With recruiting sites reporting the commitment of Oak Hill Academy's Roscoe Smith to Connecticut, it appears that Duke has missed on another target.
Smith is 6-foot-7 and was Duke's No. 2 option at small forward after Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, chose North Carolina over the Blue Devils and other schools. Failing to land Smith could leave Duke short at that position next season.
This won't matter much, of course, if 6-8 Kyle Singler, who's averaging 15.9 points per game at small forward, returns for his senior season rather than leaving for the NBA. Singler's future is a question that remains unanswered at this point of the season, but if he comes back, Duke will be in fine shape at small forward.
If Singler leaves and coach Mike Krzyzewski can't come up with a No. 3 option in recruiting, the Blue Devils won't have an obvious choice to defend other players who are in the 6-5 to 6-8 range who can score inside and out. Guys like Harrison Barnes, for example, could hurt Duke with their multi-dimensional skills.
This would be a problem, but it wouldn't be catastrophic. Duke is in good position everywhere else and would have the personnel to play three guards effectively with Nolan Smith and Andre Dawkins returning and freshman Kyrie Irving and transfer Seth Curry added to the roster.
(If you haven't heard the buzz about Curry, by the way, the word from practice on the redshirting former Liberty player is that he would be Duke's best shooter if he were on the team this season).
Duke's post rotation also should be solid with Mason and Miles Plumlee returning, and Ryan Kelly and freshman Josh Hairston playing supporting roles.
But even if Singler returns, Duke needed another player in that 6-5 to 6-8 range in the program. And the Blue Devils have two strikes against them in the Class of 2010 with Harrison Barnes and now Roscoe Smith.
Ken Tysiac
Friday, January 8, 2010
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17 comments:
grades were an issue
Gene
I doubt Coach K would have recruited him had grades really been an issue.
Yep...typical.He can't handle it in the classroom and the court,so unc snatches him right up for his 2.0 gpa.HAHAHAH....unc grads should be very proud of their sheepskins.Not just anyone can get into unc....oh wait....only if you have a 1.9 you can't.lol.
UNC didn't get this guy DUMAS - UConn did. Read the story for once.
Also, hilarious that everytime K doesn't get his recruit someone comes back with the 'grades' rumor. You have to be a genius to go to duke, right? RIIIIIGGGHHHTTT.
I guess grades were also and issue with Harrison Barnes, right Duke fans? He must have made too good of grades, seeing how he is an A student. K would have definitely gotten him if his grades were not quite so high....morons. It is time to face the fact that the mystique is just not the same at Duke right now. In the past these guys wanted to go there no matter what. It could change if Duke could have a great season or two...but continual Tournament flame-outs are primarily to blame.
no but you do have to make more stringent entrance req'ts, use common sense, its duke the most prestigous acedemic institution in the state and one of the tops in the country. smith was borderline with a 3.0 in high school. you dont have to be a genius but you do have a higher standard. also i think kyle is staying so it could all be moot anyway. however they do have some very capable possible recruits in the mix including a possible juco that mite fit the bill. i wouldnt worry much about next year anyway this year's team still has work to do!
I'M DOUBTING A KID FROM OAK HILL HAS GRADE ISSUES. ALL THOSE KIDS DO ARE PLAY BALL AND WORK ON THEIR STUDIES. THIS IS JUST A CASE OF HIM FEELING BETTER ABOUT UCONN.
A coaches ability to recruit players is based upon their personality & the schools traditions in most cases! Academics are important but not the only deciding factor in these young men's decisions. Apparently the next "generation" wants to win but not at Duke. Also it doesn't bode well for a coach if they are not "open" to guys leaving early for the NBA. Is it about the players or is it about the coaches record? Roy doesn't lay a guilt trip on his players for jetting early to the NBA.
Duke blew it with Smith when they refused to offer a scholly until Barnes made a decision. no one likes being second fiddle, especially a kid who has everyone else telling him how much they want him. the irony is that Duke would have been a great fit for him but Connecticut a good fit as well.
He could probably make the grades at Duke...for an athlete. 95% of the basketball team are sociology majors. Only 3% of the overall student body are sociology majors. What does that say. When was the last time someone got a job as a socialogist! If Duke or any other college wants an athlete bad enough...there are ways to get the student in and to keep them enrolled.
Duke's entrance exam req for athletes are any different than UNC's. Student body, yes, but athletes, no. Both have higher standards than many schools, but that is true of most of the ACC. Anyone at Duke knows that the athletes are not held to the same standard as the normal students (true at UNC as well). Laettner graduated via correspondence courses for pete's sake (true - look it up) back when he left. There was a big to-do about it because they wanted to retire his number but their rule was that he you had to graduate first. Amazingly he finished his coursework via correspondence just in time to have his number retired (and he found time to do that while traveling with his NBA team). Amazing student.
I'm sure most seniors at Duke are offered the opportunity to finish their coursework via correspondence classes, right? By that time you have had so much instruction by the smartest people in the universe that your brain would explode if exposed to one more kernel of knowledge. He probably just whipped out a few new physics textbooks from memory between flights at the airport.
Fact: K offered Roscoe a scholarship. He chose UCONN over Duke for a variety of reasons, the suckiness of Duke probably being near the top. The spin that his is about grades is pathetic.
Roscoe Smith and the Duke staff soured on each other about a month ago.
Both parties moved on, Smith to Georgetown and UConn, Duke to Trey Ziegler, Tayshawn Mabry, Carrick Felix, and more recently Terrence Ross.
Hate to disappoint anyone but those are the facts.
If you want to call it a loss for Duke so be it, each team in America has losses every year if thats the definition.
With a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Nolan, Singler, and the Plumlees next year (with Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and the bigs backing them up)...there was really no room for Roscoe anyway.
Duke's got it's recruiting sights set on 2011.
No, Duke wants to sign at least one more recruit for 2010, two if it can get them.
I had a professor in grad school who had taught at dook previously and, if she was half as smart as she thought she was, she'd have been dangerous!!! And you dookies talk about other schools being arrogant...
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