2022 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[AtlDuke72]

Good example of Mike Trout who could be the best major league player. Even Mike had to pay his dues in the minors. Being a successful hitter in the majors is hard to do when that ball is coming at you at 95-100 mph. Well unless you're Ted Williams who said he could see the ball hit the bat. In baseball if you're successful 30% of the time as a hitter, you'll play in that sport for years. 30% shooting in the NBA doesn't even get you out of the G-league.

I think this would work just as well for basketball as for baseball. Very few players are ready for the NBA when leaving high school. The Lebrons and Kobes of the world can go strsighr to the NBA. Thise that don’t want to go to college could go to the G League or overseas. The majority would go to college for a couple of years without the option of going pro. College ball would serve the same purpose that minor leagues serve baseball. Those players will come out more mature, better players which can only help the NBA. College basketball is going down the drain as things stand now

[Atldukie79]

Complementary players need better players to complement.

To clarify, which Melchionni?, Lee Melchionni was indeed a complementary player, but Gary Melchionni was much more than that. He was All-ACC while at Duke.
I wonder how many on this board remember Gary?

And I think I just typed Melchionni 4 times...hope I got it right!

[jv001]

To clarify, which Melchionni?, Lee Melchionni was indeed a complementary player, but Gary Melchionni was much more than that. He was All-ACC while at Duke.
I wonder how many on this board remember Gary?

And I think I just typed Melchionni 4 times...hope I got it right!

"The Mongoose" right? Not Gary but the offensive set?

GoDuke!

[Atldukie79]

"The Mongoose" right? Not Gary but the offensive set?

GoDuke!

Yes, the mongoose. I guess that term never caught on!

[chrishoke]

To clarify, which Melchionni?, Lee Melchionni was indeed a complementary player, but Gary Melchionni was much more than that. He was All-ACC while at Duke.
I wonder how many on this board remember Gary?

And I think I just typed Melchionni 4 times...hope I got it right!

I remember Gary. His 39 points against Maryland in Cameron was one of the highlights of the early 70's for Duke, I actually met Gary many years later on Bald Head Island of all places. Really nice guy.

[Rich]

I think this would work just as well for basketball as for baseball. Very few players are ready for the NBA when leaving high school. The Lebrons and Kobes of the world can go strsighr to the NBA. Thise that don’t want to go to college could go to the G League or overseas. The majority would go to college for a couple of years without the option of going pro. College ball would serve the same purpose that minor leagues serve baseball. Those players will come out more mature, better players which can only help the NBA. College basketball is going down the drain as things stand now

The NBA and the NBPA don't agree with this sentiment and until they do, it'll never happen.

[WillJ]

The NBA and the NBPA don't agree with this sentiment and until they do, it'll never happen.

A lot of players are starting to think that they'll mature and improve faster in one of these college-alternative leagues than they would with a similar number of years of college. From a purely basketball sense, many of them are correct. My forecast is that, within a few years, college players will be limited to those who don't think they have a realistic shot at the NBA, and in that sense it will start to resemble college tennis. I hope I'm wrong.

[English]

A lot of players are starting to think that they'll mature and improve faster in one of these college-alternative leagues than they would with a similar number of years of college. From a purely basketball sense, many of them are correct. My forecast is that, within a few years, college players will be limited to those who don't think they have a realistic shot at the NBA, and in that sense it will start to resemble college tennis. I hope I'm wrong.

A lot of players? What's a lot to you? A dozen? 15? This is one narrative, certainly, and time will tell on your forecast (I vehemently disagree, but that's not really relevant), but to-date, there have NOT been a lot of players with this mindset. It's a real outlier player that's gone that way. Jalen Green himself said via social media that he'd be in the discussion for top overall pick if he had played college ball rather than the G League route.

To your point about "many" of the players who go the college-alternative league path maturing and improving faster than they would had they chosen college...I'm confused where that conclusion is coming from. Who are these players? How do you even judge that hypothesis? Getting paid faster than a similar number of years in college? Sure. Maturing and improving faster? Highly questionable.

[mkirsh]

One thing to note is that Kyle Filipowski has a twin brother, Matt, who plays the 5 alongside Kyle, who is more of a stretch 4. Matt Filipowski is an ok prospect -- he has offers from Pitt, Colombia, and Illinois -- but not someone Duke would ordinarily consider. It is not known if Kyle and Matt want to go to school together but if they do that could complicate things a bit.

Pitt may have an early edge in this as former Duke assistant Tim O'Toole is Jeff Capel's Associate Head Coach and O'Toole's son played AAU ball with the Filipowski twins.

Too bad they are not closer in ability, as we really need a twins experiment where one goes to the G League and the other plays college hoops and we see which one develops better.

[Nugget]

The NBA and the NBPA don't agree with this sentiment and until they do, it'll never happen.

I'd actually bet that both the NBA and NBPA actually do agree with that sentiment. But, neither of them agrees with it sufficiently strongly to prioritize it in the collective bargaining negotiations or give up something else more important to them to get it done.

