Duke Talking to PG Thornton this week

[youngman42]

Appears to be down to Duke and Louisville for 2016 PG Derryck Thornton - and both coach K and Pitino are trying to convince him to reclassify to 2015 which would bring him in next year.

T.Jones still hasn't declared, but I'd put that at a 90-95% "yes" at this point (I suspect he'll announce in the next day our two).

But, interestingly, K and Thornton will be meeting next week per this article.

I also wonder whether Luke Kennard can play some point - he and Grayson will have to work hard on their handle in the off-season if Tyus leaves and we don't land Thornton.

Should be an interesting couple of weeks.
This post was edited on 4/12 8:05 PM by youngman42

Thornton 50-50 on reclassifying

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

I think you're spot on as far as when Tyus will announce his decision because I read an article a couple days or so ago and it said he was going to talk to his parents and the coaching staff about his options so I expect he will probably make an announcement Monday or Tuesday.

 

[youngman42]

Yeah, I heard that as well. Seems like I read something on here that he'd be taking 3-4 days.

 

[LetsGoDukies]

247 Sports just reported on Facebook that Thornton is reclassifying. My bet is that he ends up at Duke.

 

[pisgah101]

I couldn't see him going to Lville if he does reclassify

 

[youngman42]

Should be interesting.

Pitino told him that if he went to L'ville that they would compete for a national title. RP does a good job getting recruits ready, and I want L'ville to do well both b/c they are in the ACC and b/c they are UK's rival (my UK fans hate it when L'ville does well). But, I'd be surprised that they'd compete for a title after losing 4 players.

 

[CRAZIE4LIFE]

L'ville will compete along with 65 other teams next year

 

[dukiejay]

Tyus is in Minneapolis today throwing out the first pitch at the Twins home opener with Kevin Garnett.

 

[timo0402]

DJ- that's awesome to hear! Send along a video if you can get one.

 

[dukiejay]

Originally posted by timo0402:
DJ- that's awesome to hear! Send along a video if you can get one.

Yeah, it's pretty cool. KG is his childhood basketball hero from growing up here. And he's actually throwing out the first pitch to Torii Hunter, his childhood baseball hero.

I'll see if there's a video. I'm not going to the game today....gave my tickets to a client. I'm golfing instead.

 

[JCColsCane]

Originally posted by pisgah101:
I couldn't see him going to Lville if he does reclassify

^This. I agree, if he does indeed reclassify, I believe it will be to go to Duke. Imagine, Coach K giving you the keys to his car?!
Thornton is not quite as good as Tyus, but make no mistake, he has game. He is a little reckless at times, but that will change when K gets him.
If this happens, it will be great to have Grayson, Luke, and Matt on the wings with a true PG. Just cross your fingers.
Go Duke!!


JC-OFC

 

[youngman42]

Originally posted by dukiejay:

Originally posted by timo0402:
DJ- that's awesome to hear! Send along a video if you can get one.

Yeah, it's pretty cool. KG is his childhood basketball hero from growing up here. And he's actually throwing out the first pitch to Torii Hunter, his childhood baseball hero.

I'll see if there's a video. I'm not going to the game today....gave my tickets to a client. I'm golfing instead.

My favorite days to golf are after a major. Love playing after the Masters. Good move.

 

[jibip]

I haven't started looking into the 2016 guys yet so I know very little about Thornton. I trust K on this. I just don't want this to be a situation where Thornton feels obligated or pushed to come early, and if he doesn't have the year Tyus had, he harbors resentment. Knowing K, that is probably not at all the case.

But I do remember the outsiders bashing K for "pushing" Andre to come early and again the murmurs when Andre didn't become the next JJ.

 

[mo.st.dukie]

All sounds good. Still wish Tyus was coming back as that would be perfect way to get Thornton acclimated to college. Be the backup for Tyus for a year then be the starter as a sophomore. But can't blame Tyus one bit for going pro.

 

[CRAZIE4LIFE]

I'd really like Dennis Smith jr in 16, if Thornton comes, I wonder if we miss Smith, especially since there may be three to commit together

 

[pisgah101]

I want smith bad!!

