Tag Archives: Ryan Kelly

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

High School Hoops Edition No. 4

[private]This week's theme is marquee match-ups: Ravenscroft versus Greensboro Day, Pine Crest versus American Heritage, and Gonzaga versus Bishop O'Connell. These games involved Duke commits Ryan Kelly and Tyler Thornton, and Duke recruiting target Brandon Knight; plus Florida commit Kenny Boynton and Carolina commit Kendall Marshall.

Ryan Kelly helped Ravenscroft improve to 8 – 0 with a 29 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots, and four steals performance against Greensboro Day. Ravenscroft won 56 - 42 and is headed toward a showdown with Christ School on December 20, 2008, in Columbia, SC. It will be exciting to see Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee go head-to-head.

Brandon Knight out dueled Kenny Boynton once again and Pine Crest defeated American Heritage 74 - 72 on Friday night. Knight outscored Boynton 35 - 32 in the individual match-up. Knight and Pine Crest have defeated Boynton and American Heritage in four of their last five meetings.

Tyler Thornton scored 23 points in the game but his Gonzaga team came up short, 65 – 60, against Kendall Marshall and Bishop O’Connell. Marshall scored 15 points for O’Connell. In his latest game, on Friday night, Thornton scored 16 points in a 66 - 55 Gonzaga victory over Mount St. Joseph.

Mason Plumlee was the leading scorer in three Christ School victories this week. He scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked four shots, and tallied four assists, on Monday as Christ School defeated Carolina Day 77 – 41. On Tuesday, Mason scored 18 points in a 90 – 35 rout of Shannon Forest. The Greenies are now 9 – 0 on the season.  On Saturday, he scored 21 points in a 81 - 30 blowout of Providence Day.

Andre Dawkins continues to be impressive for Atlantic Shores Christian School. Last Saturday, in the ASCS Tip-Off Championship Game, Dawkins and Steven Pledger executed a pick and roll that resulted in Dawkins draining an 18 foot buzzer beating jump shot giving Atlantic Shores a 56 – 54 victory over Miller School. Miller School was paced by Marshawn Powell and Mychal Parker who both scored 19 points. Steven Pledger, who has signed a Letter of Intent to play for Coach Jeff Capel at Oklahoma, scored 34 points and was named the tournament MVP. Dawkins finished the game with 15 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Josh Smith scored 21 points on Thursday as Kentwood went on the road and defeated Auburn Riverside 65 – 62 to improve to 2 – 1 on the year. Earlier in the week, Kentwood lost to Federal Way, the number one ranked team in Washington State, 61 – 53. Josh Smith scored 19 points in the loss. The 6’9” 280 Junior is averaging 24 points per game so far this season.  Smith is the third leading scorer in the South Puget Sound League 4A Conference.[/private]

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Ryan Kelly and Ravenscroft too much for Greensboro Day

[private]Two of the State of North Carolina's top private schools met on the court Friday evening when Ravenscroft hosted traditional power Greensboro Day.  Ravenscroft entered the contest at 7-0 while Greensboro Day sported a 10-0 record and something had to give.

Greensboro Day came out of the gate playing like a well oiled machine, extending their defense and pushing the Raven guards out.   Javon Mitchell led them early on hitting key back to back buckets to keep his team ahead.

Meanwhile, Duke commitment Ryan Kelly kept his team in the game with 10 points and 7 boards in the first half.  Kelly struggled a bit with his outside shot, and played almost entirely on the perimeter early on.

You might say the two teams were feeling each other out and the Ravens were never quite settled in early.  Every time they'd mount a comeback, Day would hit a timely bucket.  Greensboro Day went on to take a 21-20 lead into the half, but Kelly did help bring his team back into the game just before intermission.

When the teams came back out for the second half, it was all Ravenscroft.  A three point shot gave them the lead.  But Greensboro Day  is a well coached bunch and it appeared as if they would trade baskets and were unwilling to go away.  That's before Kelly started to really  make his presence felt.

Kelly made a key steal and then the assist for a bucket.  The next time down the court he threw down a dunk giving his team a 34-30 lead.  The next thing you know it was 38-30 and Billerman screamed at his team to go into a spread offense with 54 seconds left in the third quarter as he realized the tide had turned.

Billerman had rested Kelly briefly during that time, but as the fourth quarter got underway, Kelly returned and the Ravens coasted.  A Kelly dunk gave them their largest lead of the game at 46-36 and the Ravens stretched that to a 56-42 margin when the final buzzer sounded.  In the end Ravenscroft came out the only undefeated team going to 8-0, but the feeling here is they haven't seen the last of Greensboro Day (10-1) this season.

