poster questioning whether Bledsoe can play at Duke is wondering why we aren't going after the players above him.

Some other posters are citing cases where a player's college success far outstripped his high school ranking...are these merely exceptions? Or are we saying there's no useful correlation between recruiting rankings and actual college success?

I think it's reasonable to look at Bledsoe's ranking and think "Hmmm, why is he ranked so low?" But of course, at the end of the day, the Duke staff are are the ones with the most information to make the right decision as to whether there's a fit.

[brsett]

He actually reminds me a LOT of Ty Lawson... he's obviously much more raw, but he's also taller (6'1") and more athletic.

More athletic than Ty Lawson?!? As in quicker, faster, better coordinated, and more explosive off the court? If so, this kid would be alot higher ranked than 12 at PG. That kind of athleticism would not go unnoticed by any scout, even if he was only 5-7 six months ago.

If that's your expectations for this young man, then I guess he's just about guaranteed to disappoint. But I haven't seen him play, perhaps he is the next Derrick Rose (who was only 6-1 when they put the official NBA tape measure on him).

[roywhite]

More athletic than Ty Lawson?!? As in quicker, faster, better coordinated, and more explosive off the court? If so, this kid would be alot higher ranked than 12 at PG. That kind of athleticism would not go unnoticed by any scout, even if he was only 5-7 six months ago.

If that's your expectations for this young man, then I guess he's just about guaranteed to disappoint. But I haven't seen him play, perhaps he is the next Derrick Rose (who was only 6-1 when they put the official NBA tape measure on him).

No, not really Ty Lawson. Bledsoe is a little raw; doesn't look to take it to the hoop all the time like Lawson. Bledsoe looks to pass first. Maybe a Chris Duhon type, though probably not as far along as Chris was at this stage.

[slower]

I assume a correlation exists between a recruit's ranking and his actual skill and talent. So if that's true then by definition "experts" at Rivals believe there are 11 PGs better than Bledsoe.

In a perfect world, we'd assume that recruiting experts ARE experts. But in today's world, where some SI writers are no better than trained monkeys with laptops and many "political commentators" are no better than trained monkeys with decent haircuts, this syndrome can also apply to some recruiting "experts". The majority of "experts" follow the current script. Oh, and while we're discussing trained monkeys, let's not forget about Jimmy Dykes!

[jimsumner]

"I assume a correlation exists between a recruit's ranking and his actual skill and talent."

A dubious assumption. Anyone with even a casual knowledge of recruiting can point out numerous Stephen Curry's and Tyrese Rice's to refute the expertness of the experts.

"I think the poster questioning whether Bledsoe can play at Duke is wondering why we aren't going after the players above him."

Duke did go after Boynton. While Duke was swinging and missing on Boynton, guys like Gaddy were committing elsewhere, diluting the pool of available talent. Grades, geography, attitude, style of play and other variables can eliminate other prospects.

Or maybe Duke trusts its judgment over that of rivals.com and scout.com and are in the process of deciding whether Bledsoe is someone they think can be an asset to the school and the program. This isn't an engineering project, where prospect #7 is inherently superior in every way, shape, or form to prospect #8.

"Some other posters are citing cases where a player's college success far outstripped his high school ranking...are these merely exceptions? Or are we saying there's no useful correlation between recruiting rankings and actual college success?"

I'm pretty sure Mike Krzyzewski and his staff don't spent a lot of time looking at recruiting rankings. They know what they're looking for and how to go about finding it. Lots of great recruits turn into great college players. Lots don't. It's fun to follow this stuff but it's more art than science.

"I think it's reasonable to look at Bledsoe's ranking and think "Hmmm, why is he ranked so low?" "

This might be the crux of my disgruntlment. IMO, being ranked #12 at PG in the entire nation isn't being ranked low. Not even in the same zip code as low. I've suggested more than once on this board and in other places that portions of the Duke fan-base have an entitlement mentality. This applies here. We're looking down at talented recruits like Bledsoe because they aren't Mickie Dees? That's entitlement folks. IMO.

[rthomas]

Where did that little shooting guard that now plays at Davidson rank as a HS player? I can't remember his name but it always reminds me of Indian food. I do know he used to attend basketball camp at Duke.

[FireOgilvie]

More athletic than Ty Lawson?!? As in quicker, faster, better coordinated, and more explosive off the court? If so, this kid would be alot higher ranked than 12 at PG. That kind of athleticism would not go unnoticed by any scout, even if he was only 5-7 six months ago.

If that's your expectations for this young man, then I guess he's just about guaranteed to disappoint. But I haven't seen him play, perhaps he is the next Derrick Rose (who was only 6-1 when they put the official NBA tape measure on him).


He can get up and down the court like Lawson (I'm not saying he's faster than Lawson) and he can definitely get well above the rim (better than Lawson)... he has 3 inches on Lawson. He's not ranked higher because, like I said, he's really raw. He can drive and kick decently, but his shot isn't that good at this point. He's more of an athlete than a fully developed PG and he doesn't look for his shot enough... hence the low ranking. Lawson's game was pretty polished coming out of HS, he played for Oak Hill and immediately started for UNC. Bledsoe has the athletic potential to be a Ty Lawson type of player though, IMO, but obviously not right away.

[jimsumner]

http://rscihoops.com/

This most useful resources averages assorted sources to come up with a consensus ranking.

Curry was not a consensus top-100 player in 2006. However, Solomon Tat, Nigel Munson, and William Graves were.

Think Seth Greenberg wouldn't like to give that Munson schollie to Curry?

Link to 2006 and look at the final rankings of guys like Jeff Allen, Travon Hughes, and our favorite, Mr. Vasquez.

IMO, it's not so much that the experts missed on these guys as much as the fact that you can go pretty deep in the prep pool and still find ACC caliber-players. Even it the experts are right, the difference between 50 and 150 is pretty small and that gap can be closed with hard work, intelligence, and a little luck.

[ice-9]

http://rscihoops.com/IMO, it's not so much that the experts missed on these guys as much as the fact that you can go pretty deep in the prep pool and still find ACC caliber-players. Even it the experts are right, the difference between 50 and 150 is pretty small and that gap can be closed with hard work, intelligence, and a little luck.

I typed up a big response to your posts, but after thinking about it, I agree with your main message. In addition to hard work and intelligence I think it's also important we recruit those that make a good fit with the Duke system. Off the top of my head, those qualities include:

- Athletic ability, especially in moving laterally: we all saw how awesome Coach K's system can be with NBA caliber athletes for both offense and defense

- Basketball intelligence so our motion offense and help defense can operate as a singular unit

- Ability to play multiple positions

Bonuses: ability to penetrate at will; dominant post play; 3-pt shooting; length to force turnovers and lower shooting percentages.

[Saratoga2]

With Marty's recent announcement, 4 scholarships are now available for next year with of course one less in the 2010/2011 year. We have two definites coming but we may be thin at the guard spot, even barring any other players who may leave.

Our guard/forwards for next year are:
Henderson
Scheyer
Smith
Williams

Clearly, all of these kids are excellent talents, but a season is long and wearing so we need backups.

Maybe we could move one of our new bigs outside, but they will still be freshmen and probably not kids that can be relied on for major minutes.

It looks like we need to have offers out to at least one more guard who we think could contribute. Bledsoe is one of these and Wall, while a longshot, would look good in blue. We haven't offered so it probably means we don't think there is a high probability with him.

Any new information?

[Kim*]

^ Jordan Davidson is redshirting this season and will still be on the team next season.

[ice-9]

If Henderson stays, I think the need to recruit for a PG in the 2010 class is dramatically lessened. Scheyer is proving himself to be a capable PG, and Nolan will surely improve with another year on his belt.

I think we're "in a sticky situation" only if Henderson leaves, because then we'd only have three guards: Scheyer, Nolan and Elliot. The margin of error in that scenario is extremely small; if one of those three get injured we'd be in a lot of trouble. Bledsoe/Wall, come on down, we need you!

[roywhite]

Henderson's return would certainly be beneficial to the team, but I expect the recruitment of Bledsoe (or another 2009 guard) to go forward. His season is now done, so we should see additional contacts, including a possible visit. As noted elsewhere, he also needs to improve his transcript and test scores; there's not a lot of time to do that, and his eligibility status will add more uncertainty to this process.

Based on watching some videos and a portion of his game in the state finals, I think he could help our program, and not just as an emergency backup. He looks to be a good player who can compete at the ACC level.

We shall see.

[CDu]

If Henderson stays, I think the need to recruit for a PG in the 2010 class is dramatically lessened. Scheyer is proving himself to be a capable PG, and Nolan will surely improve with another year on his belt.

I think we're "in a sticky situation" only if Henderson leaves, because then we'd only have three guards: Scheyer, Nolan and Elliot. The margin of error in that scenario is extremely small; if one of those three get injured we'd be in a lot of trouble. Bledsoe/Wall, come on down, we need you!

I think the need for a PG will remain even if Henderson stays. Otherwise, we're left with only one backup guard/wing on the team, unless we move Thomas or Singler to the wing for long stretches (which I wouldn't be ecstatic about).

I agree though that if Henderson leaves then getting another guard will be imperative.

[gofurman]

any latest on this guy

[ice-9]

I think the need for a PG will remain even if Henderson stays. Otherwise, we're left with only one backup guard/wing on the team, unless we move Thomas or Singler to the wing for long stretches (which I wouldn't be ecstatic about).

I agree though that if Henderson leaves then getting another guard will be imperative.


I have to say I was extremely impressed with the way Scheyer played PG in the game against UNC. Not just for the 5 assists against 0 turnovers, but overall in the tone and confidence of the offense.

I agree it'd be better to get another PG, but even if we didn't we won't be facing the same kind of problems that, say, GT had this year. This is of course assuming Scheyer stays, which I think he will. :)

[TigerEye]

http://memphisroar.com/2009/03/bledsoes-high-school-coach-cuts-list/


[Head coach] Ford announced this morning that Bledsoe’s list now consists of UAB, Kentucky and Florida. When learning of this, MemphisRoar caught up with Bledsoe to verify the rumors. In response to a question about whether or not he had actually cut his list, Bledsoe responded, “No. I didn’t cut it.”

Last night, Eric said, “Right now the schools I’m looking at are Florida, UAB, Kentucky, Duke, Baylor, Oregon, Tennessee and Memphis.”

[TigerEye]

^ I apologize for not putting the link in the right thread, i didn't see that y'all already had a Bledsoe thread. best of luck, we'll try to keep you updated from memphisroar on bledsoe.

[chrisheery]

has repeatedly said Duke is his "dream school." Not sure why we would be worried about other schools. The biggest issue seems to be his grades. We need him to get up to par, because he sounds like he could really help this team in a year or two (maybe even next year?).

[Bluedog]

^ I apologize for not putting the link in the right thread, i didn't see that y'all already had a Bledsoe thread. best of luck, we'll try to keep you updated from memphisroar on bledsoe.

Thanks for keeping us up to date. The only schools to officially offer him are Bama, South Fl, UAB, and Ole Miss, right? It'd seem odd to cut the list to three and have only one of them be a school that has given an offer. Perhaps many schools just don't give the "official" offer until the high school player has met the NCAA minimum academic requirements, which Bledsoe hasn't yet met. But it is assumed he'd get one when those conditions are met. I assume the official offers are contingent upon this fact anyways, so that doesn't make much sense. Maybe certain schools deal with academic eligibility/scholarship offers differently...


has repeatedly said Duke is his "dream school." Not sure why we would be worried about other schools. The biggest issue seems to be his grades. We need him to get up to par, because he sounds like he could really help this team in a year or two (maybe even next year?).

