Kelly and Plumlee Sign With Duke

Even though it’s not as common for basketball recruits to back out of their commitments as high school football players, coaches still breathe a little easier once their prized recruits actually turn in their letter of intent.

Duke got two of it’s commits when two big men, Ryan Kelly (6’10”, PF, 2009) and Mason Plumlee (6’11”,PF, 2009), signed the LOI’s and Duke was able to officially announce them as future Blue Devils.

Duke fans are hoping that the lack of inside play will be helped by the additions of Kelly and Plumlee next season.

Meanwhile, UNC Asheville got a commit from Jaron Lane (SF, 6’4″, 2009), from Greenville, NC.

How Duke landed the Family Plumlee

The Duke Blue Devils were glad when they successfully recruited Mason Plumlee (PF/C, 6’11”, 2009), who was playing prep basketball in Arden, NC. However, they were able to also secure his older brother Miles after the elder Plumlee decided not to attend his original commitment at Stanford.

The story of how the move to NC helped the Blue Devils land the brothers is in this article by the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:

“We have to pinch ourselves every now and then,” the boys’ father, Perky Plumlee, said Thursday. “They both had to work hard, and they have had to overcome some things. It makes us feel proud and blessed.”

I can’t help but wonder if Perky is Mr. Plumlee’s real name or a nickname. Can someone in the Duke fold let me know?

Plumlee, Wear play well in Argentina

I haven’t mentioned the U-18 USA Basketball team results, but there are several ACC targets who made the roster and are playing in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship right now in Argentina. Mentioned in the blurb below from the Winston-Salem Journal, Duke commit Mason Plumlee (PF, 6’11”, 2009) continues to look good and UNC commit Travis Wear has gotten in on the action:

The USA Basketball men’s U 18 National Team (2-0) took control early and ran away with a 115-51 victory over the Bahamas (0-2) yesterday afternoon at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina. For the second game in a row, Travis Wear, who has committed to North Carolina, scored 15 points to lead the USA.

The U.S. took the lead 1:30 into the game; all 12 players scored. Mason Plumlee of Arden scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds.

In its tournament opener Monday, the United States defeated Venezuela 82-73. Wear led the U.S. with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Raleigh Ravenscroft’s Ryan Kelly added 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Ryan Kelly (PF, 6’10”, 2009) is a guy who several ACC teams are competing for as well, but what is really intriguing is that in addition to UNC, NC State and Wake Forest, Kelly lists Davidson. Davidson’s coach Bob McKillop is coaching the U-18 team right now and certainly is getting a lot of time with Kelly. The other point is that although Davidson has been a competitive program under McKillop, getting more big recruits will keep them in the national scene.

The Al Woods Show

I had a blast talking with Al Woods during his show yesterday, and I appreciate him having me on. We talked about the site, Brandon Jennings, and several other things basketball-related. If you want to hear the show, click the link below and listen to the show for July 15, 2008. I am on in the first segment.

Video: Michael Snaer

I haven’t mentioned Michael Snaer ( 6’4″, SG, 2009 ), even though he reportedly has an offer from the Miami Hurricanes, simply because he hasn’t seemed to be leaning toward the U. But that doesn’t mean the Hurricanes aren’t recruiting him. Snaer is a nice guard with good size and often uses it to get to the rim. Although I don’t think overproduced highlight reels are much value in evaluating a player, here are some of his nice moves:

Snaer currently says he has no favorite, but he’s a west coast kid so of course the schools in his region are pressing him.

Mason Plumlee

Mason Plumlee got a lot of exposure this past weekend all over the state of North Carolina for three reasons:

1. He plays high school basketball in North Carolina
2. He signed to play for Duke
3. He was playing in Camaron Indoor Stadium this weekend.

So, naturally, he has become one of the more talked about players with stories like this one.

One of the knocks on Plumlee is his strength, which he acknowledges:

“Playing post defense, I know that’s going to be expected no matter where I go, but especially at Duke,” Plumlee said. “All the other stuff will come. I just need to get in the weight room and get stronger.”

Nike Memorial Day Classic Recap

Grassroots has a recap on the Nike Memorial Day Classic, including players of interest to the ACC such as Doron Lamb and Kendall Marshall.

ACC Basketball Recruiting Roundup, 5/24/2008

Mason Plumlee excites Cameron

Future Duke big man Mason Plumlee (6’11”, PF, 2009) enticed fans at Cameron Indoor on Friday with a 14 point outing during his debut on Coach K Court.

Lorenzo Brown and NC State

Lorenzo Brown (6’5″, G, 2009) is an excellent guard and I’ve mentioned before that he seems to be leaning toward NC State, and a lot of Pack fans would like to see him commit while he’s playing in Raliegh this weekend.

Kenny Boynton scores 33

Duke and Miami target Kenny Boynton (6’2″, G) is one of the best guards in the class of 2009 and he put up 33 points in his TOC opener.

Notes from Pitt Jam

Duke commit Mason Plumlee(6’11”, PF, 2009) was in attendance at the Pitt Jam Fest this past weekend, along with ACC target John Wall (6′ 3″, combo G, 2009) and Dominic Cheek (6′ 6″, SG, 2009).

Plumlee is an interesting player, in that he runs the floor well, especially for a big man, but it’s a situation similar to UNC commit John Henson, they are big men that don’t have a lot of post power yet. In other words, they are slender kids, unlike Daniel Orton (6’9″, C, 2009), who already plays like a monster in the middle. However, Plumlee is already a good rebounder and moves well without the ball.