New Basketball Commitment
- Thread starter uwgbluedevil
- Start date
6-11, 250.
He's not very polished, but his dad played in the NBA, and apparently he has really started to bloom as a prospect.
He's not very polished, but his dad played in the NBA, and apparently he has really started to bloom as a prospect.
With the current scholarship situation, he's clearly going to help us in practice over the next few years. However, by any standard, he's a real sleeper and it's hard to see him amounting to more than a backup role player here (I think UGA is only other high-major offer) -- that is unless we've really stumbled across a late bloomer. Would seem to be heading towards a Matt Christienson-type role from the past -- i.e., a big body off the bench who can give you some minutes here or there. I think it's a good addition as long as he has realistic expectations about his role.
I've included a video from Antonio's Sr. year, which I found to be pretty interesting. He's clearly gotten into much better shape than the 2013 youtube video that's also been linked in this thread.
This post was edited on 4/15 9:47 PM by aah555
Senior Video
I've included a video from Antonio's Sr. year, which I found to be pretty interesting. He's clearly gotten into much better shape than the 2013 youtube video that's also been linked in this thread.
This post was edited on 4/15 9:47 PM by aah555
Senior Video
Let's keep in mind he is not another Okafor, but in the little video I have seen, he is worth the stretch. Can't see any way he's not a 4 year player (which is good), and will be a project to start with. No doubt he will improve in Duke's system.
Also keep in mind, Kaminsky was a 3 star(?) when he got to Wisconsin, and he didn't play much his first 2 years?!
Welcome to Duke young man!
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
To be fair (and I just noticed that when I watched his Sr. video), that was from his soph. year in high school. He's really transformed his body a lot in the last couple years. In the one basketball highlight from his Sr. year, he's shown easily throwing down an alley-oop.
He'll have to learn to keep the ball up. He brings the ball down to the floor on nearly every highlight. But he has a nice touch around the basket. Look forward to seeing what he can do.
His body is much more carved now. There's a reason we didn't go after him until lately. He's probably more like a 4-star now.
He's going to need some time to develop but he's going to be useful for us probably his JR. and SR. season.
But more importantly, we just picked up a young man who wants to be at duke! He's been wanting an offer from us for a while! We lost some really talented kids this past week, but this kid will sure help us in the future. I'm very glad to have him as a Duke Blue Devil!!!!
But more importantly, we just picked up a young man who wants to be at duke! He's been wanting an offer from us for a while! We lost some really talented kids this past week, but this kid will sure help us in the future. I'm very glad to have him as a Duke Blue Devil!!!!
Great stuff.
He's certainly a smart kid - the potential schools on his list included Brown, Dartmouth, Yale, and Vandy.
I like his size and he appears to be progressing in getting in better shape. Seems pretty clear he has academics as a priority as much as basketball.
But, he also has some talent and shows decent hands. Could be a really good rebounder as well. Glad to have him aboard.
Verbalcommits has him as a 6'11 200 lb power forward, not center. I've grown very skeptical of that site.
OFC
OFC
You can't teach 6'11 270!
Good pick-up, a four-year guy who has the chance to develop and mature under unparalleled tutelage. Size has a lot of value, and Duke knows now it will have some post depth for the next several years.
Good pick-up, a four-year guy who has the chance to develop and mature under unparalleled tutelage. Size has a lot of value, and Duke knows now it will have some post depth for the next several years.
Part of me thinks this represents a little bit of a roster construction refinement by K. You can recruit the OAD's but you have to have a group of mature role players to provide an influence. The freshman won the title but without guys like Amile and Mason it doesn't happen. You have to have a mix. I say this knowing that K may have thought the same about Semi, Olek, etc. I guess the main thing is the guy your bringing in must be accepting of the role.
Big Statement...knowing your role at the school you are at. Everyone is not going to accept that, and that can bring many problems and issues that will effect the chemistry and goal. It may never be said, but I would bet the Austin and Parker years had some of those concerns.
True, but it's not as if we didn't have issues this year as well -- i.e., Sheed and Semi. I ultimately think the difference was that our overall talent level was much higher, the pieces on the roster fit better together (i.e., we really didn't have any areas of obvious deficiency by when we got to the NCAAs), and our young guys played with far more poise than traditional freshman. While the 13-14 never seemed to come together like we would have hoped, I do think -- in the end of the day -- those squads were more plagued by roster deficiencies than chemistry. The absence of a true 5 on both ends and Parker's weaknesses as a defender at the 4 made our interior defense incredibly poor and prone to long scoring draught, and that -- moreso than anything -- consistently killed us in close games. As for the 11-12 team, once Ryan got hurt, we were just a bit too limited -- i.e., we became really small 1-4 and our drive and kick offense predicated on Austin driving became far less effective, as teams could suddenly sag into the lane and make us try to beat them with jumpers by Josh Hairston, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook.