His grades meet the minimum. His test scores do not. But his grades could still be an issue for a school like Duke....Not to be too judgmental, but I'd imagine somebody with those grades/test scores would have a VERY hard time academically at Duke and better be prepared to pull many all nighters (and pick classes very strategically), especially with the time commitment that basketball takes. Although he has said Duke is his dream school, I'm sure he's taking the academic rigor of Duke into consideration - he might see it as a positive though to get a premier education, learn a lot, and prove people wrong.

[chrisheery]

His grades meet the minimum. His test scores do not. But his grades could still be an issue for a school like Duke....Not to be too judgmental, but I'd imagine somebody with those grades/test scores would have a VERY hard time academically at Duke and better be prepared to pull many all nighters (and pick classes very strategically), especially with the time commitment that basketball takes. Although he has said Duke is his dream school, I'm sure he's taking the academic rigor of Duke into consideration - he might see it as a positive though to get a premier education, learn a lot, and prove people wrong.

Right, but to my point, it isn't a question of whether we can get him. It is more a question of whether we can take a risk on his academics. Don't you think that is a fair assessment?

[TigerEye]

Bledsoe will be retaking his ACT, and i promise it will be higher... don't know how much but it has to be higher. haha.

[map0924]

Memphis is also recruiting Eric Bledsoe as a backup plan to Wall, as are Duke and NC State. But a number of other schools are recruiting Bledsoe as their top target this spring.

Maurice Ford, Bledsoe's coach at Birmingham (Ala.) Parker High School, said Bledsoe has narrowed it down to three schools – Kentucky, Florida and UAB. A visit to Kentucky is temporarily planned in conjunction with Bledsoe playing in the Derby Classic in Louisville, Ky., the second weekend in April.

[TigerEye]

I have never heard of NC State recruiting Bledsoe.

Bledsoe is an impact player, and can come in and immediately help whatever program he goes to.

[johnb]

His grades meet the minimum. His test scores do not. But his grades could still be an issue for a school like Duke....Not to be too judgmental, but I'd imagine somebody with those grades/test scores would have a VERY hard time academically at Duke and better be prepared to pull many all nighters (and pick classes very strategically), especially with the time commitment that basketball takes. Although he has said Duke is his dream school, I'm sure he's taking the academic rigor of Duke into consideration - he might see it as a positive though to get a premier education, learn a lot, and prove people wrong.

I agree.

Given that most Duke students come from backgrounds that are academically privileged, it's easy to forget that there are a lot of high schools out there that produce NO graduates who have SAT's that would make them competitive for admission at a college like Duke. Quite a few of the best high school basketball players attend such schools. Every year or two, Coach K finds a guy who has SAT's that would appear uncompetitive on the surface but who has the strength of character, an intense motivation to challenge himself, and a willingness to surprise the doubters. That's true for guys like Sean Dockery and Chris Carrawell who became major fan favorites and--more importantly--graduated on time. My first recollection of this trend was when Coach K recruited David Henderson in the mid-80's; while he'd done relatively well academically in high school, he was told by many other coaches that he was too rural and unprepared to thrive at a school like Duke. He came and prospered.

Anyway, one of the great things about Duke (and probably most colleges) is that it is at its core a meritocracy that welcomes people from all sorts of backgrounds, including the occasional student from a background that is less enriched than most of ours but who has the guts to not only succeed on national tv but in Perkins as well.

Oh, and I'd suggest students avoid all nighters and try to do homework on time.

[umdukie]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.

Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

[roywhite]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.

Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

I'm not sure just where to start with this post, but after revivewing some previous posts you made, I'll say this is perhaps your finest offering since declaring early in the season with certainty that:

1. UNC would not lose a game all year (just way too talented)
2. Nobody would even come within 10 points of the Heels.

[MulletMan]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.

Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt here because you are a relatively new poster, but you should read the whole thread. You'll see just about 6 posts above that the article you are referencing has been previously referenced several times, and, if you look around a bit, you will see that this "list cutting" that you are so ticked about came from Bledsoe's coach. Yet when the PLAYER was asked, he still included both Duke and Memphis in the schools on his list.

Why don't you just relax a bit before shouting that the Duke dynasty is fading? You know, that would be the university that just tied the all time record for wins by a program in a single decade.

[Duvall]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.


For more discussion of this report, read the last dozen or so posts in this thread.


Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

You're right; it's probably a plot to bring the program down from the inside. Trust no one.

[jv001]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.

Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

If you were coach at Duke and the player refused to meet with you even though he lived just mins from the campus. Would you still make the offer. And by the way, what about Wall's handlers Don't you think they are alittle on the shady side? Under the circumstances, it does not bother me one bit that Wall is not seriously considering Duke. Go Duke!

[jgehtland]

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=15300

So, it seems that Coach K has failed to offer yet another top prospect PG and Wall is now down to deciding between Florida, UAB and Kentucky.

Doesn't K understand we need a top-flight PG to win a national championship? I fear that the Duke basketball dynasty is slowly fading because of poor decision making at the top.

A-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Whooooooooooo, boy, did I need that. Thanks! I've been having a tough week, and that is just the kind of comic relief I needed.

<dries eyes/>

That's a good one. Thanks!

[dgoore97]

K knows something we don't. he is clearly aware we need a point guard based on Nate's comments at the bledsoe game (i think i put the link in this thread somewhere). so i am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait and see.

[BD80]

If you were coach at Duke and the player refused to meet with you even though he lived just mins from the campus. ...

Dont know why we are talking about Wall in Eric's thread but...

Why do you say John "refused" to meet with Coach K? It seemed clear from one or more of the articles that John's handlers are trying to steer him away from Duke, but I have not seen it reported that John has refused to meet with Coach K. Rather, it seems that it is Coach K who has been approaching the situation slowly, waiting for John to sort things out. John has listed Duke as on his list of schools even though he doesn't have an offer.

On the other hand, it seems like we are actively recruiting Eric.

[SupaDave]

K knows something we don't. he is clearly aware we need a point guard based on Nate's comments at the bledsoe game (i think i put the link in this thread somewhere). so i am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait and see.

Wait - you're gonna give Coach K the benefit of the doubt? Hmmmm...

So what happens if we DON'T get a point guard?

These boards get better and better.

[chrisheery]

Coach K just read that and wiped a thick layer of sweat off his brow. He can rest easy knowing he's getting the benefit of the doubt. All he's ever done is built one of the most dominant sports programs in the last 30 years, done it with class and has never, ever gotten a great university into any trouble doing it.

Yeah, I bet he's relieved.

[Devilsfan]

I'll second that. The last few years he has really coached! He has done a terrific job without the help of a Boozer, Brand, Battier, S. Williams, JWill, JJ or the like.

[NSDukeFan]

Coach K just read that and wiped a thick layer of sweat off his brow. He can rest easy knowing he's getting the benefit of the doubt. All he's ever done is built one of the most dominant sports programs in the last 30 years, done it with class and has never, ever gotten a great university into any trouble doing it.

Yeah, I bet he's relieved.

I liked that post. I just hope K has had time to concentrate on the upcoming tournament and hasn't been worrying about his job if he doesn't get the recruit that someone on an internet board wants him to get.

[JG Nothing]

I'll second that. The last few years he has really coached! He has done a terrific job without the help of a Boozer, Brand, Battier, S. Williams, JWill, JJ or the like.

With all due respect, Duke is among the most talented teams in the nation year in and year out. It's not like we have been without a number of outstanding players since 2002. Redick, Williams, Deng, McRoberts, Henderson, Scheyer, Singler, and others are or were great talents. Even Paulus was one of the 15 best players in the ACC in 2007-08. Having great players certainly does not guarantee success, but it makes it a lot easier.

[FireOgilvie]

I haven't heard anything about Eric and Duke in awhile, but he was just named the MVP of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. He is quoted as saying, "I didn't play very well," but he still had 12 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.

http://www.al.com/hsbasketball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1237623333166510.xml&coll=2

[jimsumner]

"I haven't heard anything about Eric and Duke in awhile"

I believe Bledsoe has another ACT shot awaiting. Until the results of that are known, we probably won't hear much about Eric and Duke.

[Devilsfan]

Don't you get a certain amount of points for merely signing your name. I think that you would need to score atleast a twenty just to play the point under Coach K's system, let alone succeed at Duke in the classroom.

[Bluedog]

Don't you get a certain amount of points for merely signing your name. I think that you would need to score atleast a twenty just to play the point under Coach K's system, let alone succeed at Duke in the classroom.

No, I think the lowest possible ACT score is a 1. But I don't know if that's humanely possible. Just guessing randomly on every question should get you around a 12-13 (2nd percentile). Bledsoe got a 15 (13th percentile in the nation of ALL students, not just college-bound), while the NCAA min is around a 19 (39th percentile) and the Duke average is around 32 (99th percentile). Bledsoe better get to work in the classroom. Sounds like a good kid though.

[Devilsfan]

My point is if you can't learn enough in school to pass your ACTs, how the heck can you learn Coach K's system? We need more JWills and Battiers!

[ice-9]

No, I think the lowest possible ACT score is a 1. But I don't know if that's humanely possible. Just guessing randomly on every question should get you around a 12-13 (2nd percentile). Bledsoe got a 15 (13th percentile in the nation of ALL students, not just college-bound), while the NCAA min is around a 19 (39th percentile) and the Duke average is around 32 (99th percentile). Bledsoe better get to work in the classroom. Sounds like a good kid though.

Wow...15 is pretty bad.

[arnie]

Wow...15 is pretty bad.

But it's better than Hakeem Nicks' wonderlic (sp?) score.

But seriously, if he is that far away from the minimum, it would seem unlikely that he comes to Duke - unless he tanked the 1st test for some reason.

[Skitzle]

My point is if you can't learn enough in school to pass your ACTs, how the heck can you learn Coach K's system? We need more JWills and Battiers!

Any chance you can blame it on the quality of the Alabama school system he's apart of and not his personal ability or drive to succeed in the classroom?

[roywhite]

Any chance you can blame it on the quality of the Alabama school system he's apart of and not his personal ability or drive to succeed in the classroom?

Perhaps. And I'm not opposed to giving an opportunity to a young person that has had a poor academic background, but seems motivated to get a top education.

He'll certainly need to show significant improvement and at least meet the NCAA minimum for combination of grades and test scores. I watched him perform in the state championship (live stream) and seen some videos; I think he'd be a good fit basketball-wise. We'll see.

[godevils4]

My point is if you can't learn enough in school to pass your ACTs, how the heck can you learn Coach K's system? We need more JWills and Battiers!

I'd say that Sean Dockery did a pretty good job learning Coach K's system, and I believe he had a 15 on his ACT as well. On the flip side, I'd say McRoberts probably did ok on the ACT (because we never heard otherwise), and I'm reasonably sure nobody's going to say he ever learned the system to perfection.

[SupaDave]

He's got plenty of time to pull those scores up.

I've known plenty of people to tank those tests b/c their importance wasn't stressed.

[jimsumner]

"He's got plenty of time to pull those scores up."

Plenty of time? He's in the final months of his senior year. I suspect he needs to do much better real soon or the schools on his list are going to move on. I certainly can't see Duke waiting until August.

[SupaDave]

"He's got plenty of time to pull those scores up."

Plenty of time? He's in the final months of his senior year. I suspect he needs to do much better real soon or the schools on his list are going to move on. I certainly can't see Duke waiting until August.

Ah yes - life at the speed of a high schooler. He does have plenty of time. He can take the test next month - which I'm sure he's considering, and he can also take the test in June shortly after his graduation. He's got three months to get ready - PLENTY of time. I've never studied harder than when I had a point to prove...

