2019 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[arnie]

Love your vision for the future of Duke Basketball — Plumlees and Currys and Riverses making Cameron Indoor their home once again!

How many years do we have to wait? If it takes longer than widening I-95 in NC, i’ll miss the reunion.

[jv001]

How many years do we have to wait? If it takes longer than widening I-95 in NC, i’ll miss the reunion.

Or the completion of the Beltway around Winston Salem for me. I'll be looking at things from a different angle. GoDuke!

[Dukebasketball2020]

I think the biggest issue with the duke teams over the last two years is the lack of quality bigs to come in and give quality minutes and the lack of shooters (this year) I think K needs to start recruiting more guys who can shoot from outside not just average but guys who can hit 40% or better. This is the one thing hurting this years team. Also a team like Kentucky has multiple 6-10 guys who can play a role on the team, we have Bolden who is now hurt, other than that we have no one reliable to play big minutes. Javin comes in and gets 3 fouls in 5 minutes and he isn't really considered a true big.

[CDu]

I think the biggest issue with the duke teams over the last two years is the lack of quality bigs to come in and give quality minutes and the lack of shooters (this year) I think K needs to start recruiting more guys who can shoot from outside not just average but guys who can hit 40% or better. This is the one thing hurting this years team. Also a team like Kentucky has multiple 6-10 guys who can play a role on the team, we have Bolden who is now hurt, other than that we have no one reliable to play big minutes. Javin comes in and gets 3 fouls in 5 minutes and he isn't really considered a true big.

Last year we had Bagley, Carter, Bolden, and DeLaurier. When Bolden and DeLaurier are your third and fourth bigs, you're probably not lacking in quality bigs. This year, Bolden has been quite solid for us as has this other guy named Zion. DeLaurier and White have been our third and fourth bigs. So, again, not too big a problem. Unless of course you suffer injuries to BOTH starting bigs like we have. But that would be a problem for pretty much any team.

Beyond that, I don't think last year and this year have very much in common actually. Last year's problem was a lack of defensive versatility and a lack of consistent perimeter offense and PG play, exacerbated by limited depth on the perimeter. This year's problem is shooting. And I'd note that both teams were top 5 teams nationally, so I don't know that either had huge problems relative to their advantages.

[bigperm13]

I think the biggest issue with the duke teams over the last two years is the lack of quality bigs to come in and give quality minutes and the lack of shooters (this year) I think K needs to start recruiting more guys who can shoot from outside not just average but guys who can hit 40% or better. This is the one thing hurting this years team. Also a team like Kentucky has multiple 6-10 guys who can play a role on the team, we have Bolden who is now hurt, other than that we have no one reliable to play big minutes. Javin comes in and gets 3 fouls in 5 minutes and he isn't really considered a true big.

I agree that Duke should start recruiting like Kentucky. Coach K needs to find guys that don't miss any games due to injury as well.

[AGDukesky]

I agree that Duke should start recruiting like Kentucky. Coach K needs to find guys that don't miss any games due to injury as well.

Exactly, with more 6-10 guys we might have had a better season opener...

[DavidBenAkiva]

A lot going on today!

Wendell Moore was named the Gatorade North Carolina Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

This season, Moore, a Duke signee, led the Chargers to a 28-3 record and a third straight appearance in the N.C. 3A Western Regional championship game, or state semifinal. Moore and the Chargers had won the previous two state championships. He averaged 25.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals.

A two-time North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year, Moore is ranked as the nation’s No. 19 recruit in the Class of 2019 by ESPN and has been selected to play in the McDonald’s and the Jordan Brand Classic All-American games.

Moore, who carries a 4.08 GPA, has volunteered locally on behalf of Drug Abuse Resistance Education as well as an anti-vaping initiative.

“Moore has seen all kinds of double teams and traps and he’s still put up big numbers this year,” said Andy Muse, head coach at Mount Tabor High. “He has great size, he can shoot the three ball and he knows how to get to the foul line. He’s also a very good defender and works hard at both ends of the court.”

Duke is getting a very special player. The most recent winners of the award are Dennis Smith, Jr., Bam Adebayo, and Coby White. It's great to have the award back in the hands of Blue Devil!

[DavidBenAkiva]

And Vernon Carey, Jr. is now the Gatorade Florida Player of the Year.

[kAzE]

I hadn't checked in awhile, but it looks like the Matthew Hurt predictions on 247Sports favor Duke now. He would be a perfect fit with Carey, Moore, and (hopefully) Tre Jones. We wouldn't have quite the star power of this year's team, but with Hurt, 2019-2020 looks like it would shape up as another top 5 team. It's good to be a Duke fan.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I hadn't checked in awhile, but it looks like the Matthew Hurt predictions on 247Sports favor Duke now. He would be a perfect fit with Carey, Moore, and (hopefully) Tre Jones. We wouldn't have quite the star power of this year's team, but with Hurt, 2019-2020 looks like it would shape up as another top 5 team. It's good to be a Duke fan.

