Tag Archives: Brandon Knight

Here is anther team and recruiting update from BDN Premium where we touch on some sensitive issues, what happened in Orlando and so much more. Duke expects Kyrie Irving to visit [private] campus in early September, but there are no firm plans for him to visit with Harrison Barnes as some public message boards have claimed. The two have talked but that is normal among the current batch of Duke prospects. In fact, it was interesting to see Austin Rivers just after his game in uniform to talk with Andre Dawkins as he was preparing to play. But there was a third wheel in the conversation, namely Kyrie Irving. While it would be unwise to see this as just a positive spin, it would be just as unwise to play it off as if it meant nothing. In short, we should probably land somewhere in the middle in our thoughts on the gathering.

Duke is down to Kyrie Irving, Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight and Roscoe Smith in 2010. Duke is concentrating completely on Kyrie as their point guard of the future at this time and they feel there is an excellent chance he will become a Blue Devil. Roscoe Smith still has an offer should he want to come, but there are no major efforts with his recruitment at this time. Duke would be more than happy closing 2010 with Barnes and Irving alone. While Duke still has some backup plans, they are putting an all out effort to finish with Barnes and Irving. Once they get those two, they would turn their attention to Brandon Knight.

Duke has of course offered Quincy Miller and they are looking at a bushel of players in the class of 2011. The staff took a look at Marshall Plumlee in Las Vegas and I feel that he will get an offer in short time. The staff took a look at some new kids as well and I hesitate to mention them for as soon as I do, the other sites will magically have them. Let's test the waters since no other site is aware of who they were watching. On second thought, we'll make that a separate article in the coming days and cut it short to get this update out.

Austin Rivers performed in Orlando as Coach K watched

There will be an official announcement concerning Andre Dawkins in the near future. He has one course to be credited with and he has a passing grade, so he will soon be on campus getting acclimated to his environment. We'll have more on this shortly. The staff is very pleased with the recent play of Josh Hairston who was given a few things to work on during a recent campus visit.

Whats up with Austin Rivers? Let me put it like this, Coach K made no bones about it in that he has interest in Rivers. Billy Donovan and the UF staff were likely surprised when Coach K made it a point to be front and center for Rivers games. In fact, when Douglas Dad [see below] approached K, he had gone up the side of another gym to watch Rivers leaving his assistants behind. As it turned out Rivers played in the first half, but they rested him in the second, so he left. I sat near the staff during one of Rivers games and it wasn't hard to see that he glanced over towards Krzyzewski on several occasions. While Rivers maintains he is firm with Florida, he will almost assuredly visit Duke. In fact, I am trying to figure out how to present a brief interview I did with him. Make no mistake, his father wants him to make sure of his choice so some visits will be in place. It doesn't hurt that Doc and K are close from the Olympics and other functions. This is a very sensitive issue, so anything you read at BDN should stay here. Rivers camp has contacted Duke, but this one is far from over. While smart money would be on UF, there is more than a little something going on with Rivers and once he visits others schools, he just may find that the perfect fit is elsewhere. K has had super success with players who have NBA lineage and with their facilities, a basketball first school and his connections, Duke may just make an impression. Stay tuned.

During the AAU Nationals, fans could be seen taking pictures of Krzyzewski from the balcony. There were several instances where Coach K was approached by a throng of admirers, but he had to turn them away due to NCAA rules of contact in that some of them were student athletes. In short, everybody noticed K and wanted a piece of him.

I would like to share this with you for it is a testament to the respect and admiration Coach K has even among his opposition. I happened to be nearby when a gentleman walked up to Coach and had a very appreciative look on his face. He talked with Coach for a few minutes, shaking his hand and thanking him. When he left, I realized it was the father of Florida State guard Toney Douglass. As it turns out, Coach made a call to NBA reps mentioning his character and play. His Dad obviously the unsolicited kind act and you can bet that word of this kind of thing will get around.

All of the men's basketball staff is on vacation or taking a break one way or another. So, it will be relatively quiet for the next couple of weeks. Duke will not announce their Elite Camp roster publicly so please do not ask me questions pertaining to this in any forum. I will tell you what I can as the camp nears and passes. [/private]<

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Nike Peach Jam Day Two – Barnes erupts for 62 points in two games

July 14, 2009 Mark Watson

Day Two of the Nike Peach Jam is over and once again the nation's coaches were on hand in droves to see the nation's top prospects. [private]The official word on Harrison Barnes' injury is that he has one finger nail hanging by a thread, and another finger which suffered a cut where a blister had formed. "We had him taped up like a mummy but he will be alright" said his AAU coach.