 

[Dominator4321]

I agree...., I like Dennis Smith , I mean a lot! Not saying DT isn't a stud and would absolutley love to have him next year (if tyus leaves ). But man oh man Dennis Smith jr. is good, I mean very very good ...... Wow!!!!!!

 

[dukiejay]

Originally posted by jibip:

I haven't started looking into the 2016 guys yet so I know very little about Thornton. I trust K on this. I just don't want this to be a situation where Thornton feels obligated or pushed to come early, and if he doesn't have the year Tyus had, he harbors resentment. Knowing K, that is probably not at all the case.

But I do remember the outsiders bashing K for "pushing" Andre to come early and again the murmurs when Andre didn't become the next JJ.

It was actually Dawkins and his family who reached out to Duke about coming in early after the transfer of Elliot Williams.

 

[timo0402]

Outsiders are outsiders for a reason. They'll make up anything or jump to conclusions about anything they'd like if it fits their agenda. "Bail Out" Dawkins....what the hell does that even mean? yet they ran with it and some how thought it justified some of their backwards logic. Don't try and understand it b/c you'll just hurt your brain.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Originally posted by dukiejay:

Originally posted by jibip:

I haven't started looking into the 2016 guys yet so I know very little about Thornton. I trust K on this. I just don't want this to be a situation where Thornton feels obligated or pushed to come early, and if he doesn't have the year Tyus had, he harbors resentment. Knowing K, that is probably not at all the case.

But I do remember the outsiders bashing K for "pushing" Andre to come early and again the murmurs when Andre didn't become the next JJ.

It was actually Dawkins and his family who reached out to Duke about coming in early after the transfer of Elliot Williams.

the other side would NEVER buy that...=)

 

[denniden]

Duke has been talking to Thornton every week for a few years now.

 

[CatcherForLife6]

I don't think that if we land Thorton that it has a huge impact on DSJ. I think K has proven to recruits that the best will play no matter what type of rotation he has to use.

 

[aah555]

Originally posted by CatcherForLife6:
I don't think that if we land Thorton that it has a huge impact on DSJ. I think K has proven to recruits that the best will play no matter what type of rotation he has to use.

It's impossible to know at this point. Backcourt may thin out of if one or more guys go the NBA, or may be quite full if we still have Thornton, Allen, Kennard, and Matt Jones heading into 2016 + Tatum on the wing. Not necessarily a bad problem to have, but I could see the two being related if Thornton ends up being a multi-year guy.

With that said, if Tyus declares, I'd definitely take Thornton now over sabotaging next year in hope of marginally improving our 2016 class.
This post was edited on 4/13 5:09 PM by aah555

 

[Showenuff]

Maybe I'm not greedy enough but I don't like kids skipping their senior season. That's when they really grow up, mature, get the needed strength for college.

 

[CatcherForLife6]

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by CatcherForLife6:
I don't think that if we land Thorton that it has a huge impact on DSJ. I think K has proven to recruits that the best will play no matter what type of rotation he has to use.

With that said, if Tyus declares, I'd definitely take Thornton now over sabotaging next year in hope of marginally improving our 2016 class.
This post was edited on 4/13 5:09 PM by aah555

100% agree with you there.

 

[aah555]

Originally posted by Showenuff:
Maybe I'm not greedy enough but I don't like kids skipping their senior season. That's when they really grow up, mature, get the needed strength for college.

One important point to note though is that most of these reclassification kids are not younger kids entering college early, but kids who should have been going to college next year but were held back at some point in their careers to improve their chances of generating D-1 interest. Thornton, for instance, is about to turn 18 and is four months older than Chase Jeter. The same is true for Thon Maker, who is already 18 and a full 7 months older than Chase. I really don't have a problem with guys reclassifying back to their real class year.

 

[dukedevilz]

Pretty sure Coach K could land Frank Jackson too if he wanted him. Evidently he tore it up at the Adidas Gauntlet - he is definitely a rising prospect.

 

[lahusker01]

1. Was that just a passing comment about K being able to simply land Jackson if he wanted or is there info where Jackson really wants to go to Duke?

