College Basketball 2017-18

Russ Smith

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Joey Baker a 2019 Duke commit announced yesterday he's reclassing to 2018 and will join Duke as a freshman next year. CBS immediately reported this is the 2nd year in a row Duke has done this, Bagley last year. Apparently CBS isn't actually paying attention, Baker is the FOURTH kid that I'm aware of at Duke in the last 3 years to do this.

Deryck Thornton Jr moved up a year to join duke because Coach K wanted a PG, then when Thornton wasn't quite ready, Duke didn't play him a ton, and recruited over him at PG, and he transferred to USC, sat out a year, played this year and is still only 21 going into his redshirt junior year. In his case he clearly wasn't physically ready but Coach K needed a player.

Bagley was clearly ready, Bagley was 18 months old for the class he was in so moving up a year made sense.

RJ Barrett reclassed already, he's only 17 turns 18 in june. He appears physically ready to do it.

With Baker, he's again 17, he'll turn 18 in Sept, and the last listing I can find on him from the national team is 6'7" 197 pounds. Looking at tape on him he appears like a smaller TJ Leaf, but he makes TJ look physically strong in comparison. In fact even the CBS story on Baker said he'd be a bench player for Duke "or possibly redshirt."

I seriously doubt this is Baker's idea, Coach K realized he had a team just like last year with 5 mercenary starters and very little bench talent, so he asked Baker to move up a year so he'd have more scoring off the bench.

But it is Coach K and Duke so nobody in the national media is ever going to point out what he's doing
 

Russ Smith

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if they don't lose all 3 underclassmen currently testing the waters, and they figure out how to get from 15 scholarship players to 13, they could be a top 10 team, or better next year. Really wanted Brown at UCLA.

Also USC's hiring of the father of the Mobley brothers paid off as they just got a commit from Onyeka Okongwu, Compton Magic kid played for Chino Hills both with the Balls and after. Athletic shot blocker, like Jelani McCoy another kid I really wanted at UCLA. They are apparently in the running for Cassius Stanley and Josh Green too, neither of whom to my knowledge have ties to the Mobley they hired.

I guess Enfield being connected to the FBI story concerned him enough he just decided screw it, I'm hiring a dad to get 2 sons and a good friend of theirs, paid off.
 

Russ Smith

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Horrible week for UCLA basketball. Over the weekend Tyler Honeycutt committed suicide after barricading himself in a house, today it's being reported Billy Knight(played for Lavin) committed suicide.
 

Dback Jon

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Horrible week for UCLA basketball. Over the weekend Tyler Honeycutt committed suicide after barricading himself in a house, today it's being reported Billy Knight(played for Lavin) committed suicide.


Wow - that sucks. I had heard the story about Honeycutt, but not the other.
 

Russ Smith

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Wow - that sucks. I had heard the story about Honeycutt, but not the other.

We've lost 3 lately. Former Bruin Mike Lanier died recently too, he was a 7 foot 4 twin, only one of them went to UCLA. Think he had a heart attack.

Knight actually left a last message to the world video on Youtube. I watched the first 10 seconds but was too morbid. He apparently was warning people to get help if they needed to.
 

Dback Jon

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We've lost 3 lately. Former Bruin Mike Lanier died recently too, he was a 7 foot 4 twin, only one of them went to UCLA. Think he had a heart attack.

Knight actually left a last message to the world video on Youtube. I watched the first 10 seconds but was too morbid. He apparently was warning people to get help if they needed to.

I couldn't watch it...turns out he was found dead here in Phoenix
 

Russ Smith

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yep on the street or something like that. 39 years old.

Too sad.

Even worse now apparently he was charged with sexual molestation in June in Maricopa County. One story said the victim was 11, another said 14.

That would certainly explain him being despondent enough to kill himself.
 

Dback Jon

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Even worse now apparently he was charged with sexual molestation in June in Maricopa County. One story said the victim was 11, another said 14.

That would certainly explain him being despondent enough to kill himself.


Yes that would
 

Russ Smith

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Yes that would


Apparently 6 counts of molestation. Hard to be sure but sounds like the victim was the child of a woman he was either dating or friends with.

I don't wish suicide on anybody but makes a lot more sense as to why he did it, he was facing 50 years in prison.
 

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