Duke wouldn't have to wait until August and from what I've heard of the kid it seems his determination is greater than what a test might present. Sometimes the genius is in the effort and you end up with a scholar...

Supa "yes - this is why I'm here" Dave

[jimsumner]

I guess we have a different interpretation of "plenty of time."

[SupaDave]

I guess we have a different interpretation of "plenty of time."

Exactly, in terms of a 17 year old - 3 months is an eternity...

You've been around long enough to know that it's just a blip.

[jimsumner]

"You've been around long enough to know that it's just a blip."


Eh, eh? Speak into my good ear.

[rkm]

I just watched that YouTube video of the kid. Thanks for the link, but is anyone else not that impressed by the clips? He looks like a good high school player, not a difference maker at high-level DI in college.

So I would be less worried about whether we could get him than if we really could use him.

[BD80]

"You've been around long enough to know that it's just a blip."


Eh, eh? Speak into my good ear.

Lucky bastard. Still have a good ear huh?

[gotham devil]

http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports/1237968993248260.xml&coll=2

[FireOgilvie]

I just watched that YouTube video of the kid. Thanks for the link, but is anyone else not that impressed by the clips? He looks like a good high school player, not a difference maker at high-level DI in college.

So I would be less worried about whether we could get him than if we really could use him.

It's hard to tell much from highlight reels, and I've only seen him play 1 full game. However, I think Duke can definitely use a very quick, athletic, pass-first PG. It's not clear just how good he will be (like any HS recruit), but he has a ton of potential. Florida, Memphis, Kentucky, UCONN (according to ESPN), and multiple other schools are also looking at him.

Edit: Nice article find, gotham devil. The article mentions his season average of 20.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game.

[ice-9]

I guess we have a different interpretation of "plenty of time."


If Bledsoe actually has the intelligence to get a decent score but had just been underperforming for whatever reason, then 3 months is plenty of time to "learn" how to take a test.

But if Bledsoe wasn't underperforming -- i.e. the score of 15 is truly reflective of his current knowledge -- and he actually has to learn new things in order to do well, then 3 months is very, very short. He's not going to able to stuff what he should've learned over his years in high school into three months.

[SupaDave]

If Bledsoe actually has the intelligence to get a decent score but had just been underperforming for whatever reason, then 3 months is plenty of time to "learn" how to take a test.

But if Bledsoe wasn't underperforming -- i.e. the score of 15 is truly reflective of his current knowledge -- and he actually has to learn new things in order to do well, then 3 months is very, very short. He's not going to able to stuff what he should've learned over his years in high school into three months.

http://www.actexampracticetests.com/act-test-content.html

Four different test areas - reading, math, science, and english. It doesn't exactly look like rocket science to me (but it shouldn't). I've never taken an exam with science on it so I don't know how that portion is measured (that I can remember - and I've taken the PSAT, GRE, GMAT, SAT, and LSAT) but having to remember something from the periodic table just MIGHT throw me for a loop even at this stage of my development.

Almost seems smarter to take the revamped SAT.

[SupaDave]

Oh wow! Just read that article and saw something VERY important. He had to transfer b/c his high school was closed DOWN. Think that had any impact on his education? Not to mention - it doesn't look it was a great school to start with...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_High_School_(Birmingham,_Alabama)

The avg. ACT score in Birmingham was 17.3! Yuck... The avg. score at his two high schools? 16.1. Sounds kinda systematic to me.
http://www.cfbsedu.org/rich_text_4.html

With his determination and some tutoring - he CAN get it.

[Houston]

I just watched that YouTube video of the kid. Thanks for the link, but is anyone else not that impressed by the clips? He looks like a good high school player, not a difference maker at high-level DI in college.

So I would be less worried about whether we could get him than if we really could use him.

Agreed. As previously stated I am concerned about his relative ranking among point guards in his class and the fact that he is at best our third choice for a PG in this class. Although the scouting services are not perfect, on average they do a good job. There seems to be a high correlation among a players ranking and playing time at Duke. This is especially true freshman year. Duke also has a highly touted PG coming in 2010.

[tbyers11]

http://www.actexampracticetests.com/act-test-content.html

Four different test areas - reading, math, science, and english. It doesn't exactly look like rocket science to me (but it shouldn't). I've never taken an exam with science on it so I don't know how that portion is measured (that I can remember - and I've taken the PSAT, GRE, GMAT, SAT, and LSAT) but having to remember something from the periodic table just MIGHT throw me for a loop even at this stage of my development.

Almost seems smarter to take the revamped SAT.

It's been awhile (15 years) since I took the ACT but from my recollections and the link that you posted, the science section is more of a scientific reasoning section where you are presented data sets in the forms of graphs, tables and short paragraphs and are asked 3-4 questions about each one that ask you to interpret what you see in front of you. I don't think there is much, if any, rote memorization asking what number 11 on the periodic table is or the equation for the gravitational constant.

Now if he was taking the GRE subject test for Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology he would have to remember tons of useless information (especially about botany which was only covered for like one day in general bio). Oh wait that was me :)

[SupaDave]

Agreed. As previously stated I am concerned about his relative ranking among point guards in his class and the fact that he is at best our third choice for a PG in this class. Although the scouting services are not perfect, on average they do a good job. There seems to be a high correlation among a players ranking and playing time at Duke. This is especially true freshman year. Duke also has a highly touted PG coming in 2010.

This is like saying we didn't need Buckner...
http://duke.scout.com/2/322654.html

[FireOgilvie]

Agreed. As previously stated I am concerned about his relative ranking among point guards in his class and the fact that he is at best our third choice for a PG in this class. Although the scouting services are not perfect, on average they do a good job. There seems to be a high correlation among a players ranking and playing time at Duke. This is especially true freshman year. Duke also has a highly touted PG coming in 2010.

1. Bledsoe's rankings are all higher than Thornton's, and Thornton is a "combo PG/SG," whereas Bledsoe is more of a true PG. Thornton is not more "highly touted."

2. On average, the scouting services are WAY off. Look at the Class of 2005 PG rankings, with Greg Paulus #1, Levance Fields #14, and Darren Collison #16. Also, look at the players in between... some are players like #9 Tiki Mayben (who we just played against at Binghamton...). Justin Dentmon at #20 on that list is averaging 14 pts/game for Washington this year. Recruiting rankings are never close to accurate.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=842

3. Jon Scheyer was ranked as the 15th best SG in his class, and 71st overall (Rivals).

I'm going to go ahead and let Coach K make the recruiting decisions.

[gotham devil]

1. Bledsoe's rankings are all higher than Thornton's, and Thornton is a "combo PG/SG," whereas Bledsoe is more of a true PG. Thornton is not more "highly touted."

2. On average, the scouting services are WAY off. Look at the Class of 2005 PG rankings, with Greg Paulus #1, Levance Fields #14, and Darren Collison #16. Also, look at the players in between... some are players like #9 Tiki Mayben (who we just played against at Binghamton...). Justin Dentmon at #20 on that list is averaging 14 pts/game for Washington this year. Recruiting rankings are never close to accurate.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=842

3. Jon Scheyer was ranked as the 15th best SG in his class, and 71st overall (Rivals).

I'm going to go ahead and let Coach K make the recruiting decisions.
Those 2005 Telep ratings are painful to look at.

If Donovan takes the UK job, hopefully Boynton will consider putting his faith in Mike Krzyzewski over Anthony Grant.

[Kedsy]

If Donovan takes the UK job, hopefully Boynton will consider putting his faith in Mike Krzyzewski over Anthony Grant.

Don't hold your breath.

[quickgtp]

Watching last nights game just confirmed to me how bad we need a player like Bledsoe for next year. I actually prefer Eric over Wall because of the POTENTIAL show following John to what ever school he chooses.

[Ignatius07]

1. Bledsoe's rankings are all higher than Thornton's, and Thornton is a "combo PG/SG," whereas Bledsoe is more of a true PG. Thornton is not more "highly touted."

2. On average, the scouting services are WAY off. Look at the Class of 2005 PG rankings, with Greg Paulus #1, Levance Fields #14, and Darren Collison #16. Also, look at the players in between... some are players like #9 Tiki Mayben (who we just played against at Binghamton...). Justin Dentmon at #20 on that list is averaging 14 pts/game for Washington this year. Recruiting rankings are never close to accurate.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=842

3. Jon Scheyer was ranked as the 15th best SG in his class, and 71st overall (Rivals).

I'm going to go ahead and let Coach K make the recruiting decisions.

Rivals is notoriously worse than Scout for basketball recruits. Case in point, that site lists JP Prince and Marcus Ginyard as point guards. Uh...

Saying recruiting rankings are never close to accurate is just not true. Somebody did an analysis of this once on DBR, but the results showed that the top 10 of each class tended to be very accurate at predicting future success, and less so for each successive 10 players.

I don't know what to say about whether Thornton or Bledsoe is more "highly touted." Scout has Thornton around #50 for 2010 and Bledsoe around #75. Still, Bledsoe is more of a true point and thus, to me, more valuable. Fortunately they are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately there are still a few very good point guards available in 2010 - landing Bledsoe could jeopardize our chances with them.

[Houston]

1. Bledsoe's rankings are all higher than Thornton's, and Thornton is a "combo PG/SG," whereas Bledsoe is more of a true PG. Thornton is not more "highly touted."

2. On average, the scouting services are WAY off. Look at the Class of 2005 PG rankings, with Greg Paulus #1, Levance Fields #14, and Darren Collison #16. Also, look at the players in between... some are players like #9 Tiki Mayben (who we just played against at Binghamton...). Justin Dentmon at #20 on that list is averaging 14 pts/game for Washington this year. Recruiting rankings are never close to accurate.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=842

3. Jon Scheyer was ranked as the 15th best SG in his class, and 71st overall (Rivals).

I'm going to go ahead and let Coach K make the recruiting decisions.


On average the scouting services do a good job. If they did not, they would not exist. Anyone can find the mistakes. I also think your comparing Bledsoe's senior ranking to Thorton's junior ranking. If you compare the two junior rankings, there is a significant difference.

[lifelongdevil]

As for Bledsoe's low ranking, Rivals.com(http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=929095) has a Q/A on the subject.

"With few recruits left in the '09 class, one of the best seems to be Eric Bledsoe. When the new rankings come out will he be around? And if he came to Kentucky, what could he offer as far as production?

- Casey from Louisville, Ky.

The bottom line is that Bledsoe is under-ranked. He is a candidate for a top-five position in the point guard rankings and is knocking on the door of five-star status. And if he were to land at Kentucky, he would give the Wildcats the legitimate point guard they have been missing in recent years."

[Diddy]

I laid off this thread for a while, mainly because I was on vacation. Ahem.

Is Bledsoe low ranked? Yes. See above for proof. He is also underranked.

In an earlier article, it mentioned that Bledsoe exploded on the summer scene this past summer.

Basketball rankings are highly flawed for one simple reason. It is the same reason that people whine and moan about the BCS. The starting positions of teams (which are entirely subjective and based on no real data) matter in the end.

In this case, the starting rankings of players matter in the end, and it shouldn't.

Case in Point.

As a frosh, Taylor King was 6-5 gunslinger with deadly range. As such he was ranked in the top 5 of his class. As a senior he was a foot slow 6-7 sf incapable of either getting his own shot or guarding a quality opponent. Yet, he was a McD's AA. Why? If the rankings were a true snapshot of a player's ability at that point in time, King was barely a top 100 player. He was a rich man's Lee Melchioni. Not a superstar.

But, because he started out highly ranked early in his HS career, he stayed highly ranked.

Eric Bledsoe plays HS b-ball in Alabama, a state that only cares about HS athletes if they play football. One of his schools collapsed. He was off the radar until the Summer before his sr year. Why? Who knows. Maybe he grew an inch, maybe he finally got his shot down, or got "it" whatever.

He is a fast, talented, pass first PG. Kyle can win ACC POY with this kid driving and kicking. The Plums become dangerous cutters and dunkers. Scheyer has open looks at the trey.

Do not let this kid's current rankings fool you. He is on the way up as a player. Too many of our recent recruits have been at or near their ceilings the day they arrived at Duke. Bledsoe can spend 3-4 quality years at Duke and still be much better as a pro than in college.

Think Teague only with more passing and slightly less hops.

A pass first PG is just what the doctor ordered. IF he gets his academic house in order, we need him bad. I hope K flew straight there from Boston and is camped out in his school's parking lot.

[Greg_Newton]

Bledsoe's a "top recruit", which is all that matters. Ranking the top 100 is kind of pointless... as long as you're in there, you're a very good basketball player. If you've watched him play at all, I think this is obvious.

Also, keep in mind while you're watching highlight videos... our other two prized recruits for next year dominated the NC private school league (NCISAA), as did John Wall. Eric Bledsoe dominated the Alabama public school league. Take it from someone who has both played in the NCISAA and seen some Alabama HS bball in his time, they are two different worlds. Good NCISAA schools play smart and savvy and have a a handful of stud recruits, but good AL public league teams are on a whole different level when it comes to the overall speed, physicality and athleticism of the game (fundamentals aside). A good college team has a balance of each type of player... and right now, we have more of the former and not enough of the latter. IMHO, we need more players like Eric that can bring this type of day-in day-out intensity and toughness.

This type of contrast is also why it's silly to quibble about relatively small variations in rankings. How do you weigh the level and type of competition a prospect faces with his numbers and performance, etc, etc, etc...

[FireOgilvie]

I laid off this thread for a while, mainly because I was on vacation. Ahem.

Is Bledsoe low ranked? Yes. See above for proof. He is also underranked.

In an earlier article, it mentioned that Bledsoe exploded on the summer scene this past summer.

Basketball rankings are highly flawed for one simple reason. It is the same reason that people whine and moan about the BCS. The starting positions of teams (which are entirely subjective and based on no real data) matter in the end.

In this case, the starting rankings of players matter in the end, and it shouldn't.

Case in Point.

As a frosh, Taylor King was 6-5 gunslinger with deadly range. As such he was ranked in the top 5 of his class. As a senior he was a foot slow 6-7 sf incapable of either getting his own shot or guarding a quality opponent. Yet, he was a McD's AA. Why? If the rankings were a true snapshot of a player's ability at that point in time, King was barely a top 100 player. He was a rich man's Lee Melchioni. Not a superstar.

But, because he started out highly ranked early in his HS career, he stayed highly ranked.

Eric Bledsoe plays HS b-ball in Alabama, a state that only cares about HS athletes if they play football. One of his schools collapsed. He was off the radar until the Summer before his sr year. Why? Who knows. Maybe he grew an inch, maybe he finally got his shot down, or got "it" whatever.

He is a fast, talented, pass first PG. Kyle can win ACC POY with this kid driving and kicking. The Plums become dangerous cutters and dunkers. Scheyer has open looks at the trey.

Do not let this kid's current rankings fool you. He is on the way up as a player. Too many of our recent recruits have been at or near their ceilings the day they arrived at Duke. Bledsoe can spend 3-4 quality years at Duke and still be much better as a pro than in college.

Think Teague only with more passing and slightly less hops.

A pass first PG is just what the doctor ordered. IF he gets his academic house in order, we need him bad. I hope K flew straight there from Boston and is camped out in his school's parking lot.

Great post. Same goes for Greg_Newton. In his press conference last night, Coach K said that we need "a point" after he also agreed we need a "big man." Guys like John Wall and Bledsoe bring the type of skills that this current team lacks.

It really hurt us when we were completely unable to penetrate on Villanova's great man-to-man switching defense. Coach K noted that Villanova was able to beat our defense (the same defensive style) because they have "two points" in their lineup. Reynolds was the 6th rated PG in his (very good) class of 2006. Their second point, Corey Fisher, was also the 6th rated PG in a very good class of 2007. Scheyer was the 3rd rated SG in 2006, and Nolan was the 7th rated SG in 2007 (according to Scout). We have two SGs as point guards, they have two PGs... and they killed us.

Basically, like Coach K mentioned, WE NEED A POINT GUARD! We don't need one in 2 years when Singler (probably), Gerald (for sure), Lance, Z, and Scheyer are gone. We need one now! Next year, if G is back, we have a great shot at a National Title (IMO). It couldn't hurt to bring a guy in (even off the bench), that completely changes the dynamic of our offense.

[JDev]

Bledsoe has gone on the record saying Duke is his "dream school." Even if G stays (fingers crossed), and the offers extended for 2010, Duke has the scholarship availability for a PG in this class. Is it safe to assume that the biggest hinderance at this point is Eric's next attempt at the ACT? If he is successful in that effort, would an offer likely be forthcoming?

[RelativeWays]

I don't see where having two legit point guards in Bledsoe and Knight could be conceived as a negative to where Knight would not go to Duke if Bledsoe is the PG. If you're good, you play, ask Chris Duhon.

[CDu]

Basically, like Coach K mentioned, WE NEED A POINT GUARD! We don't need one in 2 years when Singler (probably), Gerald (for sure), Lance, Z, and Scheyer are gone. We need one now! Next year, if G is back, we have a great shot at a National Title (IMO). It couldn't hurt to bring a guy in (even off the bench), that completely changes the dynamic of our offense.

I'm glad to see that Coach K has echoed these thoughts. Many have scoffed at the idea that having those pieces would make a big difference. While it's possible to win without a playmaking PG, it's a LOT more difficult. Every Final Four team in the last five years have had at least a playmaking PG or a tremendous post presence, and most had both. It can be done without those components, but it takes a LOT of luck and a lot of gimmicks.

When you get to the tournament, you need to be able to create easy points, because the defenses are going to be tougher and the open jumpshots less frequent. Penetration and post play are the easiest ways to get that done.

[CDu]

I don't see where having two legit point guards in Bledsoe and Knight could be conceived as a negative to where Knight would not go to Duke if Bledsoe is the PG. If you're good, you play, ask Chris Duhon.

Agreed. Plenty of teams play two PG at the same time. You can easily get 25 minutes per game for two PG. Had Smith and Paulus been up to the challenge, we'd have likely seen it with this year's team, for example. And the Duhon/Williams reference is well-taken as well.

Having two guys on the floor at the same time who can attack, create for others, and shoot is always a good thing.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

I never liked how Jay Bilas or any of the ESPN analysts would mention how moving Scheyer to the PG spot was good for him because it put him against a smaller guard and freed him up a little more. It might have been good in certain situations and matchups, but ultimately it proved to be too much of a burden on him. Scheyer can not be asked to run the team. He has good handles and does not force too many issues, but the fact is, he can't create his own offense too much unless he is playing off the ball and getting defenders in scramble mode. We need a guard with a good first step to be able to move other defenders around. Granted, there aren't too many Villanovas out there that has such incredible quickness, but there were plenty of other games this season where we struggled offensively.
Nothing against Coach K, I do not think this is his fault, but when you have 3 versatile scorers in Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler, you can not surround them with minimally talented big men and other younger players like themselves (aka Elliot Williams, Nolan Smith). You need a PG or a dominant big man so they have more opportunity to free themselves up. This was too significant of a missing piece of the puzzle.

A team will never win a national championship without a good PG, never.

[Devilsfan]

Maybe Bledsoe just doesn't take standard tests well. How hard is his high school class load and what is his GPA. We don't want to set a young man up for failure just because we need a point guard. Duke is not a piece of cake. On the flip side I don't understand a young person coming out of a tough enviorment jumping at the chance to better himself by attending a school like Duke where the networking availavble is one of the best routs for success in life.

[CDu]

I never liked how Jay Bilas or any of the ESPN analysts would mention how moving Scheyer to the PG spot was good for him because it put him against a smaller guard and freed him up a little more. It might have been good in certain situations and matchups, but ultimately it proved to be too much of a burden on him. Scheyer can not be asked to run the team. He has good handles and does not force too many issues, but the fact is, he can't create his own offense too much unless he is playing off the ball and getting defenders in scramble mode. We need a guard with a good first step to be able to move other defenders around. Granted, there aren't too many Villanovas out there that has such incredible quickness, but there were plenty of other games this season where we struggled offensively.

I think moving Scheyer to the PG was the necessary move for this year's team. It's not like Scheyer had to attack solely from the point. He simply brought the ball up court. From that point, the offense was the same as it was before, where we had the ball in the hands of Singler, Scheyer, and Henderson. The move to PG was more a nominal shift, as there wasn't really a change to our half court offense.

The problem against Villanova would have happened whether he was the PG or not. The strength of Scheyer's game is getting his man off-balance, and taking advantage of that with either a drive to the basket or a side-step jumper (or a drawn foul). Scheyer had his usual chances off of kick-outs, but Villanova's defenders did a good job not getting caught off-balance or out of position, and thus Scheyer couldn't effectively counterpunch.


Nothing against Coach K, I do not think this is his fault, but when you have 3 versatile scorers in Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler, you can not surround them with minimally talented big men and other younger players like themselves (aka Elliot Williams, Nolan Smith). You need a PG or a dominant big man so they have more opportunity to free themselves up. This was too significant of a missing piece of the puzzle.

Coach K noted as much in the post-game press conference. We missed out on Patterson and we missed out on Monroe. If we get one (or both) of those guys, we don't suffer the interior problems that we've had this year and last year. The PG situation is a bit more confusing, as I'm unaware of any PG we've recruited and missed on in the last two years (could be wrong about that though). But it's not like Duke didn't try to address the post game.


A team will never win a national championship without a good PG, never.

I mostly agree with you, but I wouldn't say never. It's happened before, but it is pretty rare. Syracuse had a freshman SG playing PG on their championship team (McNamara). And we nearly did it in 1994, when Grant Hill carried us from the forward spot. Let's just say that it makes life a LOT easier when you have a strong PG, and the teams that go deep in the tourney without one are few and far between. Similarly, having a post presence is a key piece as well. I can't think of any Final Four team in the last 5-10 years that didn't have at least one of those components, if not both.

[BD80]

Now that Anthony Grant is in at Alabama, he is turning up the heat on the Alabama high school star point guard. Bummer.

Article linked on DBR tourney links page: http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2009/03/anthony_grant_wasting_no_time.html

[quickgtp]

I hope Duke is staying in contact with Eric while they wait for Wall. I personally do not think we will land Wall, so I hope Eric is still available at that point!!!

[The Gordog]

I hope Duke is staying in contact with Eric while they wait for Wall. I personally do not think we will land Wall, so I hope Eric is still available at that point!!!

I don't think K is waiting for Wall. That would be foolish. He is waiting to see if Eric can qualify academically. If Wall is truly the #1 prospect in the nation he will not loose PT to Eric, and I am 100% certain K is not giving Eric any guarantees about PT. I hope we sign Eric and then Wall can come down or not. Ideally we get both. We have 9 scholarship players coming back next year (including Henderson) Let's sign 4 more and get a NC in 2010!

[jimsumner]

"We have 9 scholarship players coming back next year (including Henderson) Let's sign 4 more and get a NC in 2010!"

??

I understand the sentiment.

But . . .

