[private]The ghost of former Raleigh Broughton player, "Pistol" Pete Maravich would have loved to play in his former gym on Friday night. The reason was there was a standing room only crowd so big that a horde of people were turned away outside.
The reason for the huge gathering of basketball fans was the 37th Glaxo Smith-Kline Holiday
Duke commitment Ryan Kelly and former Duke player Kevin Billerman pose after last nights victory
Invitational. Day One saw Duke commitment Ryan Kelly lead Ravenscroft to a 71-56 victory over Apex.
Kelly tallied 21 points and added 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots according to the official stat sheet. Kelly displayed a wide variety of moves.
"We definitely began to get in a little bit of rhythm as we get into this tournament in Glaxo and didn't do as well as we had liked to down at Chic-Fil-A (Invitational). But we finished with a win there and started out with a win here," said Kelly after the game.
In the nightcap, John Wall displayed his incredible athleticism as his Word of God team advanced with a 67-41 blowout against Rocky Mount. Wall finished the game with 16 points, 3 blocks and 2 assists. He had three resounding dunks in the contest which brought the crowd to its feet.
Word of God will not play again until Monday evening and Ravenscroft takes to the court again tonight at 9:15. Preceding that game, Mason Plumlee and Christ School open with their first contest in the tournament.
Duke Assistant Coach Chris Collins and his Father Doug were there to take in the event. Raleigh Police were called in to help handle the crowd outside where a line stretched for more than 100 yards two and three deep.
For complete and unmatched coverage, consider joining Blue Devil Nation Premium. There you will find quotes from Kelly and Wall and analysis of the event that few fans were able to see. You can also read our live blog from the event on the members only message board. BDN will continue to report the results of the games in our free section as well, so check back in this evening.[/private]
[private]It is the time of year for Hoilday Tournaments with the City of Palms Classic and the Chick-fil-A Classic both involving players committed to or being pursued by Duke.
At the City of Palms, John Wall scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out nine assists as Word of God defeated American Heritage 63-61. Wall also had two blocks and three steals. On Saturday afternoon, Word of God will face off against St. Patrick's and UNC commitment Dexter Strickland.
On Saturday afternoon, at the Chick-fil-A, the much awaited Ravenscroft and Christ School game will take place. Both schools feature a player who has signed with Duke: Ryan Kelly for Ravenscroft and Mason Plumlee for Christ School. The winner of this game has a potential second round game against Miller School which is led by Marshawn Powell and Mychal Parker. Of course, Miller School has to take care of business and win their first game. Here is the tournament bracket.
In other games earlier this week:
On Tuesday night, Christ School scored 31 unanswered points including the last 21 points of the first half in a 96-52 win over Asheville Christian. Mason Plumlee scored 14 points in the game. Plumlee scored 13 points on Thursday as the Greenies defeated Greenville SC High School 88-41. This game featured a 25 point Christ School run including the last 16 points of the first half.
Brandon Knight scored 40 points as Pine Crest defeated North Broward Prep 84-52. Knight made five three point baskets and dished out 10 assists in the game.
Harrison Barnes scored 19 points, all in the first half, as Ames defeated Cedar Falls 77-40.
Josh Smith dropped 30 points on Jefferson as Kentwood won 66-43.
Andre Dawkins scored 17 points as Atlantic Shores pummeled Green Run 78-41.[/private]
Here is the latest recruiting update which covers pretty much every prospect on the radar. Rest assured that the information our premium members receive is accurate and ahead of the curve.
Let's start this update by saying that Duke had a chance to look at many prospects during the eleven day lay off. They, of course, visited Harrison Barnes, [private] well, Wojo did due to K's automobile accident. Barnes remains a top priority.
Chris Collins watched Ryan Kelly early in the month. Nate James took in a Ray McCallum practice. You'll read about two 2010 kids that have caught the staffs eyes in
Brandon Knight remains on the Duke radar, but there are others
the aforementioned Ray McCallum and Kyrie Irving. The staff was able to see both of these youngsters during the break. Chris Collins was able to attend Irvings practice and you will learn why he didn't take in a game as you read Irvings capsule.