"It was a good win.  I thought we played extremely good defense in the second half.  To hold them to 42 points for the game when they were averaging 80 showed the type of defense we can play.  In the second half we started to go into Ryan Kelly some and that certainly opened things up for our entire team," said former Duke Basketball player Kevin Billerman.

Billerman was without the services of his son Sean who plays guard, but they continued to groom Luke Davis.  "Sean dislocated his knee cap.  We went to Dr. Lyman Smith a former Duke football player who is an orthopedic surgeon.  Lyman felt like he was lucky he didn't tear his ACL.  We look forward to getting him back," said Billerman

When asked of the play of Kelly, he stated, "Ryan is a multi skilled 6-10 kid.  Somebody who probably 50% of the time brings the ball up the court for us.  He didn't make quite as many jump shots as he usually does, but he had what ... 4 blocks and 4 assists?  He's a multi talented, multi skilled player."

With his outside shot not as accurate as normal, Kelly asserted himself on the blocks in the second half.  Kelly showed off his versatility ending up with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 4 steals and 4 assists.  The only negative in his game were the 6 turnovers I had him with.  Still, he drew 10 fouls on the opponent and altered 4 shots on the evening.  In the end, Day had no answer for the Kelly.

"Tonight was a big step for our team.  That was a big game in our schedule and to come out with a win going into the Christmas tournament in Columbia," said Kelly when commenting on the game.

Ravenscroft now looks ahead to a match up with defending state champion Christ School of Arden.  The two teams will meet at the Chic-Fil-A Invitational on December 20th in Columbia, South Carolina.  Duke fans have awaited this game as well in that the two 2009 commitments, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly will oppose one another.  The game tips off at 8:00 EST, but it is on the same day Duke takes on Xavier at 2:00.

When asked of Christ School-Ravenscroft showdown Kelly stated, "I can't wait for our match up with Christ School.   They are considered the best team in the 3-A.  Obviously Mason (Plumlee) is a great player and I look forward to matching up and playing against him."

Blue Devil Nation Premium Subscribers can read the entire interview with Ryan Kelly and get more of Coach Billermans comments on the upcoming battle with Christ School and more.  Why not join today and catch up with recruiting and get behind the scenes with unique coverage.[/private]

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High School Hoops Edition No. 3

[private]Harrison Barnes and the Ames High School Little Cyclones have their sights set on the State Tournament this year. They took the first step in their journey with a 66 - 34 defeat of Urbandale. Barnes scored 16 points in the game including nine in the first quarter as the Little Cyclones opened up the game with an 18 - 2 run. The Des Moines Register has very nice Harrison Barnes overview and picture gallery posted.

Barnes scored a game high 19 points on Friday night as Ames improved to 2 – 0 with a 61 - 31 victory over Roosevelt.

Brandon Knight is filling up the box score for Pine Crest on a routine basis. This past week he scored 29 and 43 points in two Panther victories. His 43 points in a 70 – 67 win over Choice Academy included seven three point shots, while he sank four three pointers and dished out seven assists in his 29 point performance in the 66 – 29 win over Coral Springs Charter.

Andre Dawkins scored 28 points as Atlantic Shores defeated Cox 93 – 68 in the opening round of the ASCS Tip-off on Thursday evening. He followed up with a 23 point performance on Friday as Atlantic Shores defeated Tallwood 69 - 66.

Ryan Kelly continues to put up extraordinary numbers. On Wednesday, he had a triple-double of 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots in a 76 – 64 defeat of Riverside. On Friday night, Kelly scored 19 points in a 59 – 42 win at Providence Day. Ravenscroft is now 5 – 0 for the season.

Mason Plumlee scored 21 points to pace Christ School to an easy 77-45 victory over Spartanburg Day School. Plumlee made two three point shots in the contest. Mason’s younger brother, Marshall, contributed 10 points and three blocked shots. On Friday night, Plumlee scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked eight shots in a 79 – 54 road win at Forsyth Country Day. The Greenies desire to go 38 – 0 and win a state championship this season. Christ School will match up against Ravenscroft on December 20, 2008, in Columbia, S.C.

The Washington Post has an enjoyable Tyler Thornton video posted. Gonzaga College High School has opened their season with a pair of wins. On Thursday night, Thornton scored 11 points in a 79 – 44 win over St. Albans. In their season opener, Thornton scored six points in a 69 – 40 decision over Sidwell Friends. Unfortunately, the box scores do not include assists as Thornton is a pass first point guard and his assists to turnover ratio is the key statistic for Duke Basketball fans.

