Tag Archives: Marshall Plumlee

RIC_7495 (1) — Shabazz Muhammad rattles the rim during the TOC. The Duke coaches will be out in force to see their major prospects in July and BDN Premium will be there to report firsthand the information you most covet. Our latest recruitng update is finished and you can enjoy it and much more by becoming a members of Blue Devil Nation Premium - Photo credit - BDN Photo and Rick Crank

The Duke Men's Basketball staff is in route to several locations today where they'll evaluate the countries top prospects. Coach Nate James will board a flight to Germany this afternoon where he will follow Team USA. His main focus will be on Quinn Cook, a PG prospect which you have surely heard a lot of lately. Sources say that Krzyzewski likes what he has seen of Cook who has yet to be tendered an official offer but that could change in the coming weeks.

Coach Krzyzewski and Chris Collins are headed to Indianapolis for the Adidas Nations event which starts tomorrow. There, they will focus in on several different prospects in an effort to fine tune their targets list. That list will begin to take shape quickly and probably solidify by the time the AAU National finish up. The pair will then travel to [private] Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy and be a part of media mania surrounding James and his pending decision. Andre is already reporting a slew of media outlets hanging out which in short, means a circus atmosphere of fun. Well, hopefully, fun.

The reason for the surge in interest with Quinn Cook is that Duke expects a mass exodus in that they feel this is a pretty good team coming this fall. Singler and Smith will obviously go and they are expecting freshman Kyrie Irving to as well. Duke feels Irving could be a lottery pick. Also on the watch list to go pro will be Mason Plumlee.

We hinted to you that our feelings on Marshall Plumlee in past updates . The Duke brothers Plumlee of Mason and Miles were honored in me state for being a part of a national championship team. We will elaborate more once we make the appropriate contacts with concern to Marshall. The Plumlees are scheduled to return to Durham and participate in the NC Pro Am likely making it by Thursday at the latest. We have confirmed that you will see many Duke players at the event starting this week. Back to Marshall, Duke envisions him as a post player or center and with the aforementioned expected exodus of players to the pro's, scholarships should still be available for another player if necessary.

As I have said, Andrew Slater will be on the scene and he will check out Marshall in Indy. For the record,Plumlee was invited to the LeBron James Skills Academy but Adidas needed their best players. Coaches will turn out for the event tomorrow and we have already received reports that Eric Gordon is making the rounds. The coaches can check out the James camp on July the 7th which as we have already mentioned will.

SUB_3726 — Marshall Plumlee set to go in Indy

One of the first names that come forward as being a possibility is none other than Quincy Miller, the outstanding in state prospect who will play alongside Deuce Bello this season. They more than realize Miller will take it down to the last possible day, but they'll stick around for the ride. Miller would simply be the icing on the cake, a luxury, but Duke is in no way tossing all their eggs in Millers basket. Speaking of Deuce Bello, he still lists Duke and we will have a short interview up with him shortly. James is the lead assistant for the ultra athletic Bello who rose in most of the prospect rankings.

Duke will have 10 on scholarship this year and they expect to lose at least 4, so up to 7 scholarships are available. Duke would love to fill a couple of those with Shabazz Muhammad, Alex Murphy and Kaleb Tarczewski from the class of 2012. Duke will continue to recruit and evaluate these kids monitoring them closely.

Okay, everybody is always asking about Austin Rivers and all I can say is little has changed. Rivers is expected to give his pledge soon and ideally before the Duke staff leaves the country in August for Team USA duties. All the signs are pointing to this being done by the time the AAU National roll around where the event would feature Michael Gbinije, Tyler Adams and of course Rivers. Adams recent visit to Duke went very well and he has done everything they've asked of him to date. The staff is also pleased with the progress of Gbinije.

Looking ahead, the AAU Nationals in Orlando will have Michael Gbinije, Rivers, Adams... All likely commits at that time, another hint there minions. Vegas will be loaded with Shabazz Muhammad, Marshall Plumlee, Alex Murphy, Kaleb Tarczewski and many more.

