Tyler Thornton recruitment

[Blueequalslife23]

A 6'2 Point guard out of DC recently visited Duke and scout says he has 3 offers the day after his visit but only list 2. Has Duke offered him?

[jimsumner]

Duke and Thornton have significant mutual interest. But Thornton is class of '10 and Duke is still working on the PG class of '09 and has even more significant interest with '10 PG Knight. So there is some figuring-stuff-out to do and some waiting to do.

[kramerbr]

The guy who has been shutting down Kendall Marshall all summer has been offered.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=16...amp;nid=2905705

[dukeballer2294]

i thought he signed with texas

[kramerbr]

The guy who has been shutting down Kendall Marshall all summer has been offered.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=16...amp;nid=2905705

Hope this one works...

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=2905705

[FireOgilvie]

How many people out of DC or DC AAU teams is that? Pretty interesting.


Edit: I'm shocked we are offering this guy over Knight... maybe Coach K knows something I don't haha.

[yancem]

Does this mean that we are no longer going after Brandon Knight? We have been hearing about how interested Duke is in Knight for almost a year now. It seems kind of odd to now offer another point guard without first offering him? I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but am a little confused and am wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

[Bob Green]

Does this mean that we are no longer going after Brandon Knight? We have been hearing about how interested Duke is in Knight for almost a year now. It seems kind of odd to now offer another point guard without first offering him? I'm not saying that this is a bad thing but am a little confused and am wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

I can only offer an opinion and in my opinion the offer to Thornton has no impact on our pursuit of Brandon Knight. We will have at least five scholarships available in 2010 and simultaneously recruiting two point guards isn't extreme.

[FireOgilvie]

Come on down!!!

[gotham devil]

i thought he signed with texas

You are confusing 6'8" Tristan Thompson with 6'2" Tyler Thornton.

[dukeballer2294]

right, my bad guys.

[CameronCrazy'11]

I can only offer an opinion and in my opinion the offer to Thornton has no impact on our pursuit of Brandon Knight. We will have at least five scholarships available in 2010 and simultaneously recruiting two point guards isn't extreme.

Especially with Nolan leaving after their freshman year. If we don't land Kenny Boynton than we deeeeeeeeefinitely still want Knight.

[mgtr]

Edit: I'm shocked we are offering this guy over Knight... maybe Coach K knows something I don't haha.

I am betting that Coach K knows a whole of stuff that the rest of us do not.

[Bob Green]

I am betting that Coach K knows a whole of stuff that the rest of us do not.

POTM = Post of the Millennium!

[CameronCrazy'11]

I think the best way to frame the question is not "will we still pursue Knight?", but "who, if anyone, won't we pursue anymore?"

The way it stands now, we have 3 spots available for '09 and then 5 more for '10 (this includes Mason Plumlee and Dawkins). Before Thornton's offer our top targets in 2010 were generally thought to be Dawkins (in the bag), Josh Hairston, Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight, and Josh Smith. These guys plus Thornton would make six in 2010. To open up that extra spot could be as simple as not offering anyone other than Boynton and Plumlee in '09. Or, of course that extra spot would open if someone from the '07 recruiting class or later left early. The Thornton offer could also mean that if one of our '10 recruits falls through we won't pursue a back-up for him. However, I really don't think this means that we're not going after Knight anymore. Personally I'm inclined to think that the coaches are willing to "settle" for a class of Boynton and Plumlee in '09 and save an extra scholarship for down the road. But that's just a hunch.

[yancem]

I can only offer an opinion and in my opinion the offer to Thornton has no impact on our pursuit of Brandon Knight. We will have at least five scholarships available in 2010 and simultaneously recruiting two point guards isn't extreme.

I don't necessarily disagree (although if we were to sign Boynton and he stays for multiple years, we'd be crowded at the pg/cg spot) but it seems odd that we not offer the the guy that is supposedly the top priority before we offer the next guy in line. I'm sure that K has his reasons, maybe he thinks that Knight isn't as interested in Duke as everyone else thinks, or that he is dead set on being a 1 and done, or that Thorton is about to explode and is actually the better prospect/fit for Duke. It's not that I don't trust K's judgment, it's just that on the surface it seems like a odd way of going about assembling the '10 class.

