Another batch of questions are on the docket for this week’s Wednesday’s Leftovers. We do our best to meet some of your basketball needs in which we take a closer look at Stanford’s ongoing recruiting success, a wildcard for Jalen Green, under-the-radar 2020 commitments, and much more.
MORE: Indiana, Memphis and more in Twitter Tuesday mailbag
2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
That is the million-dollar question lingering at both Duke and North Carolina. When will Coach K and Roy Williams retire, and who is going to replace each? Let’s say both coach for four more years, which brings us to the 2024-2025 season.
For Duke, it would be a shock if they go outside of their family. The first look it might give is to Tommy Amaker, though he seems fairly comfortable at Harvard. Johnny Dawkins is another name thrown around, as is Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski. Jeff Capel could have Pitt humming by then and don’t forget about Jon Scheyer, who, if he does not leave for a head coaching vacancy by 2024, will have been a member of the Duke program in some capacity for 15 years.
With all that being said, Dawkins would be my best prediction for replacing Coach K. He is one of the original Dukies that started the blueblood pedigree in Durham. He had an eight-year run at Stanford where he made one NCAA tournament and won the NIT twice, though his Pac-12 record was a middling 66-78. At UCF, he put the Knights into the NCAA tourney once in four years and has an 83-48 record overall.
North Carolina is even more of a toss-up; does it go outside of the family entirely and pluck someone like Chris Mack, Tony Bennett or Jay Wright, or do the Tar Heels stick with those that have a connection? If they choose the latter, names like Jerry Stackhouse and Jerod Haase have appeared, though maybe UNC-Greensboro’s Wes Miller could be up for the task by then, too.
Much will ride on the success of Haase, who played for Williams at Kansas and coached for him at KU and UNC. Can he return the Cardinal to the upper-echelon within the sport? Stanford did not reach the NCAA tournament in Haase's first three years and was not slated to make it this season, either. Does Miller take the leap to another ACC gig before Williams leaves, too, and if so, does he have any type of success? Maybe but, either way, Miller is my guess for replacing the legendary coach in Chapel Hill.
The only definite is that whomever steps into such massive shoes will be faced with one of the more daunting tasks that a newly named head coach has ever seen.
*****
The others, as in Stanford. The Cardinal should be feeling mighty good right now coming off the commitment of arguably the top prospect that the program has ever landed in Ziaire Williams. Who better to replace the top-10 small forward than another blue-chip recruit in Harrison Ingram?
That is exactly what the Cardinal staff has to be selling to Ingram right now. There have been whispers that a commitment is not entirely too far off and among the leaders, Stanford sits atop, though North Carolina and Purdue are also heavily involved. He has visited all three already and if the coronavirus continues to impact travel basketball for the rest of the summer, it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that he could commit before the pandemic eases.
*****
I may be close to walking back my feelings on Jalen Green. The nation’s top available senior, Green is set to announce his college decision on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. His finalists remain Auburn, Fresno State, Memphis and USC.
While many, if not all pundits, believe that he is headed to Auburn, which would conclude a fantastic week for the Tigers beginning with JT Thor’s commitment on Sunday, it seems that they may be wrong and so might I.
Why is that? My guess is that he could actually choose the professional path above all else. Sure, the relationship that he has cultivated with Memphis’ coaching staff could trump all else; he could choose to play near his home at Fresno State; or even team up with his good friend Sharife Cooper at Auburn. However, the idea of being a trendsetter, whether it is overseas or playing professionally domestically, may have piqued Green’s interest the most.
*****
Love this question, Nick, so I will go with three that can be found within the bottom half of the Rivals150.
Vanderbilt’s most recent commitment, Tyrin Lawrence is someone that, if he would have graduated with his original 2019 class, would have just finished his freshman season in a league like the Southland or the OVC. Instead, he took a prep year, saw his game take the next step and should find every chance to flourish early and often in Nashville.
Iowa State needs some production out of its incoming freshmen class and Darlinstone Dubar may be the guy that leads the charge. Possibly best used in a small ball power forward role, Dubar is a tough-nosed, versatile mismatch in the frontcourt that will, at the least, compete and defend.
Questions remain to the health of Akok Akok, but with Sidney Wilson transferring, there is an even greater chance that Andre Jackson make for a quick impact at UConn next year. One of the best athletes in America, Jackson has to shoot it better, but there will be highlight-worthy moments provided by the four-star forward in Storrs in the coming years.