I've pretty much mentioned Duke's recruiting priorities but again, this list could change and you know the names we've mentioned here before which could rise to the top. The Duke staff will be at all of the major events and there schedule for the latter part of July will become clear as duties with Team USA are worked out. All in all it's an exciting time for basketball recruiting and we think you will see why you joined BDN Premium when comparing our coverage in the coming months. Discuss this article on the premium message board where more tidbits await you including some updates from Andrew on the recruiting trail. If you are a member having trouble accessing the board, e-mail me at watzonebdp@gmail.com. Please only e-mail me if you have a problem with the message board at this address. Remember, copy and pasting or sharing this via emails and other premiums boards PM system is a violation of membership agreement and those not honoring that will be banned. I know moist of you are not a part of that but please recognize that pilfering information is in effect stealing.[/private]

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Marshall Plumlee enters the stretch run of the recruiting process

June 20, 2010 Mark Watson

CHARLOTTESVILLE -

During last evenings closing ceremony at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp, Marshall Plumlee was named to the five man workout warrior team for his work ethic during one of the nation's top events. Plumlee used the opportunity of playing with some of the nation's best players to get better, but coaches advice helped as much. Plumlee visited Virginia today and he most recently met with the Duke coaching staff as he nears his decision on where he'll play his college basketball. BDN caught up to Marshall and got his thoughts on the process. [Discuss this and more on the BDN Premium message board becoming a member today]

What is it like to play with some of the nation's top prospects?

It's a lot of fun because most of the kids have good attitudes and learn from one another. We all do certain things well and we take some of that to make ourselves better.

Do you feel like you've played well so far?

I'm happy with what I've done. A couple of moves have gone my way and I feel like I'm rebounding better. I could be playing a little better defense but I'm happy with the way that things have gone.

I watched one sequence in the last game where you had a three point play and then dished an assist on the break the next time down giving your team a one point lead.

I didn't really notice but when you start to mesh together as a team things goes better. You want that kind of thing to become second nature.

Do your brothers keep tabs on you these days?

Yeah, yeah, more and more I'm talking to them, especially recently. So, a lot more of late. I really enjoy getting closer to them. I got time to spend time with Miles at Duke recently. I have to catch up with Mason who is in Chicago working a camp. I really look to them for advice especially at this stage in my recruitment for their opinions mean a lot to me. [private]

You seem to be working on some go-to moves down low.

I think I'm getting a better feel for it. The great thing about this camp is that their is a wealth of knowledge here with former NBA players and coaches. They'll work with you, but you've just got to take the time. I pulled some of them to the side and they'll work with me on go-to moves and little stuff like that. I know there are some things I have to work on at the offensive end.

What have you been working on here? I saw you talking with your coaches when you came out of the games.

I pride myself on trying to be confident on the defensive end of . I'm lucky because my coach is Theo Ratliffe and if anyone knows how to teach big men it's him. He showed me a lot of things that are obvious but I haven't noticed. His advice has really helped and I'm enjoying working with him.

You were playing very aggressive out there at times.

Yeah, if only I could knocked down my free throws. Normally I try to be more efficient from the free throw line but tonight I struggled. I just really try to attack the basket because good things will happen if you go up strong, so I try to keep that mindset. [Marshall hit his next four free throws with good form]

We're at Virginia and this is one of the schools that are recruiting you and on your final list of four schools. What do you think about this place overall?

Overall, I like Virginia. I really like Coach Bennett, a great guy and a man I deeply respect. I have a good relationship with him and have enjoyed the process and getting to know him. A school like Virginia makes my decision terribly tough. I've been talking to my family, my brothers and I am really going to try to figure out the situation for me. I will be staying to visit with Coach Bennet after the NBAPA camp.

You hold an offer from Duke, is everything going well there?

