Why would he redshirt? The only thing Redshirting does is preserve a year of eligibility down the line. A kid like Kessler is almost certainly expecting to be in school for one or maybe two years. Why would he waste one of those years sitting on the bench and not competing at all in games? This makes zero sense.
Baker is doing it because he expects to be a 4-year player at Duke and he would rather those 4 years be 2019/20-2022/23 versus 2018/19-2021/22.
I said it earlier and CDu agrees, if Kessler reclassifies it is not something good for Duke (unless he does not mind being part of a very, very crowded frontcourt in 2019-20).
-Jason "frankly, given his family's ties to UGA, I would be shocked if Kessler does not go to the Dawgs" Evans
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Why would it be “not something good for Duke”? I think it might be better than getting Stewart it Hurt. If we had signed Stewart, we probably lose Bolden who is starting to play better and better. Even Hurt could chase Bolden away since Carey would then probably play more at the 5. Kessler wouldn’t scare Bolden away, could come in play a smaller role for a year while he works on his strength and conditioning and then be ready to start his sophomore year when we loose Bolden, Delaurier, Carey and White. A sophomore Kessler is better than a freshman Kessler, right? I kinda think, it’s the best outcome we can hope for since there doesn’t seem to be any quality long term bigs left in the 2019 class. (I like Hurt a lot I think we need a smaller role big that will be around in 2021 more)
You guys make a really good point. Kessler's ranking is not all that dissimilar to Baker (#13 in the 2019 class and then dropped to about 40 when he joined the 2018 class). I suppose it is possible Kessler would not mind playing a relatively small role during his reclassified freshman season. Generally, when kids reclass, they expect to play a good bit and many of them do it so they can get to the NBA faster, but Kessler may not be thinking that way. Without knowing what is in his head, it is really hard to project whether a reclass would be good or bad for Duke.
That is entirely possible but I feel like the theory in redshirting him this year was that he might stay 4 years. If there was some degree of confidence that he would only be a 2 or 3 year player, there is no reason to redshirt him this season. I suppose it is also possible that K realized Baker would never see meaningful minutes for us with O'Connell, White, and so many guys ahead of him and so K decided to redshirt Joey just in case things fall into place in a way that allows us to squeeze a 4th year out of him. Hey, no one ever thought Bolden would be here for his junior and likely senior season when he first enrolled either.
-Jason "I sorta want Baker to be here for only a couple seasons though as it would mean he had blossomed into a heck of a player" Evans
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Dont lose sight of the NBA/Players contract.
Baker may be the team's Daniel Jones. I agree that he would have not seen much playing time this year- although the kid has a very nice shooting stroke and with his size- he could be a nice addition. K was seeing a lot from Jack in practice as a shooter at the start of year and figured he was going to be a reliable threat from deep. The hope is that Jack regains his early shooting form and confidence- otherwise K may need to pull the redshirt and let Baker have his Freshman Grayson moment.
I see a reclass redshirt as an opportunity to spend a year at the college level instead of the HS level without the expectation or pressure of paying in games for a youngster who might not be ready for ACC competition physically, but is a genuine NBA prospect.
For prospects that need seasoning and aren’t automatic OADs, it seems like it could make sense for the reasons I posted previously.
I've not heard these rumblings at all. There has been some speculation that he might enter the NBA draft, but a transfer seems highly unlikely unless he has busted his hump in school and is on course to graduate this spring (and it is still somewhat unlikely in that case as well, it is not like he is not getting playing time at Duke right now).
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Why are we talking about Bolden in the 2020 thread? Unless the worst happens and he gets injured, there's no chance he is on the roster in 2020.
Top 40 2020 SF Henry Coleman from Richmond will be taking an unofficial visit to Duke today. Coleman is being recruited by a ton of ACC and SEC teams, including UVA and Va Tech, and he supposedly has an offer from Kansas. He's a high flying dunker who has good handle but not a great shot. He does not have a Duke offer yet.
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I've seen him listed anywhere from 6'6" to 6'8" and is ranked as 69th (nice) on the 247Sports Composite but 133rd on the 247Sports ranking for the Class of 2020. If he's Top 40 on another list and receiving attention from Kansas and other high-major teams, maybe he's a fast-rising junior.
Coleman seems like an ideal candidate for the Duke frontcourt as a long-term prospect, a la Javin DeLaurier and Jack White. He's got great athleticism and good size for the college 4. If he grows another couple inches in the next couple years, even better. I hope he enjoys his visit this weekend.
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Duke appears to be showing interest in 2020 PG Sharife Cooper of Marietta, Georgia, according to Adam Zagoria. There sure are a lot of Georgia recruits in this class. Cooper is 6'0" tall and has attracted the interest from Auburn and Kentucky, among others. He was recently named MVP of the City of Palms Tournament, Hoop Hall Classic, Bass Pro Shops Tournament, and more. He also seems close with Brandon Boston, Jr. The young man has an excellent shot and vision as well as "moxie" and every other adjective attributed to the basketball players of shorter stature. There might be a visit this spring from the young man.