Barnes was indeed alright as he led his Howard Pulley team to two wins today. He erupted for 36 points and 10 rebounds in the morning game and capped that performance off with a 26 point game in the evening session. His performances allowed Howard Pulley to win both games and even their record to 2-2.

Barnes' accomplishments were witnessed by Coach Krzyzewski and Wojo, and Kansas and UNC staffs - more on this on our message board. The staff was also front and center for [private] Brad Beal, a 2011 stud who tallied 20 points and showed off numerous skills. Duke will get into the thick of the race with Beal.

Brandon Knight was indeed injured, but it is a fracture and not as bad as originally thought. David Rivers tossed in 9 points in the early game and his team went to 2-1, but they lost in the nightcap where Rivers had no go off the court with an upset stomach.

As I said on the message board, Hippolyte Tsafack is no longer on the radar and is the fourth big man in the rotation for Albany City Rocks. Albany defeated Boo Williams this afternoon78-71 aided by the continued good play of Tobias Harris. Dawkins who had scored 20 points in the early session under the watch of Chris Collins, had 15 points in this game. Coach K and Wojo caught the tail end of his first game.

The Duke staff also watched Team Final, but Krzyzewski headed out after the afternoon sessions. Wojo and Collins will remain as long as Duke targets are playing. I talked to Brad Beal and Harrison today and will have some articles up on them at tournaments end.

The best players in the tournament have been Will Barton and Harrison Barnes. I will post some statistics from the camp tomorrow afternoon. [/private]

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Nike Peach Jam Day One Report – Barnes, Knight, Gilchrist

July 13, 2009 Mark Watson

Michael Gilchrist has been called the best high school player in America as a rising junior

Everywhere you looked, college basketball coaches lined the walls as the Nike Peach Jam got underway on Sunday. The first game of the day featured a Harrison Barnes led Howard Pulley team going up against Each One, Teach One, which boasts the best back court in AAU ball. That's because Duke prospect Brandon Knight teams with Austin Rivers and the one-two punch proved too much for the undermanned Howard Pulley team.

Harrison Barnes led the way for Pulley by going for 18 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Brandon Knight led all scorers with 20 points and added 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a stellar performance. His sidekick Austin Rivers scored 18 points [private] in one stretch to go with 3 boards and 2 steals. The back court duo sat out the last two minutes in an 88-58 win.

Despite a sore foot, Andre Dawkins scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help Boo Williams defeat the Arkansas Wings, 57-49. It was easy to see that the injury did not allow him his usual explosive leaps. Dawkins would score just 3 points in the nightcap.

In the upset of the tournament, the Georgia Stars handled mighty Team Final 74-68 as UCLA bound Jeremy Lamb scored 22 points. The "Big Show," Michael Gilchrist had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and a single assist and steal while teammate Dion Waiters added 17 himself. Waiters can shoot a team into a game and take them out as witnessed by 6 turnovers. It was later reported that Gilchrist suffered an injury. In an attempt to gain an interview, his mom stepped in and took over, saying he would not talk about schools.

I then took in the first half of the 16-U St. Louis Hawks game to see 2011 stud Bradley Beal. No disappointment here as Beal, despite not scoring in bunches, showed that he understands the game of basketball and that he is a smooth operator. Coach Krzyzewski and Chris Collins were front and center at all of the aforementioned contests.

Team Final bounced back with Gilchrist tallying 17 points, 6 boards and 2 steals to wallop the Arkansas Wings 74-46. This is the game in which Gilchrist suffered an injury.

Injuries! That was the keyword for the day. The bug then caught Harrison Barnes and Brandon Knight. Barnes scored 28 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block, but Howard Pulley fell by 69-64 to Deshaun Thomas (27 pts, 9 reb) and Marquis Teague (14 pts, 3 reb, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) led Spiece Indiana Heat. Late in the game, Barnes went down hard and injured three fingers on his non-shooting hand. He returned and had trouble catching the ball; the word is he is finished for the rest of the AAU season.

The staff then took in part of the Seattle Rotary game in the nightcap, before Collins watched the aforementioned Andre Dawkins game and Krzyzewski took another look at Knight, Rivers, and company. Rotary dropped a two-point game to All Ohio Red and Jared Sullinger. In the battle of bigs, Sullinger 17-8 over Smith.

