Recruiting Whispers
Bull City Hoops talks about the recruiting pulse and offers insight on three top Duke basketball targets.
Bull City Hoops touched base with some well-placed sources this week to get a current pulse on three burning questions in the recruiting world.
Here are three of the hottest topics, at the present time for Duke basketball recruiting:
MITCHELL PULSE
It’s no secret that the final recruiting target in 2021 is Mark Mitchell from Sunrise Christian (Bel Aire, Kan.). The 6-foot-8 senior is down to four programs, officially, but all signs indicate that it’s actually just three: Missouri, Duke and UCLA. And we haven’t seen anything credible to indicate that the Tigers are on the same playing field for Mitchell as the Bruins and Blue Devils, who, in fact, ARE the true contenders.
At this time, though, our vetted intel leads us to believe that Duke should land the skilled, versatile athlete as the final recruit for the class. Mitchell just tweeted that he will announce tomorrow.
GG JACKSON AND DUKE
A lot of recruiting analysts, such as myself, discuss what the rumblings are with some of the top recruits with respected writers who cover other schools. So with regards to 6-foot-9 GG Jackson, we know the North Carolina recruiting guys are working hard and ditto for the South Carolina guys.
Duke has been quietly working Jackson as well and despite the fact that many feel Jackson could eventually select the Tar Heels or stay home and play for South Carolina, Duke continues to invest time and resources there. We did learn from speaking to Bishop Jackson, GG’s father, that Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Amile Jefferson were down again last week. So the staff in Durham continues to put time in there. And while an official visit has not been set up yet, Jackson remains engaged with those conversations and he’s waiting on Duke to give them a date.
Rumors are that Jackson may cut his list to three soon, and we’d fully expect UNC and South Carolina to be on that list. Duke, if they lockdown the official date, should also be on the list. And Georgetown is another school that is a bit stronger than many may realize. They are continuing to work him hard.
TAKE-AWAY FROM MATAS
Sometimes after we publish an interview with a kid, something REALLY resonates from that conversation. When we did our interview last week with the 6-foot-10 junior, Matas Buzelis, one thing that really jumped out at me about the interview was the way he handled one of my questions. It’s no secret that Duke loves his type; and what I mean by that is the long, rangy guys with a guard skill-set. The Blue Devils have had dozens of guys who are 6-7 to 6-10 and can handle, pass, shoot and defend on the perimeter. The staff in Durham LOVES those types. So it’s easy for Mike Krzyzewski to put up a video of Brandon Ingram, Mike Dunleavy Jr. or Marvin Bagley and show it to a kid like Buzelis.
But the Brewster Academy junior made a point to say that while the position-less pitch is important, he is really looking for a connection with his future coach. We know from doing our background work on Matas that he is a loyal guy. He values trust, he wants time and he wants to be super comfortable with his college coach.
With so many options and offers, building trust and establishing a comfortable rapport is what his commitment may really come down to. Sure, part of it will be a business decision for him. Can he excel in a team’s offense and style of play? Can a strength and conditioning coach make him stronger and more durable without having to add 30 pounds to his frame? But I have a feeling that the connection — the personal human connection — that Scheyer, Smith, Chris Carrawell and Jefferson can build, well, that may be the ULTIMATE closing factor here. Just my two cents.
Good stuff from Clint. Tomorrow could be another really big day for the Blue Devils.