I agree that Duke would be a strong contender in 2019 pending the addition of Hurt and if Tre Jones stays for a sophomore year. As is the case every year, my main question would be about the defensive potential of the team, something we won't really know until we see the team play in November. At least on paper, the team would be 2+ deep at every position with a nice a versatile mix of inside and outside options.

[proelitedota]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

With Bench of

Delaurier
Baker
White
AOC
Boogie

JRob
Goldwire

Bolden is welcomed to stay but it might be in his best interest to play professionally.

[dukelifer]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

With Bench of

Delaurier
Baker
White
AOC
Boogie

JRob
Goldwire

Bolden is welcomed to stay but it might be in his best interest to play professionally.

Wouldn't his best interest be to finish his degree?

[DavidBenAkiva]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

With Bench of

Delaurier
Baker
White
AOC
Boogie

JRob
Goldwire

Bolden is welcomed to stay but it might be in his best interest to play professionally.

I think our starting center is more than just "welcomed to stay." I'm not saying he is necessarily going to start next year, but I'd rather he stick around for a healthy senior season. Injuries happen, after all.

And I really do think we should pump the breaks on this talk about Hampton committing to Duke and reclassifying. It would be great if he did, but he hasn't even made a visit to Duke yet. Let's cool it a bit on that talk, shall we?

[ChillinDuke]

I think our starting center is more than just "welcomed to stay." I'm not saying he is necessarily going to start next year, but I'd rather he stick around for a healthy senior season. Injuries happen, after all.

And I really do think we should pump the breaks on this talk about Hampton committing to Duke and reclassifying. It would be great if he did, but he hasn't even made a visit to Duke yet. Let's cool it a bit on that talk, shall we?

Preach the bolded! Of course!

If Marques stays and displays anything more than minimal improvement next year, he's going to be a true force and potentially a star.

- Chillin

[roywhite]

A lot going on today!

Wendell Moore was named the Gatorade North Carolina Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

Duke is getting a very special player. The most recent winners of the award are Dennis Smith, Jr., Bam Adebayo, and Coby White. It's great to have the award back in the hands of Blue Devil!

FWIW, the #2 ranked player in-state is 6'9" Day'Ron Sharpe of Winterville, NC South Central HS (Pitt County in Eastern NC) who is headed to UNC and plays in the 4-A (highest classification) state finals 3/16.

https://www.tarheeltimes.com/article104255.aspx

[WVDUKEFAN]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

With Bench of

Delaurier
Baker
White
AOC
Boogie

JRob
Goldwire

Bolden is welcomed to stay but it might be in his best interest to play professionally.

I think Bolden comes back. At this point, he’s not a top 50 prospect. He can do a lot to boost his stock next year.

[kAzE]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

Don't forget . . . Joey Baker was very highly ranked in the class of 2019. If he hadn't reclassified, he might even be placed higher on the rankings than Wendell Moore.

As of right now (with the Hurt and Jones caveats in place), I'd expect Joey Baker, Matthew Hurt, Vernon Carey, Tre Jones, and Wendell Moore to be the starting 5. No surprise that once again, it's very freshman heavy, but on paper, that 5 looks to me like the best mix of offense and defense, with White/DeLaurier/Bolden off the bench as defensive specialists, and Ellis/O'Connell offering some scoring punch.

We always say this, and it never comes to fruition, but it actually does look like a pretty deep team. The roster doesn't have anything even remotely close to the star power of Zion and RJ, but there appears to be better depth of talent. And with 3 rotation seniors, I like that roster a lot, with or without Hurt. Tre Jones is pretty much essential though. Without Tre, this team will have a much harder path.

[jimsumner]

My dream team for team for 2019 would be

Carey
Hurt
Moore
Hampton
Tre

With Bench of

Delaurier
Baker
White
AOC
Boogie

JRob
Goldwire

Bolden is welcomed to stay but it might be in his best interest to play professionally.

I rather suspect it is highly unlikely that Duke would have both Tre Jones and R.J. Hampton next season.

[UrinalCake]

Keion Brooks just committed to Kentucky. He was considered a priority recruit and a “must-get” for the CHeats. Seriously, this is a huge miss for them. I love it!

Can’t wait to hop over to IC and hear about how he was paid, and couldn’t handle the academics and UNC-CHeat, and how they don’t want soft players who are afraid of a challenge and just want to be handed minutes.

[MChambers]

I rather suspect it is highly unlikely that Duke would have both Tre Jones and R.J. Hampton next season.

He did say it was his dream team.

My dreams are, uh, different.