IF it were to be true, I’ll be happy with RJ Hampton. More than likely RJ will reclassify. Dudes a baller also. I really like James as well!
Predict the 2019 Class
- Thread starter What Would Jesus Do?
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I asked Andrew slater yesterday who's the most likely to be a blue devil next year between cole, rj and josiah. He said josiah
https://forums.rivals.com/threads/cole-anthony-will-be-a-tar-heel.832237/#post-25369732
Was on Main Board not THR, but I didn't see @skysdad say anything about it being on THR.
Hope this is what ge was talking about.
I saw it on the main board as well. Can’t really take much stock in it. Heck! I remember someone on the main board said Bamba was coming to Duke!
I trust Clint, Rob Jones, and a few insiders on 24/7. Not some gender confused person with 250K in credit card debt lol. I’m always skeptical of people claiming they have inside info.
Ever since Slater got fired from 247, he's been trolling pretty hard. Did you see how he made a crystal ball pick for Bacot to Duke a couple hours before Bacot announced, only to switch it at the last moment?
I'm banned for eternity on thr. This was on the College Basketball Board. I should have stated that. OFC
What are thoughts regarding James and Anthony if Tre stays? I’m assuming James still comes but Anthony goes elsewhere. You’ve also got to keep an eye on RJ Hampton who will likely move into the 2019 class.
Josiah James is a very well rounded player. Ability to play either guard position and can defend 1-3. I think he and RJ Hampton come to Duke and Tre Jones stays to run to the show next year. Fingers crossed for that back court and maybe Tre blow ups due to winning National Championship and Cole anthony sneaks back into the mix. Fun times to be a Duke fan
A backcourt group of James/Jones/Alex/Hampton +Goldy would niiiiice....throw in B. Antionio watch out!!
Vernon Carey, Jr., official visit to Duke October 19th.
Said he hopes to make a decision before his birthday, in February.
Always Be Closing, Coach...
Said he hopes to make a decision before his birthday, in February.
Always Be Closing, Coach...
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Rivals thinks we may have slipped, while UK and MSU have made up ground. But, we look good for Isaiah Stewart and are in a better position with Matt Hurt.
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Honestly, while Carey might ultimately be a better pro, Stewart and Hurt fit what winning college teams do.
No. He's closer to being a college C than a college SF. But he's the ideal, and I cannot stress enough the word IDEAL, college PF.
Ok. Thanks for the info.
So best we can hope for is 2 out of 3 between Hurt, Carey and Stewart. I could live with any combination from that group.
I really don’t think we get Hurt! It seems like he is a Kansas lock. Hopefully we get Carey and Stewart!
Recent reports/speculation seem to indicate that Duke has faded with Carey somewhat, while having improved with Hurt.
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Honestly, Stewart is the one I really want. 6-9, and maybe 6-10 by the time he hits college, with a 7-4 wingspan. Developing O, but a ferocious beast on defense and a great rebounder. Possibly a more athletic version of the Landlord. The ideal college C. And one versatile enough to guard the 3-5, and possibly a lot of 2s as well.
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He could play PF beside Bolden, C beside Jav or Hurt, and be able to switch all over the court. Clint Capella is a great comparison.
Just wait until the season stars and he sees how much freedom we give to combo Fs (which is what he'll play, despite being a nominal PF in college).
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I know that Carey is a beast on O, and I'd love to have him. But he's not a great defender, and the game is simply moving away from guys like that. A title team can absolutely be built around such a player, but the coach of that team will have to carefully structure the defense to best utilize (or hide) him. I know that he's been dominant at every level up until now, but any reasonably skilled, and moderately athletic, 6-10 and 260+lb hs player will dominate other HS players. I'm not sure how that translates to the bigger bodies of college. . Like Bags, I think Carey will be great on offense (possibly better than Bags). I'm not sure VC boards as well as Bags, and the D might be a wash. The biggest negative is that Carey will not be a versatile defender. Probably better at the rim than Bags, but he can't guard or switch onto any one but C's.
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Stewart and Hurt are the ideal modern college front line, and not too far from ideal NBA front courts (or they will be, in the fullness of time). Both versatile and athletic enough to guard the 3-5, and capable of guarding the odd 2s (and more plodding 1's in switching situations). Granted, Stewart's O is rough. But whereas a guy like Mo Bamba was determined to showcase his perimeter skills, despite the fact that he didn't really have any such skills in college, Stewart lives in the post. A great Comp would be a more athletic Landlord or the defensive version of (gag) Tyler Hanstravel. A team with 2 of Stewart, Hurt, or Jav on the court would be a defensive dynamo, harassing passing lanes, closing out on shooters, contesting most shots, and rebounding all over the court. Given the returning wings, and the probable guards and wings we should/could get, offensive won't be a problem. There'd be a few hiccups, but the team we'd be by mid Feb would be terrifying.
I've heard that about Carey as well and I wonder how true it is. The last few years, we don't typically fade with players in whom we have and hold high interest (e.g. I guess you could say we faded with Trae Young, but we essentially stopped recruiting him IIRC).
And I realize we aren't perfect, and maybe Kentucky and/or Michigan State have been able to increase their appeal for whatever reason.
We'll see I suppose.
And I realize we aren't perfect, and maybe Kentucky and/or Michigan State have been able to increase their appeal for whatever reason.
We'll see I suppose.
I think Carey, or people around him, may like MSU/UK and how they develop more traditional bigs. The defensive training for bigs at either school has been better in recent years than at Duke. If Duke had 1-2 years for VC to watch last year's 2 big men do well, it would help.