Duke currently has 12 committed scholarships for next season, including Curry, who will be on scholarship. So, even if Henderson goes pro, Duke doesn't have four more scholarships for next season.

Let's assume that Henderson goes pro and Duke recruits to 13 schollies for next season (including Curry). Duke loses three seniors. Duke already has three committments from the class of 2010 and darn tooting wants to get one or more from Barnes and/or Knight and/or Irving and/or Josh Smith.

Do we assume Singler doesn't come back for his senior year? Is there someone you wish to run off? Do you want to be the coach who pulls a scholarship offer from a top five prospect because you loaded up on guys you don't really need?

So yes, some basic math applies here.

[Troublemaker]

"We have 9 scholarship players coming back next year (including Henderson) Let's sign 4 more and get a NC in 2010!"

??

I understand the sentiment.

But . . .

Duke currently has 12 committed scholarships for next season, including Curry, who will be on scholarship. So, even if Henderson goes pro, Duke doesn't have four more scholarships for next season.

Let's assume that Henderson goes pro and Duke recruits to 13 schollies for next season (including Curry). Duke loses three seniors. Duke already has three committments from the class of 2010 and darn tooting wants to get one or more from Barnes and/or Knight and/or Irving and/or Josh Smith.

Do we assume Singler doesn't come back for his senior year? Is there someone you wish to run off? Do you want to be the coach who pulls a scholarship offer from a top five prospect because you loaded up on guys you don't really need?

So yes, some basic math applies here.

Well, I think if Duke signs Bledsoe, then the staff would move to the backburner the recruitment of Knight, Irving, and Smith (the latter of which seems like a longshot anyway). Barnes would continue to be top priority and Duke would have the schollie available for him under that scenario. The decision would be, as it often is: Bledsoe in hand or Knight/Irving in the bush?

I wouldn't blame the staff for choosing Bledsoe in hand. Still, the young man has academic hurdles to clear first.

[roywhite]

Just saw where Darius Smith, the combo guard from Chicago who was mentioned as a possible Duke target, recently announced for UConn.

I've seen Bledsoe mentioned a few times as a possibility for Kentucky now that Calipari is there, and Alabama is certainly after him.

No word yet on his ACT/SAT retest, which will certainly impact Duke's interest.

John Wall may be our best hope for another backcourt player for 2009-10.

[quickgtp]

IMO, Bledsoe is our best bet. Duke was his team as a child and I truly believe that, if offered, he would jump all over it.

[The Gordog]

"We have 9 scholarship players coming back next year (including Henderson) Let's sign 4 more and get a NC in 2010!"

??

I understand the sentiment.

But . . .

Duke currently has 12 committed scholarships for next season, including Curry, who will be on scholarship. So, even if Henderson goes pro, Duke doesn't have four more scholarships for next season.

Let's assume that Henderson goes pro and Duke recruits to 13 schollies for next season (including Curry). Duke loses three seniors. Duke already has three committments from the class of 2010 and darn tooting wants to get one or more from Barnes and/or Knight and/or Irving and/or Josh Smith.

Do we assume Singler doesn't come back for his senior year? Is there someone you wish to run off? Do you want to be the coach who pulls a scholarship offer from a top five prospect because you loaded up on guys you don't really need?

So yes, some basic math applies here.

I believe I wrote that before the Curry announcement and was including Kelly and MP2 in the '4 more'. My problem is clarity of writing rather than operational math, thank you.

So it appears that with Curry now on board, if G comes back we can only take one more this year (Bledsoe or Wall.) If G leaves and we take both then we have 3 seniors and Wall leaving after 2010 so we still have one more to give if we can land Barnes and/or Knight and/or Irving and/or Josh Smith.

The answers to your questions are No, No, and No. I apolagize if I implied otherwise.

Here's a somewhat rhetorical question for you: Do you want to be the coach who gets stuck with only 10 recruited players again after seeing his team with 2 1st team All-Americans flame out in the Sweet-16 because the injury bug bit a young team with too few bodies? I believe K has recently alluded to a shift in his philosophy WRT using the full allotment of scholarships available every year if possible. I think that's a good plan.

[jimsumner]

The "four more" confused me, inasmuch as Kelly and Plumlee have already signed. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not sure that I find anything wrong with ten recruited players, if it's the right ten. Note that the 1999 Duke team had nine recruited players and seemed to do okay.

Signing a whole bunch of people to guard against injury/illness sounds good in the abstract. In reality, you end up with guys like Andre Sweet, Michael Thompson, Eric Boateng, Jamal Boykin, and Taylor King seeing greener pastures elsewhere and you're back to square one.

It's great to have some guys like Lee Melchionni and David McClure on the roster who are willing to wait their turn and contribute when it comes but in today's me-first, right-now society, they aren't that common.

I've said this before, but recruiting is as much an art as a science and balancing classes, positions, needs, wants, four-year players, early-entry types and all the rest really isn't that easy. But I would argue that signing players just for the sake of filling any available scholarship is not a good solution to any problem.

[jimsumner]

Let me elaborate a bit on the numbers. It's important to keep in mind that Seth Curry will be on scholarship next season, even though he won't be able to play until 2010-11.

So, currently Duke has 12 scholarships committed to recruited players.

Class of 2010
Gerald Henderson
Jon Scheyer
Lance Thomas
Brian Zoubek

Class of 2011
Kyle Singler
Nolan Smith


Class of 2012
Olek Czyz
Miles Plumlee
Ellliott Williams

Class of 2013
Seth Curry
Ryan Kelly
Mason Plumlee

Let's assume that Henderson comes back next season. That leaves only one available scholarship, eliminating the option of signing both Wall and Blesoe. Problem solved.

Or, let's assume that Henderson goes NBA next season. That would make it posssible to sign Wall and Bledsoe, giving Duke 13 recruited players.

But only three of these 13 would be seniors. Duke currently has committments from three players from the h.s. class of 2010, Andre Dawkins, Josh Hairston, and Tyler Thornton, offers to Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight, and Josh Smith, and strong interest in Kyrie Irving.

Where would those scholarships come from? We assume that Wall would go pro after his freshman season. But suppose he struggles and drops out of the lottery. Or he suffers a season-ending injury and decides to come back for his sophomore season.

Do we assume that Singler is gone after his junior year? Maybe he's told K that but if so, it's a pretty tight secret. Can we assume that someone buried at the end of the bench would bail? Maybe. But Marty Pocius stuck it out for four years of marginal PT.

You simply cannot prepare for every contingency. But there are legitimate reasons for maintaining some scholarship flexibility.

So, that's why I expect Wall and Bledsoe to be mutually exclusive.

[jv001]

For Jim or whoever, Can Coach K reshirt a player without that plyers consent? And does a reshirt player count toward the scholarship limit? I'm thinking of Olek being reshirted to develop more basketball IQ. Thanks.
Go Duke!

[RockyMtDevil]

Is anyone convinced that getting Wall will solve our problems? Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. Even IF Hendo and Wall are in Duke uniforms next year, I can't imagine this being a final four team because Lance and Zoubs, while I love them to death, don't pose a problem for anyone down low.

[Maxwell1977]

Is anyone convinced that getting Wall will solve our problems? Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. Even IF Hendo and Wall are in Duke uniforms next year, I can't imagine this being a final four team because Lance and Zoubs, while I love them to death, don't pose a problem for anyone down low.

Did Nova have a big man that dominated down low? We should be so lucky that Ryan and Mason become replicas of Singler. Most games next year Kyle will be the best player on the floor.

[jv001]

Is anyone convinced that getting Wall will solve our problems? Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. Even IF Hendo and Wall are in Duke uniforms next year, I can't imagine this being a final four team because Lance and Zoubs, while I love them to death, don't pose a problem for anyone down low.

While I believe having a 4 or 5 star post player would greatly enhance our ability to be a FF team. I firmly believe we need a point guard more. One that distributes the ball, drives the ball, shoots adequately from the perimeter and one that can defend the other team's point guard. I look at Nova this year as being a team withour a real post player. They have some 6-8 inside players, but not the true post player. I believe that John Wall with our current roster and the other incoming freshman would make us a FF team next year. Go Duke!

[NSDukeFan]

Is anyone convinced that getting Wall will solve our problems? Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. Even IF Hendo and Wall are in Duke uniforms next year, I can't imagine this being a final four team because Lance and Zoubs, while I love them to death, don't pose a problem for anyone down low.

I don't know that Wall solves all our problems, and am not sure that we have that many, especially if G is back. I like how our team looks next year, expect some improvement for our returning guys and expect Kelly and MP2, as well as MP1 to be able to contribute inside for us. I expect some contributions inside from our 4 6'9 and taller guys and don't care that they are not exclusively post up guys. I don't think we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. It would be great, but I don't think it is necessary as long as we get some inside touches and scoring.

[NYDukie]

Did Nova have a big man that dominated down low? We should be so lucky that Ryan and Mason become replicas of Singler. Most games next year Kyle will be the best player on the floor.

No they didn't but Dante Cunningham is a decent amount better than either Thomas or Zoubs no matter which way our loyal instincts may sway us. Just checked the boxscore for the game the other day and Cunningham had 14 pts and 11 rebs and just from being in Big East territory, I know he provided them a solid presence down low.

I won't ask if any of you would rather have Dante over Lance or Zoubs but if that either provided similar stats and style of play to Dante for Duke, don't you think the Duke team would be readying itself for the Final 4 right now? I think so! Just that nominal type presence would have balanced things out for this team to take the next step.

[jimsumner]

Players being red-shirted count against the scholarship limit.

Krzyzewski wanted Czyz to redshirt this season and Czyz declined.

[fogey]

We have not had the luxury of a quick, penetrating point guard for some time. I would much prefer our front court with a Lawson (granted, he is unique) at point than Cunnigham substituted into our frontcourt without a Lawson type at point. Entire dynamic of team would be altered, everyone gets better shots, offense becomes more explosive, defense likely improved.

[NYDukie]

We have not had the luxury of a quick, penetrating point guard for some time. I would much prefer our front court with a Lawson (granted, he is unique) at point than Cunnigham substituted into our frontcourt without a Lawson type at point. Entire dynamic of team would be altered, everyone gets better shots, offense becomes more explosive, defense likely improved.

Without a doubt I would take Lawson. You can't even compare the two because it isn't fair. But given the context of the question asked about whether Nova had any low post game, I would rather much rather have had a Cunningham type player for this Duke team than Thomas or Zoubs. I love the team also and its players but I won't be blinded by the fact that they did not contribute that type of ability or production. I'm don't know if that type of player would have propelled them to win a NC but I think such a player would have helped them get to a Final 4.

[SilkyJ]

Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low.

The most enlightening comment (about you) you make is that you think Hairston is somehow more of a post presence that plumlee kelly. Dude is 6'8 200. The shortest and by far the lightest of the 3 recruits you mention. So let's call a spade a spade and say you don't really know much about these guys are just shooting from the hip.

And btw, who cares if mason's game is similar to Kyle's? Dude is 6'11" and with a little time will become a solid 240-245. You don't think he can handle some post duties with that size?

We could have a serious post presence next year between Singler/Kelly and the brothers plumlee (the elder of which will be 6'10, 240 by the time school starts), not to mention Zoubs coming off his first full healthy year.

[mr. synellinden]

Did Nova have a big man that dominated down low? We should be so lucky that Ryan and Mason become replicas of Singler. Most games next year Kyle will be the best player on the floor.

Or Michigan St.? Their big man killed Louisville with mid-range and 3-pt. jump shots.

[yancem]

No they didn't but Dante Cunningham is a decent amount better than either Thomas or Zoubs no matter which way our loyal instincts may sway us. Just checked the boxscore for the game the other day and Cunningham had 14 pts and 11 rebs and just from being in Big East territory, I know he provided them a solid presence down low.

I won't ask if any of you would rather have Dante over Lance or Zoubs but if that either provided similar stats and style of play to Dante for Duke, don't you think the Duke team would be readying itself for the Final 4 right now? I think so! Just that nominal type presence would have balanced things out for this team to take the next step.

You are forgetting that we have Singler who is pretty much the same size as Cunningham and averages pretty much the same points and rebounds as he did. The difference is that Duke also has Thomas and Zoubek allowing Singler to play the 4. If you insert a dynamic point guard into Duke's line up and move Singler to the 5 and we would look a lot like Villanova, and maybe even better. Then you add the fact that Duke is adding 6'11" MP2 and 6'9" Kelly and you have two additional front court players that can contribute.

One of the problems that Duke had this year was too many players that got considerable playing time but offered little offensive production. Villanova slumped off McClure, Thomas, Zoubek and Williams. Those 4 players only attempted 7 shots the entire game despite combining for 72 minutes. That makes playing defense quite a bit easier. A dynamic point guard pushing the tempo, driving and either kicking or dishing would have found those guys some easy baskets which would have opened things up for the big three.

[Kfanarmy]

I won't ask if any of you would rather have Dante over Lance or Zoubs but if that either provided similar stats and style of play to Dante for Duke, don't you think the Duke team would be readying itself for the Final 4 right now? I think so! Just that nominal type presence would have balanced things out for this team to take the next step. This team had a tendency to get all the way to the rim on a drive or shoot the three. Zoubek could have had a dozen points in that game, if anyone had looked to pass inside, vice dribble. G shot some mid-range shots that didn't go down, but no one looked to pass to Z inside. After the first few minutes, he started going outside on offense to help set screens, with the 5 on three play that was used on defense, Thomas, Zoubek and McClure all could have had decent games, but the team was not conditioned to look inside for the easy score by any of the non-shooters.

[NYDukie]

You are forgetting that we have Singler who is pretty much the same size as Cunningham and averages pretty much the same points and rebounds as he did. The difference is that Duke also has Thomas and Zoubek allowing Singler to play the 4. If you insert a dynamic point guard into Duke's line up and move Singler to the 5 and we would look a lot like Villanova, and maybe even better. Then you add the fact that Duke is adding 6'11" MP2 and 6'9" Kelly and you have two additional front court players that can contribute.

One of the problems that Duke had this year was too many players that got considerable playing time but offered little offensive production. Villanova slumped off McClure, Thomas, Zoubek and Williams. Those 4 players only attempted 7 shots the entire game despite combining for 72 minutes. That makes playing defense quite a bit easier. A dynamic point guard pushing the tempo, driving and either kicking or dishing would have found those guys some easy baskets which would have opened things up for the big three.

You proved my point to a degree. Yes we have Singler who produces better numbers than Cunningham but Singler played much of the game at the 4 spot, occasionally at the 3, and is a much more perimeter oriented player than Cunningham. Cunningham will post up a bit and provide some back to basket presence whereas Singler did not.

The main issue is that we had either Lance or Zoubs, even McClure as you pointed out playing the 5 or even two of them playing at the same time. It proves we needed that additional big to score and give us some post presence and balance. I am by no means saying Cunningham is this great player but saying that he is the productive type of player who if we had to compliment a Singler in the frontcourt, would have made a signficant difference.

[NYDukie]

This team had a tendency to get all the way to the rim on a drive or shoot the three. Zoubek could have had a dozen points in that game, if anyone had looked to pass inside, vice dribble. G shot some mid-range shots that didn't go down, but no one looked to pass to Z inside. After the first few minutes, he started going outside on offense to help set screens, with the 5 on three play that was used on defense, Thomas, Zoubek and McClure all could have had decent games, but the team was not conditioned to look inside for the easy score by any of the non-shooters.

Being in NYC I had the opportunity to see a few more Nova games than most. If you had given me the option to have eitehr Zoubs or Cunningham, I would jump at Cunningham. He would fit the Duke style providing a atheletic and stronger frontcourt player than what we have aside from Kyle. Picture Lance a bit stronger with a more adequate offensive game.

I love Zoubs and he found his niche with this team giving them a productive 10-12 minutes a game down the stretch but how many times, if any, had Zoubs scored over 12 points, let along get double figures?

Bottom line is none of our post players provide that post presence offensively on a consistent basis. A player similar to Cunningham would have helped the team is all I'm saying.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Kinda funny how this thread turned into "do-we-need-a-point-or-a-big-man-more".

Anyway, any news on Bledsoe? If we don't get Wall, I really want Bledsoe. He is a pass first point guard who can defend, distribute and rebound. That said, I would still love to get Wall - he would change the program in a heart beat.

I am a little worried that we are going to rely on Wall for too long and Bledsoe will sign somewhere else. That would suck

[chrisheery]

Kinda funny how this thread turned into "do-we-need-a-point-or-a-big-man-more".

Anyway, any news on Bledsoe? If we don't get Wall, I really want Bledsoe. He is a pass first point guard who can defend, distribute and rebound. That said, I would still love to get Wall - he would change the program in a heart beat.

I am a little worried that we are going to rely on Wall for too long and Bledsoe will sign somewhere else. That would suck

One key point though: no one can take Bledsoe until he qualifies. Hopefully, we will get an idea how things will play out with Wall before he takes (and hopefully for him) and gets a reasonable score on his ACT.

I am of the opinion that we should at least consider taking both of them if we can get Wall. There is no guarantee for a stud PG (though Thornton looks good and could be even better by then) in the class of 2010 and having a guy with the talent and quickness Bledsoe has would be a great way to prevent what has been going on the last 3 years or so.

[rkm]

Quick opinion about the Plumlee/Kelly not real down-low big men. Watching the McDonald's game right now, and while Kelly looks lost amongst the top-level talent, Plumlee looks like an absolute athlete. Even when he isn't making the play he is trailing and jumping for a potential put-back every time. I think he can shore up a good deal of the down-low issues. Maybe not all the way next year, but by his second year I'm expecting a lot from him.

[SupaDave]

Quick opinion about the Plumlee/Kelly not real down-low big men. Watching the McDonald's game right now, and while Kelly looks lost amongst the top-level talent, Plumlee looks like an absolute athlete. Even when he isn't making the play he is trailing and jumping for a potential put-back every time. I think he can shore up a good deal of the down-low issues. Maybe not all the way next year, but by his second year I'm expecting a lot from him.

There is a Plumlee thread. Let's keep it on topic.

[rkm]

Sorry, still getting up to speed with the rules around here, and was just following up on a comment up the page in this thread.

[G man]

You proved my point to a degree. Yes we have Singler who produces better numbers than Cunningham but Singler played much of the game at the 4 spot, occasionally at the 3, and is a much more perimeter oriented player than Cunningham. Cunningham will post up a bit and provide some back to basket presence whereas Singler did not.

The main issue is that we had either Lance or Zoubs, even McClure as you pointed out playing the 5 or even two of them playing at the same time. It proves we needed that additional big to score and give us some post presence and balance. I am by no means saying Cunningham is this great player but saying that he is the productive type of player who if we had to compliment a Singler in the frontcourt, would have made a signficant difference.

I agree that a lot of the bigs we put on the floor could not contribute on the offensive end. Thats why both Ryan Kelly and Mason help a ton. Just to clear the record Mason Plumlee plays bigger than anyother bigs with the exception of Zou. Mason will be the help we need inside. With all that being said what we lacked agaisnt nova is a playmaking point guard. Anyone knows who plays basketball that if you are not able to break teams down and get to the paint the defense extends and takes aways the perimeter from you. We did not have the ability for our point guards to get in the paint. I am leaning towards Bledsoe myself because he will be around for a while to help us out. He just needs to get his ACT scores up!

[dukeballer2294]

Quick opinion about the Plumlee/Kelly not real down-low big men. Watching the McDonald's game right now, and while Kelly looks lost amongst the top-level talent, Plumlee looks like an absolute athlete. Even when he isn't making the play he is trailing and jumping for a potential put-back every time. I think he can shore up a good deal of the down-low issues. Maybe not all the way next year, but by his second year I'm expecting a lot from him.

I know I could definatley see him starting at the 5 next year i think this guys a stud, hes almost as tall as Z and is just as athletic as any big guy.

[ItalianDevil]

Is anyone convinced that getting Wall will solve our problems? Sure, we'll be more up tempo, but we still will not have a post presence until Hairston arrives in two years. Kelly and PLumlee look like a replica of Singler, and we desperately need a big man that can dominate down low. Even IF Hendo and Wall are in Duke uniforms next year, I can't imagine this being a final four team because Lance and Zoubs, while I love them to death, don't pose a problem for anyone down low.
I think that adding a great penetrator and disher as JW is will solve our 'donut' issue :) after all college ball has always been more based on great guard play.

Marco

[yancem]

You proved my point to a degree. Yes we have Singler who produces better numbers than Cunningham but Singler played much of the game at the 4 spot, occasionally at the 3, and is a much more perimeter oriented player than Cunningham. Cunningham will post up a bit and provide some back to basket presence whereas Singler did not.

The main issue is that we had either Lance or Zoubs, even McClure as you pointed out playing the 5 or even two of them playing at the same time. It proves we needed that additional big to score and give us some post presence and balance. I am by no means saying Cunningham is this great player but saying that he is the productive type of player who if we had to compliment a Singler in the frontcourt, would have made a signficant difference.

I would say that maybe the problem is less about not having a big that can score and is more we don't have a point who can get our bigs the ball in good scoring position. Have you noticed that when either Thomas or Zoubek have good games it is usually because one (or more) of our perimeter guys is attacking the rim and they either receive good passes for lay ups or easy put backs to missed layups. Good pg's get the ball to players in scoring position. Duke has some solid passers but generally speaking our best players are also our perimeter scorers who are looking shoot more than pass. Thomas and Zoubek simply don't receive the ball in position to score very often.

[DukieInBrasil]

I would say that maybe the problem is less about not having a big that can score and is more we don't have a point who can get our bigs the ball in good scoring position. Have you noticed that when either Thomas or Zoubek have good games it is usually because one (or more) of our perimeter guys is attacking the rim and they either receive good passes for lay ups or easy put backs to missed layups. Good pg's get the ball to players in scoring position. Duke has some solid passers but generally speaking our best players are also our perimeter scorers who are looking shoot more than pass. Thomas and Zoubek simply don't receive the ball in position to score very often.

excellent point (no pun). I think this pretty well sums up the situation.

[NYDukie]

I would say that maybe the problem is less about not having a big that can score and is more we don't have a point who can get our bigs the ball in good scoring position. Have you noticed that when either Thomas or Zoubek have good games it is usually because one (or more) of our perimeter guys is attacking the rim and they either receive good passes for lay ups or easy put backs to missed layups. Good pg's get the ball to players in scoring position. Duke has some solid passers but generally speaking our best players are also our perimeter scorers who are looking shoot more than pass. Thomas and Zoubek simply don't receive the ball in position to score very often.

I think I can sum up both of our points so we are in agreement as follows:

1. We can use a PG with the ability to dribble/drive to the the rim to either finish or dish off to a big. A player like Bledsoe would be a welcomed addition though he wouldn't likely start from day one as a Wall would.

2. We can also use a frontcourt player with a post presence who does not need to rely on a guard driving to the basket to get him the ball. Currently, we don't truly have that type of player who would demand the ball in the post. Singler is more of a 3, while Zoubs has not shown he can be a consistent post player for 15-20 minutes a game. It would appear that Mason Plumlee may be our best shot at this going forward.

Hopefully Bledsoe can get the required scores to enroll at Duke and then committ to provide us that one option we do need.

[The Gordog]

I am of the opinion that we should at least consider taking both of them if we can get Wall.

That's what I thought, but since Curry is transferring in that is no longer an option. We only have one more to give unless G leaves.

[Newton_14]

I believe Bledsoe is taking the ACT today. Anyone know how long it will be before his score is known? Hopefully he studied hard and does well on the test....

[chrisheery]

That's what I thought, but since Curry is transferring in that is no longer an option. We only have one more to give unless G leaves.

If G leaves, then, I think we should take both (if we have that option). I just don't want to miss on a guy that looks like a true, quick PG while waiting for Wall to decide.

I'd love to get Wall, but if we don't, I hope we get something to build on.

[Icarus09]

I believe Bledsoe is taking the ACT today. Anyone know how long it will be before his score is known? Hopefully he studied hard and does well on the test....

Your scores are reported 2.5 weeks after you take the test, so around the 22nd of April in this case. One can either view their score online or through the mail. The ACT website says that mailed scores take 3-8 weeks after the test date. Furthermore, if he takes the writing, his scores become available only after the writing scores are released, so an extra 2 weeks. Basically, if he took the writing, which I'm not sure if he did, he'll find out 5-8 weeks after the test date. So, we'll know about Wall well before we know about Bledsoe's test scores if Wall's deadline loosely holds up. This helps Duke eliminate the possibility of offering both of them scholarships I suppose.

[Greg_Newton]

I believe Bledsoe is taking the ACT today. Anyone know how long it will be before his score is known? Hopefully he studied hard and does well on the test....

Here's the chart that shows when scores are available (http://www.actstudent.org/scores/early/index.html) Could be as soon as April 15th... or it could be two months.

A longer wait might not necessarily be a bad thing. If he gets them back on the 15th and he qualifies (knock on wood), it's puts us in an awkward spot given neither Wall or G will likely have made a decision yet.

I agree with the poster that said we should offer them both if G leaves though. They both look very good, and 2 PGs and 3 wing guards wouldn't exactly be a logjam, especially since we'd probably be playing at a fast pace.

[Newton_14]

Here's the chart that shows when scores are available (http://www.actstudent.org/scores/early/index.html) Could be as soon as April 15th... or it could be two months.

A longer wait might not necessarily be a bad thing. If he gets them back on the 15th and he qualifies (knock on wood), it's puts us in an awkward spot given neither Wall or G will likely have made a decision yet.

I agree with the poster that said we should offer them both if G leaves though. They both look very good, and 2 PGs and 3 wing guards wouldn't exactly be a logjam, especially since we'd probably be playing at a fast pace.

Thanks to you and Icarus09 for the info. I too, agree that we should try to get both Wall and Bledsoe if possible. That would greatly help the backcourt situation...

[BlueinBlo]

Is the only thing holding this kid up from going to Duke is his ACT score???

I watched some youtube video on him and he is a real good passer. He can shoot the long ball but it didn't look like he even looked to shot, he was a pass first PG. He reminded me of Lawson in a way. He is not a bad second option.

[geraldsneighbor]

Is the only thing holding this kid up from going to Duke is his ACT score???

I watched some youtube video on him and he is a real good passer. He can shoot the long ball but it didn't look like he even looked to shot, he was a pass first PG. He reminded me of Lawson in a way. He is not a bad second option.

I think hes fairly underrated. Just because he isn't the #1 PG doesn't mean we wouldn't like to have the kid. I looked it up and a few years ago the #8 PG(which is where Scout.com ranked Bledsoe) in his class was Wake's Jeff Teague. I'm sure we wouldn't be against a player of his quality dawning a Duke jersey.

[Icarus09]

Is the only thing holding this kid up from going to Duke is his ACT score???

I watched some youtube video on him and he is a real good passer. He can shoot the long ball but it didn't look like he even looked to shot, he was a pass first PG. He reminded me of Lawson in a way. He is not a bad second option.

The ACT scores seems to be the primary hindrance, yes. Didn't he say Duke would be his "dream school?" I think we said on this thread he has to raise his ACT score to a 17 from a 15.
I agree with geraldsneighbor, we shouldn't really pay attention to the online recruiting rankings with this one. If Coach K is recruiting him when he knows we need a PG, I'm sure he'll be pretty good.

[DUKIE V(A)]

I would love to see Bledsoe in a Duke uniform (regardless of you else we get or don't get). He looks like an excellent player (a driver/disher with nice scoring ability) and a needed piece of the puzzle to make us a more complete team.

[Icarus09]

Thanks to you and Icarus09 for the info. I too, agree that we should try to get both Wall and Bledsoe if possible. That would greatly help the backcourt situation...

I would like this too, but wouldn't getting both of them, even with a G departure, put us in a scholarship bind? If G leaves, next year we would be okay with 13. But, assuming no one transfers and singler doesn't leave in 2010, we would only be able to take Dawkins, Hairston, and Thorton. Only if both wall and singler left (which would be a huge leap to assume they would both stay after next year I know) would we be able to honor Barnes' or Knight's offers. I guess a lot of things would go wrong, but basically, we would have trouble offering another 2010 player (like a center/PF hopefully) should Bledsoe and Wall come.
This is all conjecture and very hypothetical. I mean, I would love to have both Wall and Bledsoe. I'm just wondering if K is willing to do this. I do think the coaching staff got a break with Bledsoe's ACT score problems. It gives us time to see if G is going to leave and what Wall wants to do while not putting us in a bad situation since Bledsoe knows we can't offer unless he improves the scores. If Wall decides he wants to come here and Bledsoe is still interested in coming after his scores improve, that would be a lot better of a situation than a situation where we have to simultaneously guess what G is going to do, what Wall is going to do, and Bledsoe (if he hypothetically had the right scores now).

[Icarus09]

https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/apply_testing.html

The Duke website says that applicants have to take the writing portion of the ACT, so it's going to be longer than if he just took the multiple choice.

[dukejunkie]

Neither Wall or Knight appear to be true PGs. Even if this kid is a back up it would be nice to have him on the squad. He seems to be a true distributor.

[Dukebasketball32]

Are we assuming that if Bledsoe gets the scores then we will get him? Is he not strongly considering any other schools at this time?

[chrisheery]

Are we assuming that if Bledsoe gets the scores then we will get him? Is he not strongly considering any other schools at this time?

I'd might be an assumption, but said Duke was his dream school. So, the assumption has some merit.

[geraldsneighbor]

How much better does he have to do on the ACT? Doesn't K have the ability to get him in like he did with Dockery? I'm not sure how different these situations are.

[FireOgilvie]

Neither Wall or Knight appear to be true PGs. Even if this kid is a back up it would be nice to have him on the squad. He seems to be a true distributor.

Wall and Knight are both true point guards. Don't worry about that. I agree it would be nice to have Bledsoe though.

[rotogod00]

Wall and Knight are both true point guards. Don't worry about that. I agree it would be nice to have Bledsoe though.

Agreed. They can dish AND score. That's why they both are arguably the #1 prospects in their respective classes

[Bluedog]

How much better does he have to do on the ACT? Doesn't K have the ability to get him in like he did with Dockery? I'm not sure how different these situations are.

Well, right now he wouldn't be able to play ANYWHERE. He's below the NCAA minimum, so not much K can do for him....He needs to get to the min score (~17), which pretty much everybody expects he will do. I think Dockery was in a similar situation, although Dockery's ACT score was pretty average for his (poor performing) high school, while Bledsoe actually goes to a decent high school in Alabama...

[Kewlswim]

https://www.admissions.duke.edu/jump/applying/apply_testing.html

The Duke website says that applicants have to take the writing portion of the ACT, so it's going to be longer than if he just took the multiple choice.

Hi,

I know at Stanford (at least that was what a parent who has an athlete at Stanford told me) there is a modified application those students fill out that makes it easier to gain admission. I am paraphrasing him. I would guess Duke has something similar going on for its athletes. Everyone has to fill out an application, but does everyone have to fill out the same application?

GO DUKE!

[Travi_K]

If I am not mistaken I beleive several others have posted stats that show his current high school is far from decent and is way below par. However, I have not verified this for my self.

[Icarus09]

If I am not mistaken I beleive several others have posted stats that show his current high school is far from decent and is way below par. However, I have not verified this for my self.

I could not find anything particularly egregious about the school online but I wouldn't doubt that public schools in Birmingham probably fall below national averages. I did see that 57% of its students qualify for free lunches, a figure nearly 10% above the national average. I did find an interesting statistic of the high school area that reported only 15% of residents 25 years and older have a college degree.

[chrisheery]

You won't find anything about his current school, necessarily. It was his previous school that was closed down. He had to move with his mother to a new place to be zoned into his current school, which it seems had something to do with exposure and being a better school. It think this was covered earlier in this thread.

[Bluedog]

Well, right now he wouldn't be able to play ANYWHERE. He's below the NCAA minimum, so not much K can do for him....He needs to get to the min score (~17), which pretty much everybody expects he will do. I think Dockery was in a similar situation, although Dockery's ACT score was pretty average for his (poor performing) high school, while Bledsoe actually goes to a decent high school in Alabama...


If I am not mistaken I beleive several others have posted stats that show his current high school is far from decent and is way below par. However, I have not verified this for my self.

It has a fair amount of lower class students BUT Bledoe's school (Parker HS in Birmingham) actually is ranked as a relatively good school. GreatSchools ranks it as a 7/10 (based on standardized test results). Schoolmatters reports that 92% of the student body exhibits math proficiency, while 74% do so for reading. Another ranking service gave it a 57/100 rating (can't seem to find it anymore). It has a 9th grade dropout rate of just 0.3% and 10th grade of 0.8%, compared to 2.2% and 2.9% for the state average. Assuming there's not some other Parker HS in Birmingham that I could be confusing his school with, I'd definitely say his school is "decent" - not the greatest, but far from the worst. In fact, it appears to be above average for Alabama.

Dockery's high school (Julian), on the other hand, receives a 1/10 from greatschools. The ACT average in 2003 was 15.3 (around Dockery's score at his first taking; State avg = 19.5). The dropout rate is 13.6% and graduation rate for male students is just 56.0%.

So, you can't really compare the two. Dockery's school is FAR FAR worse than Bledsoe's. Dockery performed fairly average at his school, while Bledsoe is clearly performing below average. I'm not saying he's incapable of doing well at Duke, just that the situations are different. Also, I didn't realize that he went to a different high school earlier, so that could be taken into account.

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/al/229
http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=sp/sid=101023
http://www.city-data.com/school/parker-high-school-al.html
http://www.city-data.com/school/julian-high-school-il.html
http://www.schools-data.com/schools/JULIAN-HS-CHICAGO.html

[SupaDave]

It has a fair amount of lower class students BUT Bledoe's school (Parker HS in Birmingham) actually is ranked as a relatively good school. GreatSchools ranks it as a 7/10 (based on standardized test results). Schoolmatters reports that 92% of the student body exhibits math proficiency, while 74% do so for reading. Another ranking service gave it a 57/100 rating (can't seem to find it anymore). It has a 9th grade dropout rate of just 0.3% and 10th grade of 0.8%, compared to 2.2% and 2.9% for the state average. Assuming there's not some other Parker HS in Birmingham that I could be confusing his school with, I'd definitely say his school is "decent" - not the greatest, but far from the worst. In fact, it appears to be above average for Alabama.

