Hickory, dickery, Dockery: Chicago PG commits

Excited to join an already top-notch recruiting class and likely influenced by the decision of fellow point guard Anthony Roberson to commit to Florida, Sean Dockery committed to Duke July 7.

The addition of the Chicago native to the Blue Devils' recruiting class of 2002 gives the defending national champs another floor general to replace NBA-bound Jason Williams after next season while also building momentum towards Duke's recruitment of two other blue chippers.

After signing shooting guard J.J. Redick, power forward Michael Thompson, forward Lee Melchionni and floor general, Dockery, the Blue Devils now have their sights set on forward Shelden Williams, a consensus top-15 recruit, and Raleigh native Shavlik Randolph, who is rated by some scouts as the best prep star in the country.

"I think Dockery was always the choice for Duke over Roberson," said recruiting analyst Clint Jackson, who has covered the high school phenom on many occasions for his HighMajorHoops.com recruiting website. "He's always liked Duke and he's a good kid. I think it was a priority for Duke to get a point guard with this class because Jason Williams will go pro next year."

Even if Williams bolts early for the NBA, Duke is still getting a proven high school talent in Dockery. The rising senior averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and five steals per game last season for Julian High School, a team that went 22-10 and advanced to the quarterfinals of Chicago's 65-team postseason tournament.

Dockery also competed at the USA Basketball Men's Youth Developmental Festival last month in Colorado Springs, Colo. His experience there allowed him to meet future teammates Thompson and Redick. He also formed a friendship with fellow Chicago native Thompson, and talked to the 6-9 power forward over the phone in the weeks leading up to his decision. Furthermore, since making his choice, Dockery has continued to challenge himself, competing against some of the country's best preps in the Adidas ABCD camp in Teaneck, N.J.

Playing alongside Duke's current talented roster and his future classmates should be a boon for the unselfish Dockery, who has made a name for himself largely as a reliable ball-handler and defensive stopper. Jackson believes that Dockery's game will be able to adapt comfortably to Duke's style of play.

"What I like about Sean Dockery is that he brings offensive balance," Jackson said. "He's the type of guard that comes in and runs things, gives the ball to the right people. He doesn't shoot it a lot unless he has to, but I think he's going to have a lot of versatile scorers around him and he's the type of guard that will complement those scorers."

"My first conversation with Coach K was not about basketball, it was about academics," Dockery told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He assured me that Duke had the support system to help me and they have a 95 percent graduation rate as a team. He said that he expects me to graduate no matter if I leave early or not."

Despite signing its fourth recruit, Duke is hardly done with its recruiting for the class of 2002. The Blue Devils are said to be in hot pursuit of the local hero Randolph and Shelden Williams, who joined Redick, Thompson, and Dockery at the developmental festival. Both have expressed a desire to commit in the fall. Clint Jackson rates Williams as the sixth best talent in his class and Brick Oettinger of CNNSI and Prep Star Recruiter's Handbook lists Williams as the 11th-best in the nation.

"He's leaning to Duke, but he will not say that it's a done deal," Jackson said. "Shelden lists North Carolina, Illinois, and Duke, and those are the only three teams with a shot at getting him, barring a big earthquake or something. I have a feeling it's going to be Duke."