2020 Duke men's basketball recruiting

[TruBlu]

Doubtful, he put in his notice so he can take a job at UK at twice the $.

Um, are you talking about Cade or his brother?!?😜

[Jake1985]

You know recruiting is an ever changing thing. These kids could have a dream school, a family member, an AAU coach, go to Europe or G League... no one ever knows...

[DavidBenAkiva]

Corey Evans of Rivals put out his regular Tuesday recruiting roundup, answering questions from twitter. Duke Zone (@Duke5to6) asked "Who finishes out Duke's Class of 2020?

Mark Williams. He will visit later this month and then make a college commitment on Nov. 1. Williams is down to Duke, Michigan and UCLA, with the Blue Devils sitting as the heavy favorite.

Hunter Dickinson will visit for Cameron Craziness this weekend and is expected to make a commitment in November as well. He could pick Florida State, Michigan or Notre Dame and has a better chance to see immediate minutes and a greater opportunity to star than he would at Duke. In the end, I believe that he nixes the Blue Devils and selects Michigan, but this weekend’s visit to Durham could change that assessment entirely.

I question whether Dickinson would have a greater opportunity to star at Notre Dame or Florida State. Most likely, Dickinson would play behind Balsa Koprivica for at least his freshman season at FSU and would be playing behind senior Juwan Durham at Notre Dame. Playing time and national attention would likely be more available at Michigan after senior Jon Teske graduates.

Meanwhile, everyone and their mother knows the Duke roster and bench players. And Dickinson would get about as much PT as a freshman as he would at the other schools he's looking at.

[frb]

Kentucky might be building the 2020 version of our 2018 class. Cade, T Clarke, BJ Boston. They have Greg Brown visiting, too. Why aren't we in on Brown?

[Troublemaker]

Coleman and maybe MWilliams, but I personally wouldn't group Steward in with them as expected multi-year players, considering how valuable shooting is in the NBA. I sort of think Steward would come in, start and be OAD at this point. But I'll make that case more extensively in the "Welcome to Duke..." thread if it is created, so effort isn't wasted if he commits elsewhere.

My original intention was to do an in-depth breakdown of Steward's game because I think he's underrated (sort of like what I did with Matthew Hurt's defense previously when I thought it was vastly underrated.)

But it's not necessary now. The secret's out of the bag as Steward starred at the USA basketball minicamp recently.

DraftExpress now has him going mid-first round (#16) in the 2021 draft ($$$ ESPN Insider): https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...prospects-2021

Here's a twitter search for "DJ Steward" that should get you some commentary about him from people who were there.

https://twitter.com/search?q=dj%20steward

So yeah, it's better to think of Steward as likely OAD than likely multi-year at this point.

[DukeFanSince1990]

My original intention was to do an in-depth breakdown of Steward's game because I think he's underrated (sort of like what I did with Matthew Hurt's defense previously when I thought it was vastly underrated.)

But it's not necessary now. The secret's out of the bag as Steward starred at the USA basketball minicamp recently.

DraftExpress now has him going mid-first round (#16) in the 2021 draft ($$$ ESPN Insider): https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...prospects-2021

Here's a twitter search for "DJ Steward" that should get you some commentary about him from people who were there.

https://twitter.com/search?q=dj%20steward

So yeah, it's better to think of Steward as likely OAD than likely multi-year at this point.

And not just a "secondary recruit" after BJ Boston?

[Troublemaker]

And not just a "secondary recruit" after BJ Boston?

Correct. Steward might be better than Boston. He certainly shot the ball much better in EYBL.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Isaiah Todd, a Raleigh HS player, going with Juwan instead of Roy, Bill Self, or other cheaters. Juwan Howard's first 5* recruit.

[budwom]

Isaiah Todd, a Raleigh HS player, going with Juwan instead of Roy, Bill Self, or other cheaters. Juwan Howard's first 5* recruit.

Juwan and his Michigan pals certainly benefited from some nice cash cheating themselves IIRC..(especially Weber)

[frb]

top 10 '21 Devin Askew to UK. Sounds like he's reclassifying. So they got BJ Boston, Terrence Clarke, Lance Ware, D Fletcher. And Cade Cunningham? That's a ridiculous class.

[mattman91]

Isaiah Todd, a Raleigh HS player, going with Juwan instead of Roy, Bill Self, or other cheaters. Juwan Howard's first 5* recruit.

Wonder if this helps our chances with Dickinson.

[jimsumner]

Wonder if this helps our chances with Dickinson.

Todd is a OAD who can play on the perimeter. Dickinson is a four-year post player. Not sure they occupy a similar niche.

[3rd Dukie]

Todd is a OAD who can play on the perimeter. Dickinson is a four-year post player. Not sure they occupy a similar niche.

