North Carolina vs. Duke is the number one rivalry in college sports and it takes place tonight at “Cameron Indoor Stadium”. This is a huge night for recruits to be on campus to watch one of the biggest games of the season.
Duke has a few players coming on campus who have already verbally committed to play in “Cameron Indoor Stadium” which are Josh Hairston (Courtland, VA) and Tyler Thornton (Gonzaga, DC) of the class of 2010.
The big surprise of the night is that Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA) a consensus top five player is making the trip half way across the country for an unofficial visit. This will be his second unofficial visit to Duke University which could make some people think they could be his leader. He has also visited Kansas on two unofficial visits this season along with going to Iowa State home games this year.
RS: Connecticut, Georgetown, UNC, Kansas, Maryland, Texas, Memphis, Florida, USC, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech and more.
PHR: Do you have a favorite?
RS: Everybody has an equally chance right now.
PHR: What are some of the deciding factors you are looking for in a program and school?
RS: Things I am really looking for is coaching, a coach and players I can feel comfortable around and play with.
Roscoe Smith is a 6’8 extremely long and athletic wing forward who plays aggressive at both ends of the floor. He attacks the rim well with either hand and uses his athletic ability to finish strong inside. He has range out beyond the 3pt line with ease and a nice mid-range pull up jumper. He uses his long frame on the defensive end of the floor to alter and swat away shots with ease. He has a ton of upside which is why so many schools are after him for his services.
On Sunday, afternoon at the Dean Smith Center the championship games were held for the Bob Gibbons TOC. In the 17U title game the Atlanta Celtics (GA) defeated Team Breakdown (FL) 72 to 62 behind a impressive performance from the # 1 player in the class of 2009 Derrick Favors with 20 points. Kenny Boyton of Team Breakdown was the games leading scorer with 29 points in the loss.
In the 16U title game the D.C. Assult (D.C.) defeated Triple Threat (MD) 64 to 61. Then in the 15U title game OBC (OH) defeated M33M (TN) 60 to 45.
On Sunday afternoon Dexter Strickland picked UNC over Florida and Michigan State.
Dexter Strickland is one of the elite players in the class of 2009 and has the skill set to play either guard position at the next level. He is a 6’3 combo guard that is a smooth guard that can take over a game when needed. He is a very athletic guard that finishes strong at the rim and has nice floor vision.
This now gives UNC five committments in the past week from the class of 2009 & 2010.
On Tuesday Reggie Bullock accepted a scholarship to play for instate powerhouse UNC. He picked UNC over Wake Forest, Indiana and others.
Reggie Bullock is a 6’6 wing player with a ton of athletic ability to his game. He is one of the best shooters in the class of 2010. He is also ranked in the top 30 players in the class of 2010. He has the ability to finish strong when filling the lanes on the break.
This now gives UNC four commitments in the last week to continue the tradition of excellence. Reggie Bullock joins John Henson, David Wear and Travis Wear as the other recent commits. It didn’t take long for Reggie to realize that UNC was the place for him. Roy Williams offered him the scholarship on January 2, 2008.
Reeves Nelson (Modesto Christian, CA) Picks the Bruins
On Wednesday night Reeves Nelson made his college decision picking the UCLA Bruins. He picked UCLA over Southern California, Duke, UNC and Arizona.
Reeves Nelson is a 6’7 combo forward who does most of his damage on the inside but has the ability to step out and hit the mid-range jumper. He is a top 35 player in the class of 2009. This was a huge get for UCLA who just missed out on landing the Wear twins also from California who picked UNC.
This game was a over by the end of the 1st quarter Taft (CA) came out on fire and was basically able to get whatever they wanted against Charlotte (FL).
The score at the half was 49 to 19 with the top scorers being Bryce Smith (Taft) with 12 points and Justin Hawkins (Taft) with 10 points. Charlotte (FL) top scorers in the half were Chris Stephenson with 9 points and Dago Pena with 6 points.
Taft was able to force 15 turnovers in the 1st half which helped lead to the huge deficit at the half. The 2nd half started just like the 1st Taft came out running outscoring Charlotte 15 to 3 in the 3rd quarter.
Taft had a balanced attack on offense with 4 players in double figures. Leading the way was Justin Hawkins with 20 points and 5 rebounds, Bryce Smith 13 points and 6 rebounds, (UNC) signee Larry Drew finished with 12 points, 5 steals and 2 assists and Terran Carter totaled 11 points and 8 rebounds.
The Charlotte team didn’t get much production from anyone other than Stephenson and Pena who combined to score 32 out of the teams 40 points.
Dago Pena scored 11 in the 2nd half to finish with 20 points and 6 rebounds and Chris Stephenson was held to just 3 points in the 2nd half totaling 12 points for the game.