The staff was unable to see John Wall but they stay in touch with him. They will check him out at the Glaxo Smith KlineTournament along with Mason and Ryan. In breaking news it has now been learned that Nate James will visit the City ofPalm Classic where he will go head to head with Kenny Boynton. Wall has not had many local games of late and of course, Duke has not had many home games for kids to come to.
Coach James will stay in Florida and check out Brandon Knight this coming Monday and Tuesday.
They are planning on getting some kids to home games, but the lists are a work in progress and will not be finalized until a week or so before each game.
Holiday tournaments start in force this week. Brandon Knight, who is coming off a 40 point effort will play in the 26 team Krurel Classic in Florida. Just north will be the big event in Fort Meyers with a bevy talented teams and players. Among those of interest for Duke are John Wall,Tyler Thornton and Kyrie Irving's team minus him.
Then there is the Chic-Fil-A Invitational where both Duke 2010 commitments Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly go head to head as Ravenscroft takes on Christ School in their only match up in the regular season on Saturday evening. Coach K and Chris Collins will visit this event on Monday and take in Kelly and Plumlee. This tournament also features Daniel Orton and no Duke is not recruiting him.
I'm currently compiling a new chart of prospects and commitments much like we had at the old site. Here is skinny on two kids which are being evaluated. One of the names I will cover later is Jason Morris.
Since none of the corporate sites have listed these kids, especially one, I would appreciate it if the names stayed here. The second you drop a hint or teaser out there it magically appears there. In fact, I have held the names back despite knowing about them for awhile now to see if they would appear elsewhere first.
Ray McCallum - Class of 2010 ( 6-1, 195) Detroit Country Day (Strong evaluation, no offer yet - Duke visited McCallum recently and they like what they saw. The Blue Devils have been evaluating the 2010 prospect since last summer. He played with Mason Plumlee for Indian Elite in AAU ball. His Dad was an assistant coach with Indiana and is now the head man at Detroit. He is refered to as "Little Ray". He attended high school in Indiana but left for Country Day when his Father got the Detroit job. Country Day, of course, produced Shane Battier. Detroit Country Day features seven high to mid major prospects and is one of the top teams in the nation. He tallied ten points in their only game this season but the buzz is that he is the missing piece to the puzzle at the PG spot.
In a recent brief conversation with the budding star, he said he was in no hurry and will go through the recruiting process. He also stated that the calls and letters had picked up significantly.
Among the schools hot on him of late are Duke, LSU, Syracuse, Oklahoma and Kansas. All of them recently viewed him in an open gym. Of those schools, Kansas has been very aggressive and according to McCallum the most active in the process of late. In fact he visited the Kansas midnight madness or late night at the Phog as he called it.
McCallum holds offers from the likes of Detroit, Kansas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA. His current ranking is sure to soar and his early play in his high school season has been solid.
He hopes to lead his team to the state title and wants to see how things develop before narrowing his choices down after the AAU season. Until that time, he has become a hot commodity and is a name to keep an eye on.
Kyrie Irving (6-1, 168) PG St.Patrick HS, New Jersey -(Evaluation started, strong interest no offer) - Irving caught the eye of evaluators and Duke is paying attention. They have started the process and Coach K will take a look at the young man come Spring. Irving spent his first two seasons at Motnclair Kimberly Academy. He helped lead that team to the New Jersey Prep "B" title.
The talented prospect put up some serious numbers which included averaging 26 PPG, 10 RPG and 4 APG. He had a career high 48 points and is a serious threat on the offensive end of the court. He will play for St. Patrick, New Jersey this season.
Yes, that is the same traditionally strong St. Patrick team which features Dominic Cheek, UNC bound Dexter Strickland and Michael Gilchrist. The "Roadrunners," as they are called may be the best team in the country.