How are you gurus on THIS site (and I mean that respectfully) evaluating and rating the 2020 and 2021 classes for Duke?

Thanks

[CameronBlue]

How are you gurus on THIS site (and I mean that respectfully) evaluating and rating the 2020 and 2021 classes for Duke?

Thanks

The standard unit of measure is "cinderblocks". Even for a euphemism "guru" is a tad generous.

[3rd Dukie]

The standard unit of measure is "cinderblocks". Even for a euphemism "guru" is a tad generous.

My bad! Still curious though.

[SkyBrickey]

My bad! Still curious though.

If it's a serious question, this is THE original Duke online board. All the longtime gurus that aren't dead yet still make appearances. Welcome to DBR.

[BlueDevil16]

Know we are spoiled but next years class doesn’t seem that elite and we are probably losing a lot of this years roster. Could be a long year.

[3rd Dukie]

If it's a serious question, this is THE original Duke online board. All the longtime gurus that aren't dead yet still make appearances. Welcome to DBR.

Well, thanks, but I have been here since it was a user group on Compuserve. I may have been one of the original contributing funders. Not sure, but ask Mike. I am very much aware that this is THE original Duke online board (and the best). How does your response address my original SERIOUS question? Just curious. I don't know as much about recruiting as many of you do.

Thanks again.

[SkyBrickey]

Well, thanks, but I have been here since it was a user group on Compuserve. I may have been one of the original contributing funders. Not sure, but ask Mike. I am very much aware that this is THE original Duke online board (and the best). How does your response address my original SERIOUS question? Just curious. I don't know as much about recruiting as many of you do.

Thanks again.

I misunderstood your question. No offense meant. If I'm understanding it correctly, people here use a mix of ESPN, Rivals, 247/Scout rankings for recruits and classes and outstanding offers. Crystal Ball gives "expert" predictions on where recruits are headed.

Here's 247Sports for 2020. https://www.scout.com/Season/2020-Ba...cruitRankings/ Click into Duke next to a player like Jalen Johnson (#8) and you can toggle between our committed recruits and our outstanding offers (Dickinson, Williams).

This what you were looking for?

[ChillinDuke]

Well, thanks, but I have been here since it was a user group on Compuserve. I may have been one of the original contributing funders. Not sure, but ask Mike. I am very much aware that this is THE original Duke online board (and the best). How does your response address my original SERIOUS question? Just curious. I don't know as much about recruiting as many of you do.

Thanks again.

I would say the 2020 class is looking as close to a dream class as we've seen in quite some time - at least a "dream class" for those wanting to focus less on One-And-Done. With 5 guys in the fold already spanning every position save maybe a true center, we have excellent versatility. And we have mostly targeted cuspy guys on the 4-5 star border, the obvious exception being Jalen Johnson who is almost undoubtedly a OAD.

Now, 2 or 3 of the recruits not named Johnson are good enough that they could ratchet into a OAD. There's some talk of Steward coming on recently. Roach is coming off an ACL which clouds his trajectory a bit. But generally speaking, we probably only have one surefire OAD in the 2020 class at this time which is a refreshing (in my view) departure from our recent classes which were more top heavy.

Lastly on 2020, we have 2 more offers outstanding hoping to round out that big man position. Both project as multi-year players as well. So assuming one of those two hits, we will have an extremely well rounded class that looks to form the foundation of our team for at least 2 years and maybe longer. Very nice. Plus we may look for another OAD stud to reclassify from 2021 to 2020 (Kuminga has been the speculation, although recent rumors aren't backing that up) which would truly make this class an incredible combination of huge (7 or 8 players), balanced (every position), powerful (2 OADs with additional possible), and foundational (at least 3 likely returning players ranked higher than 50).

Nirvana. If that sort of thing is your jam.

Turning to 2021, the picture is still cloudy as it often is at this early stage. Kuminga, as the top ranked player in the class, is considered the primary target by most. But he's the primary target for basically any top coach with a pulse. There's also been an awful lot of chatter about forward Paolo Banchero and wing Patrick Baldwin. We reportedly have offers out to Max Christie and AJ Griffin as well. As is often the case, our targets for 2021 appear very top heavy again, which can lead one to wonder if 2020 is a blip rather than a recruiting philosophy change. But it's early so it's possible the 2021 recruiting landscape evolves to look more like this year. But I doubt it, frankly, as my view is 2020 was a one-off and we will always generally shoot for the cream of the crop.

So in summary I'd say 2020 is looking fantastic assuming we land at least one of the two big man we have extended offers. If we get both and/or a reclass like Kuminga it may be a truly exceptional class if not the most top-end talented. For 2021 it's too early to tell, but there is no cause concern and looks like business as usual for K and staff.

Hope that helps.

- Chillin