Quinn Cook and DC Assault Photos

Lara Lee got a chance to catch 2011 recruit Quinn Cook and his DC Assault play while in Las Vegas. If you haven't been introduced to Quinn through our blog, or else where, you must be new here and to Duke recruiting. Check out a couple of our earlier stories on Quinn here:


Quinn Cook to Oak Hill Academy?

Quinn Cook Has Duke At the Top of His List

And the gallery from Vegas

Quinn Cook Has Duke At The Top Of His List

After reading our previous article regarding Kyrie Irving already being guaranteed a Top 5 spot in the 2011 NBA Draft, Duke fans may be weary of what is to come with unheralded (and inexperienced) Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry, who hasn't played the position in a live game. Many people within the Duke program are confident in Seth's ability to play the point, after watching him do so all of the past year in practice, but for those of us who didn't watch practice on a regular basis we can obviously be apprehensive.

The Duke staff is clearly not going to sit back and wait to see what happens with their point guard slot, the most important position on the floor. They are being very proactive as Nate James has been watching 2011 recruit Quinn Cook as he led the U-17 USA Olympic Team to victory in Hamburg, Germany and then the following weekend as his AAU squad, DC Assault, played in a tournament in Minnesota where he was voted to the All-Tournament First Team: http://minnesotapreps.rivals.co/content.asp?CID=1103861

Duke Hoop has learned that Nate James will again travel to see Quinn play, this time flying to Las Vegas, Nevada to watch DC Assault compete in the Adidas Super 64: http://www.adidassuper64.com/

A source close to Cook told us tonight: "Duke is on top of the list, that's for sure." and that "Nate is going out to Vegas." You can be sure that Quinn is noticing the Duke presence at his events as "InterNational Nate" has been putting some miles on Duke Air lately.

Photo credit to boxofmess.com

From Adam's Twitter

I'm gonna try to start posting a daily roundup of my Twitter Feed here, as it looks like not everyone who comes to the blog is following me there and I don't want you people missing out on all the Duke haps from throughout the day.




Derek Fisher has said no to the Heat and will remain with the Lakers. This can only be good for Jon Scheyer in his attempts to make the team.

Speaking of Jon Scheyer, he received some praise from Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra in a recent interview: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/heat/jon-scheyer-earns-praise-from-heats-erik-spoelstra-797458.html

Spoelstra also went out of his way to praise undrafted Duke guard Jon Scheyer.

"We wanted him because we thought he'd be a guy that would stretch the floor," Spoelstra said. "A lot of what we do offensively is predicated on spacing and 3-point shooting really helps. He's been a pleasant surprise with other aspects of his game. He has an extremely high basketball IQ. He does a better job of putting the ball on the floor, making plays, than I anticipated."

If you want to follow Jon in his quest to make an NBA Title-contender, check out the Heat's Summer League schedule: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2010/teams/heat/
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Anthony Davis expects to garner offers from UNC and Duke following the Peach Jam: http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/07/12/carolina-pursuing-anthony-davis/ We agree with Zagoria that Duke is done recruiting bigs for the Class of 2011. Yes, that includes Quincy Miller although Duke certainly wouldn't turn down a commitment from him...

Speaking of the Peach Jam, Austin Rivers went off for 29 points today in front of 50 to 100 college coaches. Included in that contingent was Coach K and Coach Collins. Notably absent was Roy Williams and unc's other assistant in town, Jerrod Haase. They are reportedly in attendance for Austin's 6 PM game.

Here's the Peach Jam Schedule if you're interested: http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/wp-content/themes/inside_bb/images/elite-youth/pdfs/PeachJamSchedule.pdf
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If you're wondering how Duke got lucky enough for both Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith to return to Duke, check out this article where Nolan attributes the decision to Kyle Singler's wanting to return: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13615837/duke-senior-duo-returned-together-to-return-devils-to-top Thanks Kyle!

If you missed Kyle "The Standard Package" Singler on The Dan Patrick Show today, go here and click the red button: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/blog/119741/index.html
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Duke has contacted 6'3" Guard Josiah Turner from the Class of 2011. He says in this Zagsblog.com article that

“There’s a lot of schools coming out hard now,” Turner said. “Duke called [Sunday] night. They said they need a guard to come in after Kyrie [Irving]. They think he’s going to be one-and-done so they’re trying to find a guard to come in.”

Duke fans should enjoy Kyrie while he's here, cause he'll probably be gone before you can say "threepeat".

Kyrie will make his debut performance tomorrow (Tuesday night at the NC Pro-Am on NCCU's campus at 6 PM with fellow teammate Kyle Singler. Other Duke players including Seth Curry, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Thornton, and Andre Dawkins will also play tomorrow. For rosters and schedules, go to http://www.ncproam.com/
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Also, after Nate James followed recruits Quinn Cook and Chasson Randle to Germany for the U-17 World Championships, he will stay with Quinn as he travels to Minnesota for a tourney. Newest Duke commit Marshall Plumlee will also be at this tournament.

Thanks for following!

Adam

Marshall Plumlee and The Post Rotation

(Photo credit to Asheville Citizen-Times)


Saturday night, Duke got a verbal commitment from the third of three Plumlee brothers, Marshall. While it had been rumored for quite some time:

This Marshall Plumlee to Duke train is rolling along faster than I thought. Quite a turn of events from a month ago. #recruitingiswild #dukeless than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Adam Rowe
dukehoopblog

it finally became a reality as Marshall called the Duke staff with the good news. Those within the program actually expected this to be over earlier in the week, but good things come to those who wait...

With a 7'1", 208 lb frame, Marshall certainly has some room to put on some weight. He knows he has work to do, and clearly the Plumlee family feels as though Duke has done good things developing Marshall's two older brothers, Mason and Miles.

Welcome to Duke, Marshall Plumlee!

With the addition of Marshall to the 2011 recruiting class, Duke now has two solid big men (Tyler Adams too) to build around down low. Barring defections, here's what our post rotation is looking like for the 2012 season:

Freshmen
Tyler Adams --------- True Center
Marshall Plumlee ---- True Center

Sophomore
Josh Hairston ------- SF/PF

Juniors
Ryan Kelly ---------- PF/C
Mason Plumlee ------- PF/C

Senior
Miles Plumlee ------- PF/C

Many pundits, fans, and people within the program believe that Mason has the potential and skill to go pro after this year, including DraftExpress.com which has Mason at #10, just behind teammate Kyrie Irving at #9. Assuming Mason leaves, the addition of Marshall and Tyler in the Class of 2011 will give Duke enough flexibility down low for Josh Hairston to be able to slide over to the Small Forward position with 2011 recruit Michael Gbinije. At the Center position, you will see Miles backed up by Tyler and Marshall while the PF position will be manned by Ryan Kelly and backed up by Miles at times.

If Mason stays, Duke will have a solid 5-man rotation down low, which worked well for the Devils this past year. Speaking of this year, chemistry played a large part in the unexpected title run. You think the Duke staff feels like they know what they're going to get with Marshall and vice versa? I'm guessing there's a level of familiarity there that both parties are very comfortable with.