2025 Men's Basketball Recruiting

rsvman said:
News story this morning said that we are still the most likely spot for Ament, but that Tennessee (🙄) is now the second-most likely, with Louisville fading.

I imagine that Tennessee has likely come up with an enormous sum of money. Can't imagine any other reason to want to play there.
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Why not Tennessee?

- most competitive conference in the country
- solid head coach
- perennial top 10 team
- exciting football atmosphere

Sure they may be offering a ton of money, but let’s not act like they’re not a valid destination.

And it’s not like Durham offers more than Knoxville from a college town perspective.
 
FerryFor50 said:
Why not Tennessee?

- most competitive conference in the country
- solid head coach
- perennial top 10 team
- exciting football atmosphere

Sure they may be offering a ton of money, but let’s not act like they’re not a valid destination.

And it’s not like Durham offers more than Knoxville from a college town perspective.
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I suppose it depends on the kid. Ament is from rural-ish Virginia (Warrenton is halfway between Appalachia and DC and is not quite a DC exurb). Knoxville wouldn't be a totally unfamiliar environment. But it's a long way from DC, NYC or California (to name a few hoops hotbeds) to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Durham has a different sort of appeal (putting aside Duke's specific charms and benefits).
 
Monmouth77 said:
I suppose it depends on the kid. Ament is from rural-ish Virginia (Warrenton is halfway between Appalachia and DC and is not quite a DC exurb). Knoxville wouldn't be a totally unfamiliar environment. But it's a long way from DC, NYC or California (to name a few hoops hotbeds) to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Durham has a different sort of appeal (putting aside Duke's specific charms and benefits).
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This is where I ask, every year, why do we assume a player wants to stay near home? I wanted to get away -- enough, enough -- different people, different town. Also something about seven people in a small 3 br.

Heck, Duke players often bring their families with them.
 
sagegrouse said:
This is where I ask, every year, why do we assume a player wants to stay near home? I wanted to get away -- enough, enough -- different people, different town. Also something about seven people in a small 3 br.

Heck, Duke players often bring their families with them.
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FWIW, I've got kids who have gone/are going to Duke and who have gone/are going much farther away. I've only seen the close kids marginally more often. Of course, Little League parents managing million-dollar deals on behalf of their minor children may want to be slightly more involved day-to-day than I was, so...🤷‍♂️
 
FerryFor50 said:
Why not Tennessee?

- most competitive conference in the country
- solid head coach
- perennial top 10 team
- exciting football atmosphere

Sure they may be offering a ton of money, but let’s not act like they’re not a valid destination.

And it’s not like Durham offers more than Knoxville from a college town perspective.
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Um.... because I spent three years at Vanderbilt? Because I dislike Coach Barnes? Because they play football on the basketball court? Because they beat us in the tournament? Because their endzone looks like a dog chow advertisement?

So many reasons...
 
rsvman said:
Um.... because I spent three years at Vanderbilt? Because I dislike Coach Barnes? Because they play football on the basketball court? Because they beat us in the tournament? Because their endzone looks like a dog chow advertisement?

So many reasons...
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Because after four years, the orange will permanently affect your retina.
 
azzefkram said:
I considered Blakes a high-quality practice player. Wouldn't Duke be able to attract players in the 75+ range with a Duke degree in three years and being part of an elite program? Academics would have to be high on the player's wish list, but I would guess that there are a handful of players in that range who would fit that niche.

Maybe the range is 100+. Maybe 125+. With 15 scholarships, Duke should have the roster space, and I think it might be easier than trying to convince the players in the 20+ range to stick around.

I agree that the landscape has changed significantly.
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I see what you're getting at, Azz. But if I'm one of those guys, I'd probably rather go be in the rotation at either Stanford or Northwestern - or maybe go be one of the team stars at Princeton or Yale - vs coming to Duke and signing up to never play a competitive minute.
 
sagegrouse said:
This is where I ask, every year, why do we assume a player wants to stay near home? I wanted to get away -- enough, enough -- different people, different town. Also something about seven people in a small 3 br.

Heck, Duke players often bring their families with them.
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I meant culturally, not geographically. Knoxville is Appalachia. Would not and does not appeal to me. Durham is different. To each his own.
 
rsvman said:
News story this morning said that we are still the most likely spot for Ament, but that Tennessee (🙄) is now the second-most likely, with Louisville fading.

I imagine that Tennessee has likely come up with an enormous sum of money. Can't imagine any other reason to want to play there.
Click to expand...

Orange uniforms!
 
rsvman said:
Um.... because I spent three years at Vanderbilt? Because I dislike Coach Barnes? Because they play football on the basketball court? Because they beat us in the tournament? Because their endzone looks like a dog chow advertisement?

