With the summer season at an end, this was presumed to be a very quiet week. And it was, until about 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon when Duke priority recruit Brandon Ingram sent out this tweet:
That’s right, Ingram’s final six will include in-state powers Duke, UNC and N.C. State, Adidas powers Kansas and UCLA and the always powerful Kentucky big blue nation.
The two notable schools left off the list are Louisville and UConn. Although both schools were late to the party, many analysts thought the national pedigree would make up for the difference.
After a prolific summer on the court, Ingram has gained national recognition and recently jumped from a four-star to five-star recruit. He has also already visited half of his top six—Duke, UNC and UCLA—and has visits scheduled for Kansas and Kentucky in mid-October. Ingram has been a tough player to get a read on, but at this point Duke and UNC both need to be considered the co-favorites for the talented small forward. According to 24/7’s crystal ball, the Blue Devils are currently leading in the chase for Ingram with 58% of the voters choosing Duke and then UNC in a close second at 39%.
The Blue Devils were granted more good news Monday afternoon when point guard Jayson Tatum, arguably the top player in the Class of 2016, released his top 10 list via Twitter:
We also learned some more interesting news this week, as center Diamond Stone’s final five surprisingly included Duke.
As we covered when the story broke late Thursday night, joining Duke in the talented big man’s final five will be UConn, Maryland, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State.
With this being such a quiet week, we will take a closer look at Stone’s other potential suitors and examine Duke's chances of landing the star center.
UConn: The favorite at this point would have to be the reigning national champion Huskies. Led by dynamic coach and recruiter Kevin Ollie, UConn has long been connected to Stone. While the Huskies only have one 2015 commit at this time—point guard Jalen Adams—they have been heavily recruiting both Derrick Jones and Stone’s best friend Malik Newman. In fact, UConn is one of the two schools in Stone’s top 5 to be heavily interested in Newman, a player who has long been connected to Stone in a package deal. Moreover, Stone has already visited the Huskies' campus and reportedly loved it. At this point, they have to be feeling great about their chance to land “the best high-school post scorer we’ve seen since DeMarcus Cousins.”
Wisconsin: Being born and raised in Milwaukee, in-state power Wisconsin has always been a potential landing spot for Stone. If he became a Badger, Stone would join lone commit SG Brevin Pritzl in their 2015 recruiting class. In addition to the home-town pull, Wisconsin also offers one of the top coaches in the nation in Bo Ryan, top level competition and TV exposure. Of course, these traits are not exclusive to Ryan's program. Therefore, though we expect Wisconsin to go all-in to get the 6-foot-10 big man, unless they can add more talent to its 2015 class, Stone most likely will go elsewhere.
Maryland: The Under Armor pull seems to be the most likely reason for its inclusion on his list. Having played for Young Legends, an Under Armor AAU powerhouse, it makes sense that the most powerful UA School would be high on his list. It is interesting to note that Duke, UConn and Oklahoma State are all Nike schools and Wisconsin is sponsored by Adidas. Look for Maryland to stay involved until the end, but unless the UA push is the deciding factor, expect Stone to go elsewhere.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys are probably the most surprising team included on the list, especially since they took the place of two powerhouse programs long-connected to Stone in Kansas and Kentucky. Regardless, the fact that they are included may mean Stone found their late pitch appealing. However, a big factor working against Oklahoma State is that they currently have zero commits for 2015. This could change soon though, as the Cowboys are in the final four for Jawun Evans and are heavily recruiting D.J. Hogg and Elijah Thomas. If two or all of those three commit to Oklahoma State, maybe the momentum created would be enough to steal the class’s elite post player.
Duke: If Oklahoma State was the most surprising inclusion, Duke was a close second. Once Chase Jeter, a big man from Las Vegas, committed, many assumed that the other post players being recruited—Ivan Rabb, Henry Ellenson and Diamond Stone—would slowly remove Duke from consideration just as Ellenson did when he announced his top three of Kentucky, Michigan State and Marquette. Stone, however, kept the Blue Devils on his list. And with only UConn and Duke recruiting his best friend Malik Newman, the Blue Devils may suddenly find themselves with the opportunity to once again secure the top package in the recruiting world. As of now, the Blue Zone is pitting UConn as the favorite, but the Blue Devils, thanks to the talent they could surround Stone with, are not far behind.
Stone plans to announce his decision November 12th and we will continue to closely track any developments as Duke is once again in a race for a top prospect. Be sure to stay with the Blue Zone for all your recruiting news.
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