Yeah and as of late even better. I'm in a different situation than my two brothers who are already at Duke, therefore the process has been a little bit different. Most of the stuff they don't have to sell me for I already know, so ... Recently I've been able to meet with Coach K and Coach Wojciechowski and talking with them and building a relationship with them has been really helpful, but more than anything talking to my brothers. Duke is a school that, you can't really say anything bad about them. They're coming off a national championship [smiling, hesitating] it's a very viable option. If I were to to pick Duke I would pick them for me and the opportunity to play with my brothers is just icing on the cake and I'd love that an it would be awesome. But if I were to pick Duke it would be because it's the best situation for me and they have a lot of things that fit me just right.

I know that your Mom and Dad are big on education. How does that play into your decision?

Education is something that's very important to me but I love basketball though and it's my passion and I hope to see how far it'll take me and education is important for there is life after basketball.

How is the rest of your summer looking?

Amare Stoudemire Camp and the LeBron James camp, a busy summer.

Thanks for your time and good luck the rest of the way.

Thanks a lot Mr. Watson. [/private]

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NBAPA Top 100 Camp Day Two – Gbinije is the camps 6th leading scorer

June 19, 2010 Mark Watson

CHARLOTTESVILLE - One of the coaches and mentors at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp is former Blue Devil Chris Duhon. We chatted with Duhon and you'll hear what he had to say early next week. If you think he was taking it easy on the kids in drills think again. He stuffed one camper as he went up for a jump shot to challenge the free agent.

Soon to be Blue Devil Tyler Adams again challenged all comers on the glass, grabbing 10 rebounds in one of the days games. Adams was sporting a wrist support by tonight's game and he told BDN he sprained the wrist during the morning session. The injury happened earlier this AAU season. Adams intimidated [private] a couple of players into turnovers, but he needs work on his help defense. One thing I loved was that it was Adams, the man in the middle talking to his teammates directing them to men on the defensive end. In short, he knew where to be on the court. Bottom line is that the Celtics only consistent player is Adams who went for 11 and 15 points on Friday.

Will the real Rodney Hood please stand up! If you are a member of BDN Premium you may remember that Duke was once looking at the Mississippi native. Hood seemingly regressed dropping in the rankings, but if his play during the NBAPA Camp is something he can repeat on a regular basis, then he is back and once again moving up in the rankings. Hood told BDN that his list of schools were firm at around nine, but he said if the right team came in he'd open the door. For what it's worth, Hood's dream school growing up was, you got it, Duke.

We checked out Rodney Purvis and secured an interview and I must say the 2013 prospect is as advertised.

And then there is Deuce Bello. Wow! This guy is good. The first year I saw him he was but an athlete but he is know turning into a smarter basketball player that has a really solid handle and blow by speed. Easily one of the tournaments best and most consistent players. Bello is averaging 12.0 ppg.

A big guy that was calling for the ball today was named Marshall Plumlee. The Duke prospect was more aggressive today and he once again drew several fouls. Unlike last evening, he nailed his free throws today. As we noted Plumlee will visit Virginia after the event where he will meet with Coach Bennett. However, a good meeting took place with Coach K and Wojo recently and considering his brothers are at Duke, I kind of think he will opt that way in due time. Plumlees scoring numbers from today were 6 and 2.

After a great start in the event, Amile Jefferson's game tailed off significantly on the offense in the early game

Man was I happy to see J.P. Tokoto get a few points in. Tokoto started the game with two air balls and they were some kind of ugly ten to fifteen foot shots. He finally got an easy one and then nailed one from the outside. That means he is averaging a whopping 1.0 ppg good for 103rd in scoring. He's a good player for sure but needs serious work on the offensive end of the court, especially with his outside game. I really think he needs to play for his AAU teams 17 U team to get better. Despite the rumors of a Carolina lean which may be true for him, his stepfather will not let him rush into a decision and this one will go on for a bit.

Then there is Kaleb Tarczewskiwho seems warm when talking of Duke. Coach K gave him a call not long ago and Chris Collins started the ball rolling. This 2012 kid is going to be a good center in college and he is not afraid to mix it up. He blocked Cody Zellers shot so hard that he hit the floor. He threw down two moster slams as well, but Zeller had his best game of the tournament scoring 20. It was Tarczewski's teams first loss.