Despite the talent jam, Irving is expected to continue to make a name for himself. This however will not happen until the tenth game of the season due to his transfer.
Duke will gauge his interest over the next couple of months where they will join a crowded field of suitors that include rival UNC, Florida, Memphis, Villanova, Rutgers and Indiana where he recently visited. Expect that list to grow as coaches see him play with a talented cast.
One interesting note is that his Coach Boyle compares him favorably to Jason Williams for his ability to score and distribute. Like Williams, he can play the one or two in college. Also like Williams, he doesn't shy away from taking the big shot when a game is on the line.
We will likely update or add to this update in the next 24 hours. I will also be going down to Columbia with a premium member where I will be able to tell you about the Kelly-Plumlee battle firsthand. [/private]
In our latest interview, Ryan Kelly covered many interesting subjects. Among those subjects were, John Wall's recruitment, Cameron Indoor Stadium, his upcoming game versus Christ School and Mason Plumlee, Coach K and his progression as a player.
It was a big win, beating Greensboro Day who came into the game 10-0 ...
It was a big step for us as a team. Our first seven games were ... I don;t want to say they were pre season but that was a big step in our schedule to come out with a win as we go into Christmas tournaments.
You were a bit off from the outside tonight, but you took it inside in the second half ...
Yes (acknowledged)
Is that something you did on your own?
You've got to find where you can score with the ball. For me the shots weren't hitting early on outside and in the second half I took it inside and after some success there I moved outside a game. The versatility of my game ... that's something I've worked on as I continue to be able to knock those shots down consistently I'll get better.
Coach Billerman said he talks to the Duke coaches once a week. Have you been or do you stay in contact with the Duke staff? [private]
Yeah, I will talk to them after the games. I'll let them know about my season and talk of how theirs is going. They're doing pretty well ... it was a tough loss (Michigan).
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
Well, one is to win a state championship and we are going to try as hard as we can to win every game. But we are going to try and win a state championship and hopefully in these Christmas tournaments, we'll come out with some championships there. We need to keep out confidence up.
Talking about state champions, there is a team you might run into that you play on the 20th (December) in Christ School. Of course, you will be going up against Mason Plumlee which will be a big thrill for Duke fans. Are you looking forward to the match up?
Yeah. I can't wait, they're considered the best team in 3-A. Hopefully some will consider us to be right there too. They are obviously a heck of a team and we need to show some people something. We have the ability to do that, so I'm looking forward to it. Obviously Mason is a great player and I look forward to matching up against him and his team. So, I can't wait.
Is there a lot of pressure off of you now that you have committed to Duke? Is it cool that you're a Blue Devil and are you glad the process is over?
Yeah, it's really cool. The pressure is off and I don't have people wondering where I will be. At the same time there is pressure to succeed. I need to keep getting better to play at Duke as any high school senior needs to play over at Duke.
Has the staff told you to work on any part of your game?
Yeah ... continue to work on my defense. Tonight I had a big man, but they want me to be able to guard smaller guys out front a guy smaller, a guard. That's what Kyle Singler does well. To continue to get stronger. I need to obviously get stronger in the weight room, but to get stronger with rebounding. I think it's important to keep getting better with what you are good at. You can't just level off.
So, it's safe to say you feel comfortable in most every aspect of the game?
Yes sir.
You came out on defense and looked really good in doing so. You play defense really well out front for your size. I was surprised to see how you blanketed some of those guys out front.
I continue to work on it and lateral quickness is something that doesn't come very natural for me. A lot of that comes in thee weight room and working on zig zag drills in practice and we work pretty hard on that. We held them to 40 points and they're an 80 point per game team. So, we did a pretty good job.
You've played with John Wall before in the AAU circuit and heads up during the season. He's a kid Duke is recruiting real hard. Do you ever talk to him or put a bug in his ear?
