Recruiting as of 5/15/25

[The Sultan]

Can't speak for others, but I am not saying they go to Duke expressly so they can be "developed" for the NBA. I AM saying that playing at a basketball factory like Duke DOES help prepare players for some of the same things they'll face in the NBA: Huge pressure situations in a championship-pursuit environment, incredibly high expectations, top competition at practice every day, jealous players wanting what you have, etc.

You're overstating it.

[Lennys Tap]

Yeah I agree, your post was very straight forward.  It was very, very stupid.  You're pretending like Jae, DJO, and Jimmy were some talentless players who K never would've ever considered if they weren't JUCOs.  Very obvious to anyone who's ever watched one bit of basketball that wasn't the case at all.

You also seem to forget that Duke wasn't known as a one and done factory like it is today until their most recent national title.  Guys like Miles and Marshall Plumlee were ranked right around where guys like Wesley Matthews were ranked, and below what Vander was ranked, so pretending Buzz could take guys like Wes and develop them into NBA players (hilarious) but K only considered sure fire future NBA players and never helped any players make it to the NBA is astronomically stupid, which is why I treated your post as such.

MU Mark can read and understand English. He understood what I was saying.

You can't and you don't so you post stupid, stupid things which prove it.

Wesley Matthews was a starting guard in the NBA less than half way through his rookie year. After his rookie year he signed a 34 million dollar 5 year contract. But he wasn't prepared/developed to play in the league? And you ay this because he wasn't drafted? Do you realize how stupid that sounds? Jerry Sloan decided he was pretty well developed and Wes was generous about giving Buzz the credit. Was it Buzz's fault that the scouts screwed up? LOL.

You are correct about one thing. Duke wasn't always a one and done factory. That said, the only MU player that Coach K ever showed any interest in (at least that I know of) was HE.

[wadesworld]

MU Mark can read and understand English. He understood what I was saying.

You can't and you don't so you post stupid, stupid things which prove it.

Wesley Matthews was a starting guard in the NBA less than half way through his rookie year. After his rookie year he signed a 34 million dollar 5 year contract. But he wasn't prepared/developed to play in the league? And you ay this because he wasn't drafted? Do you realize how stupid that sounds? Jerry Sloan decided he was pretty well developed and Wes was generous about giving Buzz the credit. Was it Buzz's fault that the scouts screwed up? LOL.

You are correct about one thing. Duke wasn't always a one and done factory. That said, the only MU player that Coach K ever showed any interest in (at least that I know of) was HE.

Yes. And you say you're laughing at people who claim that kids who go to Duke are going there to develop their games for the NBA. Yet in the same 1 year you think Buzz changed Wesley Matthews from a nobody to a solid NBA player. So I'm laughing at you.

Buzz didn't take a skill-less player in Wes and make him some stud. He took a kid who was already a stud and made him the feature of the offense and turned Dominic James into a floor general. And it helped Wes's career so much he went undrafted.

The weakness in Buzz's coaching ability (at least while at Marquette), by far, was his player development. There's a reason very few of his high school recruits developed into anything. By and large his most successful players were kids who spent a couple years developing at the JUCO level. His strengths were in getting his team conditioned to compete physically, in playing hard, and in creating systems that fit the personnel of his teams. He wasn't some Chris Beard type who was taking nobodies and developing them into NBA players. And he certainly isn't better at that than Coach K is.

[D'Lo Brown]

[jsglow]

Gentlemen, we're not going to debate the 'NBA developmental factor' of individual programs on the recruiting thread.

[Herman Cain]

Dawson Garcia among others mentioned on this research report.

https://n.rivals.com/news/evans-seven-2020-recruitments-that-took-surprising-turns-in-june

[wadesworld]

Dawson Garcia among others mentioned on this research report.

https://n.rivals.com/news/evans-seven-2020-recruitments-that-took-surprising-turns-in-june

Everyone knows why you shared this.

[Herman Cain]

Interesting Interview with Dawson Garcia, seems that he is still open minded to the Gophers on the basis of staying home and helping build something good . Just took another unofficial there.  Will be interesting to see who he reduces his list to.

https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1144001474256678917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1144001474256678917%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b74776565745f6d65646961&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forums.gopherhole.com%2Fboards%2Fshowthread.php%3F80015-All-Things-Dawson-Garcia-Recruitment-Thread-(Class-of-2020)-UPDATED-Gophers-Offered%2Fpage10

[WarriorDad]

Fraschilla is followed by me on social media and had this article linked from a few years ago about Wesley Matthews. 

Some good information here from two guys that played in the NBA about NBA readiness and what it takes to get there.

https://twitter.com/franfraschilla/status/829415535829979137

We were fortunate to have both Williams and Crean as coaches. 

[MU82]

In the Raleigh newspaper article about Jackson committing to Duke, there was this paragraph:

Johnson, the No. 4 player in the class of 2020, picked Duke over Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State and Arkansas. He is the top-ranked player in Wisconsin and the No. 1 small forward in the nation, according to 247Sports.

So neither MU nor UW made his top 5? Interesting.

[Herman Cain]

In the Raleigh newspaper article about Jackson committing to Duke, there was this paragraph:

Johnson, the No. 4 player in the class of 2020, picked Duke over Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State and Arkansas. He is the top-ranked player in Wisconsin and the No. 1 small forward in the nation, according to 247Sports.

So neither MU nor UW made his top 5? Interesting.

Do you honestly think someone named Jonas Pope IV is going to do much homework before writing that article?

