2024 Men's Basketball Recruiting

Thanks to the board refre
JasonEvans said:
I am totally serious about this. There is a 5-year-old kid who is playing, and playing well, against 3rd and 4th graders (kids 4-5 years older than him). He is from Maine and is supposedly one of the 20 or so best players in the 3rd/4th age group in Maine... even though he is 4-5 years younger than everyone else in that age group.
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Ready for the best part? His dream is to play PG for Duke!!!
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Thanks to the board refresh, I was brought to the very first post of this thread when I navigated to it. And I was floored to read that Jason was all over the Flagg recruitment THIRTEEN YEARS AGO when Flagg was five years old. This is astounding.
 
If you read on, apparently the kid was Reese Woodbury and not Flagg. Strange coincidence. Maybe Jason has a comment. That was 13 years ago...
 
plimnko said:
Impressive Cooper Flagg article

sports.yahoo.com

Cooper Flagg, 17, puts on show at US men's basketball Olympic training camp

Cooper Flagg’s poise and skill against the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team had more than just the Internet buzzing with high praise.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
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From the article...

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What did Flagg learn from the three days of practice?

“Just the physicality, just knowing how far I have to go,” he said. “So much stuff to work on, just seeing it in real time and how well they do all the little details. So just taking that, learning from that and just getting better.”
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He should be READY for next season. Can't wait.
 
Question. Who was the last kid entering college basketball with a skill set and competitive fire like Cooper? I'd throw out names but they are all NBA hall of famers and people would mock me... 😁
 
The mental/psychological/emotional trait I most admire in sports is relentlessness. Having seen Flagg (tv) 7-8 times this past season, he looked the most, and most obviously, relentless bball player I’ve seen in a long time. Moses Malone was a relentless rebounder. Laettner was relentless. Others here could probably name some relentless defenders.

I’m inclined to think Boeheim’s arresting comment — “The Flagg kid’s a different player. He’s just different.” — was based not merely, perhaps not principally, on Flagg’s eye-popping physical skills. Boeheim, other coaches, and now NBA players have seen something unusual in Flagg’s game: emotional fierceness that appears to drive every aspect of his physical presence and movement on the court.
 
gumbomoop said:
The mental/psychological/emotional trait I most admire in sports is relentlessness. Having seen Flagg (tv) 7-8 times this past season, he looked the most, and most obviously, relentless bball player I’ve seen in a long time. Moses Malone was a relentless rebounder. Laettner was relentless. Others here could probably name some relentless defenders.

I’m inclined to think Boeheim’s arresting comment — “The Flagg kid’s a different player. He’s just different.” — was based not merely, perhaps not principally, on Flagg’s eye-popping physical skills. Boeheim, other coaches, and now NBA players have seen something unusual in Flagg’s game: emotional fierceness that appears to drive every aspect of his physical presence and movement on the court.
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As I mentioned on the pod a couple episodes ago. Flagg's team always wins at the scrimmages. ALWAYS. I vaguely recall a Jordan story like that where he was mad at his Bulls teammates one practice so he grabbed 4 benchwarmers from the team and scrimmaged against the other starters (plus the 6th man, I suppose) and won.

There are a few guys in NBA history where their will to win was so great it could carry entire teams across the finish line. I feel like Larry Bird was like that. Certainly Michael Jordan. There are others. Based on what I have seen and heard thus far, Cooper Flagg is cut from the same cloth.
 
There are definitely some sky-high expectations in this thread. I'm optimistic, but I'm a little cautious by nature. It's a different thing to go through an entire college season than to excel for a week when you're at your most hyped. I'll temper my thinking a bit, for now, personally, and I'll revel in every success.
 
SkyBrickey said:
Not sure where to put this, but Heels fans are suddenly excited about the potential to land a 2024 reclass Center out of New Zealand, Julius Halaifonua. Long thread about him over on IC.

He's BIG. 7 feet, 290 lbs. on3 is the only service that's rated him. 60th now in the 2024 class. There's a big debate as to whether he's their starting center and savior this season or more of a longterm project.
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dlmzzz said:
As much as I don't want Carolina to get any help whatsoever, if he does a haka before the games it'll be all worth it.
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I'm importing these comments from the offseason thread, where the discussion is almost entirely about Duke. (If the mods could move them here, that would be great.)

