Tag Archives: Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

BDN’s Monday Musings – Hoops starting, recruiting, KI and more

A Monday Musings tradition is our Cheerleader of the Week selection and it has been a hit amongst fans of BDN. Image by my pal Lance King

Good Morning Blue Devil Nation!  It's a rainy day here in the Triangle but that will not stop another edition of Monday Musings.

Basketball is here

When Duke has struggled in football there has been an on going blurb that hoops starts quicker in Durham than anywhere in the country.  Well, when you are the reigning national champion and have a long tradition of kicking butt on the hardwood, return Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler and add Kyrie Irving to the mix, the football team could be 4-0 and the excitement would still be there. 

Countdown to Craziness

You can get tickets to this cherished event by hitting up the Duke Box Office on October 6th and I expect tickets will go quickly.  The event itself is on October 15th and if it is anything like last years and we here it is, it'll knock your royal blue socks off.  I've been around the program for a very long time but I can honestly say that this is as relaxed you'll ever see the coaches and players.  It's a night to celebrate all things Duke but this year, you'll see the new national championship banner making it even better than last seasons event.  Extreme intimacy permeates Cameron Indoor Stadium and you'll be flush with royal blue leaving the event stoked for what should be another great season.

Recruiting continues

Duke will be in home with point guard Quinn Cook tonight and they've made their rounds of late.  We've listed attendees for CTC and talk of recruiting non stop on BDN Premium, so why not join our dedicated members and chat about the latest happenings.

Excitement surrounds the Women's team as well

We'll preview the Duke Women shortly and their is a ton of excitement surrounding the best recruiting class since Alana Beard and company.  This years team will be a mix of young and old and that should make for some exciting moments.  BDN supports the women and will even cover their recruiting in the future, a first among sites.

Football needs some breaks

Duke Football simply needs a few things to go their way on the field against Maryland this weekend where they open as 7.5 underdogs.  The Terps match up very well with this years team, so to win, Duke will have to cut down on those five turnovers against Army.  The Duke defense is rebuilding and the offense needs to take care of the ball and if the team can just get a couple of breaks their way, they can ride those and good things will start to happen.

Kyrie Irving

Well there has been little hype surrounding the New Jersey native these days.  Yeah, right.  It's the fact that Irving is a smoking point guard that has fans excited for he is the best they've had at the position since another Jersey native.  Still though, I think one should temper their expectations for there is a learning curve no matter how talented you are and Krzyzewski alluded to that in a recent press conference.

Pre Season Magazines

Duke is everybody's number one with the exception of TSN who tabs Michigan State, a  team that visits Cameron in December.  Don't be so harsh on Mike DeCourcey thought for he is just trying to be different and this has been their practice in the past when their is a consensus favorite.  There was a time when preview magazines were a big deal and fans would wait their arrival but times have changed thanks to the Internet.  I like a traditional hard copy on occasion but they increasingly come out so late that there is no news we do not know about in them.  Blue Ribbon is a great preview but I am not going to plunk down the bucks to read it when the season starts a week after it hits the stands.  The same goes for those glossy overpriced yearbooks where there is little information fanatical fans do not already know.  I see them more as collectibles these days and if I want to read a preview, I want to do it before Countdown for Craziness and not after.  I highly recommend the championship commemorative put out by Duke Planet though.  It's well worth the money and serves as a reminder to a magical season.  The rest is on line and articles of Duke Basketball are a dime a thousand these day, up a lot since they were a dime a dozen.

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Tyler Adams is taking a low key approach

Adams defends the paint

When you stand at 6-9 and weigh in at 254 pounds it's hard not to be noticed but Duke verbal commitment Tyler Adams is laying a bit low.  Adams has been the subject of a lot of rumors of late but he told BDN that there was nothing to it.  "Naw, naw, thats just rumors, something that got out," said Adams in a recent chat with BDN Premium.

Adams continued, "I've been working [private] out real hard and trying to get my academics straight to get ready for the season." That season begins in the first week of November where he will try to help his team break in some newcomers to their lineup.

Tyler has been adjusting his game to his size and he, as we've told you before, loves to mix it up down low.  In fact, when BDN listed the quote "I like to bang," in a past articles headline the quote made it's way around becoming a coined phrase to describe the big kid from Mississippi.