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But Oak has been very disappointing in the MBA, and Bolden has really faltered, for whatever reason(s). Neither is a ringing endorsement. UK has 2 of the best bigs in the game as recent examples, and MSU has a long history of successful bigs.
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But, as I said, the game is moving away from guys like VC.
Possibly in more ways than one. For worse and for better. We've closed out on great classes in recent years, but there is an argument that they've been poorly constructed, both within an individual class and based on returning talent. Capel was a large part of recruiting, including the strategy of who we go after. Perhaps a fresh perspective will help.
It would not shock me at all to see guys that were not initially thought of as "going to Duke" such as Nico Mannion, Matthew Hurt or even Scottie Lewis being guys that do end up committing to Duke. With that said, I feel the opposite situation to also be the case with Vernon Carey, Cole Anthony and such was the case with Armando Bacot.
Main reason behind that is because Josiah is announcing early for Duke and because most analysts believe his top 2 are Duke and UT Vols. Also, Josiah is the one guy that wouldn’t badly hurt are chances with Cole or RJ. Could easily see either committing to Duke next summer even with Josiah already signed. Also, don’t get the feeling that Josiah is worried about what Tre is going to do after year one whereas Cole & RJ will be heavily influenced by what Tre does and how he plays this year.
It’s also a timing thing. If all 3 guys were committing in late September or October, think Slater may have a different answer. Predicting something a month away versus 8-10 months away is a huge difference.
Armando just got recruited over. With the way Stewart played this Summer, Bacot became expendable.
James is a guy that can play the 1, 2, or 3. He's a 6-6 perimeter player. Don't get caught up in what a person does on offense. As long as a perimeter player has adequate size and athleticism, and can shoot and dribble competently, then the O will work itself out. There are very few "traditional" PGs that are pure passers, they also need to shoot. SGs and SFs are largely interchangeable on offense.
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James can play the 1 through 3 because he can guard all those positions. Maybe he's the main ball handler, maybe not. He's a versatile offensive player and fantastic athlete with top tier athleticism. If not for Cole Anthony, possibly a generational talent at PG, James would be the talk of HS hoops recruiting. His trajectory is straight up. He's good now, but will get much better.
Totally agree. I still think Hampton is the PG that we need and want over Cole just from a team dynamic. He’s much more of a pass first PG and with guys like Josiah, Antoine, and Wendell Moore providing scoring at the 1-3 positions to go with AOC and Baker taking 3s, would probably be a more balanced scoring lineup. Anthony would look to take 15+ shots a game. Of course, the above banks on us landing Stewart at the least and hopefully getting Carey as well.
If we miss on one or both of them, made need Cole’s scoring.
Hampton is class of 2020, and isn't going to reclassify. We could get one of James, Cole Anthony, or Nico Mannion and still get Hampton NEXT year. Those other 3 are probably OAD.
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I think keeping Tre for an extra year would benefit Duke better, I want some experience at PG and hoping for a player to choose to stay. Josiah James can play both guard spots and is projected to be a great defender. Hoping for him or Antoine to pull the trigger soon to get the class started.
Possibly. The current, incoming freshman class was extremely weak wrt PGs, or even "lead" guards. The next few classes are stronger, and perhaps much stronger.
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A frosh Cole Anthony is probably an upgrade over a soph Tre Jones, TJ would be good, but CA would be better. But Cole won't decide until May, and no one knows anything about his decision. No one. Anything you read or see is just baseless speculation. Some of that speculation will ultimately be proven correct, but it would just be dumb luck. By Jan or Feb there may be better knowledge, but too many decisions would be made by then.
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I'd love to keep TJ, but him being back for his soph year probably means that Duke's season wasn't all that great during his frosh year. So it might be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
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From a long term perspective, I'd love to get one of James, Cole, or Nico. All three of those guys look like top tier NBA starters, and possibley all star or MVP level players (James possibly, and Cole probably-bordering-on-certainly).
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This is the pessimist in me, but we are nearing the end of K's tenure. If he's still coaching in 5 years that would be somewhat of a surprise. His age is simply a reality that we have to deal with. It will be important for Duke to have as many top tier starters in the NBA for recruiting purposes until the next coach establishes himself. UNC exists today as a power because of Michael Jordan. Without him, UNC would have floundered into obscurity during the scandal. The parents of recruits still revere Jordan, which comes on the Heel of a 2 decade long period where Jordan's legacy was enough to draw a top range of players.
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We won't have a Jordan when K retires. But we'll have a Tatum and Ingram and Zion and RJ Barret. When K retires, we'll have a wealth of talent in the NBA. And we'll need everyone. Tre looks like a solid NBA player. Probably a 10 year guy that is never a star, and rarely a starter. But a quality piece that many successful teams want as a rotation player. He'll make tons of money. But he won't drive recruits. Those other guys will probably drive recruits.
Now the momentum for I. Stewart is that he will go to Villanova as well. Could be a rather disastrous recruiting year for us. It happens and hopefully they adjust their strategy going for 2020 recruits. They seem to have really put Stewart as their main target but even John Watson is now considering Nova as the favorite. Really nasty news if it happens.
Bluemetro, you are not getting that info off the premium board are you in reference to what John is posting are you?
Yes, it was reported on a premium site on another company, not Rivals. It is actually becoming quite well known information that Stewart is slipping away just like Antoine. This is not 247 Sports, this is Rivals, where one gets information is irrelevant unless it is from the premium providers here, then it is an ethical issue for those who pay the extra money on this site.
The information can be seen in the changing picks on CB’s and also from free site in the NYC/NJ area.