PINEHURST - BDN is on the scene at the annual ACC Kickoff Media event in scenic Pinehurst this weekend and we'll be providing you with coverage of both Duke and other ACC teams. We start off our coverage with a one on one interview with the always entertaining Matt Daniels.
BDN caught up to Austin Rivers during the N.C. Pro Am this past Thursday. Rivers seems relaxed in the spotlight and has been working with former Duke great Jay Williams. After the game he was surrounded by his family who came our to see him play and the aforementioned Williams. You will also see an appearance from Kyrie Irving sporting his Cleveland Cavaliers brim.
If you haven’t joined BDN Premium yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. My wit and insight alone are worth the price of admission. Well, not really. It’s more like you get all of watzone’s scoop, Andrew Slater’s recruiting analysis, a great Duke message board community, and then my column is that last add-on in the infomercial that they throw in to close the deal. I’m the booklight that comes with your Snuggie. But seriously, it’s April and I can’t find a way to keep these columns any shorter. I guess that’s a good thing, as it means there’s still a lot of activity around Duke football. Thanks for joining us for another thrilling installment of BDN’s Football Friday. [private]
Sorry about the title, I thought it was a good line, until I realized well, it's not. Oh well, let's see you come up with something better.
Tyree Glover dismissed from program
This is old news now, but Tyree Glover was arrested on Tuesday in Durham and charged with trafficking cocaine. After a search of his dorm room, he was also found to be in possession of marijuana and was held in jail in lieu of $750,000 bond. Legal experts would know better, but I believe the trafficking charge for the amount of cocaine he possessed is a class G felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 42 months in prison and $50,000 fine. As would be expected, Coach Cutcliffe acted swiftly in dismissing Tyree from the program for “conduct unbecoming of a member of the program.” As a sophomore, Glover played in 11 games for Duke and started the September game at Wake Forest. It’s an unfortunate development for the program, both as a knock on Duke’s reputation and a loss of depth at linebacker. While I hate to try and find a bright side in situations like this, Glover’s dismissal will open up another scholarship this fall, which could certainly help with only 12 players in their final year of eligibility. Though his serious lack of judgment is indefensible, we all certainly hope that Tyree is able to turn things around for himself.
NFL Draft set for Thursday
The Blue Devils sent four players to the NFL in 2010, though none were taken in the NFL Draft. Duke has several NFL hopefuls again this year, and the Blue Devil Nation will be pulling to hear their names called on Thursday. At Duke’s annual Pro Day, DE Patrick Egboh, OG Brandon Harper, TE Brett Huffman, WR Austin Kelly, TE Brandon King, LB Abraham Kromah, CB Chris Rwabukamba, and LB Damian Thornton worked out for NFL scouts, and a few have had additional workout invites in recent weeks. In all likelihood, the Duke seniors may have to work their way into the league again this year via the free agent and training camp invite routes. Next to winning games, establishing players in the NFL is essential to help the Blue Devils recruit elite athletes.
Spring practices wrap up this weekend
The last of ACC spring practices will wrap up this weekend, and the ACC coaches held their spring conference call earlier this week. Since we toured around the ACC in last week’s Football Friday, we won’t do it again. Much of what we discussed last week still holds true: QB battle will head into August in Miami, Virginia Tech expects David Wilson to be very good, etc. Boston College expects to have Montel Harris back for the fall, but he was held out of their spring game for precautionary reasons, so we’ll keep an eye on his health as we head towards September.
As for Duke, Coach Cutcliffe didn’t have much to add, given that Duke wrapped up spring practice nearly a month ago. He reiterated the team’s youth, especially along the defensive front, where 10 of 15 players are underclassmen. He’s excited about the speed on defense and thinks that Coach Knowles did a good job with personnel assignments this spring, which we can only hope will continue into the fall. We’re all excited to see this Duke offense, as it has the potential to be great with an improved and consistent running game, along with three competent quarterback options.
But back to the defensive front, as that’s what makes me lose sleep at night. Coach Cutcliffe reiterated that he hopes to play up to 9 guys along the defensive front, which is an interesting concept. When was the last time Duke had that many ACC caliber defensive linemen? Are there teams that routinely use that many players along the defensive front? Of course, any team with decent depth rotates guys in and out, but I get the impression that Cutcliffe hopes to have 8 or 9 guys who play significant snaps each game. It’s really an intriguing strategy, given the group of players Duke currently has. With so many young first or second-year players up front, and with no clear-cut All-ACC caliber player(s), why not try to get 20-30 good snaps out of each guy? The most obvious benefit is that it will hopefully keep the unit fresh for late in games, but it also reduces the amount of pressure on each individual player. I’m sure there’s both advantages and disadvantages to this potential rotation, but I’m interested to hear your thoughts (message board, anyone?).
