2022 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[JasonEvans]

Duke insider John Watson just registered a Lively crystal ball pick to Duke. Like the other pickers, his confidence is sorta low, just a 6.

[plimnko]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kentucky-...040000725.html

[budwom]

there are some encouraging signs on Lively (not talking about the crystal balls) but mum is pretty much the word thus far.

[Pghdukie]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lively postpones commitment. Just my wooden nickels worth.

[brlftz]

Anyone else see Paulo’s now-deleted tweet saying “the rich get richer”? 👀

[DoubleBlue]

Anyone else see Paulo’s now-deleted tweet saying “the rich get richer”? 👀

Didn't he tweet that back in April after Keels committed to Duke?

[JasonEvans]

The Crystal Ball is blowing up with predictions for Duke. Even the Kentucky insider who had been picking the Wildcats has now flipped to the blue Devils. there are now seven folks who pkicked Duke, including several who are not in any way associated with the program. A number of these pics have high confidence levels, like sevens and eights.

[Billy Dat]

The Crystal Ball is blowing up with predictions for Duke. Even the Kentucky insider who had been picking the Wildcats has now flipped to the blue Devils. there are now seven folks who pkicked Duke, including several who are not in any way associated with the program. A number of these pics have high confidence levels, like sevens and eights.

I am getting caught up in this now, this would be a tremendous counter punch to the “Cal has taken his rightful place back…” narrative.

Fingers crossed.

[JasonEvans]

I am getting caught up in this now, this would be a tremendous counter punch to the “Cal has taken his rightful place back…” narrative.

Fingers crossed.

I said a while back that Kentucky getting chummy with Adem Bona, a top 15 center who is just behind Lively in the rankings, was a sign that the Wildcats did not feel confident about Lively. Well, it seems that Cal and company made a special visit to Bona this weekend. If I had to guess, I suspect they told him that he is now their top priority at the center position… because their former top priority if joining Coach Scheyer’s super class.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/247spor...171351737/Amp/

[G man]

It's definitely looking good. I hate getting my hopes up though. Recruiting can be very odd.

[MarkD83]

I hope Skype is passe in the social media world.

[Messimorgan17]

The Crystal Ball is blowing up with predictions for Duke. Even the Kentucky insider who had been picking the Wildcats has now flipped to the blue Devils. there are now seven folks who pkicked Duke, including several who are not in any way associated with the program. A number of these pics have high confidence levels, like sevens and eights.

Why is every pick now in favor of Duke? Granted today Cal visited with the other 5 star center they have been pursuing. What other intel is there out there?

[cato]

I hope Skype is passe in the social media world.

Skype is so passé they put it out to pasture in the corporate world.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Why is every pick now in favor of Duke? Granted today Cal visited with the other 5 star center they have been pursuing. What other intel is there out there?

I don't think you can find intel outside of a paywall, so I won't bother sharing that. I do find it interesting that nearly everyone has logged a crystal ball pick for Duke and some that had a moderate level of confidence have changed that to a high level of confidence. It seems like someone or people that ought to know how this recruitment will turn out have shared their point of view the people tuned into those sorts of things. That Cal has gone back to his other top target for the C position is icing on the cake.

FWIW, I was initially skeptical that Lively suddenly announcing a commitment date/time would be good news for Duke. I assumed he would wait until Mark Williams's decision about the NBA was more certain. A lot of the Kentucky twittersphere seemed enthusiastic about the timing of all this as well. Now, not so pumped in BBN.

At the end of the day, Duke got the last official visit and the last in-home visit with Lively. That alone might have been a tip as to how this was playing out.

If Lively does commit to Duke, that puts a cherry on top of Jon Scheyer's first class (that's not even done). He's an elite rim protector, extremely mobile for a center that can and will guard forwards and even guards, and will be a real difference maker on defense. Defense is the thing that makes him a 5-star primarily. He's a game changer on that end. He's just amazingly big and long. He measures close to 7'2" and with a 7'8" wingspan, which is Rudy Gobert territory. On top of that, he's FAST. He has a pogo-stick second jump a la Marvin Bagley. He just gets up and over everyone so quickly.

On offense, I don't think we'll see a guy that will get a bucket late in the shot clock. He will be an excellent rim runner/lob threat and vertical spacer. He's very quick and can get second chance buckets. He can step out and hit a jumper, but he is not a perimeter-oriented player. I am setting expectations at Vernon Carey or Wendell Carter, a guy that will take 1-2 3's per game when open but not spending a ton of time looking for or hunting a shot. Expect to see him on the receiving end of a number of lobs and put backs. He's not a guy that you can expect to throw it to and get buckets, like Vernon Carey or Jahlil Okafor. I love the pairing of Lively with Filipowski as Flip can and probably will step out and operate on the perimeter but also is a big dude that can rebound and operate around the rim with either hand. That gives Lively a chance to slip past defenders for a dump off or put back.

To me, he's a lot more like Mark Williams was late in the season last year. Teams will have to figure out how to score around the rim and will alter or change their shots just by virtue of his presence. In a way, that is a lot like Anthony Davis was as a freshman at Kentucky. AD was an elite defender but not the high-usage player that he has become in the NBA. Lively as a super high ceiling, but we won't see that at Duke in my view. We'll see the potential. Hopefully HCIW Scheyer and staff can get him closer to that ceiling while he's on campus (should he indeed pick Duke).

I also think this is a sign that the coaching staff feels that Mark Williams will play his last year in college this season. That should be good news for Coach K's last ride. Here are some highlights of Lively if you are interested in seeing his skillset.

[dukebluesincebirth]

Is this a live event that can be watched online or TV at 6, or should we just be hawking twitter?

[SilkyJ]

One more pick this morning as Adam Rowe put in a pick for Duke with a confidence level of 8.

That’s 9 total picks, all of them for Duke, 5 of them with confidence levels of 8 or higher.

Either the news is leaking out or we are all going to be really disappointed this afternoon…

[Lord Ash]

Why is every pick now in favor of Duke? Granted today Cal visited with the other 5 star center they have been pursuing. What other intel is there out there?

Entirely possible that he informed the coaches, and then that got out.



BTW, someone with more knowledge will have to chime in... but is Jon looking at possibly getting the highest ranked class in the history of NCAA basketball by a first year head coach?

[DavidBenAkiva]

Is this a live event that can be watched online or TV at 6, or should we just be hawking twitter?

If you want to watch the festivities, and can handle that level of anxiety, you can watch on the Westtown Boys Basketball Instagram account. They will livestream the event from the school at 6 p.m. EDT.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUCyzHYr6Vt/

[duke79]

Anyone else see Paulo’s now-deleted tweet saying “the rich get richer”? 👀

LOL, this may be the most telling prediction. I'm guessing that these kids are texting each other all the time (or however they communicate these days) and it would not surprise in the least if he gave Paolo the "inside" word that he would attending Duke. Time will tell.

[SkyBrickey]

Entirely possible that he informed the coaches, and then that got out.



BTW, someone with more knowledge will have to chime in... but is Jon looking at possibly getting the highest ranked class in the history of NCAA basketball by a first year head coach?

I can’t imagine a better first year class.

And if we land both Lively and Mitchell, I’ll stand by my earlier statement that on paper this would be one of Duke’s top classes ever.