NC Pro-Am Schedule Tuesday, Aug. 3rd

6 pm Body Of Christ vs. Team Dreamworks

7 pm D1 Sports/C Ryan vs. Lucky 7

8 pm Team Jamison vs. Hendrick Of Durham

9 pm Coaches in Christ vs. Team 212/Trianglegi.com

Well, looks like this could be one of the last chances to catch a lot of Duke players at one time for this NC Pro-Am Summer League. With only two more regular season games and 3 playoff games remaining, get out to North Carolina Central ASAP if you want to see your favorite Devils compete before Countdown to Craziness on October 15th.

A lot of players are scheduled to compete Tuesday, Thursday, and into the weekend, including Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith, Mason, Miles, and Marshall Plumlee, Tyler Thornton, Andre Dawkins, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, and Kyle Singler. As the playoffs wind up, you'll start to see more and more of the players make appearances, so don't be surprised if 2011 target Quincy Miller, last year's Freshman of the Year John Wall, and any number of pros listed on the rosters here show up sometime this week.

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.

Duke Recruits This Week

As you all know, Summer is the busy time for AAU basketball. Coming up this weekend, a lot of the high-major prospects will take time off from playing with their traveling teams and travel up to the NBAPA Camp in Charlottesville, VA. For a list of all the invitees, check Scout.com here.

For all the Duke targets attending, stay right here:

Tyler Adams, Isiah Austin, Anthony Davis, Amir Garrett, Amile Jefferson, Tyler Lewis, Marshall Plumlee, JP Tokoto, and Deuce Bello.

Duke has recently turned up the heat again on Marshall Plumlee, and it will be interesting to see how Anthony Davis responds after his injury last weekend. Tyler Lewis is always an exciting player to watch, and it will be fun to see how he competes with all the talent on the UVA campus.

If you noticed a couple of names missing, they are probably going to be in San Antonio, Texas for two days starting today trying out for the USA U18 team. There were only 19 players invited, so it should be an honor for all those attending. See the full list here.

Duke has quite a few incoming Freshman and recruits trying out for the opportunity to represent their country:

Quincy Miller, Austin Rivers, Amir Williams, Michael Gbinije, Josh Hairston, and Kyrie Irving have all been invited to participate this weekend. 6 out of 19 ain't bad... Not to mention, former Duke player Jeff Capel is the head coach and Jay Williams will be assisting in picking out the team.

Kyrie actually had a tough decision to make, as he was born in Australia while his father, Drederick Irving was playing professionally down under. He could have played for USA or Australia, but chose to represent his father's birth country and should get to spend valuable time with one of his best friend's and potential Duke backcourt mate, Austin Rivers.

Congrats to all those mentioned as their hard work is paying off in a big way!

A. Rowe