Category Archives: Recruiting

Duke basketball 2014 target Theo Pinson chooses North Carolina

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The No. 13 recruit in the class of 2014, according to ESPN, has chosen North Carolina.

The 6-foot-6 wing player was said to be debating between North Carolina and Indiana, but was also considering Duke, Louisville and Georgetown. It had been wrongly reported earlier this month that Pinson had dropped the Blue Devils as a potential school, but the story was later recanted.

Pinson joins a talented Tar Heel recruiting class that includes small forward Justin Jackson and combo guard Joel Berry.

According to Fox Sports’ Evan Daniels, North Carolina is handily leading the 2014 recruiting race.

After securing a commitment from 2014 wing player Grayson Allen last month, Pinson was not a critical recruit for the Blue Devils. Duke’s top 2014 recruits remain Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones.

Pinson to announce Wednesday, Okafor notes

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Class of 2014 commitments are heating up with Theo Pinson expected to announce his decision Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.

Pinson, the No. 13 player in the class according to ESPN, is considering Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville and North Carolina. Pinson attends Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina, so Duke and North Carolina were thought to be the early frontrunners for his services. But Indiana appears to be the consensus favorite going into the announcement.

Pinson has visited Duke unofficially many times throughout his high school career. Pinson and high school teammate Harry Giles, a member of the class of 2016 and perhaps the top player in his year, were at Cameron Indoor Stadium for this year’s Duke-North Carolina game, a 73-68 comeback win for the Blue Devils. Giles is also a Duke target, though he is a freshman and does not yet hold an official offer. The Duke staff, however, has been keeping close tabs on the 6-foot-8 forward.

Pinson was also in town for this year’s Countdown to Craziness with fellow 2014 Duke targets Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, who remain Duke’s top targets in that class.

With guard Grayson Allen already in the fold for Duke in 2014, Pinson—a 6-foot-6 wing player—appears to be less of a priority. Though last week it was inaccurately reported that Pinson cut Duke from his list of schools, it would be a surprise if he decided to pick the Blue Devils at this point.

Theo Pinson, at the right, poses for photo with Jahlil Okafor, left, and Tyus Jones, next to Pinson, at Duke's Countdown to Craziness in October. (Photo credit: Brady Buck/The Chronicle)

Theo Pinson, at the right, poses for photo with Jahlil Okafor, left, and Tyus Jones, next to Pinson, at Duke’s Countdown to Craziness in October. (Photo credit: Brady Buck/The Chronicle)

The other 2014 commits who already have offers from Duke in addition to Pinson and Allen: Okafor, Jones, Devin Booker, Kevin Looney, Trey Lyles and Justise Winslow.

Okafor, a 6-foot-10 center ranked No. 1 in the class, recently opened up for his USA Today blog. The schools in the mix for Okafor are Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State.

In regards to Kansas, Okafor wrote about liking Andrew Wiggins decision to go there, dispelling the notion that Kansas isn’t a school for one-and-done players.

Okafor also says he has heard from Kentucky and head coach John Calipari a lot lately. He added this on his talks with Coach Cal:

 Then he was telling me about how he gets disrespected by a lot of the other coaches in recruiting, which is actually true because I’ve heard a few things myself.

He really explained a lot to me and I learned a lot.

He also had very favorable things to say about his talks with the Duke basketball staff:

Coach (Mike) K (Krzyzewski) texted me on Sunday on Mother’s Day and that meant a lot to me because he was checking on me because he knows that my mother passed. I thought that was really cool of him.

All of the coaches at Duke hit me up; Coach (Jeff) Capel and Coach (Steve) Wojo.

In case you missed it… 

Andrew Wiggins picks Kansas

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Ending arguably the most highly anticipated recruitment in recent memory, Andrew Wiggins committed to Kansas this afternoon.

Duke basketball will play Kansas in November’s Champions Classic in Chicago, the hometown of Duke’s top recruit Jabari Parker.

Wiggins, the No. 1 recruit in the nation according to ESPN, was also considering Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina. Wiggins did not hold a press conference and signed with classmates, family and friends. The 6-foot-7 swingman’s recruitment has been extremely private throughout as experts struggled to get info on which way he was leaning.

Although Wiggins may be the most highly touted recruit in the country—and that hype only grew with his late decision date—Parker got some praise on Twitter today from Sports Illustrated senior writer Pete Thamel:

Wiggins joins a stacked Kansas recruiting class that also has: Joel Embiid (No. 6 recruit in the nation), Wayne Selden (No. 14), Conner Frankamp (No. 46) and Brannen Greene (No. 47).

Tarik Black visiting Duke today

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Duke basketball will give a final pitch to transfer big man Tarik Black as he sets to visit campus today.

Black, who graduated from Memphis yesterday, still has a year of eligibility remaining and will be able to play immediately.

Black, a 6-foot-9 and 262-pound forward, averaged 9.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game for the Tigers last season.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been pushing hard to add Black to a Duke frontcourt that could potentially use another body. Coach K and assistants Steve Wojciechowski and Nate James visited Black’s home a couple weeks ago to make a first pitch.

While Duke’s perimeter is stacked next season, the frontcourt of Marshall Plumlee, Josh Hairston and Amile Jefferson could potentially use another body to strengthen the rotation.

Oregon, Kansas, Ohio State and Georgetown are also reportedly in the mix for the transfer.

Pinson no longer lists Duke basketball on list of schools

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Update, Sunday at 11:35 p.m.: Per tweets on Theo Pinson’s twitter account @tpinsonn, the reports stating he is no longer considering Duke are inaccurate.

The previous report…

Cross off Theo Pinson as one of Duke basketball’s class of 2014 targets.

Pinson, the No. 13 recruit in the class of 2014 according to ESPN, no longer lists the Blue Devils as one of his potential options, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-6 wing now lists Indiana, North Carolina, N.C. State, Maryland, Louisville, Georgetown and Kentucky as programs he is considering.

Theo Pinson, at the right, poses for photo with Jahlil Okafor, left, and Tyus Jones, next to Pinson, at Duke's Countdown to Craziness in October. (Photo credit: Brady Buck/The Chronicle)

Theo Pinson, at the right, poses for photo with Jahlil Okafor, left, and Tyus Jones, next to Pinson, at Duke’s Countdown to Craziness in October. (Photo credit: Brady Buck/The Chronicle)

Pinson attends the Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina and has visited Duke unofficially many times throughout his high school career. Pinson and high school teammate Harry Giles, a member of the class of 2016 and perhaps the top player in his year, were at Cameron Indoor Stadium for this year’s Duke-North Carolina game, a 73-68 comeback win for the Blue Devils. Giles is also a Duke target, though he is a freshman and does not yet hold an official offer. The Duke staff, however, has been keeping close tabs on the 6-foot-8 forward.

Pinson was also in town for this year’s Countdown to Craziness with fellow 2014 Duke targets Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, who remain Duke’s top targets in that class.

In late April, Grayson Allen became the Blue Devils’ first commit in the class of 2014.

With Pinson reportedly out and Allen already on board, Duke has six outstanding offers for the class of 2014: Jones, Okafor, Devin Booker, Kevin Looney, Trey Lyles and Justise Winslow.

Jabari Parker inks Duke basketball letter of intent, making it official

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Jabari Parker signed his official national letter of intent yesterday, more than four months after orally committing to Duke.

The surprise: at first, he pulled out a Florida shirt, not a Duke one. The crowd’s reaction? They didn’t realize it was a joke.

Chicago Tribune reporter Colleen Kane adds that Parker has been communicating with assistant head coach Jeff Capel regularly as he prepares to transition to the collegiate game.

The No. 2 recruit in the nation, Parker won four state championships in four years at Simeon and was named Mr. Basketball of Illinois twice.

“We’re excited for Jabari and his family to join our family here at Duke,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a press release. “We are confident he will have a great career, and we are glad to have him in our program.”