Rob Harrington discusses Austin Rivers and others prospects with BDN's Mark Watson - BDN Photo
I sat down with Prep Stars' Rob Harrington to get his thoughts on Duke Basketball Recruiting. In our conversation, Rob breaks down what he likes about the kids Duke already has locked in with verbal commitments and covers prospects as well. We talk about Kyrie Irving to Quincy Miller and Austin Rivers and then backtrack to Harrison Barnes and more. For more information on Prep Stars visit their site by going here Prep Stars Link- To listen to this article and have full site access, join BDN Premium.
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Irving drives in Cameron during the TOC AAU event - BDN Photo
Springfield, Mass - The Blue Devil Nation's Andrew Slater was on hand to cover the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts this past Monday where Kyrie Irving and company were participating. Irving, of course, is Duke's point guard of the future and Blue Devil fans anxiously await his arrival in late July when he will be on campus.
Irving missed a free throw which would have put the game into overtime, but his second half play helped St. Patrick's stay in the contest. Irving tallied 30 points for the game and having watched him play on several occasions, I can tell you that he more often than not wins games with his performances.
Despite the tough loss, a naturally upset Irving still took time to answer some questions and he did so with his usual dignity and grace. Make no mistake, that Kyrie Irving's star continues to soar and that he will instantly become a star in Durham in the coming year.
Can you talk about tonight’s game and your overall performance?
The first half was kind of difficult for us, especially for me. It was a big game, you know, national television and..
Cory Joseph had a great first half.
Yeah, but it was a great effort on our part. We had a great second half, but we couldn’t come through.
Can you talk about the end of the game situation? You went coast-to-coast. What were you looking for on that possession?
Oh, I was looking to get to the basket as soon as possible. Yeah, I just wanted to get a bucket because our team needed a bucket. They were up by two and I had a chance to close it out, but I just couldn’t come through.
What is it like to play in this tournament? The Hall of Fame nearby, big crowds, quality teams, and ESPNU televising it?
It’s [private] a great experience to be able to come to Massachusetts. This is where my father went to college. He went to Boston University. I mean playing in Springfield. This is history here. There were great players that came through here and made the NBA. I’m glad I got to experience it with my teammates.
What was it like to make to match-up with Cory Joseph?
It was a great experience. We’re some of the top point guards in the country, if not the top two along with Brandon Knight. It was great to go against him and face the competition and bring me to another level. The first time I ever faced him was at the NBA camp and we developed a little bit of friendship, but it was great going against him.
What’s the best part of his game?
His quickness and his ability to get up and down the floor. I didn’t know he was that quick until today.
In the second half, you really took it to him, but in the first half did his speed make it difficult for you to operate?
Yeah, he definitely did. There were a lot of missteps, um, I mean mismatches, you know, we were going to put our little point guard, Kevin Boyle, Jr., on him, but that didn’t work. Then they put me on him and then just kept switching.
Yeah, I’ve just got one question. It’s about New Jersey basketball. You guys must be proud that there are three teams that are so talented in such a tight area. Is the level rising or has it always been this way? Is this more than usual?
Yeah, I definitely think most of the people being seniors. It definitely raises the level.
Can you talk about how you came to your decision and was there an exact moment when it became clear to you that you’d be a Blue Devil?
It was just basically Coach K and the whole entire coaching staff. They did a great job recruiting me. Even though they came sort of late into the game, I thought it was a great decision on my part. Especially going on my official visit, I fell in love with going there. It was great.
Was there that one moment or epiphany?
That moment where I stepped on the campus. I felt like a student. You know that’s what made me make my decision.
What, if anything, has Coach Krzyzewski asked you to work on or concentrate on this season?
Just work on my physical and..
The added muscle in your arms in noticeable.
Oh, yeah. Just being a little more vocal and a leader on the floor.
Who was recruiting you to Duke?
It was Coach K the whole entire time. It was also Coach Collins. Those were the main two, but it was always Coach K.
Is it daunting at all to go to a program like Duke and all of that history?
It is. Duke is known for, well, maybe not known for that but like people say, when they’ve had great point guards from New Jersey, they’ve won championships.
Do you talk to the other Jersey point guards?
Oh, yeah, I’ve talked to Jason Williams several times, but I haven’t talked to Bobby Hurley.
What are you doing to prepare for next year?
