Category Archives: Duke Basketball Recruiting News

High School Hoops Edition No. 1

[private]Blue Devil Nation is the place for updated information on high school games involving Duke Commitments and recruiting targets. This season we will track the progress of, and post weekly updates on, future Blue Devils: Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, Andre Dawkins, Josh Hairston, and Tyler Thornton; plus targets Harrison Barnes, Josh Smith, Brandon Knight, and John Wall.

Mason Plumlee and Christ School have opened their season with four victories. The Greenies defeated Veritas Sports Academy 87 – 58, Asheville High School 89 – 46, Blue Ridge School 76 – 61, and Porter-Gaud 73 - 50.

In the season opener, on November 15, Plumlee’s stat line against Veritas was seven points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. On November 18, he exploded for 28 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Asheville.

Christ School played back-to-back games on Friday, November 21, and Saturday, November 22. Against Blue Ridge School, Plumlee scored 13 points and blocked four shots. He put up a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against Porter-Gaud Saturday afternoon.

Christ School will return to action on December 2, against Spartanburg Day School.[/private]

John Wall talks of his Memphis visit and scheduling a trip to Duke

John Wall returned from his visit to Memphis on Sunday afternoon and he may pay a visit to Duke possibly on [private] Tuesday of this week, the day before the team leaves for the Coaches versus Cancer 2K Classic in New York.

"Probably some time next week or this week," said Wall on when that visit might take place.  I then

BDN Photography
BDN Photography

asked if Duke was a serious player at this time and Wall said, "I haven't been offered yet.  Coach K wants me to sit down and talk to him in person and we'll take it from there."

He seemed to have liked his visit to Memphis, bit didn't elaborate too much on how it went saying, "It went good.  I think it's a great school with a great environment.  The fans show support and it was a great visit over all."

When asked who would play the biggest role in his recruitment he stated, "Probably my Mom and my high school and AAU Coach, Brian Clifton."

Wall also has a criteria which has pretty much remained the same saying, "I'm looking at the style of play, how my relationship might go with the coach.  I like a style that lets you get up and down the court."

"The thing I most need to work on is my jump shot," said Wall.  That's about the only thing which needs polish for Wall is a cat quick point guard who plays good on ball defense and finds his teammates with his unselfish play and terrific passing ability.

"All the teams on my list have been aggressive," said Wall.  He continued to name his list and Duke was still in it.  "They had showed some interest before and explained to me how they recruit players and once they offer they stick with that player."

He was of course talking about Kenny Boynton, who recently selected Florida.  That opened the door for Wall.  He also stated that Coach K had handled the majority of the process.

I asked the young prospect to describe his game in his own words.  "I'd say clutch and I can lead my team to victory and get other people involved and he can lead his team to victory," said Wall.  As a person, he said, "I'm cool, like to have fun and try to be a good person."

For those of you think there might be an early verbal to a school, think again.  Wall stated, "I will wait until spring before I make a decision, that hasn't changed.  I'm still wide open."

Walls list of schools - Duke, NCSU, Baylor, Memphis, Kansas, Oregon, Clemson

His team's first game - November 28th [/private]

John Wall will visit Memphis this weekend and then …

While John Wall will visit Memphis over the weekend, the word is that he is anxious [private] to visit Duke next week.  Tuesday is the target date at this time, maybe Monday.  In a brief exchange with John, he says his recruitment will almost assuredly go to the April 15th and beyond signing period.

While some rumors insist he wants to stay near home, a source close to the situation told me what they considered to be his final four.  That being Duke, NCSU, Memphis and Baylor.  The presence of Baylor says that he is still considering the overtures that Dwon Clifton will take care of him.  This is in no way something I want anyone to hint at at Devils Illustrated or anywhere else.

Anyhow, as of today, Wall is very open to Duke.  If this battle stays clean, then the Blue Devils have a great shot to land him.  Duke certainly has some good selling points and K's NBA connections are nothing to turn your nose up at.  Wall could more than better himself with a year under K and he would be on TV in that "all" of the Blue Devil games make it there.

A lot of people keep asking me to answer rumors from elsewhere.  If I haven't said anything, then I haven't heard anything different from what I tell you here.  No, UNC is not the leader for Barnes and to my knowledge, Knight will not verbal to UF in November.  That's all I have to say about that.  I could be wrong, but I'm generally pretty close. [/private]

Mason Plumlee signs a letter of intent to play for Duke University

[private]Mason Plumlee signed a letter of intent to play his college basketball for Duke University.  Mason

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copyright BDNP

was the first of the Plumlee clan to originally verbal to Duke.  Shortly after that, his brother Miles joined the Devils.

Mason helped lead Christ School in Arden, North Carolina in the state title this past season.  He is a consensus top fifteen player in the prospects rating services.

Plumlee joins Ryan Kelly in the 2009 class.  Duke is still recruiting John Wall, hoping he will feel out the class.  Wall is the nations top point guard prospect and plays at nearby Releigh Church of God.[/private]

Ryan Kelly signs his letter of intent to play for Duke University

[private]Ryan Kelly signed his letter of intent today which is the first day of the early signing period.  Kelly, a 6-10 power forward, is ranked by scout as the #3 power forward and #11 overall player in the Class of 2009.  In July, Kelly was a starter for the USA Men’s Basketball U18 Team that won a silver medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina. As a junior at Ravenscroft, he was named the 2007 TISAC Conference Player of the Year, averaging 23.7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks per game.[/private]

Basketball Recruiting Update

Blue Devil Nation Premium has the latest hoops recruiting update up for members.  Give the gift of information this Christmas to a Blue Devil fan dear to you.  [private] Not too much to report on John Wall until after he meets with Coach K in person which will take place at the earliest convenience.  My sources are saying that Duke feels that they will become seriously

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Copyright BDN

involved with Wall and an offer is a mere formality at this point.   The Wall camp has been receptive to Duke getting in late and will not hold that against them.

