Tatum makes his pick
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For those scoring at home, it's been one heck of a Sunday for five-star small forward Jayson Tatum. It hasn't been
a bad day for Duke either.
A 6-foot-8 small forward from St. Louis (Mo.) Chaminade got his day started off in a big way when he helped the St. Louis Eagles move into the finals of the summer's most prestigious tournament, the Nike Peach Jam.
Immediately after the televised win on ESPNU, Tatum hopped on the air and announced that he has made a verbal commitment to the reigning National Champion.
Though the Blue Devils had been considered the behind the scenes leader for some time now, they still had to seal the deal and Mike Krzyzewski built off the groundwork laid by assistant Jon Scheyer in the Tatum recruitment to make sure that he picked Duke.
Probably the most skilled wing player in the class of 2016, Tatum is also highly versatile. He can handle the ball, he is a good shooter, rebounds well and does a great job of earning trips to the free throw line. His bread and butter is setting up shop in the mid to high post where he can spin for jumpers, turn fake and drive or find cutting teammates for easy buckets.
Thanks to dedicated work in the weight room and natural maturity, Tatum has really started to fill out and thanks to his broad shoulders, length and above average strength he'll also be able to play as a four man -- similar to how
Justise Winslow did on the 2015 National Championship team -- which will allow the Blue Devils to play fast.
Tatum is the first member of the class of 2016 to pick Duke and the Blue Devils will now set their sites on more top flight talent. 2016's No. 2 player -- power forward Harry Giles -- and No. 4 player -- point guard Dennis Smith -- are both home state kids and players that the Blue Devils will be looking to add to Tatum.
