recruits

[devilsfan231]

with nelson to ucla i don't see any bright spots for our class no high interest players boynton looks like our stud go to recruit. do we have a shot at painter or mcdonald? with echenique offered do any of you see fitzgerald getting a offer?also looks like murphy will go otherwise.

[jimsumner]

Is this for real? No high-interest players? Boynton, Echenique, Murphy, Painter, Vinson, and McDonald aren't high-interest players?

FWIW, Duke figured out that Nelson wasn't leaving the west coast over the summer. Why the angst? Guess, this goes back to my first question?

[devilsfan231]

no they are all medium except for murphy who also has about 6 other teams you have alot of denial. just because they like duke doesn't mean they are high interest

[Indoor66]

no they are all medium except for murphy who also has about 6 other teams you have alot of denial. just because they like duke doesn't mean they are high interest

Who would you like Duke to pursue?

[vango]

Oddly, I was just about to ask a question on this topic for 2009. My office next-door-neighbor is a UNC fan and we were discussing their recruiting accomplishments as of late. It is my understanding that:

We've offered (but no commitments thus far):

Kenny Boynton
Deshawn Painter
Greg Echenique
Erik Murphy

We're very high on / but haven't offered:

Leslie McDonald

We offered / but cooled on:

Reeves Nelson (the post above explains a lot to me)


Is this correct as I write this today (1/10/08)?

Thanks in advance...

[Karl Beem]

no they are all medium except for murphy who also has about 6 other teams you have alot of denial. just because they like duke doesn't mean they are high interest

Say again? You're breaking up.

[Bob Green]

Vango,

Your post is accurate with the exception of Painter. We have not offered Painter.

[Bluedog]

devilsfan231 is saying "high interest" as in the recruits interest level in Duke. He or she is not saying that Duke isn't recruiting good players. At least, that's what I think he/she meant. I'm assuming that devilsfan is getting his/her info from scout.com, since that site lists Erik Murphy as having a "high" interest level, while all the rest are medium. However, scout.com pretty much just lists everybody as medium this early so you shouldn't read much into it. Duke is very much in the hunt for a number of the players listed. They start changing them to "high" when it gets close to signing LOI day...When players haven't said much about schools at this stage in the game, they are always medium to low. Scout.com isn't all-knowing so they don't like going out on a limb this early. For Eric Murphy, all 7 schools on his list are under "high" interest, while for Painter, all 8 schools on his list are "medium" interest. Obviously, this doesn't show any indication that Murphy is more likely to attend Duke than Painter.

[vango]

Vango,

Your post is accurate with the exception of Painter. We have not offered Painter.

Thank you kindly, Mr. Green...

[Uncle Drew]

Since we're on the subject of recruiting, I was wanting to ask a 2008 question to Jim if I might back track. This John Reik guy, 7'2" 240lbs and still undecided has Duke listed as a possibility. I've heard to just go ahead and forget about him ever attending Duke. But do you have any inside information why? I mean are the grades not there? Is the family situation where he needs to go pro ASAP? (And how would be bypass the one year college rule?) I know, I know...move on, concentrate on this year and let the coaches worry about the 2009 class. But 7'2" 240lbs sounds really good right about now.


And back to 2009, I gotta know if anyone knows if #72 Shawn Kemp is the son of the virile and former NBA player of the same name? If memory serves me correctly he might be able to stock his own roster from extra curricular activities during his playing days.

[devilsfan231]

yes bluedog you are right no doubt that all of those players are incredible but just because duke offers them doesn't mean they are gonna commit.

[loran16]

Since we're on the subject of recruiting, I was wanting to ask a 2008 question to Jim if I might back track. This John Reik guy, 7'2" 240lbs and still undecided has Duke listed as a possibility. I've heard to just go ahead and forget about him ever attending Duke. But do you have any inside information why? I mean are the grades not there? Is the family situation where he needs to go pro ASAP? (And how would be bypass the one year college rule?) I know, I know...move on, concentrate on this year and let the coaches worry about the 2009 class. But 7'2" 240lbs sounds really good right about now.

His prep school should qualify him for the NBA draft, and he is predicted to go if not top 10 just after it (see espn). Going that high means its not likely he'll start in college instead.

[kramerbr]

with nelson to ucla i don't see any bright spots for our class no high interest players boynton looks like our stud go to recruit. do we have a shot at painter or mcdonald? with echenique offered do any of you see fitzgerald getting a offer?also looks like murphy will go otherwise.

Who is Fitzgerald?

Sorry I am familiar with all the other recruits except him.

[jimsumner]

I'll give devilsfan the benefit of the doubt and assume that he/she is taking his/her information from a scout.com or rivals.com chart, which probably hasn't been updated since the summer. Medium interest, high interest, low interest are terms bandied about on those sites.

So here goes. Reeves Nelson hasn't been a credible option since late summer when Duke determined that he was not likely to leave the west coast. His committment to UCLA was not unexpected and has no impact whatsoever on Duke's recruiting plans.

