What McDonald's All Americans will do for Duke, Kentucky, UNC and Kansas
Adam FinkelsteinESPN INSIDER
The
McDonald's All American Game on Wednesday night showed the best high school basketball has to offer and the future of both college and NBA basketball.
This year, the very best of the best is headed to Duke as Mike Krzyzewski landed the top three prospects in the class -- R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish -- along with 12th-ranked Tre Jones.That group shows Duke's continued dominance on the recruiting trail. These four individual pieces should fit together seamlessly in a style that is more consistent with typical Duke teams than what we saw this season when Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr. and Trevon Duval, three of the top six prospects in the ESPN 100 of 2017, required Duke to play a more dated offensive style and switch to a zone defense midway through the season.Jones might not have the same long-term upside as the first three, but he'll be critical to Duke's success next season as he provides Krzyzewski with a true point guard and leader on both ends of the floor. Barrett and Reddish will play their natural positions on either wing and to their strengths as scorers, playmakers and potentially secondary ball handlers. And Williamson will be slotted at the 4 and also probably spend time as a small-ball 5, where his mismatch ability will give opposing teams fits.If Gary Trent Jr., who was the team's third-leading scorer and most consistent 3-point shooter this season as a freshman, elects to return, Duke could have the youngest, and most talented, starting five in the country. If Trent leaves, the Blue Devils probably will still have Marques Bolden, Javin DeLaurier and Alex O'Connell ready to take on bigger roles next season.In short, the pieces are changing, but the story will be similar. Duke will go only as far as its star freshmen take the Blue Devils next season, but those freshmen will be the very best college basketball has to offer and ideally suited to complement one another.With that, the Blue Devils won't be the only blue blood to rely heavily on McDonald's All Americans next season:
Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats have a pair of All Americans in Wednesday night's game -- Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson -- along with a third five-star prospect in the class in Tyler Herro. That trio currently ranks fourth overall in the country and, incredibly, that would be the first time since John Calipari's arrival in Lexington that he hasn't delivered one of the top two recruiting classes in the country.There is a silver lining, though. This year's class, in conjunction with what is expected to be a larger-than-normal group of returners, could indicate some flexibility to the one-and-done model Kentucky has been so committed to over the years, and in doing so, perhaps the team will have a better chance to return to college basketball's biggest stage.
Quickley is a pure point guard, Johnson is a true scoring wing, and Herro is a skilled big guard and potent 3-point shooter. Collectively, the Wildcats will balance out a roster that was front-court heavy this season and upgrade the team's shooting and floor spacing on the offensive end. If P.J. Washington, Quade Green, Wenyen Gabriel, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nick Richards and Sacha Killeya-Jones opt to return, Kentucky will have a roster that is as deep, talented and balanced as any in the country.
Kansas Jayhawks
With Devonte Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk both graduating, and the NBA likely to tempt Malik Newman and Udoka Azubuike, Bill Self actually began building his recruiting class last year with transfers Dedric Lawson, K.J. Lawson, Charlie Moore and Sam Cunliffe. He then went out and signed three McDonald's All Americans in Devon Dotson, Quentin Grimes and David McCormack, along with what probably would have been a fourth had Silvio De Sousa not joined them midseason.Dotson and Grimes are as good of an incoming freshman backcourt as any in the country. Dotson is a physically aggressive and competitive lead guard who fits the Self prototype, and Grimes is a true combo-guard, capable of playing on or off the ball and making plays for himself and others. McCormack is a wide-bodied big who has worked hard on his conditioning and been well schooled in offensive and defensive concepts so that, while he might not be a star next season, his transition to the college game is likely to be smoother than that of some other KU bigs we've seen in recent years. Should Self be able to punctuate the class with Romeo Langford (No. 5 overall in the ESPN 100), Kansas will have a freshman class that could rival Duke's and the overall depth to contend with Kentucky.
