2016 Basketball Recruiting Thread

[roywhite]

Per this from Andrew Slater of 247, 6'10" T.J. Leaf has a Duke scholarship offer now.

2016 looks like a big talent year, and Duke is in on a number of top prospects.

[tommy]

Duke is also showing interest in M.J. Cage, a 6'9" forward who plays at Southern California power program Mater Dei HS. He's the son of former NBA player Michael Cage.

[conmanlhughes]

Lots of noise coming off The Devils Den (free forum) that Duke has backed off Dennis Smith Jr. and begun pursuing Derryck Thornton.

[mr. synellinden]

Lots of noise coming off The Devils Den (free forum) that Duke has backed off Dennis Smith Jr. and begun pursuing Derryck Thornton.

Great. Potentially four more years of posters agonizing over a missing 'n'. At least Smith is nearly impossible to misspell. And oh boy would there be a field day with his first name.

Thornton is currently ranked #32 in ESPN's Super 60.

[BD80]

Lots of noise coming off The Devils Den (free forum) that Duke has backed off Dennis Smith Jr. and begun pursuing Derryck Thornton.

Per Blue Devil Nation tweet today:

"Absolutely nothing to the rumors that Duke and Dennis Smith have cooled on one another. Smith remains highly interested in Duke"

[MartyClark]

Lots of noise coming off The Devils Den (free forum) that Duke has backed off Dennis Smith Jr. and begun pursuing Derryck Thornton.

Some related noise on IC that Carolina has backed off Dennis Smith.

[conmanlhughes]

Per Blue Devil Nation tweet today:

"Absolutely nothing to the rumors that Duke and Dennis Smith have cooled on one another. Smith remains highly interested in Duke"

Recruiting is a two way street, we must want him and he has to want us.

Something could possibly be preventing us from persuing him, but he could possibly still have an interest in us.

Odd story, either way.

[tommy]

Recruiting is a two way street, we must want him and he has to want us.

Something could possibly be preventing us from persuing him, but he could possibly still have an interest in us.

Odd story, either way.

Really not an odd story. I spent almost an hour talking with Dennis Smith Sr. at AdidasNations this morning and interviewed his son afterwards. There is high interest in both directions. Trust me on that.

[tommy]

Also, I'm going to change my earlier-stated opinion that I didn't see Thon Maker as a fit at Duke from an academic and/or cultural standpoint. I spent a lot of time talking to him and his guardian tonight, and he's come a long way in the year since I met him. I was much more impressed with him as a young man than I had been previously. His game is terrific too, as I'll detail in posts to come on the AdidasNations event, for those who like to read that kind of stuff. I still think landing Maker is going to be tough, but due to the strides he's obviously made and the maturing he's done, I have to admit I was wrong. I can see him fitting in at Duke if that's the choice he and his guardian make.

[FireOgilvie]

Also, I'm going to change my earlier-stated opinion that I didn't see Thon Maker as a fit at Duke from an academic and/or cultural standpoint. I spent a lot of time talking to him and his guardian tonight, and he's come a long way in the year since I met him. I was much more impressed with him as a young man than I had been previously. His game is terrific too, as I'll detail in posts to come on the AdidasNations event, for those who like to read that kind of stuff. I still think landing Maker is going to be tough, but due to the strides he's obviously made and the maturing he's done, I have to admit I was wrong. I can see him fitting in at Duke if that's the choice he and his guardian make.

Good post - glad to hear that. It's crazy to think that he's only about to start his junior year of high school.

[budwom]

Really not an odd story. I spent almost an hour talking with Dennis Smith Sr. at AdidasNations this morning and interviewed his son afterwards. There is high interest in both directions. Trust me on that.

No thanks on that.

[tommy]

Per this from Andrew Slater of 247, 6'10" T.J. Leaf has a Duke scholarship offer now.

2016 looks like a big talent year, and Duke is in on a number of top prospects.

Leaf left the AdidasNations event in the middle, pouting about not getting enough playing time. Really pretty silly because almost all the teams sub at the halfway mark of each quarter, so everyone ends up playing about the same number of minutes. Basketball people here are annoyed, especially since his team was shorthanded to begin with and he left them in the lurch. Not a good look for Leaf at all.

[tommy]

Really not an odd story. I spent almost an hour talking with Dennis Smith Sr. at AdidasNations this morning and interviewed his son afterwards. There is high interest in both directions. Trust me on that.

No thanks on that.

You have a better source? Or you just somehow know better? Do tell . . .

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

You have a better source? Or you just somehow know better? Do tell . . .

Thanks for all your effort to keep us informed, Tommy. I would venture to guess 99.99999% of us appreciate it tremendously.

[dukebballcamper90-91]

Per this from Andrew Slater of 247, 6'10" T.J. Leaf has a Duke scholarship offer now.

2016 looks like a big talent year, and Duke is in on a number of top prospects.

Thanks for info....just watched this kid on youtube. Man he looks like he has some potential. He would look good in Duke blue.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Thanks for info....just watched this kid on youtube. Man he looks like he has some potential. He would look good in Duke blue.

although I wouldn't be surprised if K sent a message his way about (apparently) quitting the tourney.

[Henderson]

Leaf left the AdidasNations event in the middle, pouting about not getting enough playing time. Really pretty silly because almost all the teams sub at the halfway mark of each quarter, so everyone ends up playing about the same number of minutes. Basketball people here are annoyed, especially since his team was shorthanded to begin with and he left them in the lurch. Not a good look for Leaf at all.

Hmm. He isn't related to Ryan Leaf, is he?

[BD80]

Recruiting is a two way street, we must want him and he has to want us.

Something could possibly be preventing us from persuing him, but he could possibly still have an interest in us.

Odd story, either way.

Really not an odd story. I spent almost an hour talking with Dennis Smith Sr. at AdidasNations this morning and interviewed his son afterwards. There is high interest in both directions. Trust me on that.

No thanks on that.

Adam Zagoria reporting that Smith has an offer from Duke.

Sounds to me like there is interest.

[budwom]

You have a better source? Or you just somehow know better? Do tell . . .

Don't expect to see Smith in a Duke uniform. If others want to "trust you," that's fine, but I've seen enough of your posts
to convince me that you often don't know as much as you think you do about recruiting. I'll leave it at that.

[bob blue devil]

Don't expect to see Smith in a Duke uniform. If others want to "trust you," that's fine, but I've seen enough of your posts
to convince me that you often don't know as much as you think you do about recruiting. I'll leave it at that.

Are you saying you have info that convinces you Smith won't be a blue dev, or are you only saying you don't trust tommy?