Duke has offered Kenny Boynton, a consensus top-10 combo guard. I don't think I'm betraying any premium info to state that Duke is regarded as the clear favorite for Boynton.

Duke also has offered two premier bigs, Greg Echenique and Eric Murphy. Duke may be close to offering Leslie McDonald and is seriously evaluating DeShawn Painter, Vinson,and maybe Jon Hood. Others may emerge.

Duke has long regarded the class of '09 as a class deep in players that can do well at Duke athletically, academically, and socially. I'm not going to rank or handicap any of the above, but I can state categorically that Duke fully expects to sign 3 oor 4 consensus top-30 recruits this coming fall.

As for Riek. There are a couple of red flags. One is the fact that he apparently doesn't speak English very well. Doesn't mean he's stupid or anything. The planet is full of bright people who don't speak English. But they don't attend an academically elite university in the United States. Second, Riek has made no attempt to hide his desire to go NBA as soon as feasible. He has a high ceiling but is very, very raw. He is that rare prospect who could be a lottery pick but probably couldn't start for most top-25 teams. I do not believe Duke is actively recruiting the young man.

[Uncle Drew]

I'll give devilsfan the benefit of the doubt and assume that he/she is taking his/her information from a scout.com or rivals.com chart, which probably hasn't been updated since the summer. Medium interest, high interest, low interest are terms bandied about on those sites.

So here goes. Reeves Nelson hasn't been a credible option since late summer when Duke determined that he was not likely to leave the west coast. His committment to UCLA was not unexpected and has no impact whatsoever on Duke's recruiting plans.

Duke has offered Kenny Boynton, a consensus top-10 combo guard. I don't think I'm betraying any premium info to state that Duke is regarded as the clear favorite for Boynton.

Duke also has offered two premier bigs, Greg Echenique and Eric Murphy. Duke may be close to offering Leslie McDonald and is seriously evaluating DeShawn Painter, Vinson,and maybe Jon Hood. Others may emerge.

Duke has long regarded the class of '09 as a class deep in players that can do well at Duke athletically, academically, and socially. I'm not going to rank or handicap any of the above, but I can state categorically that Duke fully expects to sign 3 oor 4 consensus top-30 recruits this coming fall.

As for Riek. There are a couple of red flags. One is the fact that he apparently doesn't speak English very well. Doesn't mean he's stupid or anything. The planet is full of bright people who don't speak English. But they don't attend an academically elite university in the United States. Second, Riek has made no attempt to hide his desire to go NBA as soon as feasible. He has a high ceiling but is very, very raw. He is that rare prospect who could be a lottery pick but probably couldn't start for most top-25 teams. I do not believe Duke is actively recruiting the young man.

See people, THIS is why Jim is the man. He explains things in detail about players A, B, C and D. Not to mention explains why players Y and Z probably aren't Duke material and / or isn't east coast material. And he does it in a manner even an idiot like me can understand. (You all were thinking it, I went ahead and said it.) Let's hope the deep 2009 class brings Duke a week or two like UNC has had the last week or two!


As for Riek I can imagine regardless of GPA, IQ, SAT and any other abreviated term that factors into going to college not being fluent in English would be very difficult to overcome. (No wonder it's hard for Duke to get recruits from in the state of North Carolina!) Truth be told I'm amazed a player like Pocius or Christian Ast can come to Duke and learn using a second language. Or a player like Greg Newton can overcome ending ever sentence in "eh"? Thanks mucho for the info Jimo!

[mgtr]

On the other hand, there are schools (cough, cough) which have no hesitation in offering players who have little chance in succeeding in any college environment. If they can keep him for two years before he flunks out, good enough. Sad, and not fair to the kid.

[weezie]

On the other hand, there are schools (cough, cough) which have no hesitation in offering players who have little chance in succeeding in any college environment. If they can keep him for two years before he flunks out, good enough. Sad, and not fair to the kid.

Well, finally! An insightful comment. The NBA's phony age requirement has had the exact opposite result of what was piously touted by the "great" David Stern. Now the college experience is even further devalued.
Any recruit looking at Duke has to be willing to work extremely hard on the court and to go to class. We all know that.
It was great watching Gerald's dad in the stands last night. HE knows what his son is capable of! He knows what Coach K stands for: tenacity, courage, responsibility and team.

[Jumbo]

no they are all medium except for murphy who also has about 6 other teams you have alot of denial. just because they like duke doesn't mean they are high interest

Denial? No, Jim Sumner has connections. You read recruiting sites. He has forgotten more about Duke's recruiting than you'll ever know. Maybe you should take some time to get know people before you accuse them of having "denial." Also, the occasional use of punctuation would be much appreciated.

[devilsfan231]

well there buddy i didn't see one error i made in that sentance. next your pathetic because i did not doubt his word i doubt your word. your probably a unc fan looking for a little love.

[hughgs]

well there buddy i didn't see one error i made in that sentance. next your pathetic because i did not doubt his word i doubt your word. your probably a unc fan looking for a little love.

Let me savor this moment before you get blasted for posting idiocies.

......................


OK, thanks!