Tapé replay - Patrick recommits to Duke!!

[flyingdutchdevil]

I see this as evidence that Hurt is coming back or that Duke realized Henry Coleman will be a solid contributor from day one (not sure how that second part could happen given that everyone is homebound at the moment).

Yeah. I think you're right.

If that's the case, I'd rather have a sophomore Hurt thanI a senior Tape.

It still hurts our depth at the 5, but maybe Hurt really can put on 10+ lbs and play 5-10 minutes there.

Sucks, but I think this is great news for Moore/Hurt decisions.

[Jaks19]

When do you think we might hear from Hurt

[MChambers]

Shades of Kris Humphries!

[Jaks19]

People really think Carey is coming back? I find that highly unlikely.

[Hingeknocker]

It doesn't seem right that this is based on Hurt, Coleman, or Williams. Obviously 2 of those guys were known knowns when Tapé committed, and Duke was surely telling Tapé there was a chance Hurt would return. Now, if this has something to do with Carey... (I don't think this is the case. But it's the only player-related thing that does make sense.)

My actual guess is that with summer school and even the start of the school year completely in flux, the Duke coaches were pretty honest with Tapé about his chances to integrate into the system and earn minutes. It was going to be an uphill climb for him anyway, and maybe he decided that for his final year of eligibility he'd prefer to go somewhere with an easier adjustment period. My speculation, anyway.

[CDu]

I guess it could always be that Tape just had a change of heart. But it certainly seems like this means Hurt is returning. I feel like Hurt's best position - especially with the arrival of Johnson and (to a lesser extent) Brakefield - is at center. Granted, his lack of rebounding would be a concern. But from a mobility perspective, it seemed like he was effective in only a very select set of matchups last year.

Hopefully, if he does return, he can get more functional strength and contribute at the 5. It would make us much more dynamic offensively if he can be adequate defensively at center.

[JasonEvans]

How long was Carrick Felix committed for?

Felix committed on 3/16/2010

We got word he would not come to Duke on 5/24/2010... more than two months later. Tapés whirlwind appears to have been much quicker.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I guess it could always be that Tape just had a change of heart. But it certainly seems like this means Hurt is returning. I feel like Hurt's best position - especially with the arrival of Johnson and (to a lesser extent) Brakefield - is at center. Granted, his lack of rebounding would be a concern. But from a mobility perspective, it seemed like he was effective in only a very select set of matchups last year.

Hopefully, if he does return, he can get more functional strength and contribute at the 5. It would make us much more dynamic offensively if he can be adequate defensively at center.

Not just lack of rebounding, but lack of weight, lack of toughness, lack of instinct in the paint.

Hurt has potential. He just needs maximum maturation.

[Jaks19]

Jason, you have any legit guess to why?

[JasonEvans]

Jason, you have any legit guess to why?

Like I said, I think this means Hurt is telling folks close to the program that he is coming back. As a result, Tapés prospect for minutes was greatly diminished as I suspect Hurt will be the "5" in Coach K's positionless lineup more than 25 minutes per game. Williams will likely suck up a lot of the other post minutes and there just won't be that much left for Tape.

I would guess that when Duke started recruiting Tape, we thought Hurt would leave.

-Jason "it is also possible Tape merely changed his mind and wanted to go somewhere else... it is not like he had arrived on campus to see how beautiful it was yet" Evans

[Jaks19]

Thanks Jason. I could see Hurt coming back as a reason.

This has nothing to do with Carey?

[dukelifer]

And it is official...

https://twitter.com/EvanDaniels/stat...116541959?s=20

Already miss that guy. What could have been.

[Natty_B]

Things like this might be more common in the COVID-19 recruitment era where a dude doesn't even step onto a campus before "committing."

[superdave]

Already miss that guy. What could have been.

Once in a generation type of commitment.

[mattman91]

None and done.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Things like this might be more common in the COVID-19 recruitment era where a dude doesn't even step onto a campus before "committing."

