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Duke is a finalist for 2 top uncommitted North Carolina prospects

Historically, National Signing Day has been a lackluster affair for Blue Devil fans, as Coach Cutcliffe and his staff typically work hard to secure verbal commitments during the summer and fall recruiting seasons. Last year, Duke fans were pleasantly surprised by the Signing Day commitment of Alabama TE David Reeves. This year, however, Duke Football fans will finally get to experience some authentic Signing Day drama. Duke is a finalist for two of the top uncommitted prospects in North Carolina, Jela Duncan and Keilin Rayner. [private]

 

Mallard Creek RB Jela Duncan will choose between Duke, ECU, and Wake Forest

RB Jela Duncan

Height: 5’9”

Weight: 190 pounds

High School: Mallard Creek

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

 

BDN Scouting Report:  With Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley heading to UGA, Duncan will be the top running back to remain in the state of North Carolina. After an outstanding high school season at Mallard Creek, Duncan capped off his career with 112 yards on only 7 carries in the 75th Annual Shrine Bowl. Duncan is an outstanding runner; he’s physical for his size, has great hands and good vision. There is no question that he has the tools to be successful at the college level and the ability to make an immediate impact for a program like Duke.

BDN Analysis:

Duke: Ever since he blew away the Duke coaching staff with his performance at camp last June, Duncan has been at the top of the Blue Devils’ recruiting board. Duke was the early leader, but seemed to fade slightly as other schools became involved. To those who have followed his recruitment and spoken with Jela throughout the process, it has always seemed like there’s something missing at Duke for him. The Blue Devils were fortunate to be able to take a commitment from Shaquille Powell in December, and a backfield of Powell and Duncan could become one of the ACC’s best. That being said, relative to their competition, Duke does have a crowded backfield, and Duncan will have to earn early playing time. Duke put forth their best on his official visit to Durham, and Duncan remains closest with Coach Cutcliffe, who followed up with an in-home visit last week.

ECU: Seemingly on the outside looking in for much of his recruitment, ECU has surged of late. After an official visit to in early January, Duncan seemed to find what he was looking for, and declared ECU his new leader. The Pirates offer a great social scene, immediate playing time, and perhaps most importantly, an NFL RB legacy. Football is king as ECU, and a star RB could quickly find himself crowned BMOC. With the upcoming conference realignments, ECU will face a relatively weak C-USA schedule and their national exposure may not match that of their ACC brethren. ECU, however, does not have a current RB commitment in the class of 2012.

Wake Forest: For those handicapping this recruitment, Wake Forest was a natural dark horse candidate: closest to home, recent success in the ACC, a run-heavy offense, and a solid academic reputation. It should be no surprise, then, that the Demon Deacons’ hit a home run with their recent official visit and have become a major player in Duncan’s decision. The Deacs’ already have an under-the-radar RB committed in the class of 2012 in Texan Joshua Wilhite. Still, Coach Grobe likely was able to sell Duncan on being the understudy and heir apparent to breakout star Josh Harris.

Summary: First and foremost, whichever school ends up with a commitment from Jela on National Signing day, they’re getting a good kid and a great running back. When recruiting battles get heated, players often are vilified, and that shouldn’t happen here. Duncan has been polite and conscientious throughout this process. He took his time, focused on his senior season, and then evaluated all of his options. This is not a decision he nor his family takes lightly, and in the end, he will select the school he feels offers him the best opportunity of fulfilling his dreams.

 

Duke would love for Keilin Rayner to join Deion Williams at LB in the class of 2012

Keilin Rayner

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 215 pounds

High School: North Brunswick

Hometown: Leland, North Carolina

 

BDN Scouting Report: Rayner is a prolific run-stopper from either the LB or DE position. His size and speed likely translate best as an outside linebacker at the college level, but his versatility is one of his strengths. A tackling-machine, Rayner has a great nose for the football and the strength to wrap up ball-carriers. He has the instincts and athleticism to be a playmaker in the ACC, but must improve his coverage skills to earn early playing time on defense. His tackling ability and motor make him an excellent candidate to see early action on special teams.