Recruiting updates
As you might imagine, we haven’t heard much from the Duke staff this week, as the assistants have been on the recruiting trail. With the opening of the spring evaluation period last Friday, Coach Cutcliffe and the staff made calls to many of the high priority recruits to re-affirm Duke’s interest. It never hurts to be the first coach in a prospect’s ear, and Duke hopes it will pay dividends with some spring and summer commitments. Speaking of commitments, Coach Cutcliffe has mentioned his desire to have the class of 2012 essentially set by the start of the season, which some fans may have concerns about (the author included). We all know that many elite prospects, whether in basketball or football, tend to drag their recruitment out until the last possible minute. If Duke fills up its scholarships in August, it doesn’t leave much room for the January or February commitments. With a small class this fall, Duke doesn’t have a lot of margin for error, so it does make sense for the Blue Devils to try to secure the majority of their class by the fall. I don’t think Duke will be done with recruiting before the season, but it would be nice if they can get their commitment list into the double digits, hopefully leaving the remaining scholarships for some late-deciding elite talent. As we say on the message boards, just my .02.
So last week I name-dropped all over the place with recruiting, but none of it was very Watzonian. There’s so many names in football recruiting and things change so quickly, it’s hard to keep up. Trust me, I know. You talk to a kid from Oregon and he tells you he plans to take some officials in the fall before he makes a decision and then two days later he commits. No names, of course. Anyway, who are some of the players that Duke seems to have a good chance with at this point in the process? Let’s take a look:
QB: With only one offer extended so far, Duke seems to think they have a good chance with Bilal Marshall, and that seems like a reasonable assumption as this point. When we last heard from him, he was favoring Wake Forest, mostly because they were the first to offer and the only school he had really visited to date. That remains the case, though he is mostly wide open. The hope is that Duke can get Marshall on campus this summer, perhaps for Coach Cutcliffe’s QB College, and then go from there. This is a situation not unlike basketball, where if Duke loses out on Marshall, they could have a lot of ground to make up with some of the other QB prospects. That being said, the chance to play for the mentor of Peyton and Eli Manning is still pretty attractive. With the play of Connette and Boone this spring, it’s also not a requirement that Duke takes a QB in this class.
RB: If I said it’s not a requirement that Duke takes a QB in this class, then I have to say that it is a requirement to take at least one RB in this class. So I think we’ve established that Keith Marshall is a long shot, and I would add that Dami Ayoola and Nick Tompkins might be as well, since both already have double digit offers. We heard from Dontonio Jordan and Todd Gurley this week that Duke remains in the mix for them, and there’s still a long way to go in both of their recruitments. As for the South Carolina prospects, Duke is Dondre Brown’s only offer to date, while Jay Jay McCullough has an offer from in-state Clemson, which might be tough for any school to overcome, but we'll hear from him tomorrow.
WR: This is a tough group to really evaluate, as several have yet to visit Duke’s campus, which is never a good omen, though a few are from the West Coast, which makes it more understandable. We’ll hear from Justin Johnson over the weekend, and Duke is very much in the mix for his services. Of those on the East Coast, we’ll also hear from Jared Crump this weekend, and P.J. Harris and Desmond Frye are recent Duke offers.
TE: Duke remains in the mix for Dan Beilinson and already has a commitment from Erich Schneider.
OL: Duke has made a good impression on Andrew Jelks, Eric Olson, and Max Tuerk. In fact, I just heard from Eric that he will be on campus this weekend in Durham. Don't get excited about D.J. Humphries. I'm working on hearing from some of the new OL names.
DL: D.J. Reader and Carlos Wray have made multiple visits to Durham, and Duke has impressed Korren Kirven and Matt Godin, though Godin is a lifelong Michigan fan with a Wolverines offer. We’ll hear from Sheldon Rankins and Nigel Williams this weekend, two other good looking prospects with Duke offers, who appear to have some interest in the Blue Devils.
LB: Deion Williams and Keilin Rayner are at the top of the list and both have Duke near the top of theirs at this point in the process. Would be nice to get one of these guys on board soon.