I generally agree with you completely with regards to most transfers. Though in this case, given that he is from Charlotte, one would think that he could have taken the ride over the Durham, walked around the campus a bit, said hi to important people from 6-feet away, and gotten at least a feel for things. An empty campus is very different from what it is like when other students are there, but it is better than nothing, and I'm sure the coaches would have spent the time with him - saying that, I wonder if the coaches made the trip to Charlotte to talk to him. Also, if Hurt returning or not was so critical to his decision, I would have gotten a better sense of that. There was no huge rush for Tape to commit and I don't think that Hurt's decision radically changed in the last week.

But most importantly, he is roughly 22 years old. I know plenty of people much older than he is who have changed their mind at the last second on big decisions, so he is allowed to also.

[JasonEvans]

Thanks Jason. I could see Hurt coming back as a reason.

This has nothing to do with Carey?

Look, I'm not going to pretend to have an inside line to the decisions of these players, but Vernon Carey coming back would be a huge shock. I can tell you that when I spoke to him at the McD game media session last spring he was already saying he was looking to be OAD.

Then again, Matthew Hurt told me the same thing and Wendell Moore said that if he could turn pro after a year, he would.

[scottdude8]

Obviously, everything about this off season is going to have no precedent. Adding a grad-transfer was unprecedented, and now so is his quick departure.

I've held onto a sneaky suspicion that something unexpected might be going on behind the scenes for a little while now. I don't have any inside information, but this is based on reasonable interpretation of the way things have differed now from the recent past:

1) Duke never "officially" introduced Tape in any way, shape, or form. Typically that's the type of thing that the SID and social media team would hype up in some way (I honestly think that the quality of Duke's social media side of things is a recruiting influence, and could be an influence on the new transfer recruiting market... but I digress).
2) While in the recent past Duke has done a good job of organizing and clustering NBA Draft announcements, and doing so with the professional social media team behind it, we've heard nothing since Tre's decision was made public.

As people have mentioned, the most likely interpretation of this is something positive regarding Hurt's return. I don't think anything would have changed regarding our expectations of Williams... as many have mentioned, how the heck could anything have changed on that front when the program can't watch him play right now?

But I just don't see Hurt as a guy who can play center for prolonged minutes in the ACC. Even if the plan was for Hurt to play the 5 in some matchups, I don't think anyone would be comfortable with him playing there for 15-20 minutes a night against the type of post players you see in the ACC. Tape was coming into a scenario in which he would be almost guaranteed Javin-like PT, and would have every opportunity to earn more... I don't see Matthew Hurt changing the calculus there by more than a handful of MPG.

So you can call me crazy, but I think this could mean something about Vernon. Not necessarily that he's coming back, but that word went through the grapevine that he isn't "99%" out the door like we all expect. It's worth keeping in mind that a lot of early entrants have already made their announcements, including Tre. The guys who had their minds made up have more or less made those decisions known, with the one exception potentially being all the Kentucky guys (but that may be the exception that proves the rule, as I'm betting there will be some sort of "group" announcement from the Wildcats). For context, a quick look at the most recent mock on NBADraft.net shows me that the only projected first rounders who haven't officially made an announcement are Cole (who had his "I'm announcing I'm not announcing" schtick), Jaden McDaniels (but that could be coming soon since his teammate Isaiah Stewart recently announced), Precoius Achiuwa, Jordan Nwora, and Kentucky's Immanuel Quickly. That's a relatively short list, made even shorter when you consider that Cole, McDaniels, and probably Nwora's decisions are all but decided.

Again, I am not saying I think Vernon is coming back. That would be crazy. But I think it's no longer "99%" that he's out the door. I'd now put the odds at more like 90-10... enough to give us a faint glimmer of hope that isn't completely crazy. Keep in mind, most of the recent mock drafts have him at the very end of the 1st round, and some even in the second (there's a whole thread on that). What if he and K are getting feedback that he needs to show more of an outside game to break into the lottery? I think it is now not outside the realm of possibility that he's seriously thinking about returning.

Call me insane if you must. I probably am. But I think this has to mean something more than "Matt is coming back".

[Jaks19]

Kuminga reclass?

[proelitedota]

Kuminga reclass?

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