"I don't think I'm growing any taller but I am filling out with more muscle now.  My conditioning coach has been pushing me really hard," said Adams in our latest prospect update.

It had been a couple of weeks since he talked with anyone from the Duke staid he stated  that Coach James kept in touch and discussed his progress and goals.

Adams said that he was working on his turnaround jumper and a hook shot.  "I'm trying to play with a bit more finesse on the offensive end, working on my shot," said Adams.

"They [Duke] want to use me as a back to the basket guy, one they can throw the ball into.  They talked about Shelden Williams and how they want to get a big man that they can depend on."

The Adams family lives 12 hours by car away from Durham and that prevents him from coming to Countdown to Craziness but he said he hopes to make it to some games this year.  BDN will let you know if anything worth mentioning happens with Adams in future updates.

Breaking News-Duke offers Tyler - BDN let you know the offer was there

Adams to BDN-Duke is my leader - from Boo Williams

Adams to Duke - After he signed

 1 on 1 with Tyler Adams - Before he signed

There are four more articlse in the archives on Adams. [/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Austin Rivers “Duke has confidence in me and I know I can deliver”

The Blue Devils staff visited Austin Rivers on Tuesday evening where they dined on Soutern Cooking and spoke to a prospect they covet. BDN Photo

The nation’s top 2011 prospect, Austin Rivers, has been quite busy entertaining some of the country’s top collegiate programs.  Austin, who is down to Duke, North Carolina and Kansas, has had all three teams on in-home visits recently.  Most recently though he entertained the Duke staff where Coach K and Assistant Coach Collins talked to him about why Duke would be a great fit for him.  BDN caught up with the top prospect a few minutes after the coaching staff had left.  Here’s what he had to say.

BDN: Can you talk about [private] why you chose each of these three schools?

AR: Sure, basically they are all kind of related in a similar way, that’s why they are the three schools that I like.  They all like to play fast paced and get up and down the court. I just feel like each school can put me in a position where I can succeed, not only with winning but getting better and getting me to the next level.

BDN: Is the recruiting process something you’ve enjoyed?

AR: It’s definitely something I enjoy; I get to learn a lot.  People who say it weighs down on them you know it’s crazy, at the end of the day you have greatness in front of you.  Being with Bill Self, Roy Williams and Coach K (as he laughs), you know those aren’t bad people to have in your home to talk about basketball. They know a lot more about it than me they’ve been through it already.  Just being able to go through this process has been great.

BDN: Absolutely. Can you talk about your UNC visit and how that went?

AR: The UNC visit went great, they came down and just talked about their school and what they’re doing now and what they could see me doing there. They talked about their school and how I could affect them by playing there.

BDN: How about the Kansas visit?

AR: That went great as well, absolutely. All of the visits have went well, all real classy people that know the game better than me.

BDN: What did the schools talk about?

AR: Basically all three talked about what they could do for me and how I could fit in with them.  They all have their own opinion on how they see me fitting in with them.

BDN: What do you like about the coaches?

AR: I love Coach K’s passion for the game.  You can really just tell he loves it and Duke basketball is just something that is their life. You can just tell how much passion he has and how much he loves his players, and how much he believes in them. That was something I really loved about tonight. You could just see how basketball is his way of life and really just coaching period. He just enjoys it so much. I love the way Coach Self just comes at you, he’s a real dude, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything and he’s there to get you better.  He won’t hide anything from you; he’s a guy that can make you a better player. Roy Williams just really a nice guy that knows the game and someone that will get on you as well.  He and Bill Self are real similar.

BDN: So you have three official visits coming up, is that correct? And is there anything specific you’re looking to see on the visits?

AR:  Yes that’s correct.  No, not really anything specific.  I’m just going to go and see what a normal day would be like as a student athlete there, to see what the campus is like and see the guys a little bit more.  After that I’ll take a couple of weeks to myself and I’ll decide.

BDN: Did the Duke staff talk specifics about how they’d try and use you?

AR: They said that every player kind of has their own thing.  You know, they said they have their role players and then they have their players.  They see me as a player, somebody that they can see leading their team. They’ve had players like that before like Jason Williams, Grant Hill and now Kyrie Irving. They have guys who they trust and who can lead their team to a good place. That’s what they talked to me about tonight.  It really makes me happy to see they have confidence in me and I know I can deliver.

