2021 Men's Basketball Recruiting Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

There appears to be growing confidence from the Duke insiders regarding PBJ. An announcement could be imminent...

[plimnko]

There appears to be growing confidence from the Duke insiders regarding PBJ. An announcement could be imminent...

OR it couldn't. who knows in this new wild wild west college basketball has become? does that sound too cynical?

[Music man55]

OR it couldn't. who knows in this new wild wild west college basketball has become? does that sound too cynical?

PBJ could commit to Duke, I mean, who knows? In one way, I’m concerned someone might transfer out if he does. On the other hand, if he comes, I’ll just be even more excited about our team next year. As plimnko said, in this Wild West of college bb, you don’t know anymore. If we get him, then more power to us! Let’s go DUKE!

[MarkD83]

I am waiting for the ultimate melt down....a player commits and then enters the transfer portal and then declares for the G-league....

[arnie]

Why would you say a thing like that?

Um, I feel for players like Wendell that were highly recruited, maybe didn’t have stellar couple of seasons, but are sticking it out. If given the choice between a year of freshman Baldwin vs 1-2 more years of Wendell, I choose the latter. And that has nothing to do with impact on b-ball record.

[Natty_B]

Um, I feel for players like Wendell that were highly recruited, maybe didn’t have stellar couple of seasons, but are sticking it out. If given the choice between a year of freshman Baldwin vs 1-2 more years of Wendell, I choose the latter. And that has nothing to do with impact on b-ball record.

I totally agree. Many fans (not on this site) totally forget about a player in their fevered rush to build a super team.

[scottdude8]

Um, I feel for players like Wendell that were highly recruited, maybe didn’t have stellar couple of seasons, but are sticking it out. If given the choice between a year of freshman Baldwin vs 1-2 more years of Wendell, I choose the latter. And that has nothing to do with impact on b-ball record.

Yeah, I brought this up a bit upthread when things were still a pipe dream and it was pretty much squashed. Now we have to seriously consider this possibility given everything we’ve seen transpire this offseason.

Many saw Theo John’s one year as a “trade” for 1-3 more years of Henry Coleman and didn’t like the value. Could we be in a similar scenario with PVJ and Wendell? As some have said I have to imagine Wendell would start at the beginning of the year as a junior, most likely over AJ. But would he be satisfied with a role that would likely fluctuate between 15-25 mpg, potentially off the bench late in the season? We just don’t know.

I think having a major contributor who is a junior and can be a leader is a big X-factor for this years squad... I don’t think we’ve had a returning junior with as many minutes played as Wendell since Grayson. A team with him and PBJ plus what we already have is a NC front runner. A team where we trade PBJ for Wendell? That’s less clear for me.

[wsb3]

Um, I feel for players like Wendell that were highly recruited, maybe didn’t have stellar couple of seasons, but are sticking it out. If given the choice between a year of freshman Baldwin vs 1-2 more years of Wendell, I choose the latter. And that has nothing to do with impact on b-ball record.

I agree. I am hoping a conversation has been had with Wendell and he is on board.

[Natty_B]

I agree. I am hoping a conversation has been had with Wendell and he is on board.

If so then Duke should sell the secrets of that “don’t transfer” conversation to every other college coach.

[JasonEvans]

I hope all of you have had a chance to listen to the latest episode of Return to Glory ( https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/duk...=VMP6294147238 ) where Nate James talks about how he felt when Chris Duhon replaced him as a starter during the 2001 season. Nate says:

When I was, you know, taken out of the starting lineup, immediately I went to went to Chris and was like “look man, I'm good. Like, we need you to be great. Like, I want to win a national championship, you know, so I'm fine.”

Not everyone is all about their own playing time. Some people see the bigger picture and recognize that team success is often just as important as individual success.

We have no idea what Wendell may be thinking, but I get the impression he is a "big picture" kinda guy who will recognize that he is going to see significant minutes (20+) next season under any scenario and that, after two years of not playing in the NCAA tourney, he is pretty eager for a major post-season run to be part of his legacy.

[UrinalCake]

I don’t think Wendell would leave if we got Baldwin. K trusts him and he’s going to play a key role regardless, probably as a captain. Baker on the other hand...