[budwom]

To clarify, which Melchionni?, Lee Melchionni was indeed a complementary player, but Gary Melchionni was much more than that. He was All-ACC while at Duke.
I wonder how many on this board remember Gary?

And I think I just typed Melchionni 4 times...hope I got it right!

I had a nice chat with Gary a few years ago outside the Washington Duke...a fine fellow.

[VA_BDevil]

Very minimal update here, but MJ Rice wrote a blog for Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated. He notes that Duke, among others, continues to be in contact. Rice is leaving Oak Hill for his senior year but says that it is not time to tell where he will go yet.

https://www.si.com/college/recruitin...aa-spring-ball

I happened to drive by the entrance to Oak Hill Academy during a road trip last weekend. Boy is it in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful scenery in the mountains of SW Virginia, but those teenagers attending Oak Hill are very isolated. It's kind of surprising they have had the sustained success in basketball. Gotta be the coach, I assume.

[-jk]

I happened to drive by the entrance to Oak Hill Academy during a road trip last weekend. Boy is it in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful scenery in the mountains of SW Virginia, but those teenagers attending Oak Hill are very isolated. It's kind of surprising they have had the sustained success in basketball. Gotta be the coach, I assume.

No distractions there!

-jk

[AtlDuke72]

The NBA and the NBPA don't agree with this sentiment and until they do, it'll never happen.

This makes no sense. The players union should want to delay entry into the league as long as possible. Every guy coming in means somebody is out of a job. The league would get a free training ground for players who are not the super stars and better recognition for those players who have played in college.

[SilkyJ]

I happened to drive by the entrance to Oak Hill Academy during a road trip last weekend. Boy is it in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful scenery in the mountains of SW Virginia, but those teenagers attending Oak Hill are very isolated. It's kind of surprising they have had the sustained success in basketball. Gotta be the coach, I assume.

Why does isolation = surprise they are successful in basketball? Oak Hill is a good boarding school. No one says “it’s surprising those kids at Exeter get into so many good colleges every year.”

Boarding schools force you to focus and hone your craft, educational or otherwise.

[rhynelander]

I happened to drive by the entrance to Oak Hill Academy during a road trip last weekend. Boy is it in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful scenery in the mountains of SW Virginia, but those teenagers attending Oak Hill are very isolated. It's kind of surprising they have had the sustained success in basketball. Gotta be the coach, I assume.

It is isolated, perfect for practicing hoops and getting credits for graduating on time. Next time take the trip to the nearby Grayson Highlands, it has incredible views, hiking, wild ponies and incredible flora/fauna year round. One of my favorite parks on the east coast (:

[flyingdutchdevil]

Why does isolation = surprise they are successful in basketball? Oak Hill is a good boarding school. No one says “it’s surprising those kids at Exeter get into so many good colleges every year.”

Boarding schools force you to focus and hone your craft, educational or otherwise.

More like "Boarding schools accept you if you have a craft and/or money, educational or otherwise".

[SilkyJ]

More like "Boarding schools accept you if you have a craft and/or money, educational or otherwise".

Ok. What’s that have to do with the discussion at hand in my post? (The discussion being whether a school’s isolation should have an impact on basketball performance)

[scottdude8]

In the opinion of my go-to Michigan fansite, Kyle Filipowski is not only a very underrated guy, but would likely be an early Duke commit if we offered:

Last week I mentioned Kyle Filipowski as a criminally undervalued prospect that really impressed me. So much so that he entered my database as a 5-star prospect. Well, it seems the staff has a similar assessment. I'm told Juwan Howard and crew have been in consistent contact since the conclusion of the KYDA Invitational event in Scranton.

I wouldn't get my hopes up here, as Filipowski plays travel-ball for the nephew of Duke leading man Mike Krzyzewski. After chatting with Kyle in Scranton, he definitely seems to fit the Duke culture/profile in my opinion. While Duke has yet to extend an offer, Flip says the contact has increased in recent weeks, with Coach K taking the lead.

If Duke offers soon, this recruitment will likely end in short order. However, the longer Coach K slow-plays Kyle, the chances increase that the field can seize the moment. Flip is obviously a tier below the Duren/Clingan/Lively/Reed group, but he is absolutely rising up the board and could be an offer candidate over the next month if Clingan/Lively don't get on board or provide assurances otherwise.

Obviously all this must be taken with the requisite grain of salt, but as Julian often says on the front page, recruiting insights from opposing schools often carry the most weight when they're pro-Duke.

[DavidBenAkiva]

In the opinion of my go-to Michigan fansite, Kyle Filipowski is not only a very underrated guy, but would likely be an early Duke commit if we offered:



Obviously all this must be taken with the requisite grain of salt, but as Julian often says on the front page, recruiting insights from opposing schools often carry the most weight when they're pro-Duke.

Key line in that is that Coach K is taking the lead in recruiting. Kyle Filipowski is a top target if Coach K is the lead recruiter. That also gives you some sort insight into the question "is Coach K thinking of stepping down?" The answer is no, he is not thinking that right now. That doesn't surprise me one bit.