Dockery's high school (Julian), on the other hand, receives a 1/10 from greatschools. The ACT average in 2003 was 15.3 (around Dockery's score at his first taking; State avg = 19.5). The dropout rate is 13.6% and graduation rate for male students is just 56.0%.

So, you can't really compare the two. Dockery's school is FAR FAR worse than Bledsoe's. Dockery performed fairly average at his school, while Bledsoe is clearly performing below average. I'm not saying he's incapable of doing well at Duke, just that the situations are different. Also, I didn't realize that he went to a different high school earlier, so that could be taken into account.

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/al/229
http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=sp/sid=101023
http://www.city-data.com/school/parker-high-school-al.html
http://www.city-data.com/school/julian-high-school-il.html
http://www.schools-data.com/schools/JULIAN-HS-CHICAGO.html

All that may be true but he's still matriculating in one of the worst public school systems in America...

[Icarus09]

We should probably assume that the coaching staff knows what’s right. If they’re recruiting him it means they think he will be able to do okay at Duke. I have a hard time believing that the classes that some of the basketball players at Duke take are very different from classes at many other schools. Plus, Bledsoe would have tutoring assistance along the way. Considering that he knows his ACT score was preventing him from being considered by some elite schools, we should assume that he’ll have studied hard enough to get the qualifying 17. I think we should worry more about whether he’ll pick us than whether he’s academically proficient enough. I grant you that he said Duke was his “dream school,” but the minds of 17 and 18 year olds can change. Who else is a serious contender besides Kentucky and Florida?

[chrisheery]

It has a fair amount of lower class students BUT Bledoe's school (Parker HS in Birmingham) actually is ranked as a relatively good school. GreatSchools ranks it as a 7/10 (based on standardized test results). Schoolmatters reports that 92% of the student body exhibits math proficiency, while 74% do so for reading. Another ranking service gave it a 57/100 rating (can't seem to find it anymore). It has a 9th grade dropout rate of just 0.3% and 10th grade of 0.8%, compared to 2.2% and 2.9% for the state average. Assuming there's not some other Parker HS in Birmingham that I could be confusing his school with, I'd definitely say his school is "decent" - not the greatest, but far from the worst. In fact, it appears to be above average for Alabama.

Dockery's high school (Julian), on the other hand, receives a 1/10 from greatschools. The ACT average in 2003 was 15.3 (around Dockery's score at his first taking; State avg = 19.5). The dropout rate is 13.6% and graduation rate for male students is just 56.0%.

So, you can't really compare the two. Dockery's school is FAR FAR worse than Bledsoe's. Dockery performed fairly average at his school, while Bledsoe is clearly performing below average. I'm not saying he's incapable of doing well at Duke, just that the situations are different. Also, I didn't realize that he went to a different high school earlier, so that could be taken into account.

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/al/229
http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=sp/sid=101023
http://www.city-data.com/school/parker-high-school-al.html
http://www.city-data.com/school/julian-high-school-il.html
http://www.schools-data.com/schools/JULIAN-HS-CHICAGO.html


You are missing the point. He has only been at Parker HS this year. He had to move just to get into this school, which his mother recognized would be better for his academic progress as well as his basketball career.

For those that keep asking if he wants to come to Duke:

http://www.al.com/hsbasketball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1235726167174750.xml&coll=2

[Bluedog]

You are missing the point. He has only been at Parker HS this year. He had to move just to get into this school, which his mother recognized would be better for his academic progress as well as his basketball career.

For those that keep asking if he wants to come to Duke:

http://www.al.com/hsbasketball/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1235726167174750.xml&coll=2

Yeah, I conceded that:
Also, I didn't realize that he went to a different high school earlier, so that could be taken into account.

I guess I didn't emphasize that portion very much though. :) I was just responding to the statement that Parker is a below avg school. I definitely agree that it makes a difference that he's only been at Parker for one year. If Coach K thinks he'll be a good addition to the team and to Duke University, then I certainly want him to come to Duke. Sounds like a good kid, and looks like a solid pass-first PG for us.

[Cormac]

According to rivals.com, Mr. Bledsoe has trimmed his list to four schools: Bama, Cincy, Florida, and Kentucky. I can't read the article as its not free, but his free profile lists only those four schools.

[K-Duke]

According to rivals.com, Mr. Bledsoe has trimmed his list to four schools: Bama, Cincy, Florida, and Kentucky. I can't read the article as its not free, but his free profile lists only those four schools.

Well that's not good...

[quickgtp]

I hope this is a case of smoke and mirrors for Bledsoe. IMO, we will not be getting Wall, so we REALLY need this kid.

[roywhite]

According to rivals.com, Mr. Bledsoe has trimmed his list to four schools: Bama, Cincy, Florida, and Kentucky. I can't read the article as its not free, but his free profile lists only those four schools.

The article does not specifically mention Duke, but it is not one of the four schools listed, those being the ones you indicate. It also mentions that he did retake the ACT test on Sat. 4/4.

[Icarus09]

He probably didn't mention Duke because they didn't offer him a scholarship. He does know, however, that we're interested in him. All of these players can add and drop schools even after trimming so I wouldn't be really worried.

[Houston]

Florida does not make sense b/c Kenny Boynton would be in the same class. Does Kentucky really have a scholarship for Eric. How interested is Bama?

[G man]

He probably didn't mention Duke because they didn't offer him a scholarship. He does know, however, that we're interested in him. All of these players can add and drop schools even after trimming so I wouldn't be really worried.

Don't be niave and think that we can just pick up guys at will. That we can put them on the back burner and then get back in the recruiting process when we choose is not a great way to get who we want. These may not be super stars but ego does come into play.

[Dukebasketball32]

I hate to say it, but i have a BAD feeling about us getting wall OR bledsoe :(

[K-Duke]

I hate to say it, but i have a BAD feeling about us getting wall OR bledsoe :(

I know what you mean. After the Curry news, I think we were all feeling pretty good... remarkably good considering Duke had just been knocked out of the tournament. I know I was feeling very optimistic. But now, with UNC winning it all and the latest rumors about Wall and Bledsoe, along with G probably going pro, that optimism (at least in regard to next year) has been fading fast.

We'll be fine, of course, but some good news at this point would be welcoming! Go Duke!

[Icarus09]

I know what you mean. After the Curry news, I think we were all feeling pretty good... remarkably good considering Duke had just been knocked out of the tournament. I know I was feeling very optimistic. But now, with UNC winning it all and the latest rumors about Wall and Bledsoe, along with G probably going pro, that optimism (at least in regard to next year) has been fading fast.

We'll be fine, of course, but some good news at this point would be welcoming! Go Duke!

We should've never put too much stock in Wall, we got into the recruiting very late in the game and we're pleasantly surprised to get an on-campus visit. Just because he had a good meeting with Coach K doesn't mean he walked out thinking he would come here.
As to Bledsoe, the quote about duke being his dream school was made months ago. That being said, while we are actively pursuing him, we cannot make an offer until he improves his scores. So, it's natural that he didn't put Duke in his top four because he can't assume he will be eligible to get an offer from us. If he does get the qualifying score, it is very possible he will add us to the list.
There's a great article posted in this thread about how he would be the first one in his family to go to college and how proud it would make his mom. Duke would have a leg up in recruiting if he is paying attention to academics because of the other schools in the running (FL, UK, AL) and because (since he will be a 3-4 year player) he would be able to graduate with a degree.

[gotham devil]

We should've never put too much stock in Wall, we got into the recruiting very late in the game and we're pleasantly surprised to get an on-campus visit. Just because he had a good meeting with Coach K doesn't mean he walked out thinking he would come here.
As to Bledsoe, the quote about duke being his dream school was made months ago. That being said, while we are actively pursuing him, we cannot make an offer until he improves his scores. So, it's natural that he didn't put Duke in his top four because he can't assume he will be eligible to get an offer from us. If he does get the qualifying score, it is very possible he will add us to the list.
There's a great article posted in this thread about how he would be the first one in his family to go to college and how proud it would make his mom. Duke would have a leg up in recruiting if he is paying attention to academics because of the other schools in the running (FL, UK, AL) and because (since he will be a 3-4 year player) he would be able to graduate with a degree.
1) Bledsoe made the quote last month (March), not months ago.
2) With regard to Wall, we got in on him later than NC State or Baylor, but there has been enough time. If UNC lands him, the time excuse won't be valid.

[CDu]

1) Bledsoe made the quote last month (March), not months ago.
2) With regard to Wall, we got in on him later than NC State or Baylor, but there has been enough time. If UNC lands him, the time excuse won't be valid.

Exactly. If we don't get Wall, it will have nothing to do with how early or late we got in on him. It will have everything to do with Wall's decision among schools. UNC's sudden emergence as a contender is evidence of that, as they didn't get into the game until the past week.

[Icarus09]

1) Bledsoe made the quote last month (March), not months ago.
2) With regard to Wall, we got in on him later than NC State or Baylor, but there has been enough time. If UNC lands him, the time excuse won't be valid.

My point was that from an expectation perspective, we should never assume we're going to get Wall. And, in terms of Bledsoe, a week is more than enough time for a recruit to change his mind so his statements in March are not necessarily representative of what he's thinking now.
Finally, we're currently in a little bit of a dead zone of recruiting news. We won't know for a little while what Wall is thinking about with regards to UNC or what Bledsoe is thinking with regards to Duke. DBR has a tendency of getting itself worked up from sheer speculation when we no very little. There's no reason to get overly pessimistic or optimistic.

[G man]

Exactly. If we don't get Wall, it will have nothing to do with how early or late we got in on him. It will have everything to do with Wall's decision among schools. UNC's sudden emergence as a contender is evidence of that, as they didn't get into the game until the past week.

Is this just people feaking about the sky falling or is UNC really the front runner for wall now? I am not sure that these fears are justified. My feelings as of right now its still mainly between us and UK. On the other side I would not be surprised with any choice he makes at this juncture.

[Icarus09]

Is this just people feaking about the sky falling or is UNC really the front runner for wall now? I am not sure that these fears are justified. My feelings as of right now its still mainly between us and UK. On the other side I would not be surprised with any choice he makes at this juncture.

I get the feeling from what I've read that Wall would fit better into UNC's system than ours. It's more of a run and gun offense and K seems to expect more disciplined (of course there's the chance that Wall wants to fit into a more disciplined system). There is also a quote by Wall saying that it is his decision, distancing himself from Clifton who detested Roy. I think we're closing in on the end of the one week dead period so recruiting news should be heating up. With so many players leaving UNC's team and with Wall reportedly initiating contact with UNC, we should factor UNC into our discussion with UK. Of course, all that talent leaving UNC could work against them.
That being said, I really hope Bledsoe is still considering us because we could certainly use a pass-first PG with athletic ability who wants to stick around for more than a year.

[dubayuw]

Im pretty sure we are out of the running for Bledsoe. Rivals.com reported that Bledsoe has narrowed his decision to 4 schools and they have Alabama, Cincy, Florida, and UK listed as the schools he is still considering.

[-jk]

I get the feeling from what I've read that Wall would fit better into UNC's system than ours. It's more of a run and gun offense and K seems to expect more disciplined (of course there's the chance that Wall wants to fit into a more disciplined system). There is also a quote by Wall saying that it is his decision, distancing himself from Clifton who detested Roy. I think we're closing in on the end of the one week dead period so recruiting news should be heating up. With so many players leaving UNC's team and with Wall reportedly initiating contact with UNC, we should factor UNC into our discussion with UK. Of course, all that talent leaving UNC could work against them.
That being said, I really hope Bledsoe is still considering us because we could certainly use a pass-first PG with athletic ability who wants to stick around for more than a year.

K has often had a running offense, but when he's had the personnel for it.

-jk