Zion Williamson is the No. 2 overall recruit in the country according to ESPN聽and everyone has been waiting for his commitment. He went on ESPN to make the announcement and he is headed to Duke. Zion Williamson is headed to Duke https://t.co/4w3PaI0dTD — Benjamin Bornstein (@THE_BOOMSTEIN) January 21, 2018 ESPN recruiting guru Jeff Borzello spoke with Williamson last week and it was down to a handful of schools including the in-state schools. Continue reading “Nation’s No. 2 recruit Zion Williamson officially makes his college decision”
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Marvin Bagley breaks yet another Duke record with his latest outstanding effort
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The bigger story coming out of Monday night’s game between the Duke Blue Devils and Miami Hurricanes concerns the health of freshman Marvin Bagley. However, let the issue with his shoulder not cloud the fact that the super-freshman set yet another program record. Continue reading “Marvin Bagley breaks yet another Duke record with his latest outstanding effort”
Duke freshman transferring after the Blue Devils scrambled to sign him for this class
Duke surprisingly lost out on top-10 recruit Kevin Knox for the 2017 recruiting cycle and quickly went after another forward in Jordan Tucker. They got him on campus quickly after Knox’s decision and ended up signing him for depth. However, it looks like he is now leaving before even finishing an entire season with the team.… Continue reading “Duke freshman transferring after the Blue Devils scrambled to sign him for this class”
Controversial Duke star Grayson Allen finally opens up about tripping incidents
Duke Blue Devils captain Grayson Allen says in an interview with Jeff Goodman of ESPN that he feels bad about his past tripping incidents that have tarnished his reputation throughout college basketball. Continue reading “Controversial Duke star Grayson Allen finally opens up about tripping incidents”
Louisville fills out new staff with former Duke guard
Louisville officially fired Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich “with just cause” this past week. That means interim head basketball coach David Padgett had to fill out his new staff and he plucked a coach who played for a new ACC rival. Continue reading “Louisville fills out new staff with former Duke guard”
Harry Giles enters NBA draft
Despite averaging just 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 11.5 minutes, Duke freshman forward Harry Giles will enter the NBA Draft and plans to stay in it, the school announced on Tuesday. The 6-foot-10 Giles had knee surgery before the season began, which prevented him from playing in the Blue Devils’ first 11 games and slowed his… Continue reading “Harry Giles enters NBA draft”
South Carolina stuns second-seeded Duke
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Sindarius Thornwell scored 24 points, and seventh-seeded South Carolina used sudden hot shooting in the second half to knock second-seeded Duke out of the NCAA Tournament, winning 88-81 Sunday night in a charged-up atmosphere for the second-round game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Gamecocks (24-10) took advantage of energy provided by a… Continue reading “South Carolina stuns second-seeded Duke”
Duke’s Okafor Wins Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award
ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association will present the 2015 Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to Duke center Jahlil Okafor. The award – a statuette designed by nationally-recognized sculptor Shan Gray – will be presented to Okafor at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on Tues., April 14 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
As the national freshman of the year, Okafor has led the Blue Devils to a 29-4 record and the No. 1 seed in the South Regional of the upcoming NCAA Tournament. He is the second consecutive winner from Duke, following Jabari Parker a year ago.
In addition, the Oscar Robertson Trophy – given to the USBWA’s national player of the year – and the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award will be presented at the banquet to be held annually the week following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
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| Okafor |
Okafor, a 6-11, 270-pound true freshman from Chicago, is the USBWA’s District III Player of the Year and the first freshman to be named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year. He leads the Blue Devils and ranks among the top five in the ACC in scoring (17.7), rebounds (9.0) and field goal percentage (.669) as he attempts to become the first freshman to lead Duke in all three categories.
Okafor has recorded 11 double-doubles and 12 20-point games this season. His 28 straight double-digit scoring games, achieved earlier this season, is a freshman conference record. Eight times this season Okafor was named ACC Rookie of the Week and the weeks of Dec. 14, 2014, and Jan. 4, Okafor was named the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week by the USBWA.
