With the regular season now in its final month and recruiting news remaining relentless, Rivals national recruiting analysts Rob Cassidy and Dan McDonald tackle three of college basketball’s most interesting topics and debate whether each statement is true or false.
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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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1. Jalen Johnson’s absence is the reason Duke is playing better basketball.
McDonald's take: FACT. It’s hard to argue with the results right now, but it’s more than just that. The ball is moving better and the Blue Devils are getting better shots within their offense. That doesn’t mean Johnson isn’t a good player in his own right, but sometimes a player just doesn’t mesh within a certain system or with a certain team.
Cassidy's take: FICTION. Everything in life is on a sliding scale. Has the adjusted rotation without Johnson benefitted Duke? Surely to some extent, but to point to his absence as the sole reason for Duke’s turnaround seems overly simplistic. This is the product of a variety of factors, including maturation. Even when the much-discussed forward was on the roster, the Blue Devils were still 1-2 when Johnson played fewer than 20 minutes. Blaming Johnson is certainly the easy narrative, but I’m not sure it’s totally accurate.
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2. Canceling the 2021 McDonald's All-American Game was the right call.
McDonald's take: FICTION. NBA teams are flying all over the country playing games. College teams have been doing it the last few months. High school and prep school teams have done quite a bit of traveling, too. It doesn’t seem like too difficult of a task to bring 24 kids together for a few days to have a game. They could have tweaked the usual schedule that comes with being invited to the game and made this work. It’s a little disappointing to me, but these are still unusual times, obviously.
Cassidy's take: FICTION. Everyone's head was in the right place here. I get why the call was made. Still, a number of high schools are flying all over the country to play in less-meaningful events with smaller safety budgets than the McDonald's game. I feel they could have safely pulled off a modified game, as most of the players on the rosters have been on airplanes in the last few months anyway.
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3. Five-star Patrick Baldwin Jr. will play for his dad in the Horizon League.
McDonald's take: FACT. It seems like the momentum is in favor of this happening right now, and I'm totally in favor of it. Baldwin is an elite talent and it would be really interesting to see how much he could elevate those around him playing at Milwaukee. It wouldn’t hurt his NBA status and he would get to spend another year at home around family before becoming a professional, so it would be a really cool story if it happens.
Cassidy's take: FACT. All signs point to Baldwin taking his game to Milwaukee instead of former front-runner Duke, which still seems like a massive upset even when you consider his father is the coach. The fit certainly seems to be there. Nobody knows how to play to Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s skill set like the man that has been watching him play since he was a toddler. At the same time, a player of Baldwin Jr. 's ability can likely help improve his father’s 45-69 record in four seasons as a head coach. Everybody wins … except the Blue Devils.
