GREENSBORO - One thing you can depend on in January is the annual Martin Luther King Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina where high school hoopsters play a day of basketball.
Christ School came out on fire against Greensboro Day grabbing a 20-6 first quarter lead and they never looked back. When the dust cleared, Christ School took home an 83-47 win over their in state rival.
The Greenies had a balanced attack led by future Blue Devil Marshall Plumlee, a member of the 2011 recruiting class where he joins Austin Rivers, Michael Gbinije and Quinn Cook.
Plumlee scored 12 points and he got to the free throw stripe often. He equaled his point total with 12 rebounds giving him another double-double and dished out 4 assists to go with his 3 steals.
The man known as Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski, took in the game with assistant coach Nate James and they stayed for the Oak Hill game which featured Plumlees soon to be teammate Quinn Cook.
"Its always an honor when they take the time to come and see me because I know they are busy with their schedule. I just hope I was able to show him I'm working hard and trying to improve and I'm looking forward to be a part of the Duke program, " said Plumlee after his teams win.
When asked what his goals were for the remainer of the season, Plumlee told BDN, "Not to lose a game. We want to keep it going and work hard on and off the court."
Christ School and Marshall Plumlee will play Oak Hill and Quinn Cook in Cameron Indoor Stadium this February in a game where the details have yet to be released.
For more on Plumlee and Duke Basketball recruiting, join Blue Devil Nation Premium.
Welcome back for another edition of High School Hoops 2011. This edition provides scouting reports and player analysis on Austin Rivers, Quinn Cook and Alex Murphy followed by a bevy of links to game recaps, box scores, and articles from newspapers across the country on Michael Gbinije, Tony Parker, Marshall Plumlee, Rasheed Sulaimon and J.P. Tokoto. Moreover, it starts out with scouting reports/player analysis on Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook. Blue Devil Nation contributing author Terry Rains was in Florida watching Austin Rivers this past Friday night so I asked him, “Which portion of Rivers game most impressed you? Why?” He answered, [private] “Austin Rivers is a very gifted athlete in multiple dimensions on the court. In particular, I was thoroughly impressed by the amazing quickness on his first step. Some scouts will say that Austin overuses his right hand, but I came away impressed with how instantaneously he can blow by a defender in either direction using a stutter-step dribble. In fact, several fans were commenting how they couldn't get a cellphone picture of Austin. By the time the cellphone camera processed the button click and snapped the picture, Austin was already out of the frame. His first step is THAT fast!”
Austin Rivers scored 38 points for Winter Park HS, on Friday night, in a nationally televised game, on ESPN2, against St. Patrick's and Kentucky bound Michael Gilchrist. St. Patrick's, which is Kyrie Irving's alma mater, won the game 75-66. Rivers was hounded throughout the game being double teamed often with St. Patrick's always playing physical defense. Rivers appeared to vocally complain to the referees on two separate occasions due to St. Patrick's grabbing and pushing, and there was a confrontation under the basket, down the stretch, which resulted in a double technical foul being assessed, but Rivers was not directly involved in the near incident.
Rivers skill sets allow him to be a very versatile player and I believe he will be able to play point guard, shooting guard, and wing guard/small forward at Duke. His handle is impressive and he changes speed with ease which allows him to be deceptive when driving the ball full court. His first step is adequately explosive for driving by defenders on the wing or down the lane. Rivers demonstrated great range on his jump shot by knocking down a couple of NBA distance 3-pointers. He successfully battled for rebounds inside against St. Patrick's elite level athletes.
The only negative I observed with Rivers' game is he demonstrated zero left hand opting to finish with his right hand on all drives to the basket. This is something he will have to work on because superior defenders in college will exploit this trait.
Quinn Cook and Oak Hill Academy faced off against Milton HS on Saturday night in another nationally televised game courtesy of ESPNU. The first thing I observed is Cook is no longer visibly limping due to his recent knee surgery, which is great news. The second thing I observed is Cook didn’t have one of his better performances. Even though he scored 16 points and delivered several nice passes, Oak Hill’s offense was out of sync for the majority of the game and as the point guard the responsibility for running the offense and ensuring it is in sync is squarely upon Cook.
Blue Devil Nation recruiting analyst Andrew Slater attended the Hoophall Classic so I asked him, “What do you see as Cook’s biggest challenge in terms of being able to start as a freshman at Duke?” He answered, “Strength. He’s added six pounds of muscle since coming to Oak Hill. It will help withstand the rigors of running a high-octane offense in the ACC and enhance his on-the-ball defense”
Milton jumped all over Oak Hill early but Oak Hill managed to cut the lead to 12 points at halftime by utilizing a zone press to create some turnovers. Cook scored seven points and delivered two nice alley oop passes in the first half. In the second half, Oak Hill rallied to make it a close game down the stretch, but every time they challenged to tie the game, Milton answered. The final score was 75-69 in favor of Milton.