2. If DT reclassifies, does that really make it easier for DSJ? I read that Smith would most likely not come to Duke if DT did b/c they'd both want to play PG. I don't know when I read that but it was on this forum or possible TOS.
--DT and Smith would be a dream come true.

 

[Branswm88]

Looks like Duke is trying to make a late run at 6'5 Canadian PG Jamal Murray according to both his father and coach. If anyone saw the Nike Hoops Summit game over the weekend, this kid was very impressive.

http://zagsblog.com/articles/duke-kentucky-recruiting-jamal-murray-whos-now-in-2016-mock-draft/

 

[Branswm88]

A little more on Murray... here are some highlights from the World team. I know the numbers are hard to see but I believe he was number 6. He has a nice play around the 1 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFnitW86xw

 

[aah555]

Originally posted by Branswm88:
Looks like Duke is trying to make a late run at 6'5 Canadian PG Jamal Murray according to both his father and coach. If anyone saw the Nike Hoops Summit game over the weekend, this kid was very impressive.S

Sounds very preliminary at this stage. Would seem to be opening up the line of communication if all else falls through (i.e., Tyus declares and Thornton doesn't commit to the 2015 class).

 

[Showenuff]

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by Showenuff:
Maybe I'm not greedy enough but I don't like kids skipping their senior season. That's when they really grow up, mature, get the needed strength for college.

One important point to note though is that most of these reclassification kids are not younger kids entering college early, but kids who should have been going to college next year but were held back at some point in their careers to improve their chances of generating D-1 interest. Thornton, for instance, is about to turn 18 and is four months older than Chase Jeter. The same is true for Thon Maker, who is already 18 and a full 7 months older than Chase. I really don't have a problem with guys reclassifying back to their real class year.

Wow. I did not know that. That is interesting. I actually thought he was younger than that. Good info.

 

[HuffyJB]

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by Branswm88:
Looks like Duke is trying to make a late run at 6'5 Canadian PG Jamal Murray according to both his father and coach. If anyone saw the Nike Hoops Summit game over the weekend, this kid was very impressive.S

Sounds very preliminary at this stage. Would seem to be opening up the line of communication if all else falls through (i.e., Tyus declares and Thornton doesn't commit to the 2015 class).

I don't know a thing about him, but he is good enough that he has made the top 20 in the 2016 mock draft.

 

[aah555]

Originally posted by HuffyJB:

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by Branswm88:
Looks like Duke is trying to make a late run at 6'5 Canadian PG Jamal Murray according to both his father and coach. If anyone saw the Nike Hoops Summit game over the weekend, this kid was very impressive.S

Sounds very preliminary at this stage. Would seem to be opening up the line of communication if all else falls through (i.e., Tyus declares and Thornton doesn't commit to the 2015 class).

I don't know a thing about him, but he is good enough that he has made the top 20 in the 2016 mock draft.

Yes, I'm not suggesting that he lacks the talent to play here -- though, as of a week ago, he was ranked as only the #58 player in the 2016 class. My point only was that a single text message doesn't tell us much about the seriousness of our interest in pursuing him. Before Duke makes an offer, it typically spends a lot of time evaluating a number of factors, such as grades, coaches evaluations, Murray's communications with the staff, etc. -- and, based on what's out there, it doesn't sound as if we had any contact with Murray at all before this weekend. We may ultimately like everything we hear back and really make a push for his services -- but, I think it's pretty unclear at this point whether this will go anywhere.

 

[HuffyJB]

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by HuffyJB:

Originally posted by aah555:

Originally posted by Branswm88:
Looks like Duke is trying to make a late run at 6'5 Canadian PG Jamal Murray according to both his father and coach. If anyone saw the Nike Hoops Summit game over the weekend, this kid was very impressive.S

Sounds very preliminary at this stage. Would seem to be opening up the line of communication if all else falls through (i.e., Tyus declares and Thornton doesn't commit to the 2015 class).

I don't know a thing about him, but he is good enough that he has made the top 20 in the 2016 mock draft.

