2021 Men's Basketball Recruiting Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

ESPN has updated its rankings for the Class of 2021. Here are the top 10 and other Duke targets:

1. Jonathan Kuminga 6'7" SF, Elizabeth, NJ
2. Chet Holmgren, 7'0" C, Minneapolis, MN
3. Patrick Baldwin, Jr., 6'9" PF, Sussex, WI
4. Paolo Banchero, 6'8" PF, Seattle, WA
5. Jaden Hardy, 6'4" SG, Henderson, NV
6. Jabari Smith, 6'8" PF, Tyrone, GA
7. Michael Foster, 6'8" PF, Milwaukee, WI
8. Moussa Cisse, 6'11" C, Memphis, TN
9. Moussa Diabate, 6'10" PF, Bradenton, FL
10. Nate Bittle, 6'11" C, Central Point, OR
11. AJ Griffin, 6'6" SF, White Plains, NY - Committed to Duke
14. Kennedy Chandler, 5'11" PG, Memphis, TN
15. Max Christie, 6'4" SG, Rolling Meadows, IL
17. Trevor Keels, 6'4" SG, Fairfax, VA
30. Charles Bediako, 6'10" C, Brampton, ON, Canada

I don't recall where AJ Griffin was before this. He's been a consensus top 10 player in the class as far back as I can remember. The 247Sports Composite has Griffin at #7 overall and #6 on the 247Sports only rankings. Some of the heights listed by ESPN seem out of date to me as well. I've seen Banchero listed at either 6'9" or 6'10" while Max Christie is listed at 6'6' elsewhere. At any rate, Duke is heavily after 2 of the top 4 players in the class and 6 of the top 17. As it stands now, I think they get 5 of the top 15 players in the class. It would be a very good class in terms of skills and overall talent.

[bullettoothtony]

David, do you think the 5 will be Griffin, Baldwin, Banchero, Chandler, and either Christie or Keels?

[DavidBenAkiva]

David, do you think the 5 will be Griffin, Baldwin, Banchero, Chandler, and either Christie or Keels?

It seems to me the coaching staff has settled on Chandler, Griffin, Baldwin, and Banchero. They have offers out to both Christie and Keels. Christie knows and is friends with Baldwin and Griffin. The latter grew up in the Chicago area while his dad, Adrian Sr. played for and later became an assistant with the Chicago Bulls. Both Baldwin and Christie have mothers that played for Northwestern. I think the three compliment each other incredibly well and the coaching staff saw the connection early on. Of course, Christie hasn't visited and it seems like the Duke coaching staff hasn't been on him to the degree that they have been on Baldwin. To me, I think the strategy is to get Baldwin to commit and then ramp up interest and attention with Christie.

Keels is an interesting player. Like Christie, he's a sniper from deep and a heck of player in his own right. He's close with Jeremy Roach as the two were high school teammates. Keels has visited Duke and has an offer. I don't want to say he's a backup option, but it seems like he has opened the eyes of the staff. My personal take is that they plan is to get Baldwin to commit soon if they can and then get Christie. If that happens and Keels is still listening, we'll see what happens. I could see a situation in which DJ Steward outplays his ranking and has a Cassius Stanley-esque season ending in the NBA Draft. If that happens, Duke could make an appealing destination for both Christie and Keels. I'm not sure either will be available by the end of the college season. That's the bind.

[bullettoothtony]

Banchero names Top 6.

https://247sports.com/college/basket...ton-146624626/

[DavidBenAkiva]

Top 2021 big man Paolo Banchero previously announced a final 9 schools in September 2019. That list included Baylor, Duke, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. The last of that list is based in his hometown Seattle. Banchero announced this morning that his Top 6 schools will be announced shortly, and that he'll decide from that smaller group. Expect to see Duke in that list.

If I had to guess, we'll probably see Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Memphis, and Washington among his top 6. I'm not sure what the 6th school will be. And I could certainly be wrong about one or more of those 5. It's just a guess on my part to be perfectly honest.

This is why I shouldn't make guesses, right?

Banchero's top 6 includes Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Washington. I was off about Memphis. He dropped Baylor, Georgetown, Memphis, and North Carolina while adding in Arizona.