BDN:  Do you still plan on making a decision before your season starts?

AR: Yes that’s what I hope to do, there are no guarantees though.  I would kind of like to see the games played this year first, and that’s not going to have any effect on my decision, I just would like to see the colleges play a little bit, that’s the only thing that might change it.  But I really do hope to get it done before the season.

BDN: Were you rocking any Duke gear tonight?

AR: (laughs) Na I wasn’t rocking any Duke gear.  I was just rocking some Under Armour and regular clothes.

BDN: I saw you were hyping up your moms cooking earlier today.  What’d you guys have for dinner?

AR: (laughs) She made fried chicken, of course. She made some ribs, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, beans and bacon and chocolate frosted brownies.  We had a southern cooked meal like usual. She knows how to cook and especially for those guys coming down, she did her thing.

BDN: Appreciate your time, Austin.  Good luck moving forward.

AR: Thank you man, thank you.  Have a good one.

We'll have a follow up interview concentrating on visit details and such, so stay tuned.  Discuss the lates on the BDN Premium Message Board[/private]

Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Set For Their In Home Visit With Standout Talent Austin Rivers

Coach K will be in home with Austin Rivers tonight - BDN Photo

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant coach Chris Collins will head to Florida later today where they'll have their in home visit with the River family.  They are there of course for the services of Austin Rivers a prospect they have pursued since he opened his recruitment back up.  Rivers is one of the consensus top three players in his class.  His abilities on the court would fit well in the Duke system which allows freedom to their guards to create and make plays.  Rivers will visit Duke during Countdown to Craziness on October 15th where he will join several other prospects to take in the Duke atmosphere.  Rivers is the son of Boston Celtics coach and former Atlanta Hawk standout Glenn "Doc" Rivers.

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

2013’s Nate Britt Recaps His Visit To Duke

It was a big few days of recruiting for Duke athletics this past weekend. The football team hosted the nation's #1 team, Alabama, and thousands came out to watch. Not only was there a boatload of football recruits on hand, but there were also some basketball recruits who came to take in the college atmosphere. The Blue Devils hosted 2011 verbal commits Michael Gbinije and Marshall Plumlee, as well as 2011 recruit Quinn Cook and 2013 recruit Nate Britt. Nate is a 6’1 PG that hails from the D.C area as so many past Duke players have. He attends Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C., where current Duke player Tyler Thornton once played. BDN caught up with Nate to get a chance to get to know the young D.C prospect.

Can you talk about your game a little bit for those of us who don’t know you?

Well I’m a point guard, I play the 1, that’s my position. I’m more of a pass first point guard, I like to make plays and I consider myself a playmaker. Basically my goals on the floor are to do whatever it takes to win at all times. Whether it’s stepping up and making a big stop, making a pass to a teammate, whatever [private] it takes.

Can we get a quick update on your height and weight?

I’m 6’1 and 160lbs.


Can you talk about the advantages of being a lefty point guard?

Yeah,  I do think it’s a great advantage being a left handed player because it’s a bit awkward for others because the majority of the players are right handed, there’s only a few lefties you have out there.

Definitely not many lefties out there. Do you prefer the pull up jumper or attacking the basket?
I prefer the pull up. I do kind of like a two move combo, one move and then a quick pull up right beyond the paint.

What do you consider to be your strengths as a player?

I would say my strengths are being able to get to the basket and finish and creating plays. Another strength is playing in the open court and getting my teammates into the lane.

What about something you need to work on?

Something I need to work on I think is my three point shooting and knocking down the open jumpshot.

Can you talk about what it’s like to have a father as a coach and its advantages?

Yes it’s a great advantage because we have both relationships, the coach and the father-son relationship. It’s good to be around a coach all the time and it’s even better to have him as a dad because you might want to talk about basketball and he’s always there. And we can relate basketball to life so it’s a good experience.

Absolutely! You play for Gonzaga, a great school in the WCAC, is there anything you want to accomplish this year on a personal or team level?

Yes, we definitely want to win the WCAC championship this year and then play in the city championship title game, we want to win that game as well.

Good luck with that. Playing at Gonzaga you got to play with two great players in Tyler Thornton and Cedrick Lindsay, can you talk about them and how it helped you as a player?