[MU82]

Do you honestly think someone named Jonas Pope IV is going to do much homework before writing that article?

I have no idea what this means. Even from you, this is uniquely gibberishy.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

In the Raleigh newspaper article about Jackson committing to Duke, there was this paragraph:

Johnson, the No. 4 player in the class of 2020, picked Duke over Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State and Arkansas. He is the top-ranked player in Wisconsin and the No. 1 small forward in the nation, according to 247Sports.

So neither MU nor UW made his top 5? Interesting.

Not sure who Jackson is,  but Johnson had Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, and Wisconsin as his final four.  That was widely reported.

So Wisconsin was top 4, but many believe that was just a courtesy.

[MU82]

Not sure who Jackson is,  but Johnson had Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, and Wisconsin as his final four.  That was widely reported.

So Wisconsin was top 4, but many believe that was just a courtesy.

Shyte ... Johnson. I can't keep my not-Warriors straight!

Thanks for the info.

[Herman Cain]

Butler gets a nice commitment from a 6-10 Pogo stick wing/big whose stock is rising Myles Wilmouth. Comes out of the same club program as Symir and Xavier commit Cj Wilcher. 

https://www.thehoophustle.com/news_article/show/1033035

[TedBaxter]

Watched 2021 point guard Tyrese Hunter from Racine St. Catherines' at Mark Miller's event in Burlington, WI today. 

- I watched him in 1 1/2 games and liked a lot of what he has to offer. 

- Very athletic and plays long at 6-0/6-1 because he has long arms.  Hammered down a few one hand dunks and converted a 2 hand dunk. 

- Can really fly on the break and is shifty with the dribble.  His best attribute right now may be his ability to pass in both the halfcourt and on the break and he really seems to understand the game.  Plays for Nick Bennett at St. Catherine's so his understanding of the offense is not a surprise and I was pleasantly surprised with his defensive ability both on and off the ball.  Really talks well on both sides of the ball.

- Didn't take too many jump shots and while his form didn't look bad, Nick Bennett was talking to him about shooting the ball with confidence, so if there is one area of his game to improve upon, it is probably his shooting consistency.

One to watch closely for 2021.

[TedBaxter]

Butler gets a nice commitment from a 6-10 Pogo stick wing/big whose stock is rising Myles Wilmouth. Comes out of the same club program as Symir and Xavier commit Cj Wilcher. 

https://www.thehoophustle.com/news_article/show/1033035

Marquette had some interest, but didn't offer up to the point of his verbal.

[VegasWarrior77]

Plays for Nick Bennett at St. Catherine's so his understanding of the offense is not a surprise and I was pleasantly surprised with his defensive ability both on and off the ball.  Really talks well on both sides of the ball.

Question from the Mojave Desert: Is Nick related to Tony?  TIA

[oldwarrior81]

Question from the Mojave Desert: Is Nick related to Tony?  TIA

The Bennett's are cousins.  Nick is the son of long time UW-Stevens Point coach Jack Bennett.   Jack's older brother, Dick Bennett also coached Stevens Point for a decade (before UWGB, Madison and Washington State), and is the father of Tony.

[Herman Cain]

Marquette had some interest, but didn't offer up to the point of his verbal.

Understandable given that we are pursing others who can make a more immediate impact. Butler needs to keep their pipeline filled so it made sense for them to invest in a high ceiling project .

[Herman Cain]

It would be great if we could find an Antoine Davis. Undervalued and then blows up when he arrives.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2019/01/17/detroit-mercy-antoine-davis-mike-davis/2599022002/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgR8XYsLfk

[Jay Bee]

It would be great if we could find an Antoine Davis. Undervalued and then blows up when he arrives.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2019/01/17/detroit-mercy-antoine-davis-mike-davis/2599022002/

I don't think that's the case at all. He put up great numbers in EYBL play with Houston Hoops. The lack of recruiting effort by programs can be largely attributed to his situation - he was always going to play for his dad.

[Herman Cain]

I don't think that's the case at all. He put up great numbers in EYBL play with Houston Hoops. The lack of recruiting effort by programs can be largely attributed to his situation - he was always going to play for his dad.

Good point. I think Antoine originally committed to Houston to be near family ( his Dad was coaching Texas Southern)  and then when Dad got Detroit job he walked on there ( I guess employees children get free tution lol)

He is an exciting player in any event and it is a slow sports weekend so I just pointed it out for something to talk about .  Always hoping we can find a gem that others don't pursue.

Always

[forgetful]

I don't think that's the case at all. He put up great numbers in EYBL play with Houston Hoops. The lack of recruiting effort by programs can be largely attributed to his situation - he was always going to play for his dad.

This is not entirely accurate. He did put up great numbers in EYBL play, but did not get a lot of attention, as those were his only public demonstrations of ability.

He never played high school ball. He had very limited participation (EYBL) in AAU ball.

That led to him flying under the radar as there wasn't a lot of opportunities to evaluate him.

He was not "always going to play for his dad". He committed to, and planned on playing at Houston, even though his dad was coaching at Texas Southern (also in Houston). When his dad got the gig in Detroit, and was going to be moving clear across the country, he decided to play for his dad.

It wasn't so much about playing "for" his dad, as it was playing near his family.

[Jay Bee]

This is not entirely accurate. He did put up great numbers in EYBL play, but did not get a lot of attention, as those were his only public demonstrations of ability.

He never played high school ball. He had very limited participation (EYBL) in AAU ball.

That led to him flying under the radar as there wasn't a lot of opportunities to evaluate him.

You do not understand EYBL