I haven't talked to him in a little while. I was planning on going to see him, but I have talked to him in a little while. Obviously. he's a heck of a player. He made summer ball so much better for me. He's a great guy and a good athlete and I wish the best for him where he goes.
It's safe to say that you would want to play with him?
Yeah, for sure.
I guess in the end he'll be a tough get ...
He's got a decision to make like I had to make and it's not easy. He's taking his time which is really great for him.
Do you ever talk to some of the prospects who have committed?
I'm focusing a lot on what I'm doing here. Obviously, I ha a lot of time to talk to Mason. That was with USA Basketball. I'm looking forward to playing against him. They are undefeated to, so I will see how it is going for him. I know they are all great guys and I'm looking forward to seeing him there. I get over to Duke as much as I can. It's ... the bright lights come on when you go to Cameron Indoor Stadium whether it's Duke or you are playing for somebody else. You have top get as comfortable as you can there and going in as much as you can is the best way to do that.
What do you think about Coach K?
Aw, I can't wait. He's a great coach, one of the best ever.
Do you want to play in the NBA?
Sure, it's my goal. I think any basketball player should have that goal.
I appreciate your time and we'll see you agains as the season goes on.
[private]This week's theme is marquee match-ups: Ravenscroft versus Greensboro Day, Pine Crest versus American Heritage, and Gonzaga versus Bishop O'Connell. These games involved Duke commits Ryan Kelly and Tyler Thornton, and Duke recruiting target Brandon Knight; plus Florida commit Kenny Boynton and Carolina commit Kendall Marshall.
Ryan Kelly helped Ravenscroft improve to 8 – 0 with a 29 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots, and four steals performance against Greensboro Day. Ravenscroft won 56 - 42 and is headed toward a showdown with Christ School on December 20, 2008, in Columbia, SC. It will be exciting to see Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee go head-to-head.
Brandon Knight out dueled Kenny Boynton once again and Pine Crest defeated American Heritage 74 - 72 on Friday night. Knight outscored Boynton 35 - 32 in the individual match-up. Knight and Pine Crest have defeated Boynton and American Heritage in four of their last five meetings.
Tyler Thornton scored 23 points in the game but his Gonzaga team came up short, 65 – 60, against Kendall Marshall and Bishop O’Connell. Marshall scored 15 points for O’Connell. In his latest game, on Friday night, Thornton scored 16 points in a 66 - 55 Gonzaga victory over Mount St. Joseph.
Mason Plumlee was the leading scorer in three Christ School victories this week. He scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked four shots, and tallied four assists, on Monday as Christ School defeated Carolina Day 77 – 41. On Tuesday, Mason scored 18 points in a 90 – 35 rout of Shannon Forest. The Greenies are now 9 – 0 on the season. On Saturday, he scored 21 points in a 81 - 30 blowout of Providence Day.
Andre Dawkins continues to be impressive for Atlantic Shores Christian School. Last Saturday, in the ASCS Tip-Off Championship Game, Dawkins and Steven Pledger executed a pick and roll that resulted in Dawkins draining an 18 foot buzzer beating jump shot giving Atlantic Shores a 56 – 54 victory over Miller School. Miller School was paced by Marshawn Powell and Mychal Parker who both scored 19 points. Steven Pledger, who has signed a Letter of Intent to play for Coach Jeff Capel at Oklahoma, scored 34 points and was named the tournament MVP. Dawkins finished the game with 15 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Josh Smith scored 21 points on Thursday as Kentwood went on the road and defeated Auburn Riverside 65 – 62 to improve to 2 – 1 on the year. Earlier in the week, Kentwood lost to Federal Way, the number one ranked team in Washington State, 61 – 53. Josh Smith scored 19 points in the loss. The 6’9” 280 Junior is averaging 24 points per game so far this season. Smith is the third leading scorer in the South Puget Sound League 4A Conference.[/private]
[private]Two of the State of North Carolina's top private schools met on the court Friday evening when Ravenscroft hosted traditional power Greensboro Day. Ravenscroft entered the contest at 7-0 while Greensboro Day sported a 10-0 record and something had to give.
