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 [private] a tough game against Wisconsin, knowing it will be a physical man's game.  Lance Thomas stated that Duke would not back down from anyone in a confident manner during a media gathering yesterday.  Thomas hopes to build on his performance against UConn and said that he always played like that in practice and that it was now translating to the court.

As you know by now, Brad Beal gave Florida his verbal and many feel Duke backed off.  Well, they may have in the end after it became apparent that Beal would choose the long time favorite Gators.  One must remember that Beal was ready to commit to Florida before Duke started recruiting him.  The Devils made efforts to get him on campus but that never materialized.  The Beal family was unable to make a visit due to financial reasons and despite the fact he grew up a JJ Redick fan, the top notch prospect never seemed to let others in past last July.  With Duke involved with Rivers, they could afford to back off of Beal, who is a perfect example of watch what a player does, not what he says.  For whatever reason, it is clear now that Beal was always Florida's to lose.

Speaking of Austin Rivers nothing has changed here either.  As we told you long ago, he will make it to a Duke game this season and during his high school season he is unlikely to make any big moves.  In short, he may not officially back off UF until after his season is finished but that, of course, can change.  The Devils feel that Rivers fits their program in every way and Krzyzewski wants to coach him.  It was Rivers and company who originally contacted Duke and Doc wants to make sure his son goes to the right school to develop his skills.  Duke has had loads of success with kids who have NBA lineage.

Nothing has changed with Duke and Roscoe Smith since my last update.  Oak Hill plays an active schedule and the Blue Devils are looking for a time to get him on campus where he can attend a game.  Smith will not be making a sudden decision and he has until spring to decide.  Nate James started working on Smith last June and their relationship is part of the reason why Duke has a legitimate shot at landing a player they could really use.

Duke also remains very active with Quincy Miller and they stay in touch on a regular basis.  Despite recent reports, Miller will not be pulling the trigger anytime soon.

So whether you guys like it or not, there simply isn't a lot going on with recruiting because both the prospects and Duke are in season.  You can expect some visits in the near future and we will let you know as they are solidified, so there is no sense in asking over and over again about some kids.  In short, if there is anything different than what I have been throwing your way, I will let you know.  I will not run with anything until I have thrown it past enough sources to know it is legit information.

With football season over, BDN can now concentrate on hoops alone and that means we'll be bringing you some good December coverage.  We will attend at least three holiday tournaments and that means firsthand views of kids and interviews.  So our premium side is about to take off again after a lull period where, in all honesty, little is going on so it's hard to report something where there is nothing.

I will be chiming in again soon so, until then, let's pull the Devils through. [/private]