Big man recruiting: HS Coach says Plumlee not developing at Duke [Updated 11:30am]

12-13 Basketball Basketball Recruiting29

This is some fascinating reading on a morning that rumors are swirling that Amile Jefferson may make his college choice known today!

Check out this article about Mason Plumlee’s decision to return to Duke for another season.

Despite indications that he could be a first-round pick in the NBA draft, Duke post player Mason Plumlee has decided to return to the Blue Devils for his senior season.

And his former coach at Christ School disagrees with that decision.

Plumlee, the 6-10, 235-pound forward and former Christ School standout, pondered leaving the program following his junior season after averaging 11.1 points and 9.2 rebounds last season.

Plumlee couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

David Gaines, his coach at Christ School, said he was surprised that the middle of three Plumlee brothers from Indiana who played for him and ended up at Duke didn’t leave early for the NBA.

“He’s gotten pretty good (information) from Miles’ agent (older brother Miles Plumlee, who finished his eligibility with Duke this season) and all but one source said he would be a first-round pick,” said Gaines.

“Last year I told him he shouldn’t go, (but) in my opinion he should go now. I disagree with how (Duke) is using Mason as (primarily) a screen-setter, shot blocker and rebounder. … If they are not going to develop him more as a total player, I think he should go to the NBA and learn that as a pro.”

I know that there are some people in Amile Jefferson’s camp that have a huge man-crush on Coach K. But, the prominent use of forwards in Mark Gottfried’s offense (especially when compared to the mis-use of the enormous talent that has come through the front line at Duke through the years) has GOT to mean something.

The importance for NC State’s recruitment of big men has grown in recent days after the announcement of DeShawn Painter’s transfer (link). The Wolfpack remain in contention for at least three potential big men that could step in and help immediately – UConn transfer Alex Oriakhi, JUCO prospect Andrew Young, and McDonald’s All-American Amile Jefferson.

Brett Friedlander has more on this very topic in this article today that also references the rumors about the potential departure of Jordan Vandenberg who took a redshirt last season.

The decisions of current N.C. State basketball star C.J. Leslie and top recruit Amile Jefferson took on even more meaning for the Wolfpack on Wednesday.

Thanks to the unexpected transfer of forward DeShawn Painter and the rumored departure of another big man, possibly Jordan Vandenberg, coach Mark Gottfried suddenly finds himself with a potential depth issue in the frontcourt next season.

It’s a problem that could get even worse if Leslie decides to leave school early and enter this year’s NBA draft. On the other hand, the blow could be softened considerably if Jefferson, a five-star prospect from Philadelphia, chooses State over Duke, Kentucky and Villanova.

Both decisions are expected to be made within the next few days, with Jefferson’s announcement coming as early as today.

[snip]

The urgency surrounding them got kicked up several notches Wednesday when Painter, the first man off the bench for the Wolfpack last season, asked for and was granted permission to transfer. Painter averaged 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, but his value went far beyond his statistics, as he developed into a reliable backup at both the center and power forward positions.

Without Painter, State’s only returning big men could be foul-prone senior Richard Howell, sophomores Thomas de Thaey and Tyler Harris – neither of whom played much last season, and the 7-foot Vandenberg, if he stays. Vandenberg played in only seven games in 2011-12 before being redshirted because of a shoulder injury.

The Wolfpack will also have 6-8, 230-pound McDonald’s All-America T.J. Warren as part of a nationally ranked recruiting class that could get even stronger depending on Jefferson’s upcoming decision. As an insurance policy, Gottfried is pursing 6-9 power forward Andrew Young from Monterey Peninsula Community College in California. He is expected to visit State this weekend.

Leslie, a 6-8 junior who would be a leading candidate for ACC Player of the Year honors if he returns, said Monday that he hopes to decide between entering the draft and returning to school by the end of this week.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

12-13 Basketball Basketball Recruiting

29 Responses to Big man recruiting: HS Coach says Plumlee not developing at Duke [Updated 11:30am]

  1. Sweet jumper 04/12/2012 at 10:09 AM #

    Come on Jefferson, Young, big man from UConn, etc. We need big men to play in the high post offense and we have scholarships available. Go to Dook if you want to set screens, rebound and score your points on followups of misses from the 3 point barrage put up by the guards every game.