So many reasons...
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I despise Tennessee as much as you do. But, they have beaten us out for recruits before. Josiah James comes to mind. I assumed he was a lock for Duke, native of Charleston and coming from an academically oriented private school. I was wrong.
 
SavDukeGrad said:
I despise Tennessee as much as you do. But, they have beaten us out for recruits before. Josiah James comes to mind. I assumed he was a lock for Duke, native of Charleston and coming from an academically oriented private school. I was wrong.
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I think Clemson was looked at as the favorite also after he canceled his visit to Duke.
 
It's anecdotal, but I think we've had really good luck with "late risers" in the recruiting rankings - guys that move up 5-15 spots in their final year of high school.

McCain and Knueppel fit this profile. And in this class, I think all of Khamenia, Henderson and Ament fit this profile. It's one of the reasons I'm so bullish on Ament.
 
With regards to the conversation about "why doesn't Duke take guys outside of the top 50 with an eye toward developing them for 3 years like Jaylen Blakes..."

We are in a different era, my friends. When Blakes committed to Duke, NIL wasn't yet in place and it certainly wasn't into the high-6 and 7-digit kind of figures that are now becoming commonplace. There are going to be very few kids who would even consider sitting for two or three years at Duke versus being a starter or at least a significant rotation piece at another ACC school because there is a major money difference in those situations. For 90% of the kids at even power conference schools, the 4 years they are in college are likely to be easily among the highest earning years of their lives. Asking a kid to put that aside so he can develop into a locker room leader... that's a huge ask.

Jayden Schutt is a great example. Couldn't crack the rotation at Duke for 2 years (even before the injury his soph season, he wasn't in the rotation). I doubt he was even making $75k from Duke in NIL payouts. Well, he went to Va Tech where he became a starter and their most reliable outside threat. A few days ago he announced he would be coming back to VT for next season and I am certain he is getting multiples of what he made at Duke.

Christian Reeves is another good example -- Like Schutt he never cracked the rotation and likely made little in NIL at Duke. He is now back in the portal after an interesting year at Clemson where he didn't play a ton but when he did get time, his stats were actually pretty good (highest rebounding rate and second highest block rate on the team). He's reasonably likely to get a chance somewhere this summer and it is not impossible to imagine him getting a decent NIL payday.

Bottom line -- developing youngsters just ain't that common anymore and it is not something Duke appears to be focused upon in any meaningful way.
 
Copied from another thread where there were a ton of "If we can only get one, I want Isaiah Evans" posts...​

We all got plenty of looks at Isaiah Evans this year and there were few things as exciting as him on a heater (like against Auburn, Virginia, Illinois and other times). It is a no brainer to want him back in Durham.

But, how many of you have seen much at all of Nate Ament's game?

NBA scouts, who know a thing or two about basketball talent, say Nate Ament is a top 3 or 4 prospect in the 2026 draft, right alongside Cam Boozer and just behind a pair of mega-talents in Dybantsa and Peterson. Evans, while a very nice prospect, is generally seen as in the middle of the first round. Ask a NBA team which player they would rather have and there is no question about the answer.

Now, I know that part of that answer is the fact that NBA teams have a longer than 1-season horizon but I strongly suspect that most NBA scouts would say that even if it was just for 1 year, they would take Ament over Evans.

Ament has been very impressive in practices and high school all-star games thus far. He displays a degree of ballhandling and offensive creativity that Evans has not yet shown at Duke. Both guys are absolute flamethrowers from deep. Ament's length -- even more impressive than Slim's -- also projects him as a more impactful defender than Slim.

Look, I love love love Isaiah. He is a heck of a player and I am quite eager to get him back at Duke. There is obviously value in a kid who knows the program and has already shown skills against college level opponents. But, if I had to pick one of these two, my answer is quite easy. I'm taking the top 5 freshman over the guy who could barely get off the bench in March.

It is typical All-Star messy, but watch some of what he does in this video...
 
Top 25-ish PG Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky, presumably after being recruited over by Mark Pope in the portal.

Before committing to UK, Lewis made visits to Duke, UNC, Michigan and UConn and has a Duke tie-in through @blazindw if I recall from the Pod. I would not be surprised to see the Cheats make a strong push here. Michigan seems to be set with Cadeau and UConn has a crowded backcourt. Of course, it's entirely possible any other team got involved with a strong a** offer, too.
 
godins said:
Top 25-ish PG Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky, presumably after being recruited over by Mark Pope in the portal.

Before committing to UK, Lewis made visits to Duke, UNC, Michigan and UConn and has a Duke tie-in through @blazindw if I recall from the Pod. I would not be surprised to see the Cheats make a strong push here. Michigan seems to be set with Cadeau and UConn has a crowded backcourt. Of course, it's entirely possible any other team got involved with a strong a** offer, too.
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Any reason why Duke doesn't get back into the mix for Lewis? Is it that once denied, always denied?
 
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