Welcome to Duke, Jordan Goldwire!

[Rich]

Time was, on-point defense was the key to our M2M defense. If the other side cannot initiate the offense, you're always in good position. Harass the point, overplay the passing lane to the outlets, and next thing you know you're getting a lay-up on the other end of the floor.

I miss that, frankly.

Well, if it makes you feel better, Chris Webber thinks we still play that way, or at least he did in his setup for the South Carolina game.

[Doria]

Think this is a great pick-up for us. It's great getting the top recruits, but there is still room on our team for a guy like this! If he's solid in m2m, maybe he can help his teammates in practice, too... We can almost always count on having a top offense, but our defense can sometimes use a little love, as well.

I'm excited about him, even if he'll just be a (mainly) practice player. Welcome to Duke!

[hudlow]

Would that be Mountain City, TN? Great golf course there now called Red Tail Mountain. It used to be called Roane Valley. GoDuke!

Nope, I'm Southeast.

[wavedukefan70s]

Is this a sign that jackson is gone?

[CDu]

Is this a sign that jackson is gone?

I highly doubt the two are related. Goldwire isn't likely to be in the rotation next year. Certainly not as a starter like Jackson. He seems more like a "continuity" guy to have over the next few years after the mass exodus this year and likely next year.

[westwall]

Scout has a piece on Jordan dated September 2015. Haven't seen it elsewhere on DBR, so here are a few highlights:

"Class of 2017 basketball prospect Jordan Goldwire is an athletic point guard for Norcross High.

Norcross, Ga.--A young point guard with outstanding quickness, Jordan Goldwire was one of the more impressive performers at Bruce Pearl’s elite basketball camp on the Auburn campus.
“I talked to a couple of the Auburn coaches and they said they like the way I play and stuff like that,” said Goldwire, a 16-year-old who is in the 2017 recruiting class.
“I think I played pretty well at the camp,” he said. “I got my teammates involved for open shots. I tried to get in the lane and play good defense.”
A starter on a Norcross High School team that posted a 27-4 record last season, Goldwire said that he has high expectations for the upcoming season. “We actually played in the Elite Eight and lost to the team that won it,” he said of last season’s state championship playoffs."

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Well, if it makes you feel better, Chris Webber thinks we still play that way, or at least he did in his setup for the South Carolina game.

THANK YOU - that was infuriating. As though Webber's pregame prep consisted of his bad memories from the early 90's

[kAzE]

It's always great to load up DBR and see a new thread welcoming a new member to the Duke Basketball family.

Of course, I took to YouTube to check out the goods. Here are couple of tapes that I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy0fhPWS2yg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV3oz65Tb_o

And here's my scouting report (based on incredibly limited information), take it as you will.

The pros:

- Good feel for the game. At least from his highlight tapes, he seemed to make good decisions based on what the defense gave him. He attacked openings from the correct angles, changed speeds/directions, and switched up his dribble pretty well based on what he saw from the defense. It obviously remains to be seen what he is able to do against quicker, longer, and more athletic defenders, but at the high school level, he looks like a solid floor general.

- He's a true point guard. In the tapes that I watched, Jordan always looked to set up his teammates first. He took opportunities to score when they were presented, but he is a pass-first guard, constantly aware of where his teammates are. This is a big plus. If he can handle the ball and distribute at a high level while defending his position at some point during his Duke career, he will fit in very well and likely get some rotation minutes.

- He has a mid range game. That floater looks nice. It's almost a mandatory shot for someone of his size to master, and it shows that he practices it. As a short guy who plays basketball regularly (I'm 5'10"), I cannot emphasize enough how important that shot is.

Cons:

- Lack of size. Unfortunately, he's 6'0". Hopefully, he's still growing, but if he stays 6 feet tall, it's a disadvantage. There's not much else he can do about it.

- Not extremely athletic. I've seen reports that he's pretty athletic, but I'm not really seeing it. At least not in relation to high major D-1 athletes. At 6'0", I would expect an athletic D-1 player to have a dunk or 2 in their highlight tapes. Going by what I've seen, Jordan is a good athlete, but not a great one.

Still not sure:

- Can he really defend at this level? This will be his best path to playing time at Duke. Can he defend ACC point guards? Strength and conditioning will play a major role, as will hustle and effort. I'm seeing a few posters here giving him props for his defensive chops, but I'm going to reserve judgment until I see it on the court in a D-1 game.

- Is he a good shooter or just an average one? This will probably factor into his ability to get on the court almost as much as his defense. His shot mechanics look a little unorthodox, as he has a bit of a late release, where almost he shoots it as he's on his way back down. I would need to see his stats for this one.

Overall:

I think this is very nice pick up for us. Over the last 2 years, since Quinn Cook graduated, we basically have not had an upperclassman point guard on the roster. Jordan could potentially be the first recruited senior point guard we will have had since Quinn, which is why I see this as an investment for the long term. While I would be ecstatic if Jordan played his way into the rotation as a freshman, he seems to be someone the coaching staff looks to keep around for 4 years. A guy who can contribute as a steady veteran ball handler on the roster in 2 or 3 years.

For the record, I don't see him as just a "practice player." I think he absolutely could be a contributor later on down the road, perhaps not as a starter, but someone who can come off the bench and manage the game effectively. He's not the flashiest recruit, but he could pay off down the road if he develops and matures the right way. The key will be his defense.

[moonpie23]

welcome to the fracas, young man...BRING IT!!!!!

