2023 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[jimsumner]

Is he not going pro for some reason?

He is not having a good season. But I still see him at the bottom of the first round in some mock drafts.

[Bluedog]

He is not having a good season. But I still see him at the bottom of the first round in some mock drafts.

Thanks Jim. I just assumed he was gone regardless, but admittedly, haven't paid attention to how his season was going. Still, if he's likely going to be drafted, I don't see him transferring and playing another year of college ball. In fact, that could be to his detriment as freshman still get more slack from NBA GMs due to their "potential" than sophomores get...

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

He is not having a good season. But I still see him at the bottom of the first round in some mock drafts.

13.4 pts 6.6 reb against Horizon League competition. Yikes.

[kAzE]

13.4 pts 6.6 reb against Horizon League competition. Yikes.

on 37/32/74 shooting. Young guy, and still a lot of untapped upside, but that is pretty bad for a guy who was supposed to be a lottery pick. He may still be recovering from his injury which kept him out most of last season, but we may have dodged a bullet.

[dukelion]

on 37/32/74 shooting. Young guy, and still a lot of untapped upside, but that is pretty bad for a guy who was supposed to be a lottery pick. He may still be recovering from his injury which kept him out most of last season, but we may have dodged a bullet.

Perhaps his stats are impacted because he's the focus of the offense but I agree....those are near horrific numbers for a potential lottery pick.

[brevity]

He is not having a good season. But I still see him at the bottom of the first round in some mock drafts.

Milwaukee is playing their 17th game of the season right now (Illinois-Chicago has come back from a 7-point halftime deficit to take the lead), but so far Patrick Baldwin Jr. has only played in 8 of them. This list of starting lineups and this individual game log tells part of the story:

Started Games 1-4, but injured his leg during a collision in the first half of Game 4 and missed Games 5-7.

Started Games 8-10, but was out with COVID and missed Games 11-13.

Came off the bench for Game 14, playing 11 minutes and injuring his ankle in the second half. He's been out ever since.

I watched some of their game at Detroit Mercy last week on ESPN2, where I learned of his injury, and noticed that the court was named for former Mercy coach Dick Vitale. You might recognize their current coach, Mike Davis, from his previous stints at Indiana, UAB, and Texas Southern. Like Pat Baldwin Sr., he also coaches his son. Antoine Davis scored 39 points in a 25-point win, watched by several NBA scouts.

Milwaukee's record is 3-5 with Baldwin and 2-6 without him. Also on the team's roster are Vin Baker Jr. and Moses Bol, who is related to Manute Bol and Bol Bol.

[kAzE]

Perhaps his stats are impacted because he's the focus of the offense but I agree...those are near horrific numbers for a potential lottery pick.

And yet he's still playing better than the guy who was supposed to be the next Kevin Durant

I'm beginning to think, between these couple of extremely overrated guys and the 2 somewhat underrated freshman who came to Duke (AJ and Trevor), that scouting during a pandemic is a tough job.

[tommy]

Also: I forget whether his dad got a contract extension before this year, but I do remember he was on shaky ground. The team is having a simply awful year -- lots of ugly losses to bad teams. Dad got to stay on the job because his son was coming. But having a terrible year with his son underwhelming on the court -- dad may get the pink slip and that'll be that for junior -- to the draft he goes. But he would probably be going under any circumstances anyway.

[johnb]

And yet he's still playing better than the guy who was supposed to be the next Kevin Durant

I'm beginning to think, between these couple of extremely overrated guys and the 2 somewhat underrated freshman who came to Duke (AJ and Trevor), that scouting during a pandemic is a tough job.

I’d add that coaching is also a tough job, and Keels is being given space to flex his muscles, while AJ has been brought along quite well post-injury and is poised to solidify himself as a star.

[Pghdukie]

Hoop Hall in Massachusetts this weekend will be a hotbed of top notch talent.