  2. Prowling Woofie 04/12/2012 at 11:38 AM #

    Amile, the only points you’ll score at Duke are from the foul line… and the occasional follow shot.

    Minutes just multiplied playing for the Pack – c’mon, Amile !!!!

  3. packof81 04/12/2012 at 11:47 AM #

    Jefferson would be appreciated here. At Dook, he’ll be an also ran.

  4. WTNY 04/12/2012 at 11:56 AM #

    Regarding Vandenberg, he protects his tweets so I can’t verify but he is to have said:

    “@JPV14Wolfpack: Regardless of what ‘experts’ say, no I am not transfering, going to europe, staying in australia or pursuing a career on broadway…”

  5. Hawkeye Whitney 04/12/2012 at 12:38 PM #

    One would think that the UCLA high-post offense would be much more attractive to a star-potential big man than Duke’s perimeter-focused game.

  6. Rochester 04/12/2012 at 12:42 PM #

    WTNY, I follow Vandenberg on Twitter and I saw that Tweet, so I can verify it. I know he’s not a star, but I think he’s got a lot of value as a guy who can give solid minutes, play some strong D, and at least put back some misses. He, unlike some others, has no problem flushing the ball through the hoop. Given some of the foul trouble we saw this past season, I think we may have added a W or 2 had he been healthy.

    But even with him, we need to add a big man, or two. And I wouldn’t mind another guard as well, now that Raymond is gone.

  7. Prowling Woofie 04/12/2012 at 12:46 PM #

    “career on broadway…”

    That’s hysterical ! Good for you, Vandy 🙂

  8. mikeak01 04/12/2012 at 1:16 PM #

    what are the rules if someone else was transferring? Is Gottlieb still allowed contact with recruits to tell them that information as it could change their decision?

  9. Lumpy 04/12/2012 at 1:20 PM #

    As an analyst, Gottlieb can talk to whoever he wants.

  10. tjfoose1 04/12/2012 at 1:23 PM #

    Gottlieb can contact whomever he wants, though keep your plastic guarded.

  11. tjfoose1 04/12/2012 at 1:25 PM #

    “Thanks to the unexpected transfer of forward DeShawn Painter…”

    Excepted that it wasn’t expected. Not for the folks who matter.

  12. K_Wolf 04/12/2012 at 2:01 PM #

    As fr as I know, it’s an unwritten rule that once a recruit make a veral committ, other schools are to stop recruiting them. This seems to be a code of conduct that is usually followed. But yes, i see what you are seeing, if a recruit that showed intererst in us ended up committing to somebodyelse because they saw the amont of talent on hand and comming in, they may want to give us another look now before actually signing w that other school. I don’t know for sure about the ethics of it all. That recruit could certainly contact us and say “hey, are you still interested in me?”, but not sure just how OK it is for us to make the first contact. I don’t think it’s agaist the rules per se, but there’s kind of an honor code that you stop pirsuing somebody committed to another school.

  13. Rochester 04/12/2012 at 2:25 PM #

    ^If you can get Chuck Amato to sing them a song over the phone, it’s okay.

  14. Mike 04/12/2012 at 2:44 PM #

    Back to the reason for the post – I think I would agree with the coach. I am not sure any big men have truly developed the way they should over in Durham. More often than not, big time PF/C dont pan out like they should, and I think this is a reflection of the program and the style of play. If I were almost 7′ I would certainly be leery of calling Dook home.

  15. Lunatic Fringe 04/12/2012 at 6:08 PM #

    The comments about Duke’s use of big men (per Plumlee’s HS coach) is night/day different than quotes I have seen from Young and his coach’s quotes on NC State offense.