DB: Dwayne Norman will be making a decision this spring and it looks like it is down to Duke and South Carolina. Derek Jones has a good relationship with Miami’s Larry Hope. Duke was among the first to offer MarQuise Jones, Albert Reid, and Jonavaughn Williams. Would also be nice to get a DB on board soon.
Kicker: I didn’t mention this last week, but I see that it’s up on another site, so I’ll address it. Duke will, in all likelihood, need to take a placekicker in the class of 2012. Two in-state players, Paul Griggs and Brad Pinion, have both visited Duke and like the Blue Devils. With few scholarships available, it would be nice to be able to find a walk-on kicker, but it may be necessary to offer a scholarship in order to get an elite one. We’ll also have to see exactly where Will Monday is with his placekicking when he gets on campus this fall. Monday is expected to challenge Alex King for the starting punter job.
As you can see, the potential is there for Duke to put together a really good class in 2012, with almost all of the prospects mentioned likely to be rated as three starts or higher. The next few months are the critical period, as Duke will look to close out the recruitment with some of these players and receive commitments before the start of their senior year. We’ll do our best to stay on top of football recruiting and bring you the best, most efficient coverage around. Feel free to jump in with your thoughts, questions, etc. on the message board. Until next week, WE ARE DUKE.
[/private]
Firstly, I hope all of you are having a safe and happy holiday season! I hope too, that all of you caught your breath for the basketball season will now get into the meat of the schedule.
First things first
Before we can discuss the coming ACC season we must first address Wednesday nights game with UNC Greensboro in Greensboro Coliseum. The game, itself, will be a walk in the park for the nations top rated team. Coach Krzyzewski will use thes game to help his troops shake off the holiday rust, so expect the Blue Devils to be focused by games end. Not to be lost or under the radar is the fact that Mike Krzyzewski will be in sole possession of the second most NCAA wins in history at nights end. It's a heck of an accomplishment for sure, but Krzyzewski has his eyes set on another championship and he knows it will not be easy for this seasons team to meet lofty expectations for they are through the roof. That said, Coach will once again downplay the history making moment where he officially passes former North Carolina legend Dean Smith. Tickets are still available and it is a great chance to see Coach K and Team Blue Devil for many fans in the central and western part of the state. You can be a part of history should you choose to go to the game.
Kyrie Irving
I've chosen to remain positive with concerns to KyrieIrving returning to the court for Duke this season, but in truth nobody seems to know for sure what will happen. Everybody has an opinion, some justified, some just plain silly. All I can say is that I hope he comes back but until there is news of a firm plan, it's time to start looking at the Blue Devils without Irving. About the only fact I can pass on is that Irving and the other Duke players spent Christmas at home with their families and they were to return today. Irving will likely have another look at his injury any day now and the team tending him will go from there.
Here comes the ACC season
The ACC Basketball season begins in earnest in January where the Blue Devils will face seven conference foes with Alabama-Birmingham and St. John's mixed in. Duke has two home games to start off the ACC season with Miami and Maryland. They then travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State in a game the pundits are already circling as a good possibility of an upset. They then face Virginia at home before two in state road game affairs with N.C. State and Wake Forest. Duke will be looking for a bit of revenge against the Pack, but their opponent will be at full strength then. The Deacons have much better talent than their record indicates, so this could be a trap game. Heck, it's the ACC, so they could all be trap games. By the end of January, fans will realize the road will indeed be a tough one and that Duke will continue to take everybody's best shot.
Reality check
Duke fans wouldn't trade places with anyone. After all, they are undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation and have Coach K at the helm. Earlier in the season Coach Krzyzewski said this team would have to make their own journey but a lot of fans continued to whisper undefeated as did the media labeling Duke clearly the best. A look around the college basketball landscape shows that there are a lot of good teams and those teams are capable of beating the Blue Devils on a given night. In short, anyone thinking this team will go undefeated is fooling themselves.
On the other hand
The Blue Devils will learn a lot about themselves when adversity continues to set in. They are currently dealing with the fact Kyrie Irving will be out for a bit if not the season. The players were sent into the break knowing they'd have to elevate their games, so the key thing to watch will be continued development with concerns to chemistry. In short, Duke is looking for certain players to step up their game and become consistent night in and night out.