BDN Analysis:

Duke: Duke was also an early leader for Rayner, as the Blue Devils were among the first to offer the in-state defensive star. By the fall, however, it appeared that Duke has fallen back to the pack, though the staff continued to communicate with Keilin. From Duke’s perspective, Rayner is the prototypical linebacker for their 4-2-5 defensive scheme. He has the tackling ability and frame that is reminiscent of current Bengals’ LB Vincent Rey, a former Duke star. Rayner would have the ability to earn immediate playing time, while also setting himself up for life after football, something important to his family.

ECU: The Pirates are the hometown school for Rayner, and that proximity to home is always tough to beat. Rayner shared his official visit to Greenville with Duncan, and all reports are that the staff hit a home run that weekend. ECU offers the same things as above: social scene, passion for football, and immediate playing time.

Summary: Rayner has played things incredibly close to the vest over the past week, making this a tough one to call. Reports are that the Blue Devils’ are the favorite among his family, but that the official visit to ECU is still looming large in Keilin’s mind. As with Duncan, it’s important to note that Rayner will be an excellent representative of whichever program he chooses. He’s been great to interview and will be a great addition to any football program.

 

While it’s seemingly easy for fans to make these decisions, each prospect has his own priorities, pressures, likes, and dislikes. Duke has done a good job in recruiting both players and has remained in both recruitments from day 1. The Blue Devils have earned a hat on each table and we’ll all have our fingers crossed on Signing Day. The addition of either Duncan or Rayner would be a perfect ending to what appears to be one of Duke’s strongest recruiting classes in recent years. The addition of both could just be the turning point this program has been looking for.

Be sure to check in with BDN for all the latest Duke Signing Day coverage. [/private]

Duke Football

Valor Christian DE Michael Mann commits to Duke

Valor Christian DE Michael Mann committed to Duke over the weekend.

Duke secured a commitment from the 18th member of their class of 2012 over the weekend, as DE Michael Mann committed to the program. Mann will join Valor Christian teammate and close friend Max McCaffrey in Durham this fall. Rated a 3-star prospect by ESPN, the defensive end picked up an official scholarship offer from the Blue Devils on Thursday and made his decision over the weekend. He spoke with Duke's Coach Knowles and Coach Lubick on Sunday to inform them of his decision. Mann is Duke's 4th commitment on the defensive line in the class of 2012, joining Allen Jackson, Carlos Wray, and A.J. Wolf. Originally committed to Arizona State, Mann opted to re-open his recruitment after the coaching staff change in Tempe. It was a recent official visit to Durham that sold him on the Blue Devils, however. Mann selected the Blue Devils over offers from Air Force, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado State, Connecticut, and Iowa.

BDN Scouting Report: While not a freak athlete, Mann is physical and tenacious at the line of scrimmage. He's shown ability to be dominant both against the run and against the pass. A three-time Colorado HS state champion, his intangibles are off the charts. He has lots of room to grow as a pass rusher at the college level, but has the work ethic and the ability to become a solid ACC lineman. At 6'4" and 220 pounds, Mann has room to grow into his frame, and will likely benefit from a year in the weight room before he's ready to contribute on the field. The Blue Devils are getting a good football player and a great addition to their program with the commitment from Mann.

 

Duke Basketball

Sluggish Blue Devils hang on to defeat St. John’s

DURHAM, N.C. - Coach K wasted little time in showing his displeasure in the media room after his Blue Devils had just finished defeating St. John's 83-76.  Duke rolled out to a 45-29 half time lead but in the second half, the Johnnies lit up the Duke defense for 47 points and more disturbing was the fact the Blue Devils simply wern't playing together or making easy plays.

"We're treating this game as a loss. I t was a loss for me today, I didn't like today." said Krzyzewski.  He also said that his team had had a tough month and that they would take two days off before preparing for their road trip to play Virginia Tech in Blacksburg at 7:00 on Thursday evening.  Despite the lack luster second half, Mason Plumlee continued to be a bright spot for this years team.