[English]

For the historians on the board, who was the last 3-star recruit we offered? I imagine Justin Robinson was a 3-star, but he's a preferred walk-on. Was is Dre Buckner?

Welcome to the program, Jordan!

I can't wait until next offseason when folks will be predicting rotation minutes for Jordan, and clamoring for the coaching staff to stop recruiting the likely OAD PGs so Jordan can get more burn and develop as a 4-year guy...ya know, because the 80s and 90s and the good old days.
/end snark

[Rich]

THANK YOU - that was infuriating. As though Webber's pregame prep consisted of his bad memories from the early 90's

Some consolation - his bad memories are our goods ones.

Along with OPK I miss the days of that sort of ball hawk, overplay the passing lane defense. For a long time it was our hallmark, but seems to have been lost recently. I would attribute it to the coming of the one-and-done age, but I know some smart DBR poster will refute it with a bunch of annoying facts! Probably also has to do with the hand check and freedom of movement rules (which seemed to have been put on hold for the South Carolina game) as well. People forget how physical our defense was.

[CDu]

For the historians on the board, who was the last 3-star recruit we offered? I imagine Justin Robinson was a 3-star, but he's a preferred walk-on. Was is Dre Buckner?

Welcome to the program, Jordan!

I can't wait until next offseason when folks will be predicting rotation minutes for Jordan, and clamoring for the coaching staff to stop recruiting the likely OAD PGs so Jordan can get more burn and develop as a 4-year guy...ya know, because the 80s and 90s and the good old days.
/end snark

Robinson was a 2-star or lower (unrated in many sites). Jack White and Antonio Vrankovic were 3-star guys. So was Tyler Thornton. Of course, so was Makai Mason. The range of guys at the 3-star level is quite wide.

[golfinesquire]

For the historians on the board, who was the last 3-star recruit we offered? I imagine Justin Robinson was a 3-star, but he's a preferred walk-on. Was is Dre Buckner?

Welcome to the program, Jordan!

I can't wait until next offseason when folks will be predicting rotation minutes for Jordan, and clamoring for the coaching staff to stop recruiting the likely OAD PGs so Jordan can get more burn and develop as a 4-year guy...ya know, because the 80s and 90s and the good old days.
/end snark

Tyler Thornton.

[OldPhiKap]

Some consolation - his bad memories are our goods ones.

Along with OPK I miss the days of that sort of ball hawk, overplay the passing lane defense. For a long time it was our hallmark, but seems to have been lost recently. I would attribute it to the coming of the one-and-done age, but I know some smart DBR poster will refute it with a bunch of annoying facts! Probably also has to do with the hand check and freedom of movement rules (which seemed to have been put on hold for the South Carolina game) as well. People forget how physical our defense was.

it's almost as if we watched games in the same years!

FWIW, K has said that man to man is harder to teach because of the one and done's. At least, he's had to simplify it. But I also think it has something to do with the shift in the late-90's to "the best defense is a good offense" mentality and playing to the strength of who was coming.

K often referred to the fact that Matt Jones had a HS coach who really emphasized sound defense. I wonder if that's becoming a lost art in the era of Hoops Summits and highlight reels. Like you, I'm sure someone will provide a statistical refutation but that's what the eye test sure seems like to me.

And those damn kids on my lawn better turn that crap off. It ain't music.

[Saratoga2]

Is this a sign that jackson is gone?

Clearly this signing engenders that thought. Lets take it at face value and accept it as a backup plan and for a player to develop over his time at Duke.

[Kedsy]

Clearly this signing engenders that thought. Lets take it at face value and accept it as a backup plan and for a player to develop over his time at Duke.

Backup plan to what?

[English]

Backup plan to what?

Obviously a backup for potentially missing on the OAD PGs in the classes of 2019 & 2020 when Jordan would potentially be competing for rotation minutes as an upperclassman, no?

[cato]

Clearly this signing engenders that thought. Lets take it at face value and accept it as a backup plan and for a player to develop over his time at Duke.

Taking things at face value, the strongest indication that Frank Jackson is gone is the fact that he put his name into the NBA draft.

I very much hope that Frank comes back. I really enjoyed his freshman year, and he seems like a wonderful kid. But if he didn't have one foot out the door, he would not have declared.

[English]

Taking things at face value, the strongest indication that Frank Jackson is gone is the fact that he put his name into the NBA draft.

I very much hope that Frank comes back. I really enjoyed his freshman year, and he seems like a wonderful kid. But if he didn't have one foot out the door, he would not have declared.

Apologies for the brief threadjack, but I suppose you never went to a job fair while you were in college? Never sought career advice, or weighed your career options? Perhaps a false equivalence, but I think it's unfair to Frank to presume that he's checked out when it's completely plausible that he's simply doing his due diligence to survey his post-Duke NBA value and hear directly from the decision-makers what he needs to improve upon to increase that value.

Again, welcome Jordan!

[Son of Jarhead]

It's always great to load up DBR and see a new thread welcoming a new member to the Duke Basketball family.

Of course, I took to YouTube to check out the goods. Here are couple of tapes that I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy0fhPWS2yg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV3oz65Tb_o

Thanks for the scouting report!

Here is another highlight reel, this one of his Junior year of HS: https://youtu.be/88GA2w4qRvw

My favorite highlight is the very last, at around the 4:30 mark... a sweet fake behind-the-back pass for an easy layup.