  16. Wolf74 04/12/2012 at 6:24 PM #

    If I were over 6’8″ or a PF or C with any NBA potential there is no way I would even have Duke on my initial list. No knock on K because he wins games BUT he normally wins them with slashing WFs and bombing Guards. The big men are used to clog up things and allow the shooters to get free. That doesn’t happen in the NBA where the bigs are allowed to score. It does mean he can get by with a lower quality big man and still put a very competitive team on the floor. Now if I were a big man ranked outside the top 100, I would surely give them a look. If you did happen to develop, you would have a fair opportunity to get noticed.

  17. BJD95 04/12/2012 at 6:25 PM #

    In the last 10-15 years, has any Duke big man other than Shelden Williams developed? They are good for developing jump shooters and combo guards. Period.

  18. Trey Anastasio 04/12/2012 at 6:59 PM #

    ^ Luol Deng

  19. Wulfpack 04/12/2012 at 7:24 PM #

    Deng was more of a wing. But I would argue Zoubek developed into at least a servicable big man, and he was a key ingredient to their national championship run. Not a dominant player by any means, but did a nice job doing the little things and became a threat down low.

  20. CaptainCraptacular 04/12/2012 at 7:48 PM #

    Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer, Shane Battier. 6-8 or taller Forwards.

  21. Bowlpack 04/12/2012 at 8:17 PM #

    Capt. Crap – Brand and Boozer are probably the exception to the rule and Battier wasn’t a prototypical “big” man. He was able to score from outside the low post and really fit well into the opportunistic style that they play (Ed note*: K is a master at exploiting weakness and adjusting to styles to force his game). Brand didn’t need development as he was a beast coming out of high school and Boozer is probably the only Duke big that truly transformed while under the tutelage of K. Their system just isn’t designed for playing an interior game. I hope these recruits/transfers realize that and make the choice to run with the Pack.

  22. CaptainCraptacular 04/12/2012 at 8:22 PM #

    you are splitting hairs. They are big men that came through Duke and have had long NBA careers in the last 10-15 years.

  23. ryebread 04/12/2012 at 9:05 PM #

    Loul Deng didn’t develop at Duke. He was a one and done from the second he showed up. I didn’t think he really advanced that much at all while on campus.

    Admiral Ackbar (Sheldon Williams) was a Parade All American and the Gatorade player of the year for the state of Oklahoma. Yes, he became an All American, but he was pretty good when he showed up too.

    I honestly can’t remember the last big man that really developed at Duke. I’d define develop as one that didn’t come in with high accolades and then really blossomed. Now, part of that is due to the fact that Duke just recruits great players, but if one isn’t panning out, they typically transfer (Boateng). I don’t remember many that were absolute stiffs who stuck around and actually came on later.

  24. logarithm 04/13/2012 at 7:55 AM #

    The trouble with gauging how well players develop here vs there is that it has to take into account snapshots of their pre-frosh game, consider how long they stayed, consider the type of program they were in, consider what kind of help they had to make them look better and then take a snapshot of what they accomplished after leaving the program, subject to strength of that particular draft class, what the situation is where they’re drafted, etc.

    If we only consider Tom Gugliotta, State was the premier place in the country to develop players. Consider JJ Hickson or Cedric Simmons, who left after their freshman and sophomore years and contributed a little and got shuffled around a little or a lot, or McCauley or Tracy Smith who stuck around and now try and make it into the NBA, and our recent history isn’t chock full of developing big men.

    We’re sortof arguing Duke doesn’t develop big men when they’ve got developed big men in the league and we’re promising young players our 2nd year program can do it better. And as an academic question, our system should be better for multi-skilled big men, as it relies on those skills. Duke has a history of results on its side.

  25. Wulfpack 04/13/2012 at 7:56 AM #

    Again, Zoubek is an example of a player that developed in his time at Duke. I remember watching him and early in his career he could hardly get up and dowm the floor. Come his senior year he changed his body, became an offensive threat, and was a defensive force. He absolutely “developed”.

1 2

Leave a Reply