2020 Duke men's basketball recruiting

[mgtr]

I haven't seen Henry Coleman play, but I would like to point out that Lance Thomas was RSCI #20 and Amile Jefferson was RSCI #21, while Henry Coleman is RSCI #49. So, I suppose anything can happen, and recruiting ranking isn't everything and all that, but he's more likely to be the Eric Boateng (#39)/Alex Murphy (#49) of this class than the Lance Thomas/Amile Jefferson.

In the past weeks, I have watched a lot of Duke BB reruns (much to be preferred over Gilligans Island) I have gained a new appreciation for both Thomas and Jefferson. It is interesting that, since I know the eventual outcome of these games, I can focus more on the individual players.

[DUKIE V(A)]

Oh, it's out there. Sadly, and despite many prognosticators who predict college hoops would die a grim death now that three players have eschewed their eligibility to go to the select team, most of the players have flatly rejected the G League route and its financial enticement.

In the long run, it’s probably bad financial business for most elite recruits to skip college for the short-term gains offered by the G League. The exposure at Duke (and other high level college hoops programs) helps players create a brand name that results in better shoe contracts, more jersey sales, and life-long fans.

[luvdahops]

I haven't seen Henry Coleman play, but I would like to point out that Lance Thomas was RSCI #20 and Amile Jefferson was RSCI #21, while Henry Coleman is RSCI #49. So, I suppose anything can happen, and recruiting ranking isn't everything and all that, but he's more likely to be the Eric Boateng (#39)/Alex Murphy (#49) of this class than the Lance Thomas/Amile Jefferson.

Henry reminds me at first glance of a bigger version of Nate James, though less athletic and explosive. Don't recall Nate's final rankings from HS, but he was a Mickey D.

I suspect it will tough for Coleman to scratch out much PT this year, but could see him evolving into a contributor over the course of his career.

[dm9e24]

I haven't seen Henry Coleman play, but I would like to point out that Lance Thomas was RSCI #20 and Amile Jefferson was RSCI #21, while Henry Coleman is RSCI #49. So, I suppose anything can happen, and recruiting ranking isn't everything and all that, but he's more likely to be the Eric Boateng (#39)/Alex Murphy (#49) of this class than the Lance Thomas/Amile Jefferson.

Watching Henry's growth over the last two years as a high school player and in AAU , I think that he will contribute more than Eric and Alex, which was next to nothing. Maybe he could be a Goldwire, or a Brian Davis or a Thomas Hill. Cassius was #33 and he is an OAD. Lance and Amile had higher rankings than Cassius but were at Duke for four years. One thing I hope that Henry has in common with Lance and Amile is a ring.

[Kedsy]

Cassius was #33 and he is an OAD.

Cassius took advantage of having no higher ranked players on the team who played his position to become the *only* Duke freshman in the RSCI era to log 390+ minutes in a season. Henry Coleman has several higher ranked players on his team who play his position. Apples and petunias.

FWIW, Alex Murphy played 194 minutes as a (redshirt) freshman. Personally, I wouldn't characterize that as "next to nothing," and I also wouldn't be surprised if Henry was in that same 200 minute range as a freshman.

[UrinalCake]

Henry Coleman has several higher ranked players on his team who play his position.

I guess that depends if you consider Coleman a 4 or a 5. If it’s the latter, then arguably he only has Williams ahead of him in the rotation and most agree Williams is likely to max out at 20-25 mpg. Jury is still out on Hurt at the 5.

[jimsumner]

Cassius took advantage of having no higher ranked players on the team who played his position to become the *only* Duke freshman in the RSCI era to log 390+ minutes in a season. Henry Coleman has several higher ranked players on his team who play his position. Apples and petunias.

FWIW, Alex Murphy played 194 minutes as a (redshirt) freshman. Personally, I wouldn't characterize that as "next to nothing," and I also wouldn't be surprised if Henry was in that same 200 minute range as a freshman.

Well, technically Alex Murphy didn't play at all as a (true) freshman. I don't think anyone is talking about Coleman being a healthy redshirt in 2021 and playing 194 minutes in 2022.

I've only seen brief snippets of Coleman but I wonder if he's not a bit analogous to Jamal Boykin, the fifth-ranked member of the touted class of 2005-McRoberts, Paulus, Boateng, Pocius. Boykin didn't play much as a freshman, got mono as a sophomore and transferred back home to Cal, where he was an all-conference player. But Boykin was a long, long way from home. Coleman won't be and hopefully we'll have a better outcome. For Duke at least.

[SkyBrickey]

On most Duke teams, I don’t think Coleman would see the floor as a freshman.

But on this Duke team, if he can rebound and play good interior D, he might play 10-12 min per game. Seems like a really hard playing kid. Happy to have him.

