2020 Duke men's basketball recruiting

[MCFinARL]

Dun;t wurry -- noone is perfcet.

Do you think so? I never thought Herman's Hermits were all that great.

[BD80]

Do you think so? I never thought Herman's Hermits were all that great.

He meant Noonan. Who was perfect. Didn't you see the putt he made on 18 to beat Judge Smails and Dr. Beeper?

[Messimorgan17]

I am as proud of the Duke program as anyone else on this board, but I suspect many top tier prospects don't spend much more time and effort in their four months of class at Duke than their counterparts at other universities.
I could be wrong.

Do you really believe that all the one and dones that have come thru Duke over the past 9 years were really worthy academically? What about the ones that got away and went to other schools?

[MartyClark]

Do you really believe that all the one and dones that have come thru Duke over the past 9 years were really worthy academically? What about the ones that got away and went to other schools?

I'm not an expert in these things but . . . I don't think that many, if any, of the Duke BB players in the past ten years would have gotten into Duke solely based on academics. No knock against them. I could not have gotten into Duke based on my record either.

I suspect, but don't know, that all of the Duke recruits went to class, made an effort and, as part of the recruiting process, were screened to be kids who were willing, able, and ready to participate in a stringent academic environment.

I like to think the best of the Duke players. I have no inside information.

[roywhite]

I'm not an expert in these things but . . . I don't think that many, if any, of the Duke BB players in the past ten years would have gotten into Duke solely based on academics. No knock against them. I could not have gotten into Duke based on my record either.

I suspect, but don't know, that all of the Duke recruits went to class, made an effort and, as part of the recruiting process, were screened to be kids who were willing, able, and ready to participate in a stringent academic environment.

I like to think the best of the Duke players. I have no inside information.

No inside knowledge of transcripts or test scores, but the Plumlee brothers might be exceptions to your observation.

[Tazman10]

No inside knowledge of transcripts or test scores, but the Plumlee brothers might be exceptions to your observation.

I do not believe for a second that Coach K would allow ANY of his recruits to skip a class.

[Bluedog]

No inside knowledge of transcripts or test scores, but the Plumlee brothers might be exceptions to your observation.

I think Miles is the last Duke male basketball recruit to matriculate to Pratt (although he transferred during freshman year to Trinity). Zoubek is another recent top student to come to mind (choosing Duke over Stanford and Princeton -- and my secondhand information of knowing people in Zoubek's classes while at Duke all say that guy is definitely a smart dude).

I think it's also important to note that many of these guys would have higher academic credentials were it not for the insane commitment they've made to basketball. Said another way, they'd be more incentivized and have more time to get test tutors, spend more time on their studies, etc. but they know they don't have to and that the best course of action for their future is to maximize basketball success. They're not going to retake the SAT because of a subpar score while a standard applicant assuredly would.

But the excellence they've shown in basketball would often translate to academics should they have chosen that path. They're "angular" applicants (i.e. world class in one particular thing) rather than well-rounded -- and Guttentag (and all top schools) prefer angular applicants (of course one could argue that athletic excellence shouldn't be weighed the same but that's a whole other argument).

Now back to your regular scheduled programming...

[nmduke2001]

No inside knowledge of transcripts or test scores, but the Plumlee brothers might be exceptions to your observation.

Grayson Allen graduated high school with a 4.4 gpa and was vp of his class. He might have made it if he tested well enough.

Btw, the article I found the info on was tilted “Duke commit Grayson Allen is the player you will love to hate”

https://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...n-dunk-contest

But the media had nothing to do with people not liking him...

[kcduke75]

Who do you think will be our next recruit to make a decision and do you think he join the Brotherhood?

Hate to lose our awesome momentum, especially compared to the beginning of 2019 recruiting.

[BD80]

Who do you think will be our next recruit to make a decision and do you think he join the Brotherhood?

Hate to lose our awesome momentum, especially compared to the beginning of 2019 recruiting.

