2020 Duke men's basketball recruiting

[kAzE]

Golldwire has made great strides this year. He along with Roach will probably be adequate to cover ball handling. If Moore comes back, he may also show improvement. His handle isn't bad, it his decision making and loss of concentration that has led to many of his turnovers.

If this year's team has taught us anything, it's that you need more than 1 or 2 ball handlers. For offense, an ideal lineup would be 5 players who can all dribble, pass, and shoot. But of course, that's really hard to pull off, especially with bigs.

Luckily, Jalen Johnson's strength is passing and ball handling, and DJ Steward has been described as a combo guard, which implies that he can be a primary ball handler as well. I feel pretty good about our offense on paper next year. To me, the biggest question mark for now is defense and rebounding.

[-jk]

If this year's team has taught us anything, it's that you need more than 1 or 2 ball handlers. For offense, an ideal lineup would be 5 players who can all dribble, pass, and shoot. But of course, that's really hard to pull off, especially with bigs.

Luckily, Jalen Johnson's strength is passing and ball handling, and DJ Steward has been described as a combo guard, which implies that he can be a primary ball handler as well. I feel pretty good about our offense on paper next year. To me, the biggest question mark for now is defense and rebounding.

So, five Grant Hills?

-jk

[SouthernDukie]

So, five Grant Hills?

-jk

I’ll take it. Something tells me that would work out pretty well (other than putting the universe in peril of imploding).

[duke96]

Totally off topic but who would we pick if we had to have 5 of him act as our whole team for a season? Grant seems as good as I can imagine. Maybe Bagley is second?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Totally off topic but who would we pick if we had to have 5 of him act as our whole team for a season? Grant seems as good as I can imagine. Maybe Bagley is second?

Nate (wanker wanker) James

[MChambers]

So, five Grant Hills?

-jk

Three Grants and two Zions.

[Bluedevil114]

Three Grants and two Zions.

I have never laughed so hard at a post. I think it was half laughter and half gitty at the thought. That was an excellent post sir.

[kAzE]

Three Grants and two Zions.

That lineup wouldn't have very good spacing, but it would certainly be spectacular on the fast break. Grant was never an above average 3 pointer shooter. Even if we're allowed have more than 1 copy of a player, I'd still go 1 each of something like this:

Jay Williams, JJ Redick, Grant Hill, Battier, Laettner. Team Grant Hills would be nasty on defense, but I honestly think that lineup would defeat 5 Grant Hills. That's a lot of shooting.

[Saratoga2]

First of all, K recruit the kids he likes best and he figures out the positions/playing time later. Also worth noting that he was after Kessler before he closed on Williams. If we had landed Kessler, K might have backed off some of the other big man prospects.

Personally, I would sorta like to see what Duke would look like with a 5-out lineup. That is what basketball is increasingly moving toward and having fewer bodies inside will free up driving lanes for the many slasher we will have next season.

I think it is a false narrative to say we don't need two real big men on the team because we can always play 5 smaller players and be effective doing that. We could have everyone we expect to have for 2020/2021 and still have room for another true big man. We just were unsuccessful in recruiting a second. Other teams will have them. Teams like Florida State always has multiple bigs and we could be at a disadvantage if Williams is injured, foul prone or doesn't work out. Good luck playing one of our 6'9" 210 pound guys against and Azibuke like center.

[dm9e24]

I think we offered 2 big men and slow played Bacot a year ago to go 1 for 3. This year we concentrated on Williams and Kessler and offered one other guy after Kessler went elsewhere. 1 for 3 again.

I think we have offered 1 kid in the 2021 class that is a 5.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I think we offered 2 big men and slow played Bacot a year ago to go 1 for 3. This year we concentrated on Williams and Kessler and offered one other guy after Kessler went elsewhere. 1 for 3 again.

I think we have offered 1 kid in the 2021 class that is a 5.

Duke offered Bacot, Carey, Isaiah Stewart, and Matthew Hurt as big men for the Class of 2019 and really wanted 2 out of the three between Carey, Hurt, and Stewart. I think they did pretty well.