<article class="ad-300" style='background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: block; float: right; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; overflow: hidden; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; z-index: 1000026;'>This year, the very best of the best is headed to Duke as Mike Krzyzewski landed the top three prospects in the class -- R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish -- along with 12th-ranked Tre Jones.That group shows Duke's continued dominance on the recruiting trail. These four individual pieces should fit together seamlessly in a style that is more consistent with typical Duke teams than what we saw this season when Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr. and Trevon Duval, three of the top six prospects in the ESPN 100 of 2017, required Duke to play a more dated offensive style and switch to a zone defense midway through the season.Jones might not have the same long-term upside as the first three, but he'll be critical to Duke's success next season as he provides Krzyzewski with a true point guard and leader on both ends of the floor. Barrett and Reddish will play their natural positions on either wing and to their strengths as scorers, playmakers and potentially secondary ball handlers. And Williamson will be slotted at the 4 and also probably spend time as a small-ball 5, where his mismatch ability will give opposing teams fits.If Gary Trent Jr., who was the team's third-leading scorer and most consistent 3-point shooter this season as a freshman, elects to return, Duke could have the youngest, and most talented, starting five in the country. If Trent leaves, the Blue Devils probably will still have Marques Bolden, Javin DeLaurier and Alex O'Connell ready to take on bigger roles next season.In short, the pieces are changing, but the story will be similar. Duke will go only as far as its star freshmen take the Blue Devils next season, but those freshmen will be the very best college basketball has to offer and ideally suited to complement one another.With that, the Blue Devils won't be the only blue blood to rely heavily on McDonald's All Americans next season:
Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats have a pair of All Americans in Wednesday night's game -- Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson -- along with a third five-star prospect in the class in Tyler Herro. That trio currently ranks fourth overall in the country and, incredibly, that would be the first time since John Calipari's arrival in Lexington that he hasn't delivered one of the top two recruiting classes in the country.There is a silver lining, though. This year's class, in conjunction with what is expected to be a larger-than-normal group of returners, could indicate some flexibility to the one-and-done model Kentucky has been so committed to over the years, and in doing so, perhaps the team will have a better chance to return to college basketball's biggest stage.
Quickley is a pure point guard, Johnson is a true scoring wing, and Herro is a skilled big guard and potent 3-point shooter. Collectively, the Wildcats will balance out a roster that was front-court heavy this season and upgrade the team's shooting and floor spacing on the offensive end. If P.J. Washington, Quade Green, Wenyen Gabriel, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nick Richards and Sacha Killeya-Jones opt to return, Kentucky will have a roster that is as deep, talented and balanced as any in the country.
Kansas Jayhawks
With Devonte Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk both graduating, and the NBA likely to tempt Malik Newman and Udoka Azubuike, Bill Self actually began building his recruiting class last year with transfers Dedric Lawson, K.J. Lawson, Charlie Moore and Sam Cunliffe. He then went out and signed three McDonald's All Americans in Devon Dotson, Quentin Grimes and David McCormack, along with what probably would have been a fourth had Silvio De Sousa not joined them midseason.Dotson and Grimes are as good of an incoming freshman backcourt as any in the country. Dotson is a physically aggressive and competitive lead guard who fits the Self prototype, and Grimes is a true combo-guard, capable of playing on or off the ball and making plays for himself and others. McCormack is a wide-bodied big who has worked hard on his conditioning and been well schooled in offensive and defensive concepts so that, while he might not be a star next season, his transition to the college game is likely to be smoother than that of some other KU bigs we've seen in recent years. Should Self be able to punctuate the class with Romeo Langford (No. 5 overall in the ESPN 100), Kansas will have a freshman class that could rival Duke's and the overall depth to contend with Kentucky.
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North Carolina Tar Heels
This season's North Carolina team lacked NBA-caliber talent. Next season's will not, with McDonald's All Americans Nassir Little and Coby White in the class. Little is very likely a one-and-done player and actually might be a better NBA prospect than he is an impactful college freshman. He'll undoubtedly play big minutes and have a significant role for Roy Williams, but he's not yet the type of scorer or playmaker who will put up gaudy scoring numbers right away. Instead, he's a long and athletic forward with consistently improving skills who fits the combo-forward mold that is currently in such high demand in the NBA.It could very well be White who puts up bigger numbers next season. He's likely to have the ball in his hands from day one following the graduation of Joel Berry II and the previous departure of Jalek Felton, and he is the type of big playmaker who should thrive on the Tar Heels' break. The fact that both he and Rechon Black, a third ESPN 100 pledge, are both North Carolina natives should only make them that much more popular with the Tar Heels faithful.<strike></strike>
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This season's North Carolina team lacked NBA-caliber talent. Next season's will not, with McDonald's All Americans Nassir Little and Coby White in the class. Little is very likely a one-and-done player and actually might be a better NBA prospect than he is an impactful college freshman. He'll undoubtedly play big minutes and have a significant role for Roy Williams, but he's not yet the type of scorer or playmaker who will put up gaudy scoring numbers right away. Instead, he's a long and athletic forward with consistently improving skills who fits the combo-forward mold that is currently in such high demand in the NBA.It could very well be White who puts up bigger numbers next season. He's likely to have the ball in his hands from day one following the graduation of Joel Berry II and the previous departure of Jalek Felton, and he is the type of big playmaker who should thrive on the Tar Heels' break. The fact that both he and Rechon Black, a third ESPN 100 pledge, are both North Carolina natives should only make them that much more popular with the Tar Heels faithful.<strike></strike>
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