Mason recorded his double-double of the season tallying 15 points to go with a dominating career high 17 rebounds.  But like Krzyzewski, Mason was not too happy in the post game in that his team did not perform well.  "We just have to learn to start putting teams away," as he looked down and then up again saying, "Our defense was horrible in the second half."

With just over 17 minutes left in the second half, Duke held a 21 point lead, but from that point forward were outscored by 14 points the rest of the way.  Duke failed to finish a lot of what should have been easy buckets and left a good 20 points or so on the floor.   Duke was also outscored in the paint and second chance points and in fact had just one put back on the offensive end in the half.

The Blue Devils also went ice cold from the three point stripe going just 1 of 7 after going 6 of 11 to open the game.  In short, it was just a disjointed no traditional Duke like performance and one that clearly was unacceptable to Krzyzewski.  With the win Duke improves to 18-3 overall, avenging last seasons upset loss to the Johnnies in New York.

Ryan Kelly led Duke in scoring with a 16 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double, ending the game with 9 boards.  Andre Dawkins chipped in 14 and Austin Rivers dropped 12 to round out the double-figure scores for Duke.  Dawkins nailed three three pointer in a 20-9 Duke run to close the first half while Rivers recorded his 12 double figure scoring game which is tops amongst all Blue Devils.

Duke knocked down 32 of 42 free throws, and Kelly had 10 of 12 of those and Duke did finish the game going 10 of 11 over the final three and a half minutes.  The score was tied just once and the lead changed but a single time and Duke won the game, just not in an impressive fashion.  "We did enough to win and that's not us, that's not Duke Basketball,"  said Krzyzewski.  Hear the rest of his comments via BDN Video below -

Duke Basketball

Plumlee leads Duke past Maryland

On a night when Duke hit just 3 of 15 from three point range, stellar free throw shooting and a huge effort from Mason Plumlee helped them gain a 74-61 win over Maryland.  The table was set for an upset and the Maryland crowd was as laying in wait in crazed droves but when you knock down 17 of 18 free throws on the road, you eventually silence them and that's just what the Blue Devils did.

Speaking of free throws, Mason Plumlee went 5 of 5 from the stripe and dominated the Terps in the paint, scoring 23 points to go with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and a late game block.  It was perhaps the juniors most efficient game as a Blue Devil and his performance helped Duke fo to 5-1 in the ACC and 17-3 overall.   His 23 points were his most in an ACC game and his second career 20 point game.

After being down early, Duke rode their post play and ultimately gained a 37-34 halftime lead and that momentum carried over into the second half where the Blue Devils eventually found a working margin.  That working margin came when they started getting scoring from their guards, namely, Austin Rivers.

The Duke guards of Curry, Dawkins, Rivers and Thornton had just 4 combined points at the half, but Rivers found the open lane for 8 2nd half points.  Thornton would later add some key points to help Duke hold onto a late lead and Curry and Dawkins both had off games combining for just 3 of 15 from the field.

The Blue Devils also received a good effort from junior, Ryan Kelly who went an efficient 5 of 7 from the field to go with 4 boards and 3 blocked shots.  Miles Plumlee added another 7 points and Josh Hairston 2 to round out the scoring for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils took advantage of their height and outrebounded Maryland by 5 and they went down low early and often adjusting to the defense designed to push them off the 3 point stripe.  In short, Duke took another teams best shot and came out with a huge road win in a most hostile environment.  And to make their win more impressive. Quinn Cook stayed home with a bruised knee and fellow freshman Michael Gbinije kept him company being sick himself.

The defense showed up as well for Duke, holding Maryland to 27 second half points after they cut off some of the passing lanes int he post.  They also held Maryland to 40% from the field and 61 points.