Then there was Michael Gbinije, the silent assassin who tossed in 16 and 15 points making him the camps 6th leading scorer. [/private]

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NBAPA Top 100 Camp – Day One Report

June 18, 2010 Mark Watson

MARSHALL — Marshall Plumlee is holding his opponent off the boards at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va. BDN Photo

CHARLOTTESVILLE- The first day of the NBAPA Top 100 Camp is in the books and the Blue Devil Nation brings you highlights and thoughts from day one. The talent level is a bit watered down with the likes of Austin Rivers, Quincy Miller and others making the Team USA U-18 squad. Despite the absence of a few big names there are still plenty of intriguing prospects to watch and some of them will certainly make it to the league.

Michael Gbinije- Despite his disappointment of not making the USA U-18 team, Gbinije shook off jet lag to have a nice first day. In his second game of the day, Gbinije scored seven straight points during a key stretch finishing with 17 for the game and leading his Spurs team to a 98-82 win over the Jazz. Gbinije seemed to have benefited from the USA trials in that he was playing some really good on ball defense which showed improvement. Gbinije is a solid player whose quiet demeanor makes some of his game go unnoticed but there is no doubt that he can be a solid contributor at Duke.

Marshall Plumlee- Marshall ended day one with 8 and 7 points in his two games. He had one nice sequence when his team was down [private] by four. Plumlee completed a three point play and after a defensive stop he called for the ball, was hit with the pass and then immediately hit a teammate cutting to the basket for an assist. Plumlee will meet with the UVA staff before leaving but he recently talked with Coach K and Wojo and came away saying it was very positive. I'll go ahead and tell you that I think Marshall will be a Blue Devil soon enough. We have an interview coming with Plumlee.

Kaleb Tarczewski -The 2012 big man is listed as seven feet tall and despite being one of the younger players here, he is holding his own. I fell for his game during last seasons AAU tournament and Duke has been keeping tabs on him making contact. He is of course the teammate of Alex Murphy who appears to be a Duke lean according to trusted sources. Tarczewski is a strong kid who does not back down and despite not following the college game but one year, his game is promising. In an interview you'll soon hear, Tarczewski said that he planned on visiting Duke. If I were to guess I would say Kansas and Duke could be his early leaders but it is early.

J.P. Tokoto- UNC offered him one minute after midnight but according to his stepdad it is not a done deal. Still, most feel if it were up to him it would be over. Interestingly his scoring total in the first two games was a grand total of zero. It has not helped Tokoto playing with his AAU teams 16-U team and his stock is falling - not too far mind you, but the lack of an outside game offensively is a glaring weakness. Tokoto is still a top notch prospect and Duke is still in it from what I am told.

Tyler Adams- Mr. Bang loves to play the workhorse role and Duke loves that he is about anchoring the middle. Adams had about 20 rebounds in his first two games and averaged 5.5 ppg. Again, keep in mind that the teams have 12 roster players when looking at numbers. Adams has a new drop step he is proud of and he indeed, loves to bang. Solid day for the young and future Dukie Adams.

Notes - Future UNC player P.J. Hairston is the camps leading scorer but let me make this clear in that he is shooting more than anybody here. An awkward moment came when Jerry Stackhouse, a coach, had to be restrained from going after a ref. Not one of his better moments and not what a role model should do. The games were shortened tonight so that the players might eat pizza and watch the Lakers defeat the Celtics for the NBA title. They played two halves instead of four quarters. The kicker is that one of the games went four quarters and some prospects complained that their numbers would be down. Anthony Davis is a man and he caught the eye of several talent scouts. Deuce Bello averaged 10.5 ppg and was very impressive. His athletic moves wowed many who watched his games. Isaiah Austin averaged 5 ppg and plays with Tyler Adams on a 0-2 Celtics team. FWIW, the teams are split up and named after NBA teams. Another player who looked good was Rodney Purvis, a class of 2013 product who plays in Raleigh, North Carolina. He lists UNC as his dream school but said Duke has shown interest in him. A UNC lead but his mom will play a big role in his decision but it sounds like she grew up a fan of the dark side as well. We have an interview coming with him. Former Duke standout Chris Duhon is working at the event as a mentor and coach. [/private]