Glaxo Smith Kline Invitational
Our members know that the Duke staff has been on the road checking out the nations top prospects while forming their wish list for the future. In the past the Glaxo Invitational has always been a great event where it is literally filled to capacity. The event as always, takes place at Raleigh Broughton High School and the action for the men begins on December 28th. Broughton is the alma mater of former Dukie Shavlik Randolph and the legendary Pistol Pete Maravich. Originally, Duke had two kids to watch closely. But one of them, Tyler Adams backed off his commitment and now plans his future with Georgetown University. Marshall Plumlee remains a future Duke and he will lead Christ School against Brandon, Mississippi and the aforementioned Adams on December 28th at 7:20. You better get there early to see the two in action and if you cannot make it, BDN will be there to fill you in on the action where we'll eye a couple of other kids as well.
I imagine some of you are just getting your Christmas or Holiday shopping started, just make sure you stay out of my way in the stores if that's the case. Seriously, the holidays can bring on quite the daze but, as a Duke fan, you have a lot to be happy about and we take a look at some of those things in our Monday's Musings column. We have decided to salute the Blue Devil as our cheerleader of the week, for nobody works harder pumping Duke fans up on the sideline.
K-Sing, the stretch run
The college basketball season begins in earnest in January with games coming at a breakneck pace, unlike the brief holiday break we are currently witnessing. This time of year means that a special senior, Kyle Singler, will be turning his game up a notch. Each time you watch Duke in person or on television keep in mind that four-year guys are special when they return when they could have left two seasons earlier had they wanted to. It is clear to see that Kyle Singler loves the Duke uniform and he's having a blast with his college experience. It's not often this kind of thing happens, so enjoy the moment and take time to realize that Duke is the nation's top-ranked team and you simply cannot have it any better than that.
Kyrie Irving's toe
In the pre-season, it was Nolan Smith's feet getting the attention after ESPN's All Access coverage where he called them his "money makers." Of course, that was jest and Kyrie Irving's toe is nothing less than serious. As the boards exploded with worry, I have maintained a stance that we'd not seen the last of the outstanding freshman. When it comes to Duke basketball, I am a glass half full kind of guy. I mean, how can you ever not have your glass half full if you are a fan of the elite program? Still, the worry of Blue Devil fans was more than evident and for good reason -- they simply wanted to see the kid play. I expect we'll be hearing some news sooner rather than later on the situation, so stay positive if you haven't been all along.
A low key approach
The media will take anything but a low key approach when Coach Krzyzewski ties North Carolina's Dean Smith on the all time wins list this evening. I mean no disrespect to Elon, but a win by them would be the greatest upset in the history of sports when looking at each team's talent level. There is plenty of reflection for those of us who have been around long enough to see Coach Krzyzewski arrive on campus and had witnessed Dean Smith's accomplishments. In Bob Harris's new book, "How Sweet It Is," he mentions a game between the two schools where Dean rapped the scoreboard in Cameron yet didn't get a technical. People or those involved can say what they want to about the incident, but that was the game where a line was drawn in the sand by Duke. A Michael Jordan led Tar Heels team ended up winning the game by a hair, but notice was served that the Blue Devils were here to stay and since that time Duke basketball has been golden. While there is no disrespect from Coach K towards Dean, expect him to downplay the situation, for he wants the focus on his team and their season. Expect more of the same in Greensboro, when they face a winless Spartans team in a game where he'll pass the UNC legend. It's as if he knows there will be plenty of time to reflect in the off season or maybe when the actual record itself is broken. Still, as fans, we need to appreciate the fact that Krzyzewski stuck with Duke and for that Blue Devil faithful are lucky. And for the aforementioned game where Coach let the world know Duke was coming hard, we'll revisit that classic game that television somehow didn't pick up, meaning you had to be there. So look forward to hearing from some Duke dignitaries who were there.
Frequent Flyer Miles
The men's basketball staff has been hitting the recruiting trail, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to find the nation's top prospects this week. The staff will, of course, be at tonight's games, but some flights probably await a portion of them once the game concludes. One of the tournaments they emphasized is the City of Palms in Fort Meyers, Florida. Austin Rivers will play again at 11:00 and later in the day Alex Murphy will take to the court as well for his St. Mark's team. Marshall Plumlee led his team in scoring and rebounding in his first game.
Duke Football is working it too
The Duke football staff has been hard at work on the recruiting trail as well and BDN's Patrick Cacchio has been all over the action. Check out our recent interviews with future Duke footballers if you haven't already, for the future talent level is getting better and better. Season ticket renewals went out recently, so secure yours today and back an up and coming program.
Holiday Season is upon us
BDN wishes all of you joyous, safe and happy holidays. It's a time to let by-gones be by-gones, let go of the petty stuff and spend time with your family and friends. Some of us tend to stress this time of year but keep in mind that you pull for the nation's top team and that stress could be worse. Be kind to all you meet at this time and understand that everybody you come in contact with is someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister and brother. Think about facilitating a few acts of random kindness and it'll make you glow inside.