Just getting in the weight room and trying to be a better leader. This year is big for me, you know, it’s historic. If I would’ve made that shot, I think we would’ve won the national championship so I’m kind of hurt, you know. We’ll just take it from here.
Point guard at Duke is really a marquee position. It’s sort of like being quarterback at USC. Was that part of the attraction?
Um, yeah, I’d say it gets me excited, especially the opportunity to play for one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball. So, yeah, it feels great.
I’ve read that “hungry and humble” is kind of your motto. Can you talk about how you use that on the court?
Just being the most aggressive one out there, but knowing that I can always do more.
Do you think you’ve taken your game to yet another level this season, from as relatively recently as the summer?
Oh, yeah, I’ve definitely improved certain aspects of my game. Definitely my consistency and being a floor general out there.
In the fourth quarter, you really made some tough shots and you really sort of drove it to the rim. You took over even more and Michael his ankle was hurting pretty bad. Did you think you needed to do that or did the game come to you?
I think it was both. In the fourth quarter, definitely a little bit is when you start going and I had a difficult first half, but I think I definitely stepped up in the second half.
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Austin RIvers, Kyrie Irving and Andre Dawkins share a moment during this past seasons AAU National in Orlando - BDN Photo
With all the questions surrounding where Duke will seriously look to fill another spot in the class of 2010, I decided to break it down as it stands today. First off Roscoe Smith is a [private] long shot, but Duke is still involved but to a much lesser degree than some think. While Smith is talented, there seems to be too many issues to overcome, mainly academics.
Duke has turned their focus to three players and you heard about all of them in our past updates. Duke is involved with Trey Zeigler and they like him a lot, but then again they like others as well. As has been mentioned Zeigler will take a while to make his decision. Some of the incoming prospects have been networking with Zeigler and while Duke is in this one a little late, they are still in it.
Nate James recently checked out Carrick Felix a 6-6, 180 SF who currently plays as a freshman for Southern Idaho Community College. Felix is a very athletic wing who would benefit the Devils with his versatility. Felix has the grades to get in from sources close to the situation and he has a bevy of schools after him. Felix got his start in Arizona where he burst onto the scene and would be a rare reach into junior college. Like Zeigler, the Blue Devils like what they see in this kid. He cuts through defenses and plays good on ball defense, filling passing lanes as well. Good shooter but a bit streaky.
Then there is Terrence Ross who as you know backed out of his verbal to Maryland. We told you early on Kentucky was involved and there will be plenty of company joining the race. Ross is a very athletic wing, similar to the aforementioned prospects. There are some questions as to whether Ross can qualify and he has already been talking with Kentucky.
As for Tashawn Mabry, you can pretty much consider him off the radar from what I have heard. The Rocky Mount product has been suspended and from what I am hearing, it is from a serious incident which is under investigation. Maryland has turned their attention towards Marbry after losing Ross.
So Duke is heavily involved with all three of these guys and are looking for anyone else who may pop up. In short, Duke wants to sign a player in this size range to help balance their team according toa source as close to the program as one can get
Duke is still looking to get Austin Rivers in for a visit and that will likely happen as the ACC season gets into full swing. Look for a lot of guys visit during the UNC game and there will be other games as well. As of now, no visits are set in stone. If Brad Beal de-commits from Florida it is unlikely Duke will look his way for Rivers is their guy. Still, we'll take a wait and see approach on Beal.
Duke is also still very active with Quincy Miller and they'll ride this one out. Duke continues to look at Marshall Plumlee as well.
JP Tokoto is still on the radar as well but Duke is aware that this one seems to be getting more and more like rides they've been on so they will keep their options wide open. Tokoto holds an offer and showed a lot of interest at the Elite Camp but his camp changed their tune a bit after many felt a verbal could happen early on. Still, I am in no way saying Duke is not very much in this race for they are and his step father likes Coach K a lot.
Unrelated, strong rumors out of Chapel Hill have been say for three weeks now that not all of the Heels are happy. Many of the recent additions have been recruited over and you can just about bank it that someone will leave. My guess would be either Stirckland or McDonald and fwiw, the word is stronger on McDonald. But let them worry about their own and we'll worry about ours.
