Tag Archives: Shabaz Muhammad

Duke Basketball Recruiting Update

As many of you know recruiting has been red hot around the basketball program of late and the Blue Devils entertained a bevy of prospects this past weekend.  Of those visiting, Quin Cook was the biggest priority in that Duke is looking to close on the PG prospect and they [private] will likely do so sooner rather than later.  I cannot give you an exact timeline but I feel from information gleaned from top notch sources close to the situation, that he could pull the trigger to become the newest Blue Devil very soon.  We'll keep you posted.

There were a few names have not been discussed here that often visiting as well, but for now I will focus on the kids which have the Blue Devils utmost interest.  Amile Jefferson will continue to be evaluated by Duke, but no offer is expected any time soon, meaning Krzyzewski wants some more views as he progresses.  Quite simply, Jefferson needs to put some meat on his frame to be effective at Duke and only time will tell if he can fill that criteria.

Quin Cook and Austin Rivers take in the action at Countdown to Craziness - BDN Photo, Rick Crank

On the other hand, Duke is solidly involved with Rasheed Sulaimon, who we interviewed last evening.  There is no offer but that could change down the road as Coach familiarizes himself with the prospects ability to keep improving.  If he shows the desire to get better and he progresses, he will land an offer and with him being a Duke fan, if that happens consider him a done deal.

Duke will also continue to recruit Rodney Purvis who from all accounts had a good time on his visit.  Purivs recruitment will go on for quite a while IMO, so don't look for too much going on here in the near future.

Still major priorities are Alex Murphy and Shabazz Muhammad.  In fact, consider them the top two kids on the radar past Cook and or count them all as equally important.  The Blue Devils will hang in there as long as it takes with Muhammad and they appear to be in good shape with Murphy.  Visits are being firmed up as I type, more on that down the road.

Duke is still quite interested in J.P. Tokoto as well and expect some things to start happening in the next six months on this front.  And let's not forget Tony Parker for he is starting to get a lot more interest and could well have an offer shortly down the road.

Finally on Tyler Adams ... Duke is still committed to him and as of now all is fine and they were aware of the visit.  Adams is keeping his options open a bit as is Duke, but this could all work out provided he does the work.  In fact, until further notice, I wouldn't worry too much about this.

I appreciate members patience in what has turned out to be the busiest time I can remember for me in a decade or so.  It makes it tough to get to many articles I have planned and get CTC pictures up.  I head to Charlotte tomorrow for ACC Operation Basketball, so keep in mind that I will check in when I can.  Remember that BDN covers the Duke Beat in person and we strive to bring you constant in person update with our own questions to players and coaches.[/private]

Monday Musings – ACC Operation Football, media guides, future schedules and AAU Basketball

BDN is at ACC Operation Football today while Andrew wraps up his AAU coverage in Las Vegas. Busy week ahead, so stay tuned.

Are you ready for some football?  You better be for ACC Operation Kickoff got underway in Greensboro, North Carolina.  For many fans, the media gathering  signals the start of ACC Football season. 

 The votes are already in for the projected order of finish in the conference and the player of the year and the results will be released at 3:30 today.  I went with Florida State in the Atlantic and Virginia Tech in the coastal but it wouldn't surprise me if Georgia Tech, Miami or North Carolina won the Coastal for they are that even.  Could all of them go 6-2 in the conference?  We'll soon know.

- Electronic media has a huge presence in Greensboro and there are signs that we are in the infancy of a new age of convergence.  There will be some trial and error in the effort to merge new and old but in the end it's a necessary progression.  But there are concerns and you can bet that the ACC will control who they allow access to for it seems everybody has a team blog these days.

One change is the fact that Duke will no longer print a glossy media guide.  That's right collecting purist's, those yearbooks are for now a thing of the past.   I'll miss those old black and white glossy guides but there is an upside.  Duke has produced the most informative guide in the conference for pure information.  No photo's or glitz, just information.

 In April, the NCAA passed a law which no longer allows schools to send traditional media guides to prospects or recruits.  For many schools, this was an opportunity to show off their program.  I doubt that's the reason for Georgia Tech and Maryland's bare bones offerings. [I had a little crow for breakfast for Georgia Tech's offering is here today as is Maryland's]

Maryland produced it's basketball media guide on DVD-R and put out a few pages for football.  But as paltry as there information for media is, it's still better than Georgia Tech who provided a few stapled pages from a copier that could use some ink.

North Carolina trimmed their 2011 Media Guide down as did some of the other school but those I have not mentioned were all  average or above average in their offerings.  Okay, let me get to the point.  Media members need hard copies to facilitate their best work.

You see a lot of stuff on PDF files, but have you ever tried to open that during or after  a game while still being able to access to your article? The navigation is awkward at best especially for long documents.  May the hard copies live forever.

- The Duke Men's Basketball Coaches are winding up their viewing of AAU events this week.  Coaches James and Collins are in Orlando for the Showcase and  AAU Nationals.  As you may have seen in our tweets or updates if you are a member, Kryzyzewski took in Murphy and Muhammad in Las Vegas while juggling his Team USA duties.  Lot's to come for members of BDN Premium this week.

- And be sure to tune in to ESPN 3 at 7:00 EST tonight, for Michael Gbinije and Team Takeover will face Each One led by Austin Rivers. 

Here is a look at the 2011, 2012 Duke Football schedules -

2011 Duke Football Schedule

Home - Richmond, Stanford, Tulane, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Away - Florida International, Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia

2012 Duke Football Schedule

Home - Florida International, Memphis, N.C. Central, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia

Away - Stanford, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest