Congrats to Sheed Sulaimon on making the 12 man roster for USA U19 team, along with Duke recruits Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow.

Duke has made its first offer in the class of 2015 to Ben Simmons (longtime Duke fan). The Australian uber-skilled PF would be a good fit for Duke’s system of versatile players rather than position players.

Duke is also in contact with 2015, 6’10 big man Skal Labissiere out of Memphis.

Tyler Dorsey, 2015 PG extraordinaire, is garnering attention from Duke as well.

Future Dukie Grayson Allen showed why he will provide an athletic punch to the Duke lineup coming in 2014, Allen showed out at the NBPA top 100 camp:

Part of me thinks this whole culture of “promote them while they are young” is probably doing more harm than good. The case can be made for players like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony, these player are carrying the torch and are the face of the league. It’s not the norm it’s really the exception. Part of me thinks there is some ulterior motive to all of this hype. Yes I suppose in a way it’s the sexy thing to do – to highlight the players that are tearing it up on the high school circuit against talent that is no where near what they will face in college. I’ll take a kid that has a year of college coaching over the majority of high school seniors regardless of the rankings. The inflation of egos that are the result of this culture of youth is what lands some of these kids in trouble and leads to decisions that may seem to only affect the here-and-now but sometimes lead to issues going forward. Issues with eligibility, development and perception by teams and scouts once they start to embrace the hype machine are real consequences. In some cases its clear to see that the parents of some of these kids are falling for it just as much as the kids are and that is probably even a sadder state of affairs. The very people these kids look to for guidance and protection are sometimes getting fat off of what the hype machine is feeding them.

I guess in my eyes instead of a kids goal being, “I have to get to the league the quickest way possible”, how about we make some shorter more reachable goals that allow flexibility along the way like a choose your own adventure book (remember those?). Lets become the best student and athlete we can in high school…Lets work toward getting a scholarship and a free education we may not have had an opportunity to get without that talent. Then maybe we grow as a person and a player while in college, for some it takes just a year, for some it takes more.  A kid shouldn’t be deemed a failure because they need more time to develop than another. Nor should any kid be in a rush to get out, they do that at their own peril. Sometimes it behooves a kid to stop and actually smell those roses because you don’t get a do-over.

As for us fans and the media-at-large there is nothing wrong with being excited about high-level recruits coming into college, it’s one of my favorite parts of the game but keep in mind the last 5 NCAA champions: Louisville, Kentucky, Connecticut, North Carolina and Duke. Of the last 5 who won the NCAA Tournament title how many of those teams were lead or even had significant contributions by freshman? Jeremy Lamb averaged 11 points or the Huskies during their championship run, good average yes, world beater? no. Kentucky’s title run was however lead by freshman but in earnest there were two transformative freshman that lead the way in Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Even still, Kentucky had Terrence Morris and Doron Lamb in the starting line-up – and while not upper-classmean, each had spent a year in the system as sophomores. The Duke team was lead by a trio of seniors and a good supporting cast of juniors in Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, yes there were contributions from Andre Dawkins and Mason Plumlee as freshman but not major minutes nor consistency.

This isn’t to say that there is anything wrong with youth or great young players coming in to college but these rankings and hyping of high schoolers needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There is nothing wrong with being skeptical and allowing teams and players to actually earn those rankings. For the athletes, there is nothing wrong with allowing yourself the time to develop, and not believe what others say about you rather what you show and prove. You can have all the young dudes on your team you want but it pays to have the fruits of experience to lead the way.

Continuing the Summer Grind series, Duke Blue Planet features Tyler Thornton looking buff and ready to take on that leadership role on this team, his mentoring and guidance is a very important piece to next years team. If there is any Duke player that has a future in coaching I definitely see that in Tyler Thornton. Enjoy.

If you missed the earlier video with Alex Murphy here you go:

On the recruiting trail long time target Theo Pinson will be informing suitors as to what college he will be attending next year. Pinson will be choosing between Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville and North Carolina. Some feel Duke has a shot, but in my opinion (no sources) with Grayson Allen already committed to Duke Pinson will most likely land somewhere else, my feeling is Indiana or Louisville.

Congrats to Semi Ojeleye on being named Parade’s Player of the Year. Semi averaged 38 points per game for Ottawa High School and will suit up for the Devils come the beginning of the season.

Duke as reported earlier has shown interest in Tarik Black (Memphis transfer) but if you believe the chatter out there then Black is a done deal to Bill Self and Kansas. It would make sense if Black is looking to be a backup or be platooned. It’s hard to say what exactly he is looking for,  at Duke he would most like to be a starter or at very least get starter type minutes but with Andrew Wiggins and the momentum Kansas currently has it’s certainly possible they have the upper hand . He will have competition with Landen Lucas and super frosh Joel Embiid so it will be interesting to see what transpires. Also said to be in the mix is Georgetown and Ohio State.

Quinn Cook will suit up for Duke as a junior this coming year and will most likely get the lion’s share of minutes at the point. Here is an article by accbasketball.com ranking ACC point guards included is Duke’s Quinn Cook.

Firstly, after investigating the Lance Thomas jewelry situation, “The NCAA has found no evidence of a rules violation in this situation based on the information available, and both the NCAA and Duke consider the matter closed.” A settlement was reached in the case between Thomas and the jeweler details of which are not being made public so surely the conspiracy theorists will be out and about as usual but, well, nothing to see here folks. Sorry to disappoint.

Regarding next years schedule, it was announced that Duke will play in next season’s NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden during Thanksgiving weekend, we know Arizona, Alabama and Rutgers will be involved and more will be announced shortly. Also Duke will play Kansas Nov. 12 at the United Center in Chicago in the third annual Champions Classic.

Most have heard but officially Jon Scheyer has joined the Duke staff as a special assistant replacing the promoted Nate James, who is replacing the departed Chris Collins (NW).

Duke & Nolan Smith fans alike are excited to see where Nolan Smith will end up. Nolan is a free agent and with guard play always at a premium he should have no problem landing in a much more ideal spot. Here is an article by Laura Keeley on Smith and his excitement at a brand new start.

Good news for the Devils Simeon Career Academy senior Jabari Parker officially signed his national letter of intent to play basketball at Duke University, the Duke coaching staff announced: “We’re excited for Jabari and his family to join our family here at Duke,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We are confident he will have a great career, and we are glad to have him in our program.”

Because Parkers decision came after the conclusion of the fall signing period he had to wait until spring signing period to officially sign.

Very interesting reflections on the season from Coach K and a little on next years team.

Duke fans will get a treat once Rodney Hood suits up for Duke next season. DukeBluePlanet has a Hoods own words on the difficulties of waiting his turn and what to expect next year. Andy Katz also caught up with Hood for a phone interview.

One the horizon…

Expect decision from transfer F/C Tarik Black (Memphis). Duke and Ohio State are in the running but Oregon has made a late push and some consider them the leader although no announcements or interviews have occurred or been scheduled.

Allen is the first commit in the class of 2014

Here is my earlier post with video.

Committed!!! twitter.com/GraysonJAllen/…

— Grayson Allen (@GraysonJAllen) April 24, 2013