Tyler's a winner, he’s always the one that does anything to win. With him having that kind of mentality it kind of spreads throughout the team and has everyone out there doing whatever it takes to win. Cedrick was a great scorer and he’s a great leader. Going against Cedrick in practice and playing against him all the time at school taught me how to create plays off the dribble and things like that.

Do you have a list of schools or offers currently?

No not right now, not that I know of. As of right now I’m interested in any school that is interested in me.

You recently had some schools drop in to watch your team, who came to watch?

Yeah, it was Virginia Tech, South Florida, Rutgers, Villanova, Georgetown, Miami and I think that’s it.

You got a chance to visit Duke this past weekend and check out the campus, could you talk about that?

The visit was a great experience, I got to hang out with my former teammate Tyler, and you know Tyler played with me at Gonzaga so we’re real close. We also played for the same AAU team in the summer, D.C Assault. Josh Hairston also played with me for D.C Assault. I got to kick it with them for the weekend and really experience what the college life is like for them. I also got to hang out with Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith, Seth Curry and pretty much the whole team. Nolan is another guy that played for D.C Assault in the summer, so all of them are family. It was great for them to take care of me for the weekend.

That’s great to hear. What is it that you like about Duke?

It’s definitely a school I’m interested in. I like the coaching staff and how they treat their players, they take care of their players. The campus was great, it was a big campus. Everyone supports each other, it reminds me of Gonzaga, everybody’s family. Their fans and players really support each other. I definitely like that experience.

Who did you make the trip with?

Me and my dad made the trip down.

Who are you going to look to for support when you make your decision down the road?

It’s definitely going to be my mother and father. They will have the biggest influence on my decision. They support me in everything I do, and everything I do is with them.

What would you like the audience to know about you away from basketball?

I consider myself an artist; I like to draw in my off time. I really like to draw and doodle and things like that.

I really appreciate your time, Nate. Thank you.

Thank you very much. [/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Savon Goodman – “Duke will start recruiting me hard”

Savon Goodman update from BDN Premium - BDN Photo

The 2012 class is full of wing prospects and one of them is Pennsylvania native, Savon Goodman. Savon is one of the most athletically gifted players in the class, with leaping ability that makes you say, "Wow." Not only does he have the vertical, but his strength is quite an asset to his game at this stage. With a host of local schools showing tremendous interest in the prospect, he also boasts a lot of interest from out of state schools. BDN got a chance to get a quick update with the prospect and here is what he had to say.

So school just started for you, how is that going for you?

School flow is going good! Getting things back in order academically, and besides that everything else is well.

When do [private] your official practices start for school?

Official practice doesn’t start until about November, but we’ve been working out with just the team. They’re optional workouts. So everyone just comes to those. Just trying to get the chemistry and stuff together as a team.

I understand you guys were supposed to have an open gym a couple of days ago, how did that go?

Yes, and someone was up from Duke.

Who was there from Duke?

Nate James.

Did you get a chance to talk to him at all?

Yes, we just said cordial hello's in passing.

Can you talk about that at all?

Well, in the past he said that he’s going to let Coach K know about me, and they’re going to start recruiting me hard. Just things like that, they like the way I play.

Was this your first time you’ve seen Coach Nate James or any of the Duke coaches?

No I’ve seen them a couple of times around the summer but I didn’t notice who he was, so he came up to our school. I just knew he was a representative of Duke.

Could you rhyme off a list of schools that have interest in you?

Offers are Villanova, Virginia Tech, Texas, Penn State, Temple, LaSalle, Miami, Xavier, Wake Forest, Oregon State, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

You’ve got a great list there. You work out with Lamont Peterson is that correct?

Yes, I do.

Could you talk a little bit about that and the relationship with him?

It’s a long relationship that we’ve had. He’s like a mentor in my life. We workout from time to time and he tells me what I need to work on, and I work on it and get better and we move onto the next thing.

Will he be a factor in your decision?

Yea, he will, I listen to his word.

Now, being a 2012 kid, is it too early to make a decision?

I figure when me, my mother, my trainer and my high school coach sit down we’ll probably have a list at the beginning of my senior season.

Alright, Savon, I appreciate your time and I hope you have a great year in school. Good luck.

Thank you. [/private]