The best game of the evening was between Elite One and the Jackson Tigers. Jackson built a 16-point lead early, but Elite One came back behind Brandon Knight and Austin Rivers. Actually, Knight went out with 9:33 left in the game as he writhed in pain on the floor after injuring his foot. He was carried off the court and the foot was iced down. Knight had 17 points before the injury and his team had built a six point lead.

Austin Rivers then took over, hitting a three and a driving deuce on back-to-back plays as his father, David, watched. He would go on to score 23 points and Elite One held one for the win. Coach Krzyzewski took in the entire game and towards the end Collins came in from the Boo Williams game.

Wojo also made a late appearance. He was allowed on the road when Chris Spatola left the Peach State Classic where he watched Quincy Miller. BTW, Miller had a 40/20 game in the event.

I have many more notes and will go over all of the aforementioned in more detail on the message board. One more note, Roscoe Smith did not show up for the event. It was a tough day with injuries for Blue Devil prospects. [/private]

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One on One with top rated prospect Brandon Knight

June 21, 2009 Mark Watson

Here is a one on one interview with Brandon Knight where you can hear the prospect for yourself. We'll have more coverage from the NBAPA Camp all week long. [private]

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Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

The NBAPA Top 100 Camp is underway – Audio Report is Here!

June 18, 2009 Mark Watson

Harrison Barnes goes airborne during his first game at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp, BDN will be throwing out timely updates all weekend long. Photo c/r BDN Photo

The NBAPA Top 100 Camp is underway and you can listen to BDN's audio updates from the event throughout the weekend. For the full effect join Blue Devil Nation Premum where we have already secured interviews with Brandon Knight, Andre Dawkins, Harrison Barnes and well, many others. Check back for the Harrison Barnes interview which we'll put up for free to give you an idea of the interviews our subscribers get on a regular basis.

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Duke Basketball Recruiting Update – Class of 2010

June 7, 2009 Mark Watson

BDN takes a look at the how the recruiting class of 2010 is shaping up. First of all we know that Josh Hairston, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton are in the fold, but who are they really after to fill that class out? Duke is happy to have all three of these kids but they are still seeking an [private] athletic wing, a point guard and a physical presence down low.

What this mean is that Duke is looking to bring in six players next year and seven counting red shirt Curry. Duke is confident that current bigs in the program will all blossom. Mason and Miles Plumlee alongside Ryan Kelly and Olek Czyz give the Devils a lot to work with. Three of the four are very versatile players while one is an athletic project.

Harrison Barnes remains Duke's biggest target but he is followed closely by Kyrie Irving. Okay, you're asking where is Brandon Knight, right? Knight is very much on his radar, so he is still listing Duke but Brandon is hard to read and takes a low key approach to recruiting. He is well aware that there is a spot here if he wants to come, but Duke cannot sit by waiting on his decision. That's why they have turned it up with Kyrie Irving. Duke loves his athleticism and his demeanor. Duke very much feels that they have a good shot at landing Irving.

Duke will on the recruting trail in July and Irving and Barnes will get a lot of attention at that time. Duke is in desperate need of a point guard and Thornton is well aware that he'll likely be a backup at Duke and/or a program kid and is accepting of that role. The Blue Devils like Ray McCallum as well and they have been told that he is no hurry in his recruiting by those close to the situation. The bottom line is that Duke will look his way if and when there comes a time when they feel less confident with Irving.

Despite reports that Irving is leaning towards Indiana, recent statements to BDN indicated that he was in the early stages of the process. Irving will visit Duke in the near future. Duke feels as if his athleticism is just too enticing and again, they feel good about the situation. Should that change on his visit and different vibes are felt, then they'll turn their attention to Ray McCallum and offer him.

Harrison Barnes' recruitment will go on for a while yet, but Duke feels good about their positioning and their relationship with the key prospect. Again, he will visit Duke after he does UNC and this will be for the third time late this month. The feeling is that this one may go down very much like Kyle Singler's recruitment, meaning they felt confident but had to let it play out.

Ideally, Duke wants to bring in a wide body athletic type and don't sleep on a kid like DeMarco Cox for he is very much what they are looking for physically. While he needs work on his grades, there is time to turn that situation around. Duke is interested in Tarik Black, but they'll need to get some more views of him in order to get a good feel for his game. We'll keep you posted on any developments with concerns to unofficial visits and such.[/private]