Turning to Alex Murphy, who recently visited Duke, and was observed by Andrew Slater at the Hoophall Classic. I asked Andrew, “Based on your personal observation of Murphy, what are his top skill sets? And what part of his game needs to improve before he moves to the next level? Andrew answered, “He’s really got a multifaceted offensive skill set combined with a high basketball intellect, an intense disgust with losing, and a somewhat underrated athletic ability. Even moreso than Quinn, he’s got to add upper-body strength, while continuing to develop his handle and perimeter shot.”
Murphy had a slow night in his game at the Hoophall classic scoring nine points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and five turnovers.
Here is a list of links to articles, video clips and box scores:
Duke commit Lucas Patrick was selected to the TN East-West All-Star Game
As signing day approaches, Head Coach David Cutcliffe and the Duke coaching staff are looking to hold onto each of their 20 current verbal commitments and hoping to add another impact player or two to the class of 2011. This past weekend, the Blue Devils hosted four of their current verbal commitments in Lucas Patrick, Blair Holliday, David Helton, and Jamison Crowder. BDN checked in with the visitors to get their thoughts on the visit to Durham and the Duke program.
Lucas Patrick is a 6’4” 285 pound senior offensive lineman from Brentwood, Tennessee who committed to the Blue Devils back in May. After leading Brentwood to a district title, Lucas played for the West in the annual Tennessee East-West All-Star Game. He spoke with Blue Devil Nation after his official visit to Durham.
BDN: Can you briefly recap your recent official visit to Duke?
It was a great trip! Everything about it was great! Showed up Friday, just hung out with the coaches a little bit, went to dinner. Dave Harding was my host, and we hung out in his dorm, went around campus, just meeting a bunch of the guys. Saturday, we did a bunch of the tours and went to the basketball game, which was a complete blast – seeing Cameron Indoor like that. Then we went out that night. And then Sunday I met with Coach Cutcliffe. It was just a great weekend, I can’t think of one thing that went bad.
BDN: You mentioned you were able to meet some of the other Duke players; can you tell us a little bit about whom you met and what you talked with them about?
Some of the other players who were visiting with me were Blair Holliday, David Helton, and Jamison Crowder. I got to hang out with them, just riding on the buses to places, sitting there at night when we got in and just talking. Some of the players I got to meet were – the other two that I mainly hung out with were John Coleman and Perry Simmons. Both of them were just great guys to hang out with and talk, get a good insight on the team and how everything went. It was just great overall, especially with those guys – they were some good guys to meet.
BDN: You also mentioned you were able to meet with Coach Cutcliffe and had dinner with the other coaches; were you able to talk to them about the program and your role going forward?
It wasn’t really – I mean, I got to talk with Coach Luke about some football and all that, but with Coach Cutcliffe, he really just shared his idea for the team and where they were headed. He got me so fired up, just sitting there talking to him about the team and how they felt about this season, and how the commitment to winning is so great now and the whole team is ready to win and is so committed to what he believes. It’s just really good to hear that.
BDN: Can you tell us a little about how your senior season finished up?
My senior season – I just had a complete blast. It was fun hanging out with the guys, and we won our district for the third year in a row, which is a big thing because we have a pretty tough district to go through. We ended up getting knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, but as far as myself, my senior season went great. I had a bunch of accolades and just improved in a bunch of stuff over this season as far as my game in general.
BDN: What are your plans for the rest of your senior year?
I’m working out every day. I just came back from an hour and a half workout and I’m going to go run later today, so I’m going to be hitting it hard. I want to go up there and not miss a beat and go ahead and be able to get working with the team and everything. I’m really focusing on my school work, especially classes that I’m struggling in so I can come in there with great school work and a great work ethic.
BDN: That’s great, Lucas. Thanks for speaking with me and enjoy the rest of your senior year.
Welcome to another edition of BDN's Monday Musings where we roll thoughts out on whatever comes to mind with concerns to Duke Athletics. To start things off let me wish all of you a happy Martin Luther King Day. C.B. Caliborne was the first African American athlete to play for the Duke Basketball team and I grew up in those days and can tell you that King ushered in a long overdue era of equality. I can actually remember a "Blacks Only," restroom in the Durham downtown Belk's and Woolworth's in the sixties. Being an innocent child in those days, I never understood some of what I saw and had plenty of questions for my parents.
I can later remember being on vacation with them in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where I was running about the infamous Ocean Drive arcade when the news came out that King had been shot. There was no cable or satellite networks in that time, just televisions with rabbit ears or room top antennas. In short, it certainly wasn't the techno era but everywhere you went a radio was on and televisions showing that motel room balcony. Even after the tragic death I overheard some good old boys saying "He got what he deserved," or "He was a trouble maker," when walking around the boardwalk that same evening and it was then I realized I was a part of a change in thinking in America.