Here's what Banchero had to say about Duke in an interview with Evan Daniels:

Duke: “Coach [Jon] Scheyer, Coach K obviously and the rest of the staff. They’re all legendary. Their biggest thing that I look at is if you look at all of their best players over the years, especially freshman, they put the ball in their best players hands which is usually freshman. They have done that every year, I think it’s the third straight year with Vernon Carey that they have had the Freshman of the Year. I think it’s three straight. Their pitch is that I will go there and they will let me play and play through my mistakes. I’m going to have the ball in my hands and try to win a national championship and be able to be a part of the brotherhood which is bigger than basketball.”

Banchero goes on to say that he does not plan on committing until the spring of 2021, after his high school career is over. Duke appears to be in it for the long hall.

[BD80]

… Here's what Banchero had to say about Duke in an interview with Evan Daniels:

"… Their pitch is that I will go there and they will let me play and play through my mistakes. I’m going to have the ball in my hands and try to win a national championship and be able to be a part of the brotherhood which is bigger than basketball.”


...

Pretty good pitch.

[brevity]

Banchero's top 6 includes Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Washington.

Banchero has long been connected to top PG recruit Kennedy Chandler. The latter recently had a virtual visit with the Duke staff. The two talk often and have said they want to play together in college.

We'll soon see how Chandler's finalists match up (he announces today at 3pm Central time):

Kennedy Chandler @KChandler_1

Top 5 coming out tomorrow!!

3:28 PM · Apr 29, 2020

Kennedy Chandler @KChandler_1

3:00!!

11:31 AM · Apr 30, 2020

Kennedy Chandler @KChandler_1

Central time

11:41 AM · Apr 30, 2020

[BD80]

I'm going to be announcing my top 3 desserts at 4:00pm! Eastern Time!

Sounds like the perfect circumstance for a pie bet.

[MarkD83]

In no particular order

Key lime
Apple
Peach
Pecan
Strawberry Rhubarb

[UrinalCake]

Chandler’s top 5

E12E828D-EAF2-4D20-ADCD-ED430FAF5988.jpg

[brevity]

Banchero's top 6 includes Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Washington.

Kennedy Chandler's top 5: Duke, North Carolina, Memphis, Tennessee, Kentucky.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Chandler’s top 5

E12E828D-EAF2-4D20-ADCD-ED430FAF5988.jpg

Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina, and Tennessee

That was about as expected. Banchero and Kennedy, if they really want to play together, have Duke, Kentucky, and Tennessee in common. By all accounts, Duke appears to be in a good position here. I think a lot of this will have to do with Jeremy Roach. It's not clear to me that these two are mutually exclusive. After all, some of Duke's best teams have had two PGs. But that's how it is these days.

[mattman91]

Sounds like the perfect circumstance for a pie bet.

Crap. Forgot.

1. Pound Cake
2. Apple Pie and vanilla ice cream
3. Red Velvet Cake

[mattman91]

Crap. Forgot.

1. Pound Cake
2. Apple Pie and vanilla ice cream
3. Red Velvet Cake

I'd like to thank Banna Pudding and German Chocolate Cake for their interest in me.

[DU82]

Chandler’s top 5

E12E828D-EAF2-4D20-ADCD-ED430FAF5988.jpg

And he had to use the black jersey? Guess it does help in recruiting after all.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

And he had to use the black jersey? Guess it does help in recruiting after all.

That's better than looking like Kentucky and Memphis.

[MarkD83]

Crap. Forgot.

1. Pound Cake
2. Apple Pie and vanilla ice cream
3. Red Velvet Cake

This is outrageous....

Only Apple Pie is a pie and why ruin it with ice cream!!!!

[mattman91]

This is outrageous...

Only Apple Pie is a pie and why ruin it with ice cream!!!!

They are a package deal!

[MarkD83]

They are a package deal!

OK... Ice cream can play great defense...it will smother the pie and make it cold...

[camion]

OK... Ice cream can play great defense...it will smother the pie and make it cold...

The way I see it apple pie is a score with ice cream getting the assist.