In addition to selecting Okafor as the national freshman of the year, the USBWA chose four other first-year standouts for its 2015 Freshman All-America Team. This is the third season that the USBWA has chosen a Freshman All-America Team. Okafor and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell were also selected to the USBWA’s All-America First Team. Following is the complete team, all of whom were finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award:
| 2014-15 USBWA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM | ||||||
| Pos. | No. | Player, School | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown |
| F | 5 | Stanley Johnson, Arizona | 6-7 | 245 | Fr. | Fullerton, Calif. |
| C | 15 | Jahlil Okafor, Duke | 6-11 | 270 | Fr. | Chicago, Ill. |
| G | 0 | D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State | 6-5 | 180 | Fr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| F | 12 | Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky | 6-11 | 250 | Fr. | Piscataway, N.J. |
| G | 2 | Melo Trimble, Maryland | 6-3 | 190 | Fr. | Upper Marlboro, Md. |
The USBWA has chosen a national freshman of the year since the 1988-89 season when LSU’s Chris Jackson was the recipient. The award was named for Wayman Tisdale in 2011 and other notable winners of the national freshman of the year award include Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd and Chris Webber.
The late Wayman Tisdale was a three-time USBWA All-American at the University of Oklahoma and in 1983 was the first freshman ever to be named a first-team All-American by the USBWA. Following a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, he played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1997 to focus on a blossoming jazz music career. In March 2007, he was diagnosed with cancer and, following a courageous and difficult battle that included the amputation of his right leg in 2008, he passed away in May 2009.
The Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award is produced by Access Sports, an Oklahoma City-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundation responsible for creating the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award. Access Sports produces all events associated with the award, including the annual awards dinner. Proceeds from the activities affiliated with the award are used to support various worthy charitable causes, including providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth to participate in basketball leagues, clinics, and training throughout the state. In addition, Access Sports supports the Wayman L. Tisdale Foundation which helps fund prosthetics for those who cannot afford the cost on their own and may not be covered by insurance.
Tickets and sponsorship information for the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards are available atcollegebasketballawards.com or by contacting Scott Hill (405-640-0406, scott.hill@access-sports.net).
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
| ALL-TIME USBWA NATIONAL FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR | |
| 1989 Chris Jackson, LSU 1990 Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech 1991 Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest 1992 Chris Webber, Michigan 1993 Jason Kidd, California 1994 Joe Smith, Maryland 1995 None selected 1996 None selected 1997 None selected 1998 Larry Hughes, Saint Louis 1999 Quentin Richardson, DePaul 2000 Jason Gardner, Arizona 2001 Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall 2002 T.J. Ford, Texas |
2003 Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse 2004 Luol Deng, Duke 2005 Marvin Williams, North Carolina 2006 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2007 Kevin Durant, Texas 2008 Michael Beasley, Kansas State 2009 Tyreke Evans, Memphis 2010 John Wall, Kentucky 2011 Jared Sullinger, Ohio State 2012 Anthony Davis, Kentucky 2013 Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State 2014 Jabari Parker, Duke 2015 Jahlil Okafor, Duke |
Related links:
• Integris Wayman Tisdale Award | More from Integris
• Freshman All-America Teams: 2014 | 2013
Harry Giles, PJ Dozier to See Action This Weekend
Harry Giles (PF, 6’9″, 2016) and PJ Dozier (CG, 6’4″, 2015) are two of the top basketball recruits in the nation, with Dozier holding offers from North Carolina, Kansas (among many others) and Giles holding offers from Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Georgetown and pretty much everyone else.
But the recruiting world hasn’t seen them in a while; both had serious injuries that have kept them off of the court for some time. That will change this weekend, as both are participating in the Phenom Hoops Challenge with their respective AAU teams in Greensboro, NC.
While it’s just their first time back in uniform, with such sought-after recruits, there is a lot of interest in how their recovery has gone thus far and how they look on the court.
For fans of Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Kansas or any of the other far-flung schools that are actively recruiting the two players (among several other high profile recruits), many of the games on the final day of the event (Sunday) will be broadcast online at NetCastSports.com.
Full schedule of the day’s broadcast coming soon, and we’ll have more information about the broadcast times – the games being broadcast on Sunday are several of the playoff games for the 17U teams at the tournament, so the final matchups won’t be set until the teams finish pool play. But we’ll work to keep everyone updated. You can also follow @NetCastSports on Twitter for more updates.
Ryan Kelly On Moving to the Lakers, NBA
Ryan Kelly, former Duke standout and new Los Angeles Laker, talks with us about his transition to the league, what he’s experienced so far and what he expects next.