The coaching staff really wanted Walker Kessler for the Class of 2020. After Kessler chose to go to UNC, only then did Duke extend an offer to Hunter Dickinson. But the time Dickinson narrowed his choices down and committed to Michigan, Mark Williams had already committed to Duke. The jury is still out on whether Duke is going to miss Kessler and/or Dickinson.

I have a feeling that Duke fans are going to love seeing Jalen Johnson at the 4 a lot next year.

[jimsumner]

Duke offered Bacot, Carey, Isaiah Stewart, and Matthew Hurt as big men for the Class of 2019 and really wanted 2 out of the three between Carey, Hurt, and Stewart. I think they did pretty well.

The coaching staff really wanted Walker Kessler for the Class of 2020. After Kessler chose to go to UNC, only then did Duke extend an offer to Hunter Dickinson. But the time Dickinson narrowed his choices down and committed to Michigan, Mark Williams had already committed to Duke. The jury is still out on whether Duke is going to miss Kessler and/or Dickinson.

I have a feeling that Duke fans are going to love seeing Jalen Johnson at the 4 a lot next year.

I think the jury is out as to whether Duke will miss Dickinson. But Duke would have found a way to not only use Kessler but to maximize him. I'm still perplexed by his early commitment to Carolina. Just a head-scratcher. Come here and be the next Luke Maye versus come here and be the next Christian Laettner. And he picks the Luke Maye route.

[SavDukeGrad]

I think the jury is out as to whether Duke will miss Dickinson. But Duke would have found a way to not only use Kessler but to maximize him. I'm still perplexed by his early commitment to Carolina. Just a head-scratcher. Come here and be the next Luke Maye versus come here and be the next Christian Laettner. And he picks the Luke Maye route.

I actually asked my son-in-law, a UGA grad with pretty extensive knowledge of the Kessler family, that question when Kessler committed. Remember the Kessler family is UGA royalty.

He said what he heard, circulating in the UGA community, was that Walker had grown up a Cheat fan and Carolina was his dream school. FWIW.

I have often wondered how Walker feels about his choice these days, given Carolina's performance this season, Roy’s comments about his players, and the way they have handled another top recruit and his draft projections (Anthony this year, Little last year).

[DavidBenAkiva]

I think the jury is out as to whether Duke will miss Dickinson. But Duke would have found a way to not only use Kessler but to maximize him. I'm still perplexed by his early commitment to Carolina. Just a head-scratcher. Come here and be the next Luke Maye versus come here and be the next Christian Laettner. And he picks the Luke Maye route.

Agreed. It was a real head-scratcher. Kessler is going to most likely come off the bench as a freshman as Garrison Brooks earns 30+ minutes for Roy and he'll probably start Bacot at center. So he'll be paired with Sharpe, another center that offers no perimeter shooting or the lateral quickness to stay in front of forwards or guards. The path to playing time will only be there as a sophomore and beyond. He could have had a special career at Duke where his gifts would have been used by someone that really knew how to position him for success in college and beyond.

[Owen Meany]

Random, interesting tidbit that doesn't fit any particular thread,but not worth starting a new thread for. And it does involve a 2020 recruit - Marcus Bagley, brother of Marvin and recruit of Bobby Hurley. I just saw where the remainder of their season was cancelled due to coronavirus fears. Not sure who made the decision,but it wasn't state-wide as their opponent is moving forward in the playoffs.

[dm9e24]

Duke offered Bacot, Carey, Isaiah Stewart, and Matthew Hurt as big men for the Class of 2019 and really wanted 2 out of the three between Carey, Hurt, and Stewart. I think they did pretty well.

The coaching staff really wanted Walker Kessler for the Class of 2020. After Kessler chose to go to UNC, only then did Duke extend an offer to Hunter Dickinson. But the time Dickinson narrowed his choices down and committed to Michigan, Mark Williams had already committed to Duke. The jury is still out on whether Duke is going to miss Kessler and/or Dickinson.

I have a feeling that Duke fans are going to love seeing Jalen Johnson at the 4 a lot next year.