"It's a great day in America," said one man, glowing in approval and I was appalled at his mean spirited gloating narrowness despite my innocence. Heck, even a child realizes right from wrong and all I knew is that King was a preacher and a so called activist even though I couldn't have told you what the definition of that word was. Later that evening, "I have a dream," rang out from most televisions and radios and I heard nothing but good in the words as I beamed into his infamous speech for the first time.
Towards the end of that vacation, I had a defined view of what good and bad really was. And a lot of supposedly good people had some bad views which was clear now that my eyes were opened. In hindsight, I am glad my eyes were closed to many of the injustices of that time for it would not have made for as good of childhood memories. But my eyes were truly opened on that tragic day and as they say, you never forget where you were during historical moments. Here is to equality folks and me learning in my innocence that a man is a man and that we are all in this together.
These Blue Devils are learning
Last seasons national championship team had three seniors in Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek. And they had two juniors namend Kyle Singlerand Nolan Smithbacking them up which is in a word experienced. This season both Singler and Smith returned to lead as seniors, but they have no experienced juniors behind them. The bottom line is once you get past Kyle and Nolan, Duke is very, very young. That means this team is indeed a work in progress with a lot of growing to do before they can make a deep run in March.
We have remained positive that Kyrie Irving would return this season, but the bottom line is that Duke fans need to focus in on what is on the court at the moment for these are the guys we'll be playing with in the foreseeable future. Development must take place for Duke to get better and so far, the Blue Devils are still looking for players to step up in a more consistent manner.
Team chemistry is oh-so vital down the stretch and in the coming days we'll see if some of the players can buck up and produce. Irving's absence has effected getting the ball into the bigs, so there numbers are down save rebounding, but there are some other players who have yet to step up despite getting major minutes. It's really quite simple, Duke needs another consistent scorer to step up during conference play.
Hoop's Recruiting
Duke never stops recruiting and this past weekend they had visits from Austin Rivers and Shabazz Muhammad. BDN's Terry Rains stayed in Florida for Rivers back to back games and we hope you go back and look at the video interviews on site. We currently have Andre Slater at the Hoop Hall where he is covering the hottest names including a couple of possible new kids on the radar. His reporting continues for premium members on our message board and we will have plenty of interviews coming members way. It is a great time to join BDN Premium for full site access for the upcoming changes and coverage will set us apart. Join now and read about Alex Murphy's reaction to his Duke visit in one of our latest offerings.
Football recruiting too ...
BDN supports Duke Football and we cover them with the best, be it game day, weekly press conferences or recruiting. Duke had a big football recruiting weekend and our Patrick Cacchio will be bringing you all the news on the latest happenings. Our premium football message board is growing and it allows you to stay in the know as moves happen. We will continue to offer out football recruiitng articles free to the public through January, so come back and check out what our commitments and prospects have to say.
Props to Sen Renfree
Sean Renfree was named the teams MVP for this past season, thus a shout out for the promising quarterback. Renfree will be one of the most experienced signal callers in the ACC next season and we'll talk with the rising junior in short time to update you on his off season status.
Support Women's Hoops
The Blue Devils Women remain undefeated against the nations toughest schedule and they return home to play Georgia Tech this Friday. The Devils are coming off two road wins over Florida State and Virginia Tech. Duke has but six home games left on their schedule including the season finale against North Carolina on Sunday February 27th. Call GoDuke and get your tickets now.
In 2010, freshman linebacker Kelby Brown was one of the brightest stars on the Duke defense, finishing the season 3rd on the team in tackles, 2nd in sacks, and leading the ACC with four fumble recoveries. Unfortunately, Kelby’s season was cut short by a knee injury, but after a successful offseason surgery, the Blue Devils plan for him to be ready for the season opener against Richmond on September 3.
Duke fans are hoping to see Kelby joined on the field by his brother, Kyler, a 6’4” 215 pound defensive prospect from Charlotte Christian High School. With the recent departure of co-defensive coordinator Marion Hobby, some fans have feared that Duke’s 2011 defensive prospects may begin to look elsewhere. Blue Devil Nation recently spoke with Kyler to learn about his senior season and where he stands with his commitment to Duke.
BDN: Can you give us a brief recap of your senior season?
I felt like we had a pretty good season. Even though we finished 6-5, the games that we lost were all really close except for one. We did pretty well and I did pretty well. The other teams ran away from me a lot, but I still did get some tackles in, I think I got 103, so it was a pretty good year and lots of fun.
BDN: In what areas do you think you improved the most from your junior to senior year?