Yes, I'm not suggesting that he lacks the talent to play here -- though, as of a week ago, he was ranked as only the #58 player in the 2016 class. My point only was that a single text message doesn't tell us much about the seriousness of our interest in pursuing him. Before Duke makes an offer, it typically spends a lot of time evaluating a number of factors, such as grades, coaches evaluations, Murray's communications with the staff, etc. -- and, based on what's out there, it doesn't sound as if we had any contact with Murray at all before this weekend. We may ultimately like everything we hear back and really make a push for his services -- but, I think it's pretty unclear at this point whether this will go anywhere.

I wasn't meaning to imply anything about your comment/intentions. I was just making a general observation. Today was the first time I had ever even heard the kid's name.

 

[Willcampbell]

I'm all for bringing in a potential star/one-and-done, but I feel some thought should be given to also bringing in another PG, maybe a four-star, who would provide stability for four years and depth to the position. Why not look for a solid citizen like Nolan Smith or Quinn Cook, someone who can handle the rock and play defense? Scoring would not have to be top priority. A backup would get plenty of minutes and a real opportunity to grow into a real contributor eventually.
OFC

 

[JCColsCane]

Originally posted by Willcampbell:
I'm all for bringing in a potential star/one-and-done, but I feel some thought should be given to also bringing in another PG, maybe a four-star, who would provide stability for four years and depth to the position. Why not look for a solid citizen like Nolan Smith or Quinn Cook, someone who can handle the rock and play defense? Scoring would not have to be top priority. A backup would get plenty of minutes and a real opportunity to grow into a real contributor eventually.
OFC

^This. I'm with you Will. Really miss those players who would stay around for 3-4 years. I know that's not going to be the norm any more, but it is still available. There have to be some really good 4*'s out there that would fit into Duke qualifications.
Go Duke!!


JC-OFC

 

[youngman42]

Originally posted by Branswm88:
A little more on Murray... here are some highlights from the World team. I know the numbers are hard to see but I believe he was number 6. He has a nice play around the 1 minute mark.

That kid has some serious talent. Pretty interesting. Love that he is a 6'5 PG.

Kennard had 22 in that game, btw. A good sign. But had a key shot blocked in the waning seconds by the UK bound center.

 

[JCColsCane]

Originally posted by youngman42:
Appears to be down to Duke and Louisville for 2016 PG Derryck Thornton - and both coach K and Pitino are trying to convince him to reclassify to 2015 which would bring him in next year.

But, interestingly, K and Thornton will be meeting next week per this article.

I also wonder whether Luke Kennard can play some point - he and Grayson will have to work hard on their handle in the off-season if Tyus leaves and we don't land Thornton.

I read somewhere that K was doing an in-home with Thornton on Monday, 20th, but obviously that must be wrong since the
Thorntons (according to your attachment) are visiting Louisville April 19-21?
If K is meeting with Thornton next week, I hope it is after their Louisville visit.
As far as Kennard and Grayson playing the point, they both could do it, but I would much rather have a true PG so they could stay on the wings. Can you picture those 2 on the opposite wings!!
Go Duke!!


JC-OFC

 

[LetsGoDukies]

From 247 Sports....



Mike Krzyzewski[/B] and his Duke coaching staff will travel to Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep on Monday to visit Derryck Thornton[/B] according to his father Big Tank.
A 2016 prospect ranked No. 7 in the 247Sports Composite[/B], Thornton is seriously considering reclassifying up to the 2015 class. With the expectation of Tyus Jones[/B] declaring for the NBA draft, Duke is urging Thornton to take over the reigns at point guard next year.
Even if Jones were to stay at Duke, there is still a strong possibility Thornton would come to Duke at a 2015 recruit.
Louisville is also fervently recruiting Thornton as a 2015 recruit. In fact the idea of reclassifying first came up when Louisville began recruiting him in earnest in December. Thornton plans to officially visit Louisville after he takes the SAT the first of May. He had planed to unofficially visit Louisville April 19.[/B]
Thornton has already unofficially visited Duke.
Duke has a firm lead in his Crystal Ball.