It's the Christmas and Holiday season and BDN wishes all of you a safe and happy time. Duke students are hard at work on their exams while the basketball and football staffs gear up for a bit of recruiting.
Tickets still avaliable
On December the 29th, a Wednesday evening in Greensboro, Duke will take on UNC-Greensboro in a game that will push their record to 12-0 on the season. But it is Krzyzewski's record that will be the focus and around 9:00 that evening the HOF coach will pass North Carolina's Dean Smith with 880 wins landing him in 2nd place on the All Time NCAA wins list. There are still tickets available for the historical game, so get on the horn and make arrangements to be there for a piece of history. You'll be hearing a lot more on this as the game approaches and you can see that we have added a graphic to salute Krzyzewski's accomplishment. And 23 wins past that, Krzyzewski will own the record all by himself over his mentor and friend Bobby Knight.
Krzyzewski keeping it low key
One might think Coach K would be living in the moment with such a record coming but he is more concerned with this seasons team and he seemingly will prolong the urge and joy of celebration. No matter how you cut it, this will be one historical season but he wants to be the last team standing in Houston, so his work efforts will be focused on that goal rather than the record.
Holiday Tournaments begin
The Men's Basketball staff wil be hitting up some holiday basketball tournaments where they'll see pretty much everybody on their watch list. BDN will be taking in a few of the events as well so we can keep the information flowing. The recruiting picture will begin to clear this month but it'll be spring before we really get a feel for who the new targets will be.
Let's defend
No, I'm not talking about the national title. Besides, if you are a Duke fan you realize that the Blue Devils do not defend any championship for each year the team changes personnel. Krzyzewski has put great emphasis on defense during the December games though and that is the first sign of what the team might look like without the injured Kyrie Irving. It's really not a big departure from last year but expect the team to morph even more in due time. You can bet that there are some late nights where the staff is rethinking their plans and you of course know by now, that I for one remain positive that Kyrie Irving will be back on Coach K floor before the season is out.
It's "on" come January
Enjoy the break while you can for once January hits it'll seem like Duke is playing a game every night compared to the December lull. Duke plays their first of six conference games starting with Miami in Cameron. Next up will be Maryland who fancies themselves Duke's rival, again at home but away games with Florida State and N.C. State will give one an idea of how Duke measures up before the February-March run. Duke will go out of conference with a trip to New York to face St. John's as well.
Singlers time of year
I continue to be impressed that Duke senior Kyle Singler doesn't bump his averages up against weaker competition. Most players numbers or stats drop come ACC time but that's when Singler picks his game up. Watch as his numbers trickle up against better comp, a rare thing indeed. Kyle wants to win first and all else will fall into place. It should be fun to watch Singler close out his four years at Duke. That said, realize that this kid stayed when he could have been preparing to hit the road to Boston or Golden State for his next NBA game.
A last minute Christmas Gift thought
Looking for some stocking stuffers for a Duke fan? Of course there are tickets available for Elon and UNC-Greensboro but Bob Harris has a new book out too. Bob, of course, is the long time voice of the Duke Blue Devils and his new book "How Sweet It Is!," just hit the bookshelves. It has a forward from Coach Mike Krzyzewski and even a CD with interviews done with Muhammad Ali and a long list of interesting characters. My favorite part of the book was when Bob addressed the game where Dean Smith rapped the scoreboard in Cameron and didn't get a technical. I was there but the game was not on television and Bob recaps what happened on that night and it is simply too good to give away here, so pick up a copy and get the scoop for yourself.
Give the gift of BDN as well
Another gift suggestion is Blue Devil Nation Premium which gives one full site access where you'll be on the inside. BDN Premium cover more than just recruiting but that is the main draw. We'll bring you up close and personal be ith the recruiting trail or the hallways of the Final Four. We'll happilylet somebody know around Christmas that you've purchased them a membership and that is sure to make any Blue Devil fan happy. We have 1, 3, 6 and 12 month rates that you can link to above.
Duke Football Recruiting
Coach David Cutcliffe and his staff have been hard at work on the trail and with official visits of late. BDN's Patrick Cacchio has had a bevy of interviews unlike other subscription sites, these are still free at BDN to all at this time. We'll have more of these interviews as the week progresses so bookmark our site for the best free Duke Football coverage anywhere.
You must be logged in to post a comment.