Very encouraging trend for Jaylen Blakes in terms of his national recruit ranking.
Sept ‘19: ranked 184th
Jan ‘20: 159th
June ‘20: 133rd
Jan ‘21: 101st
He played just two games during his Senior year because of the pandemic, preventing him from having an opportunity to climb the ranks even higher. There is good chance he would have leapfrogged quite a few more spots during his Senior year based on his year and half long trend. Always love when players on a major upward trend like this. Really think Duke got a good one here.
Hey, I love it but what were they using to change these rankings? I am trying to remember but were there any meaningful AAU tournaments last spring/summer? Like you said, there were barely any high school games this past season for him. What did the evaluators see that caused them to move him up so much over the past year?
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
I think he got some offers from some other high level schools so my guess is that the rankings were improved to adjust for the kind of schools that were pursuing him. Which isn't really the point of the rankings, but that's how it works out - I remember past Duke recruits getting bumps when they got their Duke offers.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Blakes has really good measurements (6'2" with a 6'8" wingspan) for his position. He supposedly can shoot reasonably well (37% from three as a junior), I've seen scouting that says he's one of the fastest in the country going end to end. He played at a top-level high school program and against that competition was pretty good at getting to the rim. He averaged over 5 apg as a high school junior. The only thing I haven't seen is reports of his lateral quickness (or lack thereof). And, he got offers from programs that don't usually chase after guys outside the top 100. Add all that up, and unless his lateral quickness is poor and that's what's holding him back, it would appear he's been heretofore underrated, which is probably why he's shooting up the rankings.
I have a friend who teaches at Blair Academy and follows the basketball team year to year. He's been there since the Deng/Villaneuva days. His read is that Blakes is not an NBA prospect. But he's a very high character person, glue guy, great defender, good but not elite shooter. His comment was that he will earn playing time initially with defense.
You all need to listen to the interview we just did on the DBR Podcast with Blair head coach Joe Mantegna. He is a great interview and has some really interesting things to say about Jalyen Blakes.
https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/duk...=VMP9676676437
He echoes the comments above -- Blakes is a high character guys with outstanding skills and leadership ability, but not someone who will be looking toward the NBA draft any time soon. Coach Joe says Jaylen will be at Duke for 4 years and he expects him to be a multi-time captain of the team.
I could not be more excited for this kid after this interview!
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
This is the breath of fresh air I think we all need after the frustration and infighting over the Coleman transfer over the last couple days! It's time to start looking to the future and who will be on the team rather than looking backwards at who won't be on the team.
Finding players like Blakes will be a challenge in this new environment, for all the reasons that've been discussed on the board recently. But they'll be all the more valuable because of that. If Blakes turns out this way, and I would think his high school coach would be as in tune to his thought process as anyone, it could be huge for the next four years especially given the roster turnover after this season many of us are anticipating.
Can't wait to see this kid in action in 5 months... dang that's a long time
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Blakes' commitment is one of the biggest bright spots in this recruiting cycle! Go Duke!
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013