An additional thought is, we haven't heard from Watzone about this offer yet which leads me to believe that Scout might not have their information correct. Wouldn't be the first time.

[dukeimac]

As usual, you guys need to trust the coaching staff. They know a lot more than we do about the history of these guys. Just because a guy is a good basketball player doesn't mean he is of good character or maybe they can't hold a grade or maybe they are one and done.

Duke pursued Love and Singler. Duke got Singler (for at least 2 years). They didn't pursue Love as hard (towards the end) and look how long he stayed at UCLA. People didn't like Love's attitude, he was upset that he had to share the state's MVP with Singler. The guys dad was saying things that people didn't care for. I think the coaching staff talked to them enough to know something smelled bad about that guy.

I think the coaching staff knows what they are doing and why they are offering to whom. I think Knight is a one and done guy.

No one on this board probably has talked with Knight for an hour to find out what he is like or checked his grades to see if he can make it at Duke or asked him how long he thinks it will take him to make it to the NBA. All you know is he can play basketball. Just because someone looks good on the outside doesn't mean the inside is all that great.

If that is all it takes to sell you then I have a car to sell you, it is cheap and has a new interior.

[watzone]

I have talked to Brandon Knight recently and he still likes Duke, vice versa. To not trust that Duke knows what they are doing is ridiculous. They talk to these kids about their decisions on a regular basis, making key targets aware of their plans. Knight lists Duke in his top schools and nothing has changed. He is an off the charts excellent student and has Duke character, meeting all pre requsites and there is nothing he has done wrong. Thortons offer in no way hinders Duke's desire for Knight and he knows there is an offer awaiting him at Duke. For now, Kenny Boynton is the most important recruit.

Now, let's return this thread to Tyler Thornton, who would be a great addition. He's played against some great comp and has what it takes to succeed at Duke, thus the offer. He is friends with Josh Hairston as well. The Duke staff is very high on him and an offer has been in the works for awhile.

Anymore talk on "the sky is falling or there goes BK and there is no BK," is fruitless unless you want to get into a fantasy recruiting game, which is not as fun as fantasy football.

[studdlee10]

Knight is still Duke's number 1 target. Thornton will provide depth for his first couple of years. Thornton is a solid PG, but nobody would start over Brandon Knight for his one year in college. Also, consider that there is a chance that Nolan and Elliot won't be around for 4 years and this offer makes sense. Duke hasn't had an athletic, driving, defensive stopper at the PG spot since Chris Duhon, stocking the roster with 2 of them (Thornton and hopefully Knight) will go a long ways in helping bring Duke back to prominence.

[dukeimac]

I have talked to Brandon Knight recently and he still likes Duke, vice versa. To not trust that Duke knows what they are doing is ridiculous. They talk to these kids about their decisions on a regular basis, making key targets aware of their plans. Knight lists Duke in his top schools and nothing has changed. He is an off the charts excellent student and has Duke character, meeting all pre requsites and there is nothing he has done wrong. Thortons offer in no way hinders Duke's desire for Knight and he knows there is an offer awaiting him at Duke. For now, Kenny Boynton is the most important recruit.

Now, let's return this thread to Tyler Thornton, who would be a great addition. He's played against some great comp and has what it takes to succeed at Duke, thus the offer. He is friends with Josh Hairston as well. The Duke staff is very high on him and an offer has been in the works for awhile.

Anymore talk on "the sky is falling or there goes BK and there is no BK," is fruitless unless you want to get into a fantasy recruiting game, which is not as fun as fantasy football.

This is the type of talk I want to hear.

Question then that I think others want to know is why did Duke offer Tyler Thornton and not Brandon? Would Brandon still commit to Duke if Tyler commits? Will Tyler commit if Brandon commits?

I don't think the world if falling. When it comes to Duke I trust the coaching staff knows what they are doing, who they want on the team. They have their reasons for recruiting someone and not recruiting others. Reasons we have no idea of.

I don't care how good Allen Iverson was he was not Duke material.