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TOC Live – One on One with Marshall Plumlee

May 29, 2010 Mark Watson

Plumlee scraps in his opening game at the TOC - photo property of Blue Devil Nation and Rick Crank

Chapel Hill, NC - The Blue Devil Nation is covering the Tournament of Champions and Nike EYBL Session 3 this weekend and the reports are starting to roll in. BDN caught up to Duke prospect Marshall Plumlee last evening and here are his[private] thoughts -

Stay tuned for more action ... [/private]

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The latest on Duke Basketball Recruiting from BDN Premium

May 18, 2010 Mark Watson

Austin Rivers2 — Everybody wants to know whats up with Austin Rivers - BDN Photo

BDN takes a look at how things are going on the recruiting front in our latest detailed update. If you want to know who the Blue Devils are seriously interested in and their likely strategy, read on. Join BDN Premium for full site access and be there every step of the way as we cover every major AAU event as warm weather rolls in. At BDN, we focus in on the players you want to hear about by concentrating only

A lot of talk surrounds Austin Rivers these days, [private] but nothing has really changed. Duke expects to sign Rivers by the end of summer but as I have stated numerous times, the decision could come sooner and maybe, just maybe, even later. The bottom line is that Duke has a significant lead and that has been the case throughout the threads which total 50,000 views collectively where people hang on every little blip on the radar. My suggestion is to sit back and relax and allow this to happen for it is on pace. The Rivers camp will not make any kind of move until the NBA playoffs are over and that could be in July if they keep winning.

Duke recently reached out to Anthony Davis, a top notch prospect from Chicago, Krzyzewski's old stomping grounds. They will be taking a good long look at him once they are allowed to take in events. Andrew and myself will be sure to keep a eye out for him as we get to know him better together. With a busy AAU tournament schedule coming up, we see no reason in calling him before we see him play.

The Duke staff will also continue to evaluate players they've developed early relationships with. Among those will be Quincy Miller, Marshall Plumlee and Amir Williams. The Blue Devils will be looking at other players as well to see who emerge as the humid days of summer give way to September.

One of the questions I often get is how may players does Duke look to sign in 2011. The answer is that number could vary from three to five. Duke is happy having steady swingman Michael Gbinije and ever improving Tyler Adams in the fold and they of course want Austin Rivers as well. The fourth and fifth guys would come into play of Duke experiences a mass exodus to the NBA. That is a pretty good possibility for Mason Plumlee and Kyrie Irving could join Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith in the first round. If Duke somehow defends the title this is almost certain to happen but we all know how hard that is. Regardless, Duke will have a target on on their backs again in that they are the likely pre season number one team in the country. Duke will only sign a guard in 2011 if Irving or Curry leave.

The great thing about winning the national championship is that Duke can once again be selective and with another banner season seemingly coming, the Blue Devils will remain hot and in the spotlight. That means they'll take their time with a bevy of names that will grow in the coming months. We told you last summer that Duke assistants loved Alex Murphy's game and he is a hot name at the moment, but Coach K needs to check out his game. Shabazz Muhammad has impressed them immensely. It helps that the Team USA training facility is where Duke can keep a close eye on the talented Vegas native. While some would have you think J.P. Tokoto is already a Tar Heel, Duke is not buying that just yet and they are still involved withthe athletic prospect. Amile Jefferson, who Andrew interviewed just last week is also an early name on the radar. Again, there are other names that will come to light some of which you already know of and others who will be new when Duke can get their views in July an open period for events. Duke is not rushing the process with any of the above mentioned names at this time.

I was waiting for some new info but it has been delayed so I'll add an addendum later. [/private]