[rsvman]

And yet he's still playing better than the guy who was supposed to be the next Kevin Durant

I'm beginning to think, between these couple of extremely overrated guys and the 2 somewhat underrated freshman who came to Duke (AJ and Trevor), that scouting during a pandemic is a tough job.

Another conclusion might be that we are better at scouting than some others.

[CDu]

Another conclusion might be that we are better at scouting than some others.

I mean, we very much wanted Baldwin too.

[jimsumner]

I mean, we very much wanted Baldwin too.

Absolutely. Baldwin was K's top priority in that class for several years.

[tommy]

I mean, we very much wanted Baldwin too.

At various points we were interested in Baldwin, Max Christie, and Caleb Houston to come in as a hopeful knock down shooter. None of them have been very good so far this year. Baldwin is scoring the most but his shooting has been pretty poor — he scores more points because he shoots more. Christie has shot the best of the three, but he’s not been great. He’s been ok. And Houston has probably been the most disappointing recruit in the class. Just hasn’t hit shots at all.

[kAzE]

I mean, we very much wanted Baldwin too.

Although adding Baldwin would have created a logjam at the forward position, I think he has a much, much more efficient season to this point if he were playing with guys like Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore, and Paolo Banchero. Obviously, he would not be getting the kind of usage that he is getting with UWM, but how wide open are his looks when the likes of Paolo, AJ, and Wendell are drawing 2 or sometimes 3 defenders in the paint? At this point, Baldwin is a not a player who can create offense for himself off the dribble, and he is also dealing with some injuries and Covid, so in hindsight, his poor performance probably isn't THAT unreasonable. He's still a great NBA prospect because of his size, skill level, and shooting touch.

Baldwin would have been a luxury on this team, and I feel adding him would have had diminishing returns since we have so many talented forwards. Kennedy Chandler is the recruiting miss who could have really boosted this particular team.

[simplyluvin]

Although adding Baldwin would have created a logjam at the forward position, I think he has a much, much more efficient season to this point if he were playing with guys like Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore, and Paolo Banchero. Obviously, he would not be getting the kind of usage that he is getting with UWM, but how wide open are his looks when the likes of Paolo, AJ, and Wendell are drawing 2 or sometimes 3 defenders in the paint? At this point, Baldwin is a not a player who can create offense for himself off the dribble, and he is also dealing with some injuries and Covid, so in hindsight, his poor performance probably isn't THAT unreasonable. He's still a great NBA prospect because of his size, skill level, and shooting touch.

Baldwin would have been a luxury on this team, and I feel adding him would have had diminishing returns since we have so many talented forwards. Kennedy Chandler is the recruiting miss who could have really boosted this particular team.

Yup, agree. Chandler is the playmaking type that could really have helped. We probably don’t get Keels though, who is a better shooter, and I’m purely speculating here but likely the better defender.

[Phredd3]

Yup, agree. Chandler is the playmaking type that could really have helped. We probably don’t get Keels though, who is a better shooter, and I’m purely speculating here but likely the better defender.

I"m still waiting for the proof of this particular pudding. 30% is kinda killing us at the moment.

[budwom]

Just an idle thought. Would Patrick Baldwin consider the Transfer Portal and attend Duke for his sophomore season ?

I could see it happening only if his father got canned at Milwaukee...the grand plan of rescuing him doesn't seem to be working, they're 6-12 now.

He's not having a good year at all this year, but I could see that changing at a better school...some very savvy people feel he would have been a terrific Blue Devil.

[brlftz]

At the time that felt like a decision Baldwin made for all the wrong reasons, which I felt reflected very poorly on the father. Not surprised it isn’t working out well.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I could see it happening only if his father got canned at Milwaukee...the grand plan of rescuing him doesn't seem to be working, they're 6-12 now.

He's not having a good year at all this year, but I could see that changing at a better school...some very savvy people feel he would have been a terrific Blue Devil.

He is listed as a 'G' and we do need a starting 2...