The Blue Devils are more than happy to come away with the win with just eight scholarship players available. And this is the kind of win that takes the some of the sting out of their upset loss at home to Florida State.  The Blue Devils head back to Durham where they'll play their last out of conference game against St. John's on Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Duke improved to 111-61 in the all-time series against Maryland, which started in 1926. Duke has now won four straight in the series and 10 of the last 11 games

Team Notes:
• Mike Krzyzewski improved his career record against Maryland to 52-21. Coach K is 22-10 all-time in College Park, Md.
• Duke won its third straight ACC road game. Duke is 9-2 when playing away from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has now won 13 consecutive games following a loss and is now 21-2 following a loss over the last five seasons. Duke has not lost back-to-back games since Feb. 11 & Feb. 15, 2009.
• Junior forward Mason Plumlee had the best game of his career, recording a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-of-13 (.692) from the floor.
• Duke had one of its best free throw shooting performances in school history, finishing 17-of-18 from the line for a .944 percentage. That ties for the 10th highest mark in school history and the team’s highest mark since March 6, 201 (22-of-23, .957).
• Duke outscored Maryland 40-28 in the paint, thanks largely to the production of brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee. Those two dominated the paint early, combining for 18 points, and eight rebounds in the first half while sinking 7-of-9 shots.
• Duke played without freshman point guard Quinn Cook (illness) for the first time. Junior Seth Curry and sophomore Tyler Thornton split time at the point and combined for 15 points, four assists and two turnovers. Curry and Thornton combined to hit eight straight free throws over the final 1:17.
• Duke, which leads the ACC in three-pointers made (158) and three-point percentage (.400), made just three treys in the game. The 3-of-16 performance yielded a .188 three-point percentage, which was the lowest of the season.
• The Blue Devils held Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer with 21.2 points per game, to 16 points. Stoglin, who also ranked third in the ACC with a .410 three-point shooting percentage, went 0-of-4 from three-point range.
• Duke did not miss a free throw until 6:19 remained in the game.
• With just over two minutes into the second half, Duke pulled in three consecutive offensive rebounds on one possession and eventually converted the extra opportunities into a three-pointer by Ryan Kelly. Duke missed its first three three-point attempts during that scoring opportunity before Kelly finally knocked one down to put Duke ahead 42-38 with 17:34 remaining.
• Duke trailed 47-46 with 12:55 remaining in the game, but opened up a 10-2 run to claim its biggest lead of the night at the 8:52 mark. Duke went 5-of-7 from the floor during that run and got a three-point play from Mason Plumlee.

Player Notes:

Seth Curry
• Made his 33rd consecutive start. Duke is 27-6 during that 33-game start streak.
• Saw more time at the point with Quinn Cook out due to an illness. Curry scored eight points on two field goals and a 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line.

Andre Dawkins
• Hit a three-pointer for the sixth straight game. Dawkins leads Duke and ranks second in the ACC with a .409 three-point percentage (min. 90 att.).

Ryan Kelly
• Recorded three blocks in the first half, including rejections on back-to-back layup attempts by Maryland forward James Padgett. Padgett attempted his first layup two feet from the basket and was blocked by Kelly, but grabbed the rebound. He tried again and was blocked by Kelly for a second time, giving Duke the ball in the process.
• Scored in double figures for the 13th time this season with 14 points of 5-of-7 shooting. Kelly has scored in double figures in four of Duke’s six ACC games and is averaging a team-leading 13.7 points per game since Duke opened conference play.

Mason Plumlee
• Made his 41st consecutive start. Duke is 34-7 during that 41-game streak.
• Had his best offensive performance of the season, going 9-of-13 from the floor on the way to an ACC career-high 23 points. Plumlee scored 12 points in the first half and 11 in the second.
• Recorded his team-leading eighth double-double of the season, matching his 23 points with 12 rebounds. Plumlee is tied for the most double-doubles in the ACC alongside North Carolina’s John Henson.
• Continued his improved free throw shooting, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. Over his past four games, he is 15-of-18 (.833) from the FT line.
• Converted his sixth three-point play of the season and his third in the last three games. Plumlee also threw down three dunks.

Miles Plumlee
• Contributed seven points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Plumlee has at least seven rebounds in seven games this season.
• Finished an efficient 3-of-4 from the floor to improve his team-leading shooting percentage to .671. Over halfway through the season, Plumlee is on pace to finish among Duke’s top three in that category if he can meet the 100 made field goals threshold. He currently has 53 made field goals this season.