This post was edited on 4/16 10:57 AM by aah555
Great addition? Absolutely. This kid will hit 7 feet and is quickly transforming his body.
Redshirt? Most likely.
Redshirt? Most likely.
Well, two things. One, no doubt that chemistry matters. Never would suggest otherwise. But, I tend to think we overstate those kind of issues whenever a Duke team underperforms. Beyond some frustration with Sheed, I've never really heard or seen anything to suggest that the 13-14 had any really problematic internal dynamics, and, as much as people like to pin blame on Rivers for poor chemistry in 11-12, that team still won 27 games, went 13-3 in conference, and had two of the most amazing comeback performances in Duke history -- the finish at UNC and the 20 pt. 2nd half comeback against State. If those teams had real chemistry problems that were significantly impacting team performance, you would have seen real signs of that before the first round of the NCAA tourney -- i.e., that 11-12 team showed incredible fight on a number of nights when it could have folded. In the end of the day, I think those teams were vulnerable to upsets b/c of roster issues and then got tight under pressure.
As for Sheed, while his dismissal may have marginally helped us, I do think that's a bit of a lazy narrative as well. In the non-conference, we went undefeated and had played as well as any team in the country. After the Miami debacle, we actually played pretty well in Sheed's final few games, winning tough contests at Louisville and St. John's, and playing a very good game against ND (Jah's FT shooting aside). While there's no doubt that we continued that momentum through the rest of the season, I don't really buy that Sheed had much to do with our January struggles. Winslow's ineffectiveness due to injuries, Tyus's cold-streak, and a general lack of attention to detail on defense had doomed us for a couple weeks in January. Also, on the point of talent, Sheed was a good player -- but he played the one position where we had a gluttony of depth (i.e., two top 40 McAA SGs with similar size). On this team, we didn't need a playmaker at SG. We needed a good defender and consistent jump shooter -- and that's why Matt, Quinn and Grayson were able to easily absorb his minutes --- and, in the couple instances where we needed more from our SG position, Matt and Grayson had more than enough talent to step up (Matt - Gonzaga), (Grayson - Wisconsin). Because of how much depth we had on the perimeter, I think it may have actually marginally helped us b/c guys were getting more consistent minutes.
This post was edited on 4/16 12:17 PM by aah555
Yes, high school basketball. Ignoring the intended snark, my point again is that great chemistry is helpful, but, unless there's something really unusual going on, the differences in results are typically the byproduct of random volatility, talent, and on-court compatability. Anyone who watched the Laettner documentary, for instance, clearly saw how much internal discord there was between Laettner (who was by far the most important player on our team) and the rest of the guys, including our other star players. If Duke could go to 4 final fours and win 2 titles with Laettner constantly grating on all his teammates, the notion that the mere presence of Rivers and Parker can be blamed for what happened in 11-12 and 13-14 seems a bit overdone.
I know from my time at Duke that after the J-Will group left, the Redick teams were generally not all that close -- and as, Shelden publicly admitted, Shelden and JJ led Duke to a Final Four and a number of conference titles despite having basically no personal relationship off the court.
It's helpful if everyone is really close on and off the court, but a great coach like Coach K can figure it out as long as he has sufficiently good players and the guys are willing to play for the front of their jerseys -- even if they're not all best friends off the court.
Denn, what do you mean "depending on what Marshall does?" We all know about his military enrollment, but I thought it was pretty clear he was coming back for his Sr year of eligibility. Has anything changed on that front?
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
First off, loosen up your panties Mr. Sensitive. I do realize that you have an insane amount of free time given your extensive, random, incoherent rambling, but there's no need to get too upset over what was a legitimate question.
You obviously cannot grasp the fact that Sheed was causing problems for the staff and the locker room, amongst other things. But go ahead, get back to your rambling; it's obvious that you have it all down in your mind.
You obviously cannot grasp the fact that Sheed was causing problems for the staff and the locker room, amongst other things. But go ahead, get back to your rambling; it's obvious that you have it all down in your mind.
Lol. I'm sorry that complete sentences are proving challenging to your sensibilities. Never suggested that Sheed wasn't causing problems --- but whatever. I think the explanation is too complicated for you.
This post was edited on 4/16 1:24 PM by aah555
Hopefully, if Marshall does indeed come back, K will give consideration to redshirting him. With Marshall we should have enough big bodies, plus Antonio would still be able to practice, and that extra year would really benefit him and Duke.
I really like the looks of his body language and will be interested to see what he looks like after a year in our weight system. I think this kid will represent Duke well.
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
From what we know Sheed caused some type of discord, but I don't think anyone here really understands the specifics of that. But it's not as if Sheed's supposed effect on team chemistry was causing real problems. With Sheed they were 17-3, having handily beaten #2 Wisconsin and #6 Louisville, in true road games, and #18 MSU (a final four team), on a neutral court. They had a crappy four-day stretch while Sheed was on the team. Otherwise, they looked freaking phenomenal in his 20 games.
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