I will be adding a few more tidbits to the thread on the message board later this evening, so no need for questions in that I will tell you what I know.[/private]
BDN Premium caught up with future Blue Devil Josh Hairston who discussed his season to date with Montrose Christian, his improvement and some of the hot names in recruiting of late like Terrence Ross . He touches on playing with Kyrie Irving and Andre Dawkins as well in an in depth audio interview. This [private] interview was conducted after I covered the Tournament of Champions event in a bit of a cramped situation, thus the tint like sound on my end. Regardless, I think you'll agree that Josh is comfortable in answering questions in that BDN has covered him from when Duke first started recruiting him. Let me know how you like actually hearing Josh for this is a first for us passing it own as it happened. Happy New Year! [/private]
As many of you are aware, the Duke Men's Basketball staff has been very active on the road of late, but they will now take a break to spend time with their families. Just about all of the Blue Devils players are at home with their families for the Holiday season. We will be covering a few kids live after Christmas and I will have more on that later. Let's just say that BDN will be back in the groove in a major way in the coming year and our coverage will be better than ever.
Many of you have asked if there is anything new going on and the answer is [private] not much. We'll start with Austin Rivers who you can see on ESPNU tonight against one of the best teams in the country. Rivers dropped 45 points and, as we told you months ago now, he will concentrate on his high school season. Rivers continues to say he is a Florida Gator, and that is technically true. However, Rivers is quick to tell you that Duke is recruiting him and that he likes the fact that Coach K has taken an interest in him. Rivers will take a visit to Duke this season after the new year if all works out. I continue to feel very good about Duke's chances of landing Rivers - far too many reasons to list, but it's not over until it's over. The Rivers family will watch and see how UF and Duke fare this season and see how Austin fits in. It's no secret that Rivers has stayed in close touch with Kyrie and Andre among others. Krzyzewski loves what Rivers brings to the table and he has been front and center for Rivers games since the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Krzyzewski and Collins attended Rivers' game last week. The staff will follow him closely, staying in touch as often as the NCAA rules allow. This one will go to Spring or after the season.
As many of you know, one of my pet peeves is the unsubstantiated rumors that make message boards go crazy. It's one of the reasons I spend little time on my own board these days. The latest one says that Duke has stopped recruiting Roscoe Smith, which is false. I have been telling you for a good while that Duke has been trying to arrange an on-campus visit and that remains true today. UConn is the chief competition and probably the leader at this time. It's been hard for Duke to proceed, for they need to make sure Smith can qualify. There is no secret that it is easier to qualify for UConn than Duke. My understanding is that Krzyzewski likes Smith's potential and he did catch one of his games over the break. So, there is a wait and see approach with concerns to Smith and the picture should become clear in the next month or two. Nobody would have put Smith and Duke together early last summer, but Nate James hit the road running and developed a good relationship with the prospect.
Rocky Mount's Tashawn Mabry and his family sat behind the Duke bench for a game recently and Duke is in the evaluation or get to know stage with Mabry. I was scheduled to check him out during the Glaxo Tournament, but Rocky Mount could not work out the logistics to be there. Mabry was one of the most underrated players in the country but his star is rising this season.
One thing to keep in mind is that Duke will be careful who they offer and they will not just throw one out there for anyone who they don't think can contribute. I must admit that project players like Boateng or Czyz rarely work out, for the learning curve is behind other kids. Duke has, however, had success with role player types going all the way back to Brian Davis and Marty Clark for but two examples.
Brace yourself for a ride with two prospects. Quincy Miller attended the Duke Elite Camp and he, indeed, likes the Devils as does a key member of his family. Miller is a good interview in person and he has a great personality, but the recruiting game seems to get fun for these kids as they go along and anything they say until they are a rising senior should be taken with a grain of salt. The longer this one goes on, the more familiar it will seem, meaning a little stress. Still, Duke is right there for Miller at this time and there is a strong foundation with concerns to relations with the coaching staff. I will be catching one of Miller's games soon and we will eventually talk with him.
Then there is JP Tokoto who loved the Duke Elite Camp but he grew up a UNC fan. Tokoto sent signals that he may commit early, but that changed in a matter of days and he is now scheduled to visit UNC for the Duke game. The Heels are coming on strong and will offer him as a junior. Whether Duke decides to look elsewhere or pull back remains to be seen. But they will surely send some feelers out there to gauge his interest. If he is like PJ Hairston and the debacle Harrison Barnes, maybe Duke should broaden their options. It's hard to imagine Duke wanting to go down to the wire again while other talented kids might be a better option. Tokoto's stepfather likes Duke, but he also likes UNC. This one promises to be, as I mentioned, stressful over time.
