BDN Photo

Mason Plumlee was officially cleared to play late yesterday afternoon.  Plumlee has been practicing and went full throttle yesterday.  His wrist is still a concern but the consensus is that he is ready to go.  How much time he logs against Wisconsin remains to be seen, but looking at match-ups and front court depth, there is good reason to think we’ll see the freshman on the court.

Duke has prepared for

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Austin Rivers will visit Duke this coming weekend - BDN Photo

Austin Rivers will visit campus this coming weekend with

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Brad Beal, copyright BDN Photo

Due to his duties with Team USA in Las Vegas, Coach Mike Krzyzewski was unable to see Brad Beal play in Orlando.  Beal, a 2011 target played in the Orlando Showcase event which preceded the AAU Nationals which prevented the Devils head man being there.  Despite his absence, Coach Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski [Wojo] caught his every move.

In short, Brad Beal knows that Duke is very interested in him as evidenced by Coach K watching him play during the Peach Jam, calling him the following week.  Beal and the Devils are in a getting to know one another process that will carry over.  The St. Louis guard prospect grew up following JJ Redick and Duke, but many felt he was a huge Florida lean of late.

That may have been the case, but Beal has now conceded that he will no longer make a quick decision as you will hear in the following article.  BDN was the first Duke  site to interview and cover Beal long before others caught wind of his solid game and we will continue to stay on top of his recruitment.

During the festivities in Orlando, Jason Williams talked to several AAU teams.  The former Duke

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Coaches take in the action today in Orlando

The championship game from the Showcase will be tonight, but the AAU Nationals are underway as well.  A bevy of college coaching greats  have descended upon Disney’s Wide World of Sports to get one last look at some of the nations top basketball prospects.  Coach K and his staff are out in force and they are intermingled with the likes of Roy Williams, Billy Donovan and others.

One of Duke’s main targets is Kyrie Irving, but Irving was unable to participate in his New Jersey Roadrunners final game because he suited up for the New Jersey Celtics for their upset run.  Despite that, Krzyzewski sat with assistants Collins and Wojciechowski out of respect and to show that the guard is at the top of their list.

It gets better for Duke fans who

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Gilchrist draws a crowd, scores 23 points

ORLANDO – The super showcase is underway and the nations top college coaches fill the gyms as a multitude of teams take to the hardwood.  The vast majority of the games are on the property of Disney Wide World of Sports.  One facility features six games going on at the same time, the other, four.  The best thing is that you can troll around the top and see all the action and clear netted partitions allows you to see scores on all the courts.

The top performance I saw today was Austin Rivers nailing seven three-pointers on his way to 30 points, leading his team to an easy win.  Each One Teach One, being a local Florida team, drew a good crowd, but all of the games were well attended.  Where else can you sit and see All Ohio Red, Team Final and Albany City Rocks in action at one time?

Speaking of Team Final, a bevy of coaches from schools like  Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Indiana, Texas and many others turned out to see a loaded team.  Michael Gilchrist, of course, was a main attraction and he didn’t disappoint, scoring in many different ways on his way to 23 points.

But who was the Duke staff watching?  Well,

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Brad Beal scores his 29th point - BDN Photo

Brad Beal caught the eye of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during the LeBron James Skills Academy a week ago.  That put Beal high on the list of 2011 prospects for the Devils, who continued to watch him during the Nike Peach Jam.  In fact Coach K and one assistant were front and center for two of his games, and a Duke assistant was in place for the rest of his games.

Beal is a well rounded player who understands the game of basketball. There are few weaknesses in his game at his young age and has steadily climbed to recruiting rankings into a top ten spot.  Beal first caught my eye during the Boo Williams Invitational, where I took in two of his games.

When on the court for his AAU team, the St. Louis Hawks, Beal wears number 23, but his favorite college player growing up was JJ Redick.  During the Peach Jam he was playing well, but foul trouble made his second to last game the worst I had seen him play.  But he bounced back for a 29 point, 10 rebound, 4 assist, 4 steal effort in his teams final victory.

After watching this kid play, it didn’t take me long to realize that this guy has some skill, so we’ve followed him ever sense.  In fact, we were the first Duke site to ever mention Beal and secured the first interview with him.  Our staff now seen Beal play 9 times, so we can break down his game for you.  In fact, BDN has seen all Duke prospects numerous times, thus we can give you a “true” first hand account .  I mean, would you rather hear about Andre Dawkins from someone who has seen him play in 23 games, or someone who goes on hearsay?  That’s what makes BDN Premium the clear choice for Duke Basketball fans.

The following interview is our fourth with the Beal –

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Andre Dawkins, copyright BDN photo

Harrison Barnes will not compete in any other AAU events.  He will attend the Nike Global Challenge and the event at Rucker Park.   I spoke with Barnes and while

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Andre Dawkins had a 36 point 9 rebound effort during today's Peach Jam action - BDN Photo

Andre Dawkins torched the nets for 36 points and added 9 rebounds but his Boo Williams team was no match for talent laden Team Final.  Team Final is of course led by Michael Gilchrist, but his 13 points and 8 rebounds were not the main factor in a 101-74 victory.  Tyreak Duran and Trevor Cooney scored 52 points together and Rakeem Christmas contributed with 12 points as Team Final moved to the next round.

It is worth noting that Team Final won that game as well 92-77 over California Supreme.  Gilchrist went for 14 points and 11 boards in that game and Cooney and Christmas added 20 points apiece.  Team Final will play Team Florida in the semi finals tomorrow and will play the winner of the Albany City Rocks – All Ohio Red.

Earlier in the day, Harrison Barnes and Howard Pulley were sent packing.  Barnes had another amazing game in a standing room only audience scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to go with 2 steals.

BDN talked with Barnes after the game

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Brad Beal, BDN Photo

Brad Beal is a 6’3” shooting guard from Chaminade high school in St. Louis, Missouri. As a sophomore, he led the Red Devils to the Missouri state title and was named all-state. After the season, Beal tried out for the United States under-sixteen developmental team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He made the team and traveled to Argentina for the 2009 FIBA U-16 Championship. Once again, Beal was the leading scorer for the team and led the USA with twenty-six points to a gold medal in the championship game over host team, Argentina. Not surprisingly, the Missouri native has become one of the most coveted prospects in the 2011 class and a consensus top ten prospect