Austin Rivers
• Scored in double figures for the team-leading 16th time this season.
• Took over in the second half, scoring eight of his 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Rivers attempted just one three-pointer in the second half, instead getting all of his production on driving layups and a runner.

Tyler Thornton
• Converted his second career three-point play with just over one minute remaining in the first half. Duke led 34-32 before Thornton sank a driving layup after contact and then knocked down the ensuing free throw.

Duke Basketball

Duke at Maryland Game Notes

• Game 20 •

[8 AP / 6 Coaches] Duke (16-3, 4-1) vs. Maryland (12-6, 2-2)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 • 9:00 p.m. • ESPN

The Opening Tip

• Duke (16-3, 4-1 ACC) faces Maryland (12-6, 2-2 ACC) on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the Comcast Center. Tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m.

• Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Bob Knight (analyst) will call the game for ESPN.

• Duke is ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Maryland is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 70-16 all-time when ranked eighth in the AP Poll.

• Duke is one of three teams (Baylor and Kansas are the others) in the NCAA to rank in the top 5 of the RPI, Strength of Schedule, AP and Coaches Polls.

• The Blue Devils have won two straight ACC road games. Duke is 7-2 away from Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

• Duke has won its last 13 games following a loss and has not lost back-to-back games since 2009.

Duke-Maryland Series

• Duke and Maryland have met 171 times heading into Wednesday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1926.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 110-61, including a 5-4 mark at the Comcast Center.

• Duke has won three straight and nine of the last 10 games in the series. The Blue Devils topped Maryland three times during the 2011-11 season.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 51-21 at Duke against the Terrapins, including a 31-24 record in College Park, Md.

• The two schools have met 18 times in ACC Tournament play with Duke posting an 11-7 record in those games.

• Six of the last 10 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

• The Blue Devils have won three of the last four games at the Comcast Center. Duke has a +12.7 margin of victory in those three wins.

Numbers Game

l Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll in 86 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

l Duke has not lost back-to-back games since February of 2009. The Blue Devils are 13-0 following a loss in that span (does not include season-ending loss in 2010-11).

l The Blue Devils have a +14.8 scoring margin in their last 13 games following a loss. Duke has posted a double-figure win in nine of the 13 contests.

l Duke ranks in the top 15 nationally in scoring (80.5 ppg. - 10th), field goal percentage (.498 - 13th) and three-point percentage (.409 - seventh), despite playing five games (Ohio State, Virginia, Florida State, Kansas and Michigan State) against teams ranked in the top 15 nationally in defensive efficiency.

l The Blue Devils are one of 12 teams in the NCAA with five or more players averaging 10 or more points per game. Duke has finished the year with five double-figure scorers six times under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season after averaging 19.5 points per game against Wake Forest and Florida State. He is the only freshman in the ACC averaging over 10.0 points per game with a team-high 14.4 ppg. scoring average.

l Andre Dawkins is averaging a team-best 15.0 points and 3.6 three-point field goals per game in ACC play. He is 18-of-39 (.462) from three-point range in Duke’s five league games. He ranks second in the ACC in threes per game and tied for third in three-point percentage in league play.

l Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee combine to average 15.7 rebounds per game. One of the Plumlees has led the team in rebounds in 17 of 19 games.

l Mason Plumlee has improved his free throw shooting over the last three games, going 10-of-13 from the line during that span. He was shooting 39.8 percent from the free throw line prior to that stretch. Plumlee averages 5.6 free throw attempts per game.

l Ryan Kelly is shooting 46.0 percent (23-of-50) from three-point range on the season. He shot just 30.7 percent (27-of-88) in his first two seasons at Duke.

l Tyler Thornton leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (6.0:1) through five conference games. He has 18 assists with just three turnovers in the last five games for the Blue Devils.

l Duke’s bench is averaging 27.2 points per game since beginning ACC play. The Blue Devils have gotten at least 30 points from reserves in three of five ACC games, including a 43-point outburst against Wake Forest.