So far, scheduling has been the culprit.  Also, there is a dead period in recruiting at this time.  Many feel Wall wants to stay near home, but there are a few things which need to play out before I'd be willing to guarantee that possibility.  In short, Duke is very serious about getting John Wall to wear the royal blue.  I will talk to Josh Smith sometime this week.  He is still on the radar and Coach Nate James has been in touch with the prospect recently.

Harrison Barnes has become a serious priority and Duke will stay on the hot prospect as much as the NCAA allows.  There is a good feeling that Duke is right there with Kansas as the leaders early on.  Barnes has become a bit tight lipped of late and will not talk of his meeting with K other than the basics.

Duke has been and still is going after Brandon Knight, possibly the best player in his class.  I have heard from his parents that he will likely take a different path than Kenny Boynton.  You know what they say though, anything can happen in recruiting.  Anything can change too.  For instance, Duke has explained to Wall that once they offer a kid they are faithful to him.  When Boynton selected Florida, Wall got the attenation and he will soon know if he doesn't already that Duke is committed to him and him alone for the final spot in the class of 2009.

Finally, Boynton was pushed to stay in state by almost everyone close to him.  I can't go into specifics, but things got a little greasy if you will.  In the long run, teams can point to Nick Calathes he would be a Gator midnight before his "We shocked the world," signing party.  Sometimes, kids will waste a colleges recruiting budget for their own game.

I went into the archives for this July interview with John Wall -

Locked  Wall is still wide open

Before I get into this interview, let me make this clear.  Kenny Boynton is the man for Duke.  If something goes south they might look at John Wall and he is still open to Duke coming in.  He is a very talented true speedy PG who slashes about the court and makes his teammates better with his abilty to get them the ball.  During this interview, I had two cameras on me for they were filming for a documentary on the process surrounding Wall.  You never know what might happen in recruiting.

The last time I talked to you was in Durham during the TOC, has anything changed since then?

Not really.  I am still wide open and trying to get schools to come in.  The schools that are coming at me the hardest are Memphis and Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and NC State so far.  Those are the ones coming the hardest but I think other schools are going to come around.

The last time I talked with your coach he said you were not near a point where you would shut down the process.  Does that still hold true?

Yes, that's still true, but after Vegas I'm going to narrow my list down going into my senior year.  You've got to get your five ... get your business set up.

So, is there anyone that would make the top five for sure ... right now ... anyone guaranteed a visit?

No, not yet.  There's a couple of schools getting close to it.

You just scored thirty points in your last game, but your team came up short.  Did you miss Ryan Kelly?

Yeah, Kelly's a big part.  He gives us a presence in the paint and as you could see we lacked that.  We weren't playing defense and getting back.  We just didn't make our shots but we played hard.

Is the AAU season taking a toll on you?

Yeah, it gets kind of tough, but you go back home.  In between you just ice your knees and relax.  We'll go to Vegas (Reebok) next and then I can rest for a little while before preparing for my senior year.

(I then turned my attention to his coach Dwon Clifton who is always by his side)  He said -

"I think he has an idea of what he wants.  I want him to be comfortable with what he does.  He has a lot of talent and I encourage him to get better and stronger.  I mean, now that people knows who he is some of the flaws he could once get away with he will now have to develop.  Now, everyone is going to start to push him and pull him and try to get him to go against his people and get him to feel like no one can tell him anything.  This world can eat him up.  I've seen it happen to too many players, myself included. (played at Clemson).  I don't want that to be the case with him."

So, will your coach be a big part of the process?

He's like a bigger brother to me.  I don't have one like that so he fills in.  With DC ... we can go out and stuff and just have a good time.  He's trying to develop me through this process because he went through it at Clemson.  So, when I make my decision, I am going to ask him or talk to him about it.

Who are some of the toughest guys you've gone against on the circuit?

Tommy Mason here.  He's really tough.

What does John Wall need to work on for his game to get better?

I've got to get stronger, work on my jump shot, defense, lateral movement ... there's a lot of stuff I can work on.  You just can't stop when you get on top.  I have some God given ability but I need to keep working because everybody else will.

What keeps you motivated?

Playing for my Dad.  He died when I was ten years old.  My Mom, my sister .. just want to get them to a better place.

How long have you known your Coach?

I knew him from the AAU circuit when I was about 14, but he really started coming in in the last two years talking to me.  Now he's my AAU coach and gives me advice.

Of the ACC schools, you mentioned NC State.  With you playing highs school ball down the road, do they push hard?

They come and visit every game they can.  Duke came to a couple of my games this year.  Carolina came to a couple.

You've been to some of there games too, right?

Yes, I have been to a couple of Duke games and a Carolina game.

How did you like the atmosphere at those schools?

It's a good atmosphere.. crazy, people are going crazy everywhere at Duke and UNC ... all those fans.

Did Duke contact you at one time or are they in touch?

Coach Dawkins and Coach K came to a couple of my games.  They said they wanted to start recruiting me and stuff like that.  I took their advice and came to the TOC and was able to play a game in Cameron.

Have they been in touch since that time?

Uhhh .. I haven't talked to them since Coach Dawkins got the job at Stanford.

UNC?

No, haven't heard from them.

Thanks for your time and I wish you luck in choosing the right school. [/private]

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