Duke has been keeping tabs on Trey Ziegler for a long time now and they are still checking him out, seeing him play recently. There haven't been enough developments to take this much further at this time.
Duke will continue to watch Marshall Plumlee and Christ School as the new year comes in as well.
As for Brad Beal, he just had his mind set on Florida and he was simply unable to make visits due to family reasons. As things started looking good with Rivers, Duke pulled back on the reins with the talented Beal.
Let's talk about Olek Czyz for a minute. The transfer is on good terms and he has already talked with Nevada but is looking elsewhere. Czyz was rated in the top twenty players in his class by Clark Francis in perhaps one of the clearest cases of gurus rating players too high after a single AAU event. Czyz, always a dunking machine, simply never got the rest of his game together. He worked hard over the summer, but when given a chance he would miss assignments, causing a chink in the armor when he was on the court. Duke will not miss Czyz and to make a lot out of the transfers of late is overreacting a bit. Many never consider that kids may struggle in the classroom as well as the hardwood. In short, Czyz leaves in good standing and simply wants to go to a school where he can start. We wish him luck.
The staff is happy with this year's team and feel like they are in a good place for this time of the season. Duke is now ranked seventh in both polls and their team defense has been a pleasant surprise. Look for Duke to continue to play the bigs that produce while on the court. Expect more development with Mason in the new year and Kelly has positioned himself with hard work to contribute more. Duke is looking for consistency down low.
If Jon Scheyer continues his play he will push for not only All ACC honors but ACC POY and maybe even All American. The staff is not worried about him wearing down, saying he is young and in the best shape of his life.
Some good news is that at this time the Duke feels Kyle Singler will return for his senior season. Singler is enjoying the college life and it may be in his best interest to return in what could be a magical senior campaign.
Back to future Dukies, the staff is pleased with the development of Josh Hairston who is going against tougher comp this season. The same holds true for Tyler Thornton. We'll check in with both of these guys after Christmas and or the holidays.
Nate James checked out 7-1 Aziz Ndiaye JUCO from Southern Idaho. Word is that this kid is a beast. He also took in Carrick Felix, a 6-6 swing who is swift afoot.
When there is some real news or changes I will let you know without you having to ask daily if anything is different. We'll talk to the kids and bring you our famous interviews, but until there are legitimate developments BDN decided not to bug these kids until after the holidays. After all, they are all playing in tournaments galore and no matter what site you visit, they are saying nothing you haven't heard here a long time ago. Sometimes, things are just a little slow and we have been facing that after Barnes' recruitment. So hang in there and you will see what separates us from the rest as time goes on. You have to keep in mind that Duke is in the midst of the season and sometimes it's good to enjoy the current team instead of always worrying about the future. Okay, I will admit that only works for a awhile 😉 Happy Holidays to the Blue Devil Nation! [/private]
Roscoe Smith is a player Duke is targeting - BDN Photo
The Duke Men's Basketball team will have been off for ten days before facing Gardner Webb but that doesn't mean the staff hasn't been hard at work on the recruiting trail. As I said in an earlier post Duke will attend Roscoe Smith's game [private] tomorrow evening. Nothing has changed in that they are looking to get him on campus. With him playing for Oak Hill, this may or may not happen soon in that their team plays a lot of games so at this time nothing is etched in stone. Duke remains very much in the race for his services.
Duke also visited Trey Zeigler this past week and they have been keeping tabs on this kid for over a year now. Think versatility when you talk about this swing player. Michigan and Michigan State join UCLA and others who have offered this athletic product.
Staff members made it up to Josh Hairston's game this week and Josh has seemingly made the right choice of schools for his game is visibly improving.
The Devils also took in Tyler Thornton this week as well and you can hear of all these players latest news by following Bob Green's High School Hoops Report which is becoming a popular premium update for members.
While I fully expect no real action to take place on the Austin Rivers front for a while Duke also made sure they took in one of his games during the break and Rivers is making it no secret that the Blue Devils are firmly in the picture. While he remains a UF commit, he will be visiting a Duke regular season contest. That game has yet to be determined.
As for Tashawn Mabry from Rocky Mount High School he was of course at the St. John's game with his family and they seemed to have had a great time. Coach K has never seen the kid play and Nate James is the lead assistant to date with Mabry. Very, very early in the process.
BDN Premium will be on hand for some coming holiday tournament events and we'll finalize that schedule by next week. More to come ... [/private]
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