Under that rational, then I guess we actually recruited 4 bigs this year. If Hurt was a big man, then so is Jalen. I think we will regret backing off of Bacot in pursuit of Stewart, who obviously never had in interest in coming to Duke. Much like Kessler. And there is no guarantee that Matthew will be in a Duke uniform next year.

So we will see if they did pretty well in the 2019 class in another month or two. We could end up with no "bigs" next year from that class. We will see. Hopefully Matthew can have a bigger impact the rest of the year than what he has had the last two weeks. Justin Robinson put him on the bench tonight. That was one game after out performing Matthew in the NC State game. The 2010 version of Zoobs, hopefully.

Agree on Jalen. Lots of talent. After seeing what the staff did with Carey, can't wait to watch this kid next year.

[Jaks19]

Not sure what is considered a "big" anymore. Is this a player that can play the 5? If so, then Mark Williams at 7-0 225 and Henry Coleman at 6-8 245 will both be able to play the 5. Also if Hurt comes back, I am sure there will be times when he is the only 'Big". Both Jalen Johnson and Jaemyn Brakefield are approx. 6-9 220 and both can play the 4 which is still considered a position that a "big" should occupy. BUT with that said, Duke has managed to play and been successful with stretch 4 type guys which are bigger small forwards.

I think Duke would benefit from another guy that can play the 5 (hopefully an upperclassmen) and Id like to see another 6-5/6-6 wing guard who is athletic too

[Troublemaker]

I think it is a false narrative to say we don't need two real big men on the team because we can always play 5 smaller players and be effective doing that. We could have everyone we expect to have for 2020/2021 and still have room for another true big man.

Name the highly-ranked 5 that is available. A lowly-ranked 5 would probably sit on the bench for four years (or transfer) if history is any indicator.

Other teams will have them. Teams like Florida State always has multiple bigs and we could be at a disadvantage if Williams is injured, foul prone or doesn't work out. Good luck playing one of our 6'9" 210 pound guys against and Azibuke like center.

First, I would expect anyone guarding center next year to be 225-ish pounds at least.

Second, there is only one Udoka Azubuike; he's fairly unique in terms of size, efficiency, and two-way impact. Odds are we wouldn't have to face an Azubuike next year.

Third, the idea would be for Duke's forwards to be a bigger mismatch against true centers than the true centers are a mismatch for us. Frankly, if we play Jalen and Matt at the 4 and 5 in some arrangement next season, a lot of opposing centers would get played off the floor by Duke.

Fourth, as others have mentioned, I think you're overlooking Henry Coleman as an option if his listed weight (240 lbs) on 247 is accurate.

Maybe Duke does end up recruiting another center. But I'm okay if we don't.

[Saratoga2]

Name the highly-ranked 5 that is available. A lowly-ranked 5 would probably sit on the bench for four years (or transfer) if history is any indicator.



First, I would expect anyone guarding center next year to be 225-ish pounds at least.

Second, there is only one Udoka Azubuike; he's fairly unique in terms of size, efficiency, and two-way impact. Odds are we wouldn't have to face an Azubuike next year.

Third, the idea would be for Duke's forwards to be a bigger mismatch against true centers than the true centers are a mismatch for us. Frankly, if we play Jalen and Matt at the 4 and 5 in some arrangement next season, a lot of opposing centers would get played off the floor by Duke.

Fourth, as others have mentioned, I think you're overlooking Henry Coleman as an option if his listed weight (240 lbs) on 247 is accurate.

Maybe Duke does end up recruiting another center. But I'm okay if we don't.

I'm reading that Coleman is chisled and may still be growing. He probably is the best bet to sub into the 5 next year. The video I have watched of him doesn't seem to have him above the rim but if he boxes out and can keep players from backing him down, he can probably do the job.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I feel like I should put a nickel in the jar each time I read that Henry Coleman, a person that I would bet none of us have met in real life, is growing or is now up to 6'8" and 245 lbs. This is like the updates on Vernon Carey's weight last summer. 'I heard he was down to 255!' And then he was listed at 270 in the official roster on GoDuke.com.