Greensboro Day came out of the gate playing like a well oiled machine, extending their defense and pushing the Raven guards out. Javon Mitchell led them early on hitting key back to back buckets to keep his team ahead.
Meanwhile, Duke commitment Ryan Kelly kept his team in the game with 10 points and 7 boards in the first half. Kelly struggled a bit with his outside shot, and played almost entirely on the perimeter early on.
You might say the two teams were feeling each other out and the Ravens were never quite settled in early. Every time they'd mount a comeback, Day would hit a timely bucket. Greensboro Day went on to take a 21-20 lead into the half, but Kelly did help bring his team back into the game just before intermission.
When the teams came back out for the second half, it was all Ravenscroft. A three point shot gave them the lead. But Greensboro Day is a well coached bunch and it appeared as if they would trade baskets and were unwilling to go away. That's before Kelly started to really make his presence felt.
Kelly made a key steal and then the assist for a bucket. The next time down the court he threw down a dunk giving his team a 34-30 lead. The next thing you know it was 38-30 and Billerman screamed at his team to go into a spread offense with 54 seconds left in the third quarter as he realized the tide had turned.
Billerman had rested Kelly briefly during that time, but as the fourth quarter got underway, Kelly returned and the Ravens coasted. A Kelly dunk gave them their largest lead of the game at 46-36 and the Ravens stretched that to a 56-42 margin when the final buzzer sounded. In the end Ravenscroft came out the only undefeated team going to 8-0, but the feeling here is they haven't seen the last of Greensboro Day (10-1) this season.
"It was a good win. I thought we played extremely good defense in the second half. To hold them to 42 points for the game when they were averaging 80 showed the type of defense we can play. In the second half we started to go into Ryan Kelly some and that certainly opened things up for our entire team," said former Duke Basketball player Kevin Billerman.
Billerman was without the services of his son Sean who plays guard, but they continued to groom Luke Davis. "Sean dislocated his knee cap. We went to Dr. Lyman Smith a former Duke football player who is an orthopedic surgeon. Lyman felt like he was lucky he didn't tear his ACL. We look forward to getting him back," said Billerman
When asked of the play of Kelly, he stated, "Ryan is a multi skilled 6-10 kid. Somebody who probably 50% of the time brings the ball up the court for us. He didn't make quite as many jump shots as he usually does, but he had what ... 4 blocks and 4 assists? He's a multi talented, multi skilled player."
With his outside shot not as accurate as normal, Kelly asserted himself on the blocks in the second half. Kelly showed off his versatility ending up with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 4 steals and 4 assists. The only negative in his game were the 6 turnovers I had him with. Still, he drew 10 fouls on the opponent and altered 4 shots on the evening. In the end, Day had no answer for the Kelly.
"Tonight was a big step for our team. That was a big game in our schedule and to come out with a win going into the Christmas tournament in Columbia," said Kelly when commenting on the game.
Ravenscroft now looks ahead to a match up with defending state champion Christ School of Arden. The two teams will meet at the Chic-Fil-A Invitational on December 20th in Columbia, South Carolina. Duke fans have awaited this game as well in that the two 2009 commitments, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly will oppose one another. The game tips off at 8:00 EST, but it is on the same day Duke takes on Xavier at 2:00.
When asked of Christ School-Ravenscroft showdown Kelly stated, "I can't wait for our match up with Christ School. They are considered the best team in the 3-A. Obviously Mason (Plumlee) is a great player and I look forward to matching up and playing against him."
Blue Devil Nation Premium Subscribers can read the entire interview with Ryan Kelly and get more of Coach Billermans comments on the upcoming battle with Christ School and more. Why not join today and catch up with recruiting and get behind the scenes with unique coverage.[/private]
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