I think, well, we had great coaches and everything in high school even. They taught me a lot this year and I’ve been getting a lot of fundamentals down and stuff. I still need to learn that obviously, because I mean everybody does. Also, just my knowledge for the game is increasing. I watched a lot of film this year of the other teams and of myself and the rest of my team. My knowledge has increased a lot. Also, my strength – I’ve gotten a lot better on that with lifting and everything.
Kyler Brown finished with 103 tackles for Charlotte Christian
BDN: How much were you able to follow your brother and the Duke program and what are your thoughts on their season?
Well, I thought it was not as good as we’d hoped, but I mean, I can count off at least five games that we lost that were all really close. I think four of those we definitely should have won, and it just came down to either the last second or some mistakes in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, we had a great year, I thought. The coaches are doing wonders in upgrading the team and improving Duke football.
BDN: Can you talk a little about your relationship with the coaching staff and how much you’ve been in contact with them?
I’ve been up to Duke a couple times, I actually don’t know how many times exactly, but I’ve seen all the coaches there. And I’ve also had the coaches come to visit and we had a good time, good talks and everything. My relationship with Coach Cut is awesome, he’s a great coach. My recruiting coordinator is Coach Lubick and he’s been great.
BDN: What are some of the things you’ve talked to the coaching staff about? What do you expect your role to be on the Duke defense?
As far as redshirts go, we don’t know whether I’m going to be able to redshirt or not. It was the same thing with my brother last year, they had no clue. They decided at the beginning of the year that they were going to redshirt him, but keep him around in case they needed him. He eventually made his way to starting, so you never know. You never know what’s going to happen. I’m either going to be a defensive end or an outside linebacker, or maybe just a dropdown linebacker or a pullback defensive end – just more of a hybrid of those two positions. I’ll be able to mix in between those two.
BDN: You mentioned your brother and I know Duke fans were excited with the season he had for Duke. What have you been able to learn from his experience and what to expect as you make the transition to the college game?
Speed. He mentioned how fast it is compared to high school and that you just have to give it your all every single play. You have to be able to just play fast, even if you don’t react fast enough, you just have to deal with it and adjust. Also, a big thing is just shedding blockers at linebacker and at defensive end. He’s talked about how you just have to be quicker than them, have better hands than them, and just keep them off you as much as you can. It’s all just great advice from him.
BDN: What are your plans between now and signing day and for the rest of your senior year?
Well, right now I’m not playing a sport. I’m just lifting hard, as hard as I can, getting strong and keeping my conditioning up. Playing basketball a little bit, playing some pick up games, and really not much besides that. The big thing is lifting right now and I’m also putting on weight, so that’s also good. For visits, they have a banquet for the football players this weekend, so I’m going up there for my brother and with the team and do that. I think we’re going to go to a [Duke] basketball game and then later I’m going to go to the NC State basketball game with one of the kids in my class.
BDN: When are you planning to enroll at Duke?
I’m thinking about more of the second shift at the beginning of July.
BDN: I know Duke fans are really looking forward to it. Thanks a lot, Kyler. Safe travels to Durham and best of luck with the rest of your senior year.
Alright. Thank you, good talking with you.
The Blue Devils will host several prospects on official visits this weekend and BDN will have more football coverage coming all next week.
DURHAM - Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said it best, "It was just one of those games where our shots weren't falling, but our second half defense saved us." The Blue Devils found themselves trailing 31-25 at the half but they righted the ship after being down nine in the second half. They went on to outscore the Cavaliers by a 24 point margin, closing the game out with a 76-60 win.
It was a night when the three point shot wasn't falling until late where Duke sophomore knocked down three of them in the second half. Dawkins' play came at a time when Duke needed a lift. Dawkins had just turned to the Cameron Crazies and exhorted them before he went in on a slashing drive, scored and was fouled.
Dawkins' 14 points were huge for a Duke team that needed a scoring lift from someone other than seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. But it was Smith who really sparked the Dukies with a stat line of 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. Smith's big play was a tomahawk dunk which shifted momentum for Duke where it stayed.
The Virginia defense was tough all day in that they were quick to the ball and doubled down each time Duke would try to go inside. Mustapha Farrakhan led the Cavaliers with 15 points, but he was effectively shut down after the first half. Joe Harris added 15 as well.
Duke also got 16 boards from Mason, wh Coach K praised for grabbing everything near him in the post-game meeting with press. We'll have more on the game a bit later.
Sidebar - Dawkins scored in double figures for the 10th time this season. Duke now has a 30 game winning streak in Cameron. Mason Plumlee's 16 boards were his career high. Smith leads the ACC in 20 plus point games this season. Smith has 9 steals in the last two games.
GREENSBORO - One thing you can depend on in January is the annual Martin Luther King Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina where high school hoopsters play a day of basketball. 
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