Finally, Josh Smith and Kentwood High School played their first game of the season on Friday night.  Smith scored 32 points in the 68 - 47 victory over Kent-Meridian.  The Seattle Times ranks Kentwood as the number five team in the state.[/private]

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High School Hoops Edition No. 2

[private]
The Virginia-Pilot says anything short of a state title will be a disappointment for Shores this season. The Seahawks are led by junior guard Andre Dawkins. The 6'5" Dawkins was second team All-Tidewater last year and has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at Duke. Senior Steven Pledger, who has signed a Letter of Intent to attend Oklahoma, is Dawkin's back court mate. Atlantic Shores plays in the private schools league but the Virginia-Pilot ranks them as the third best team overall in South Hampton Roads.

Andre Dawkins scored 25 points as the Seahawks opened their season with a 66 - 32 victory over Wilson. Pledger chipped in 20 points. Atlantic Shores is back in action on Monday December 1st as they open up conference play at Stonebridge.

Ryan Kelly has scored 32, 31, and 28 points in three Ravenscroft victories to open the season. They defeated Northern Durham 76 - 57, Greenfield 75 - 68, and St. David's 82 - 48. Kelly has also had double digit rebounds in each game including 14 in the St. David’s game.  A couple of key dates to look toward are January 7, and February 4, 2009, when Ravenscroft travels to Word of God, the school which features John Wall the nation’s number one rated high school prospect according to Rivals.

Ravenscroft, Word of God, and Christ School will all participate in the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational starting December 26 and running through December 30. This is an opportunity for fans to see Duke Commitments Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly plus recruiting target John Wall in action against each other. Tournament games will be played at Broughton High School’s Holliday Gymnasium.

Brandon Knight and Pine Crest High School played their first game of the season on Wednesday November 26 and Brandon Knight made five three pointers and scored 36 points as the Panthers defeated Northeast 76 - 62. Knight is a true point guard and a coveted member of the Class of 2010. Duke is one of many colleges recruiting the talented player.

This excellent article from the Miami Herald discusses Brandon Knight and Kenny Boynton and is a must read for anyone interested in high school basketball. Knight and Boynton are two of the best players in the nation and AAU teammates, but during the high school season they go against each other head-to-head multiple times. Brandon Knight led Pine Crest to victory in three of four meetings against Kenny Boynton and American Heritage last season.[/private]

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Ryan Kelly signs his letter of intent to play for Duke University

[private]Ryan Kelly signed his letter of intent today which is the first day of the early signing period.  Kelly, a 6-10 power forward, is ranked by scout as the #3 power forward and #11 overall player in the Class of 2009.  In July, Kelly was a starter for the USA Men’s Basketball U18 Team that won a silver medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina. As a junior at Ravenscroft, he was named the 2007 TISAC Conference Player of the Year, averaging 23.7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks per game.[/private]

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General Recruiting Update – Commitments and prospects news

Harrison Barnes is still on scheduled to visit next weekend.  This is one of two trips in which his family is taking before his junior season.  That means [private] they have paid for this visit (and Kansas) out of pocket.  I take that as meaning Duke is in good "early" shape for this talented young man's services.

The Duke staff awaits their shot at Kenny Boynton when he is scheduled to take his visit in November.

Look for Duke to turn up their efforts for Brandon Knight after the Boynton sweepstakes come to an end.  Duke wants more backcourt help and it will become a priority should they miss on Boynton.

It's pretty much status quo with Josh Smith.  Michael Parker may be in for a game soon.  The North Carolina native is being evaluated, but there is no room with the offers currently at hand.  Duke is also keeping an eye on Morris and will evaluate more players as time goes on.

Current commitments Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton will attend the Blue-White game.  They will be joined by Mason Plumlee and he may be joined by younger brother, Marshall.

Ryan Kelly will be taking his official visit this weekend as well.  Kelly joins Mason Plumlee in the 2009 class and Boynton is the only other offer.  While another prospect could come to light if they miss Boynton, at this time it is unlikely.

The Football team will take the Blue Devil Walk through Cameron Indoor Stadium during the Men's Blue-White game.  Coaches Colllins and Wojo will lead thier inter-squad teams.

Duke Football has eight players they are looking at for the final few spots in the class of 2009.  We will be covering each of those guys in the next several weeks. [/private]