Every recruiting class runs its own race ...

[mattman91]

Who do you think will be our next recruit to make a decision and do you think he join the Brotherhood?

Hate to lose our awesome momentum, especially compared to the beginning of 2019 recruiting.

Kessler?

[budwom]

Who do you think will be our next recruit to make a decision and do you think he join the Brotherhood?

Hate to lose our awesome momentum, especially compared to the beginning of 2019 recruiting.

Can a kid commit and not join the Brotherhood?

[Matches]

I do not believe for a second that Coach K would allow ANY of his recruits to skip a class.

When I was a student (in the 90's), the basketball players regularly missed class. It was more noticeable in the spring when the season was in progress, but it happened all year long - just, frankly, as it does for most students at some point.

[English]

Can a kid commit and not join the Brotherhood?

Sure, he could commit to another school.

[English]

When I was a student (in the 90's), the basketball players regularly missed class. It was more noticeable in the spring when the season was in progress, but it happened all year long - just, frankly, as it does for most students at some point.

Everyone misses class in a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-year college career. Missing class =/= skipping class.

I suspect Coach K and his coaching staff/academic staff keeps tabs on his players' classroom attendance, but I also suspect that somewhere along the line, there are some skipped classes. Sorry if that sounds unnecessarily argumentative...I agree with your premise, just want to point out the difference between missing class and skipping class. There are plenty of reasons a collegiate athlete would have to miss class, and they're typically afforded a more flexible schedule to accommodate their other obligations.

[JasonEvans]

Everyone misses class in a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-year college career. Missing class =/= skipping class.

I suspect Coach K and his coaching staff/academic staff keeps tabs on his players' classroom attendance, but I also suspect that somewhere along the line, there are some skipped classes. Sorry if that sounds unnecessarily argumentative...I agree with your premise, just want to point out the difference between missing class and skipping class. There are plenty of reasons a collegiate athlete would have to miss class, and they're typically afforded a more flexible schedule to accommodate their other obligations.

It is also worth noting that the athletic department employs a veritable army of tutors to help players (especially in the revenue sports) keep up with class work... even if the player was not present for the class.

[BD80]

It is also worth noting that the athletic department employs a veritable army of tutors to help players ...

At unc, the tutors have names like "Fats"

[sagegrouse]

I'm not an expert in these things but . . . I don't think that many, if any, of the Duke BB players in the past ten years would have gotten into Duke solely based on academics. No knock against them. I could not have gotten into Duke based on my record either.

Going back a few more years, Thomas Hill, Antonio Lang, and Bobby Hurley were either valedictorian or salutatorian of their HS classes. Crawford Palmer graduated in three years and went to the Tuck School at Dartmouth. Trajan Langdon was a certified genius (by his teammates) -- math major and son of a professor. Nick Horvath was a double major in English and physics, wasn't he? Taymon Domzalski graduated Duke med school. (Even earlier, Duke Law School grads included Quin Snyder and Bilas.)

[jimsumner]

Going back a few more years, Thomas Hill, Antonio Lang, and Bobby Hurley were either valedictorian or salutatorian of their HS classes. Crawford Palmer graduated in three years and went to the Tuck School at Dartmouth. Trajan Langdon was a certified genius (by his teammates) -- math major and son of a professor. Nick Horvath was a double major in English and physics, wasn't he? Taymon Domzalski graduated Duke med school. (Even earlier, Duke Law School grads included Quin Snyder and Bilas.)

Matt Christensen was an excellent student. As was Clay Buckley.

Dick DeVenzio was a contemporary of mine. He was 5-10, did not put on airs and was as bright as anyone at Duke. I guarantee you a substantial number of his classmates had no idea he played basketball.

Basketball players MISS classes all the time due to travel. They work it out with their professors ahead of time and make up the necessary work.

Basketball players do not SKIP classes on a regular basis.

There's a difference.

[AGDukesky]

^plus Grant Hill