Recruiting the wrong five-star recruit may have contributed to the Duke basketball program’s current inability to land a single five-star recruit.
Deny it all you want. Call me a Negative Nancy for believing it. Tell me it’s irresponsible and hurtful for me to write about it. But that won’t change the fact that something isn’t right about the Duke basketball coaches’ efforts to snag prospects from the 2019 class.
No need to worry?
Well, that sounds just peachy; problem is, though, it doesn’t sound accurate.
The class is currently stuck on empty. Rejections are numerous and seem to be the new norm, suggesting the basketball gods are punishing Duke after it just hauled in the most ridiculously talented class in history.
While some fans think it is best to stay in rah-rah mode regardless of the circumstances, that isn’t always the best way to help–especially when there is a tough-to-swallow solution that needs to come to light.
So what is that solution?
Ditch the dreams of Cole Anthony choosing Duke right away before it’s too late.
Do it before his recruitment drags on into the spring–as it is expected to–only to find out that he prefers to wear a lighter shade of blue. If not, Duke’s recruitment of Anthony may continue to dissuade other guards from coming to Durham (now only two four-stars, Boogie Ellis and Anthony Harris, remain on the list of 2019 guards the coaches are publicly pursuing).
So why hasn’t the Hall of Fame coach in Durham realized this is happening on his own?
Well, to begin with, it’s possible my theory is wrong. But it’s also possible it’s spot-on. And it’s even possible that the jaw-dropping skills of Anthony are blinding Mike Krzyzewski and his staff from seeing the ongoing negative impact that is stemming from their pursuit of that five-star combo guard–the 247Sports Composite ranks him No. 3 overall and No. 1 at his position in the 2019 class.
Continuing to recruit Anthony will only be worth the risk if he does decide to become a Blue Devil. But I don’t see that happening. Instead, what has already happened is other five-star guards have rejected Duke, and that’s likely in part due to the fact that they didn’t want to end up in a battle for playing time with Anthony; it’s a battle they know they wouldn’t likely win.
I believe that thought at least tickled the brain of Josiah James. And Bryan Antoine. And Nico Mannion. And Scottie Lewis.
Have you noticed that none of the above five-star guards (also former Duke targets) chose schools–or are currently choosing from schools–that have outstanding offers extended to Anthony?
I noticed. But I only noticed because I didn’t ignore the problems facing Duke and decided to research to see if my hunch was correct.
Tennessee (James’ choice) doesn’t have an offer out to Anthony. Neither does Villanova (Antoine’s choice). Same goes for Arizona (Mannion’s choice). And it’s also true for Florida and Kentucky (the two schools remaining on Lewis’ list).
Those are all but one of the five-star guards the Duke basketball coaches were pursuing. So that means the only hope for a five-star guard to become a Blue Devil rests on the decision of Anthony.
Now, not only does Duke have an offer on the table to Anthony, but 247Sports’ Crystal Ball unfortunately still lists the Blue Devils as the favorite to nab him (60 percent of the “experts” are in agreement).
What’s so unfortunate about that?
That ball, in my opinion, is dead wrong as it applies to Anthony, yet its prediction is available for the public–including Duke’s remaining and potential 2019 targets at guard–to see.
Why am I so confident it is wrong?
Click “Next” to find out…
How I predict where Cole Anthony will land
Well, I don’t have any crystal balls. And I don’t have some advanced formula that outputs predictions; that being said, there is a fairly reliable formula that does exist–the PASR–and it forecasts UNC to have the best chance (53.80 percent) to receive a commitment from Anthony.
And I agree with that prediction.
Because what I do have that supports my personal prediction is a specific type of memories–a type I wish I could destroy–of what the faces of talented Tar Heels look like. You see, that type of face has been haunting me in my sleep since I was a little boy and had to watch J.R. Reid smile as he beat my first hero, Danny Ferry, in the 1989 ACC Championship. Then came the face of Eric Montross. And Jerry Stackhouse. And Raymond Felton. And Tyler Hansbrough (the worst of them all). Nowadays, it’s Luke Maye. And next?
Anthony.
Truth is, he already appears in my nightmares; that’s because of the way he looks, talks, and plays. It’s all just so undeniably Heelish that it would be foolish for me to expect him to join the Duke basketball family.
Understand this: My heart has a difficult time trying to stay hopeful that Duke may land a particular recruit when my mind and nightmares keep telling me that recruit will end up playing for the rival from eight miles down the road.
Now, do I think Anthony is intentionally sabotaging the Duke basketball coaches’ recruiting efforts by not publicly eliminating the Blue Devils from contention?
Well, that may be a bit of a stretch. However, based on the fact that Duke stunned his dad (former UNLV great Greg Anthony) by upsetting his squad in the 1991 Final Four and my past experiences with Tar Heels, it’s not only possible, but it may be worth looking into and fixing right away if it’s true.
So go ahead and call me names. Refute my unpopular and bizarre train of thought. Tell me I’m not a true Dukie because I’m down in the dumps as a result of Duke’s empty 2019 class. Just don’t tell me I didn’t warn you about Anthony when he visits Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2020 with the words “North Carolina” disgustingly displayed across the front of his jersey (while Duke has no five-star guard to counter his attack).
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analysis, opinions, and predictions.