Tag Archives: Tyler Adams

There has been a long tradition of future Duke players playing in the Glaxo Smith Kline Holiday Invitational Tournament over the years. Some of the more memorable performances were turned in by Will Avery and Chris Duhon as well current Chicago Bulls star, Luol Deng. This season there is but one future Blue Devil participating, that being Marshall Plumlee of Christ School Arden.

Of course, there would have been two Blue Devils had former verbal Tyler Adams, a 6-10 center form Brandon, Mississippi not backed out. Adams is now headed to Georgetown but his team was originally invited because of his original Duke ties. Interestingly, Adams and Plumlee's teams squared off in the opener.

Adams started the game with a block of Plumlee's first shot and he went on to score 17 points in the first half, ending the game with 21 points, 11 rebounds. Plumlee went scoreless in the first half, but settled down in the second and he had better stats than Adams after the break. Plumlee ended the game with 9 points and 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot.

But this wasn't a match up solely between the two bigs and Christ School was the much deeper team and they played their entire 12 man roster. So while some may point to head to head stats, the important stat was that Christ School had little trouble with Brnadon defeating them by a 70-46 score.

By playing a deep rotation, this meant Plumlee didn't get the same minutes as Adams. Trey Brown added 12 points and the next top scorer had a mere 4 points for Brandon. Meanwhile, Christ School got 20 points from Damarcus Harrison and 10 more from T.D. Dixon.

Towards the end of the contest, Adams was visibly tired but he is still a load in the paint and he has developed a nice little outside shot since the AAU circuit this summer. Plumlee showed a baby hook, the ability to follow missed shots with authoritative dunks and a family trait in good, really good, passing skills.

One must also remember that a common practice in today's high school basketball world is to hold a id back a year for maturity. That was the case with Marshall's brothers, Mason and Miles. So, in short, Marshall has not had that extra year as had they and if he did, it would be an advantage.

The youngest of the Plum 3's is still developing and is a work in progress, but those close to the program are happy where he is and they can see his improvement. Again, Christ School doesn't go inside to him often, so he battles for the scraps more often than not.

"I got Marshall to settle down after half time and he recognized the double teams coming at him allowing him to get the ball to open teammates. His jump shot from the free throw line helped open the game up a bit," said Christ School Coach David Gaines.

Christ School plays again this evening at 7:20 which conflicts with the Duke-UNC-Greensboro game but they will also play on Thursday, so local Triangle are fans have two chances to see him play. We'll touch base with Marshall in the coming days for he was not available to the media last evening. Marshall most recently won the dunk contest at City of Palms.

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Tyler Adams is taking a low key approach

September 23, 2010 Mark Watson

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]

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Duke Basketball Recruiting Update – the latest on the red hot AAU trail awaits

July 5, 2010 Mark Watson

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]

Duke Basketball

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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BDN checks in with Duke commitment Tyler Adams

June 17, 2010 Mark Watson

CHARLOTTESVILLE - BDN is on the scene at the NBAPA Top 100 player developmental camp in Charlottesville, Virginia and we're hear to cover all of the true Duke prospects and commitments. We caught up with future Blue Devil Tyler Adams who is playing for a very talented Celtics team. After a slow start where he committed two turnovers, Adams controlled the boards and showed off a slimmed down figure.

You had a bit of a slow start before really turning it on in your first game on the Celtics team. What is it like to play against good competition in the NBAPA type setting?

It's good, pretty good. You get to see how you stack up against players you'll play against in college. I feel pretty comfortable.

You told me one time that "I love to bang," and that stuck with me and fans even mention that quote when talking about you. You were getting a little physical out there with some elbow posturing. Do you feel like you have to establish yourself out there?

Yeah, yeah. Especially a guy like me[private] that doesn't have a whole lot of athleticism. You have to take advantage of what you have and a lot of guys don't like to bang so I take advantage of that.

Since you've committed to Duke do a lot of guys come at you harder?

Yeah, yeah, yeah and it's like a lot of people give me a hard time and wonder why I'm going to Duke because not everybody likes them. So there are a lot of guys coming at me harder.

But you like Duke just fine?

Yeah! [smiling] I love Duke!

Have you talked with any of the coaches of late?

Coach K called me a little over a week ago and I talked with Coach James a couple of weeks ago. Coach K told me some things to work on and said he liked what he heard of my progress.

You've developed a good relationship with them ..

Yeah, yeah. Especially Coach James. I call him a lot on my own.

He's a good guy.

Yeah, he is.

Have you ever called him Dogg?

[Tyler looking puzzled]

They called him Nate "Dogg," at Duke and that's with two g's. Call him that he'll like it. [jesting and setting Tyler up]

Oh, okay. [utters] Dogg ... [laughs], okay.

What does Coach James talk to you about. What does he have you working on?

Well, he has me working on my offense and my face up game. Today I took a couple of guys off the dribble and hit a little step back. I've always had decent offense just not the aggressive attitude and that's what he wants me to work on.

You're on a pretty good team with J.P. Tokoto and Isiah Austin ...

I think were a pretty decent team with Perry Ellis and those guys. Another thing I am working on is toning up my body. I've lost a bit of weight and I'm lifting weights. I like to run a lot to work on my endurance. Sometimes when I am sitting around home, I'll get up and just run more than I used to. I do some jump rope too.

What do you do when you chill in Mississippi?

I like to hang out with my friends. Sometimes it's at the gym but if I'm not with them I hang out with some of my girls.

Girls as in plural huh?

[laughs] Well, well, one girl, one girl.

Are you participating in any of the skills development here?

Yeah, I am a member of the breakfast club. During our workout, I learned how to create space to where I can get a step back. We get up real early and workout before the sessions start.

Tyler, it was good catching up to you and we'll talk again soon.

Alright, thanks man. [/private]