Twitter Tuesday: Memphis, Duke, Kerry Blackshear, package deals
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
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In this week's Twitter Tuesday mailbag, we take a deep dive into Memphis’ recent recruiting run, the potential of Duke’s 2020 class, package deals and where Kerry Blackshear will be this fall.
Memphis has been on a roll for the past several months. Not only have the Tigers landed the top-ranked prospect in America, James Wiseman, or three other Rivals150 members from the area, but Penny Hardaway is now showing that he can secure the best from outside of his region.
Within the past five days, the Tigers celebrated the commitments of top-50 wing Lester Quinones, arguably the best grad-transfer available this spring in Rayjon Tucker and former Duke recruit Boogie Ellis. Their 2019 class sits as the best nationally and could get better as they are among in the running for Precious Achiuwa and R.J. Hampton. This all comes a year after Hardaway landed three Rivals150 prospects during his first few months on campus to close out the 2018 class.
That being said, Memphis is going to have to string together elite class after elite class if it wants to be in the same conversation as Duke and Kentucky. Memphis’ class is being celebrated across Tigers Nation, but a similar class in Durham or Lexington is almost the norm.
Duke found its replacement for Tre Jones next year in Jeremy Roach. Now the Blue Devils have now shifted their focus on Jalen Johnson.
While Johnson is down to a final four of Arizona, Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin, the feeling is that Johnson's recruitment is more of a two-horse race between the Blue Devils and Bluegrass Wildcats. Duke seems to be the likely landing spot for Johnson, giving Coach K and his staff another tremendous recruiting win.
From there, B.J. Boston is a heavy Duke target, but the Blue Devils are battling Auburn, Florida and Kentucky for his signature. In the frontcourt, Henry Coleman and Mark Williams are two of the most talked about big men that could eventually end up in Durham.
I would not call it a package deal, but there is a chance that B.J. Boston and Sharife Cooper could continue their playing days together in college with the likeliest stop being Auburn. It would be a surprise if the Tigers don't land Cooper, but they are playing catch-up with Boston and might be in fourth place behind Duke, Florida and Kentucky for his services.
Another pair to keep tabs on is Jalen Green and Nimari Burnett. Where that would be remains up for debate but they have been great friends for years now and have been pitched by multiple programs, including Alabama’s Nate Oats just last week, about suiting up together in college.
Finally, keep an eye on Scottie Barnes as the super outgoing junior has formed strong friendships through USA Basketball and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him land somewhere and attempt to bring a fellow five-star with him.
The NBA. Little to no information has leaked out of the Kerry Blackshear camp since we broke the news that Kentucky’s John Calipari was in to see his family. We also broke down some of the dark horses for Blackshear - Gonzaga, Michigan State and Tennessee - and potential top suitors such as Florida, Kentucky and Texas A&M.
However, sources have told Rivals.com that Blackshear seems to be leaning toward keeping his name in the NBA Draft. While he may go undrafted, the feeling is that he would be OK spending a year in the G-League instead of spending next year at a new college program.