I'm itching to see Duke basketball this year

a blog by Big Red

Now I hate Duke just as much as the next guy. Let's be real here, Duke time and time again has a great recruiting class, however this year they've outdone themselves. 

I know what everyones thinking.. Duke is a bunch of rich white prep school kids that everyone should hate on. But it's hard to hate on a team when they just flat out have some of the best recruiting right up next to Kentucky. Every year they have at least one player that is incredibly exciting to watch. Two years ago it was 4 freshmen, Justice Winslow, Tyus Jones, Jahill Okafor, and last but not least our boy Grayson Allen. Then last season they had Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, and of course Grayson Allen. Now this season, we once again have Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard, and Chase Jeter. But now we add in the Number one and two prospect Jayson Tatum, and Harry Giles. On Top of that we also add a 6'10 crazy athletic Javin DeLaurier and crazy shooting guard Frank Jackson and I can't think of a team that should be able to stop them. 

And if they don't work, then it will be one of the funniest things to watch on TV. There's nothing prettier than an upset Mike "ShaCHEFsky" Krzyzewski.

So either way it's sort of a win win. Now let's see some footage of these prospects I'm talking about. 

Starting with freshmen Harry Giles. 

Harry Giles is a game changing big man. He stands 6 foot 11, and can dribble the ball like a guard. Not to mention his dribble pull up and step back jumper are lethal. The only question looming over his head is, can his knees hold up. Giles has had 2 knee partial knee tears in the last 3 years, and didn't even play his senior season. It will be interesting to see, if he can develop a solid post game at the college level, but I think we all know he and Jayson Tatum will be a lethal duo on the fast breaks next season. 

Jayson Tatum, the Gatorade player of the year. The title on this video says it all. He really does have the smoothest game in high school right now. He makes each basket look effortless. It seems as if he's got the full package and if you ask me, he'll most likely go top 3 in the 2017 nba draft. 

What can be said about Frank Jackson. He's obviously got the quickness and the bounce to be an exciting player to watch next year at the college level. His shot seems to be pretty solid, but the one thing I didn't see to much of was his dribbling. Obviously, he has pretty good ball  protection, but the highlight video didn't show too much of him crossing kids. It was mainly just him blowing by them with his speed. Obviously, once he gets to the college level, his speed will be matched by a lot of opponents so it will be interesting to see how he does. I think it may take him a few games, but eventually I think he could become one of the top scorers in the NCAA.

Stay tuned for more news because College basketball is not all that far away, and the NBA preseason starts in just a few short weeks.