Most of you know that I've been following UNC's repeated failures to land a big man with some amusement in the transfer portal thread, and I mentioned that while there's still time for them to bring in an overseas player as a fall 2024 freshman, I didn't think they had the kind of infrastructure to make it happen. Well, as international players become more and more accessible, maybe they don't need to build one.

Last month they (among other schools) had their eye on Ulrich Chomche of NBA Academy Africa, who was the youngest prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft, in case he chose to withdraw. Fortunately, he chose to stay, and was drafted in the second round; he's now with the Toronto Raptors.

Image


Julius Halaifonua plays for NBA Global Academy in Australia -- where Tyrese Proctor once played, as did NBA players Dyson Daniels, Johnny Furphy, and Josh Giddey. His team took part in the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta earlier this month, where he led the team to the title and gathered a lot of recruiting interest. He was a 2025 prospect, but according to Kentucky's On3 affiliate, he recently reclassified to 2024. (Proctor and Furphy also reclassed in the late summer.)

He's taken official visits to Virginia Tech and Xavier, and while Kentucky seems to have the most info about him, they're also reporting that they are unlikely to land a commitment from him. (Mark Pope & Company may be looking elsewhere to fill their final scholarship; I don't know.) This morning On3's Jamie Shaw posted that "two schools emerge" as the finalists, and while he links to a paywall article, the reaction seems to indicate that those two schools are UNC and Georgetown.

I don't subscribe to On3, but a recent comment on the forum at Hoya Saxa seems to quote from the article: "[O]ne source close to the recruitment told me they would be surprised if Georgetown is ultimately not the choice. Recently speaking with multiple sources around the recruitment, Georgetown is the school that continues to build momentum."

Something to monitor, I guess. It's become increasingly common for teams to complete their rosters by bringing in overseas players as late additions; even UNC was bound to figure that out.
 
brevity said:
Julius Halaifonua plays for NBA Global Academy in Australia...

This morning On3's Jamie Shaw posted that "two schools emerge" as the finalists, and while he links to a paywall article, the reaction seems to indicate that those two schools are UNC and Georgetown.
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Nothing has been decided in the recruitment of Julius Halaifonua, but time is of the essence here -- UNC is running out of time to make something happen, while Georgetown has time on its side.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1818311070018085102

Casual Hoya has slightly more information, but mostly offers a collection of social media posts and videos.

www.casualhoya.com

BIG MAN U: Georgetown to Host New Zealander ’24 C Julius Halaifonua on Official Visit

The 7-footer reclassified from 2025 and looks to enroll somewhere soon
www.casualhoya.com www.casualhoya.com

There are rumors that Halaifonua may visit UNC after his stop on the Hilltop. A quick announcement after Julius poses for some photos would be optimal, but most folks would expect him to travel to Chapel Hill to test the waters (if the Heels’ staff has not given up).
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It's possible that he stops by Chapel Hill, but it would be a short visit, the kind you might measure in hours rather than days. Here's why.

August 1-3: visit to Georgetown
August 4-5: visit to UNC?
August 6-20: recruiting dead period (link)
August 19: UNC first day of classes
August 23: UNC late registration deadline (PDF link)
August 28: Georgetown first day of classes
September 6: Georgetown late registration deadline (link)

You hope this is a clear-cut situation in which Halaifonua commits to Georgetown during his visit, but even if it isn't, UNC would have to move mountains to get him to enroll in time. And honestly, that would be true for anyone they tried to add now.

At the risk of quoting The Princess Bride, the dead period is only mostly dead, which means it's slightly alive. In-person meetings are not allowed, but athletes and coaches can still make contact via phone, email, or social media. Hard to say if Hubert Davis can accomplish that with a New Zealander who may or may not get a chance to visit Chapel Hill, but it is possible for someone else (domestic) who might still be in UNC's plans.

As of now, UNC has two scholarships available, while Georgetown has three scholarships available. If you're into predictions, the HoyaTalk board at Hoya Saxa says that Trilly Donovan and On3's Jamie Shaw and Joe Tipton are pointing to Georgetown.
 
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