[Pghdukie]

It is being reported by Score that Kuminga has reclassified into 2020 class

[sagegrouse]

It is being reported by Score that Kuminga has reclassified into 2020 class

Oh, now the fun begins!

[UrinalCake]

Every recruiting "insider" suggests that Duke is not legitimately pursuing Kuminga. But just a couple months ago, every recruiting insider also said that Kuminga was not reclassifying. So there you go...

[Kedsy]

I guess that depends if you consider Coleman a 4 or a 5. If it’s the latter, then arguably he only has Williams ahead of him in the rotation and most agree Williams is likely to max out at 20-25 mpg. Jury is still out on Hurt at the 5.

Patrick Tapé has to be ahead of him as well as Williams, and while anything could happen I expect Hurt and Johnson and probably even Brakefield to all play more minutes at the 5 than Coleman. Hurt, Johnson, Moore, Baker, and probably Brakefield should all play more minutes at the 4 than Henry as well. Nothing against Henry Coleman, but based on his recruiting ranking I'll be very surprised if he's not Duke's 11th man as a freshman.

I've only seen brief snippets of Coleman but I wonder if he's not a bit analogous to Jamal Boykin, the fifth-ranked member of the touted class of 2005-McRoberts, Paulus, Boateng, Pocius. Boykin didn't play much as a freshman, got mono as a sophomore and transferred back home to Cal, where he was an all-conference player. But Boykin was a long, long way from home. Coleman won't be and hopefully we'll have a better outcome. For Duke at least.

Yeah, this all sounds about right to me.

[Dukehk]

It is being reported by Score that Kuminga has reclassified into 2020 class

Do we have a spare scholarship for him?

[Skitzle]

Do we have a spare scholarship for him?

According to this article: https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/04/...lly-finalized/

We have 15 players and 3 walk-ons in Savarino, Worthington and Pierce. So my initial research says a slot is available. Others may be better informed.

[budwom]

Do we have a spare scholarship for him?

Duke does not appear to be involved in this at all.

[jaywilliams22]

Andrew Slater - who is well tapped into the recruiting scene may have dropped a subtle hint about Kuminga to the G-league.

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Slater/s...116027397?s=20

[golfinesquire]

Andrew Slater - who is well tapped into the recruiting scene may have dropped a subtle hint about Kuminga to the G-league.

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Slater/s...116027397?s=20

JD King said the same thing on the front page.

[Jaks19]

The G League is the best option for him in the sense he is a player that has openly stated he wants to get to the NBA as soon as he can. Not only will the G League offer that but he will get paid to play too …

[English]

The G League is the best option for him in the sense he is a player that has openly stated he wants to get to the NBA as soon as he can. Not only will the G League offer that but he will get paid to play too …

Huh? Yeah, sure, the getting paid to play part is an obvious benefit of going the G League route (although cynics would probably suggest that it's naive to assume he couldn't get paid to play college ball either), but please explain how going to the G League for a year is quicker to getting to the NBA than spending a year at, say, Duke or Kentucky or Arizona or basically anywhere outside of Chapel Hill. It's not like the G League is a minor league for the NBA and Kuminga could get called up to the majors after a short stint on the Select team. Either way, he's playing somewhere for a year.

I don't mean to suggest he'd be better off playing NCAAB for a year over going to the Select team--that's up to him and his family/support system--but only pushing back that somehow the G League is all of a sudden the obvious choice if a highly recruited player wants to go to the NBA quickly. That's simply not true.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Huh? Yeah, sure, the getting paid to play part is an obvious benefit of going the G League route (although cynics would probably suggest that it's naive to assume he couldn't get paid to play college ball either), but please explain how going to the G League for a year is quicker to getting to the NBA than spending a year at, say, Duke or Kentucky or Arizona or basically anywhere outside of Chapel Hill. It's not like the G League is a minor league for the NBA and Kuminga could get called up to the majors after a short stint on the Select team. Either way, he's playing somewhere for a year.

I don't mean to suggest he'd be better off playing NCAAB for a year over going to the Select team--that's up to him and his family/support system--but only pushing back that somehow the G League is all of a sudden the obvious choice if a highly recruited player wants to go to the NBA quickly. That's simply not true.

Looking at his Wiki bio (always a dangerous proposition), this is likely a kid not getting a ton of guidance. Fortunately, he has an older brother who played at UNLV and Texas Tech so he might have a bit of perspective, but he is a kid who came here from the Congo, did a year of HS in WV, one year on Long Island and now is in NJ. I hope he has people supporting him who are looking out for his best interests. And I'm guessing (I could be wrong) that a few hundred grand from the G League is life changing money for him and his family, compared to a kid like Griffin whose dad has already earned millions.