Duke targets ready for U19 World Championship, Austin Grandstaff commits to Oklahoma State

Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon won't be the only player on the Blue Devils' radar when they monitor the U19 World Championship team in its upcoming competition in Prague, Czech Republic. Sulaimon will be joined by Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, two of Duke's top targets in the Class of 2014.

The team departed for the Czech Republic earlier this week, and will begin action against the Ivory Coast Thursday night.

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Forward Kevon Looney, the No. 9 player in the Class of 2014 according to ESPN, is continuing to take a more active role in his recruiting process. In an interview with recruiting analyst Jeff Borzello of CBSSports, Looney discussed the way his recruitment has recently changed.

Despite his status as one of the top players in the class of 2014, 6-foot-9 forward Kevon Looney mostly keeps to himself when he's not away playing basketball. He doesn't like talking to reporters and media while he's at home, and coaches mostly speak to his parents when giving recruiting pitches.

In fact, college coaches didn't even have Looney's personal cell phone number until recently.

“A month ago, I began giving my number out to coaches,” Looney said. “At first, they didn't have my number. Instead of calling my parents, they can call me and text me.”

And, of course, coaches have taken advantage of this new development to really ramp up their pursuit of Looney.

“It's a lot of fun,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of coaches, meet a lot of different personalities. They all have different sells, but they're pretty much around the same thing. They're all great schools, so they always have great things to say.”

Borzello added that Florida, Duke and Michigan State appear to be the current leader to acquire Looney's services. Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgetown, Tennessee, Stanford, UCLA and Connecticut are also among those interested. The 6-foot-8 forward also added that he sees himself as being more productive as a small forward at the collegiate level, but believes that he has the ability to play either forward position.

Shortly after the open contact period began for Class of 2015 recruits, the class' first commits began to pile up. One of the first to give a verbal was Austin Grandstaff, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Rockwall, Texas. As reported by ESPN's Dave Telep yesterday, Grandstaff will take his talents to Stillwater, Okla. to play for Oklahoma State.