2023 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[Owen Meany]

Speculation that Nolan Smith and Louisville will be very involved for Mgbacko. St. John and Rick Pitino also gonna make a push. G-League Ignite could be in the mix as well.

Brendan Marks is always a good source for Duke info. He says look out for Louisville or the pros.
https://twitter.com/BrendanRMarks/st...DR5ezyhdctAAAA

[KKDL19]

Don't count out Georgetown or St John's either...

[KKDL19]

The other thing I would like to point out is that Power can do all of the things that Mac can do just not at maybe the same athletic level.

[TywinBlue]

Mike Repole, the founder of Vitaminwater, is a very involved St. Johns alumnus and Rick Pitino's new best friend.

Do not count out St. Johns with Mgbako...

[Billy Dat]

Brendan Marks is always a good source for Duke info. He says look out for Louisville or the pros.
https://twitter.com/BrendanRMarks/st...DR5ezyhdctAAAA

I was reading the comments section of Marks' "Flip stays" piece on the Athletic and one of the commenters asked another where he should go for insider info on Duke. The reply cracked me up:

"Duke Basketball Report usually has a commenter or two with solid information, but there is a lot of cheerleading there. I find it funny when people who never attended Duke explain the place to me."

[Owen Meany]

Which other schools were on Mgbako's final list when he chose Duke?

Final list Duke, Kentucky, Memphis and Ohio State. He transferred his senior year in high school and played with unc's Simeon Wilcher.

[1991 duke law]

I was reading the comments section of Marks' "Flip stays" piece on the Athletic and one of the commenters asked another where he should go for insider info on Duke. The reply cracked me up:

"Duke Basketball Report usually has a commenter or two with solid information, but there is a lot of cheerleading there. I find it funny when people who never attended Duke explain the place to me."

I do understand that point. I was at the Duke and Carolina game at the Dean Dome. Seated next to me was a squat lady (perhaps 60) who was immensely unfriendly simply because my daughter and I had Duke shirts.

She sang every Carolina song. Got in a fight with the fellow behind her who was a Duke fan - simply because he was rooting for Duke. She hated everything about Duke and clearly bled a light blue.

But the best part is - she did not grow up in North Carolina. She did not attend school at Carolina. And no one in her family attended school at Carolina. But
she claimed to have an obligation to protect the integrity of the Dean Dome by taking on fans who have the audacity to attend games and root against Carolina.

[roywhite]

And watch out for the Tarheels in the Mgbako recruitment. They're still seething over Art Heyman flipping to Duke in 1959.

[TywinBlue]

And watch out for the Tarheels in the Mgbako recruitment. They're still seething over Art Heyman flipping to Duke in 1959.

Still ??

[HoKogan]

I do understand that point. I was at the Duke and Carolina game at the Dean Dome. Seated next to me was a squat lady (perhaps 60) who was immensely unfriendly simply because my daughter and I had Duke shirts.

She sang every Carolina song. Got in a fight with the fellow behind her who was a Duke fan - simply because he was rooting for Duke. She hated everything about Duke and clearly bled a light blue.

But the best part is - she did not grow up in North Carolina. She did not attend school at Carolina. And no one in her family attended school at Carolina. But
she claimed to have an obligation to protect the integrity of the Dean Dome by taking on fans who have the audacity to attend games and root against Carolina.

The whole college fandom gatekeeping always struck me as bizarre, but especially now in today's climate where every school is trying to leverage it's brand for bigger media payouts. Duke alumni and students will always have a preferred relationship with the teams that represent them. However, if you don't think that Duke University is above selling merch and filling up Wallace Wade (and sometimes CIS) with your average Wal-Mart fan, I don't know what to tell you. Duke Athletics is a brand that they want to market to anyone and everyone they can and they want as many people as possible watching their games, wearing Duke shirts, buying tickets to Duke events. ITS WHERE THE POWER IS DERIVED!!!!!!

All that said, Duke and ND seem to be the only well known college teams where attendance is mandatory to be considered a real fan of them. Its a ridiculous notion in today's landscape.

[azzefkram]

Very bummed that MgBako decided to ask for his release. Flip, Mark, and he would have made a devastating front line.

I can't imagine it's a minutes thing. There are 120 minutes available for 3, 4 and 5. He would have gotten a ton of burn.

[dukelion]

The other thing I would like to point out is that Power can do all of the things that Mac can do just not at maybe the same athletic level.

Agreed

We didn't see Power on the all-star circuit because he's a 5th year senior but he does indeed have similar skills to Mac.

Very excited to see him next year.

[HoKogan]

Still ??

You'd think they'd be over it after Harrison Barnes and Brandon Wright.

[roywhite]

Still ??

I was going for humor there, but any school that still celebrates a "national championship" sponsored by a bakery in 1924 can reasonably be accused of living in the past from time to time.

[UrinalCake]

Forgot about him! He's been so many places that he probably did.

Also when it comes to decommits we can't forget Tyler Adams, he of cinderblock fame.

[ChillinDuke]

Mosaicing from various depths of the interwebs, a loose consensus appears to suggest Mgbako did not back out because of Flip returning (others here have said the same). The Mgbako/Flip announcements seem coincidental as far as I can tell.

It appears that something happened that is intended to remain nonpublic (by both Mgbako and Duke). I'll leave it there since I can only speculate what this means.

- Chillin

[Hartford Dukie]

Mosaicing from various depths of the interwebs, a loose consensus appears to suggest Mgbako did not back out because of Flip returning (others here have said the same). The Mgbako/Flip announcements seem coincidental as far as I can tell.

It appears that something happened that is intended to remain nonpublic (by both Mgbako and Duke). I'll leave it there since I can only speculate what this means.

- Chillin

From what I and others have read elsewhere, Chillin hit it on the head - though many here don't believe it.

[dukelifer]

Agreed

We didn't see Power on the all-star circuit because he's a 5th year senior but he does indeed have similar skills to Mac.

Very excited to see him next year.

Kid has a nice stroke. Could be a player - time will tell - but he is definitely going to get more time

[DavidBenAkiva]

Mosaicing from various depths of the interwebs, a loose consensus appears to suggest Mgbako did not back out because of Flip returning (others here have said the same). The Mgbako/Flip announcements seem coincidental as far as I can tell.

It appears that something happened that is intended to remain nonpublic (by both Mgbako and Duke). I'll leave it there since I can only speculate what this means.

- Chillin

If it is something that was meant to remain private, that could be a couple of things. Rather than speculating on this, I think it would be best to just respect that and move on. All the best to Mgbako and his family.

[HoKogan]

From what I and others have read elsewhere, Chillin hit it on the head - though many here don't believe it.

If the rumor and scuttlebutt have any validity, its going to be really disappointing, and not so much on MgBako's part. Seeing where he actually goes will say a lot as far as that rumor has any weight.