They arent playing together is my guess.

Laley23;1514739 wrote:They arent playing together is my guess.

Agreed. As I said earlier, I believe Okafor goes to Kentucky (based on the kid's glowing remarks about the school, he very much seems like a UK lean) while Duke and Kansas are in the race for Jones.

If Self snatches the duo, though, he'll have put together quite a two-year stretch where he'll have landed arguably the the number one forward, center and point guard in their respective classes. Not easily done. One of the criticisms of Self over the years -- not as much recently, obviously -- was that he could recruit really good, but not the really great, talent, the type of one-and-done talent that can change a team almost by themselves. Part of that is probably just coaching philosophy. Even Coach K seemed to steer clear of certain known one-and-dones for a period of time, and I imagine Self knew the kind of kid he was going after and that was what he pursued. But, after bringing in McLemore last year and Wiggins this season, and potentially Jones and Okafor next, Self has become arguably the best recruiter in the country.

Kelly Oubre to Kansas.

Seriously, screw Bill Self! lol

I swear, if he somehow lures Rashad Vaughn to Lawrence, my head might explode. Self is reaching a Coach K level of hatred for me right now.

Self's recent recruiting streak is reaching pretty amazing levels. He's got a hot hand right now. Here's to hoping Duke reels in Jones and Okafor and puts a stop to it. If Self gets them both, it will be a game-changer and could shift the axis of the college basketball world toward Lawrence and away from Kentucky, Duke and 2009 North Carolina.

I already told you Okafor and Jones are going to Duke, so Self won't get them. In that case, though, I'd prefer that he did.

ironman02;1515219 wrote:I already told you Okafor and Jones are going to Duke, so Self won't get them. In that case, though, I'd prefer that he did.

I just chalked that up as reverse psychology and moved on. Lol.

reclegend22;1515221 wrote:I just chalked that up as reverse psychology and moved on. Lol.

Lol.

Obviously nothing is guaranteed, but from what I've heard, Duke is the most likely destination.

Like I said, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain that I'm not. I'll definitely be surprised if Okafor and Jones don't end up in Durham.

After Oubre committed, we're starting to see the momentum shift in recruiting that the Andrew Wiggins commitment brought to Kansas.

Bad news for the rest of college basketball as Kansas, along with Kentucky, is basically getting whoever they want right now. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out in 2015 as it's another solid class, but also a class that is very heavy at some spots and extremely weak at others.

Some rankings don't have a single point guard in the top 30. I've see other hints that there are maybe 3 or 4 high level D-1 PG's in the entire class. The biggest recruiting may be finding a point guard who will be able to sustain the job for more than a year or two.

Awesome.

Azubuike24;1515310 wrote:After Oubre committed, we're starting to see the momentum shift in recruiting that the Andrew Wiggins commitment brought to Kansas.

Bad news for the rest of college basketball as Kansas, along with Kentucky, is basically getting whoever they want right now. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out in 2015 as it's another solid class, but also a class that is very heavy at some spots and extremely weak at others.

Some rankings don't have a single point guard in the top 30. I've see other hints that there are maybe 3 or 4 high level D-1 PG's in the entire class. The biggest recruiting may be finding a point guard who will be able to sustain the job for more than a year or two.

As you point out, however, one really big commitment can completely change the landscape of recruiting for a school and, in effect, the rest of the country. If, for example, Duke lands Jones (and perhaps Okafor), which seems to be a pretty significant possibility at this point according to many analysts, then Duke all-of-sudden becomes the "it" school in college basketball once again. Many insiders believe that if the Blue Devils snatch Jones/Okafor then Kevon Looney and Justise Winslow are serious candidates to follow the pair to Durham. That'd give K perhaps the best two or three-year recruiting period of his career. It'd be quite a windfall and put Duke ahead of pack for the foreseeable future.

Come to Duke, boys, and let the dominoes begin to fall. A restoration of order is due.

James Blackmon Jr. and Devin Booker announcing Thursday night on ESPNU.

Devin booker announcing tomorrow. Between Indiana and Florida (I'll go Florida)

jbj pretty much is Indiana and UK (I'll go UK).

More optimism for JBJ at his point, but still not a whole lot after Crean took the commit from max hoetzeal the other day. That kid of painted the picture for how he thinks he stands, IMO

Laley? Booker???

http://www.umhoops.com/2013/10/29/devin-booker-to-announce-college-decision-on-thursday/

I actually think Booker goes to Missouri...

I meant Devon Robinson. Had booker on my mind cause I was just reading about him lol

I figured that's what you meant, haha.

Devin Booker (Rivals #30) picked UK. This makes James Blackmon Jr's decision tonight even more interesting.

Kevon Looney picked UCLA today.

Looney to Ucla is a big get for Alford.

JBJ has been strong UK lean with IU closing the gap all day. At this point, neither would surprise me.

ironman02;1527009 wrote:Kevon Looney picked UCLA today.

I figured Duke wouldn't get him. Hope he sucks.

A smooth player, though.

rec,

What's the word on Reid Travis? Duke, or maybe Minnesota?

Any news on Jones, Okafor, and Winslow? If Duke gets all three of them, I'm gonna be pissed beyond belief. lol

ironman02,

Most close to Duke seem to be very confident about landing Tyus Jones. What worries me, however, is Quinn Cook. Obviously I want Cook to excel this season, but if he has an excellent junior year and cements his place as Duke's starting lead guard, will that have any effect on Jones? Obviously there will be an overlap of one year, where they would both be playing together. K has successfully managed two elite point guards in the past -- Jason Williams and Chris Duhon -- but Duhon was willing to come off the bench as a freshman, knowing that Williams played the one. Hopefully, the situation just works itself out and that whatever has been discussed behind closed doors with Jones is enough assurance for him. Kansas, on the other hand, the co-leader in the race for Jones IMO, doesn't have an experienced point guard in place. So I wonder if that's a more attractive selling point. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

As for Okafor, I still think he goes to Lexington. Just a gut feeling. Not based on very much, other than what he's said about his visits there and relationship with Calipari.

With regard to Travis, the general consensus has seemed to be that, in the event that Looney chose to play elsewhere, we'd have a much better chance with Travis. I'm hoping now that Looney has signed with UCLA that Duke is in the thick of things with Travis. Again, it's all speculation.

Thanks, rec.

I still think Jones and Okafor will go somewhere together. Either Duke or Kansas is my guess, but I think it's Duke.

Yeah, I guess you just have to take their word on that (re playing together). But the cynic in me just doesn't have much faith in what a teenager has to say.

Along those lines, Justise Winslow is said to be very good friends with Rasheed Sulaimon, as the two both grew up in Texas and played in the same summer leagues together. There's been much talk in Duke's fanbase about that connection and what it could mean. Personally, I think it matters very little. But who really know what these kids are thinking. Reports are that he had a great visit to Duke during Countdown to Craziness (he visited alongside Jones and Okafor), but I mean what could go wrong? Unless he was mugged while walking on campus or something, he's probably not going to have much negative to say.

I've thought Winslow was going to 'Zona all along, but I'm worrying more and more that he might follow Jones and Okafor to Duke. Again, serious amounts of rage from me if that happens. lol

James Blackmon Jr to indiana!

Big time (re)-get for Hoosiers lol. Not a big loss for UK, but it would've been for IU. Really pumped right now. Honestly believe he might be the best shooter (aside from some random whey guy with no athletic ability) in 2014 class.