[jaywilliams22]

I don’t think Wendell would leave if we got Baldwin. K trusts him and he’s going to play a key role regardless, probably as a captain. Baker on the other hand...

That would be my guess as well. I don't see a world where Wendell transfers if we get PBJ. A lot of these guys are interchangeable and I imagine we'll mix/match lineups all year.

Baker would have a difficult time seeing the court if PBJ does in fact come

[azzefkram]

I don't see how PBJ committing to Duke is an issue for Wendell. Wendell would definitely be in the top 7 players, possibly top 5. PBJ would probably have a bigger impact on Joey's and Theo's playing time.

[proelitedota]

If we get PBJ, that's seven top 25 players recruit rankings wise. Have we ever been this top heavy before?

[proelitedota]

I don't think PBJ is an issue for Wendell either. I think AJ Griffin Jr might decommit as the PBJ would take his starting position at the 3.

I remembered being made fun of when I said our bench is more talented than most of the ACC.

With PBJ in the starting lineup, our bench is definitely number 2 in the ACC talent wise.

1 top 5, 1 top 15, 1 top 50, 1 top 100, and one of the best grad transfer bigs.

[JasonEvans]

If we get PBJ, that's seven top 25 players recruit rankings wise. Have we ever been this top heavy before?

It is not at all uncommon for Duke to have 6 Top 25 recruits on the roster at the same time. We have done that multiple times over the past decade (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2020-21).

But the year to beat is 2016-17. It was just lousy with top 25 recruits, 8 of them. By class:

2012 - #21 Amile Jefferson
2014 - #24 Greyson Allen
2015 - #14 Chase Jeter, #21 Luke Kennard
2016 - #2 Harry Giles, #3 Jayson Tatum, #11 Marques Bolden, #14 Frank Jackson

Looking at that list should tell you there is a lot more than recruiting ranking that goes into a successful team. Injuries (Giles) and guys who don't perform up to expectations (Jeter, Bolden) go a long way toward determining how far a team will go.

[JasonEvans]

I don't think PBJ is an issue for Wendell either. I think AJ Griffin Jr might decommit as the PBJ would take his starting position at the 3.

Well, seeing as AJ and Keels (and Banchero) are reported to be hard at work trying to convince PBJ to come to Duke, that would seem to be a somewhat incongruous statement on your part.

[proelitedota]

It is not at all uncommon for Duke to have 6 Top 25 recruits on the roster at the same time. We have done that multiple times over the past decade (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2020-21).

But the year to beat is 2016-17. It was just lousy with top 25 recruits, 8 of them. By class:

2012 - #21 Amile Jefferson
2014 - #24 Greyson Allen
2015 - #14 Chase Jeter, #21 Luke Kennard
2016 - #2 Harry Giles, #3 Jayson Tatum, #11 Marques Bolden, #14 Frank Jackson

Looking at that list should tell you there is a lot more than recruiting ranking that goes into a successful team. Injuries (Giles) and guys who don't perform up to expectations (Jeter, Bolden) go a long way toward determining how far a team will go.

I feel confident that the top seven recruiting wise we have with PBJ next year is actually the best top seven we've ever had, as they'll be the seven that will play the heaviest minutes. Of course assuming if PBJ commits.

[proelitedota]

Well, seeing as AJ and Keels (and Banchero) are reported to be hard at work trying to convince PBJ to come to Duke, that would seem to be a somewhat incongruous statement on your part.

Let me ask this, would AJ decommit be as shocking as Henry transferring? I'm not going to put too much thought into rumor mill stuff lol. After Henry left, I am of the mindset that every player and recruit places his own professional future first. (Nothing wrong with that)

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

I feel confident that the top seven recruiting wise we have with PBJ next year is actually the best top seven we've ever had, as they'll be the seven that will play the heaviest minutes. Of course assuming if PBJ commits.

Why don't we wait to see if the 2021-22 team actually plays well enough to be proclaimed the best ever? It's certainly not unusual in recent years for Duke to have a very highly rated (the "best") group of freshmen come in and join a team that ends up disappointing us when the games are played.