Coach K and company set to visit Kenny Boynton Jr.

The Duke Men’s Basketball staff will be more than just a little busy this week.  On the first day that they can be back out on the road, which is tomorrow evening, Coach K and company will have an in home with Kenny Boynton Jr. and his family.

Boynton is one of the nations top guards, arguably the best in the class of 2009.  Duke has been recruiting him consistently for a long time.  He reminds most Blue Devil faithful of Jason Williams.  Williams won a national title, was named national POY which led to him being a lottery pick in the NBA draft.  Like Boynton, Williams was a offensive scoring machine that could play both guard spots, but he settled in on the point at Duke where he learned the trade from Coach K.

Long the buzz of various basketball crazy Duke message boards, Boynton is a prospect that fans dearly want to see rock Cameron.  There is a heated battle for his services and he’s maintained all along that he would take his five official visits. 

Florida has really turned it up for Boynton, attempting to make a move while Krzyzewski was coaching Team USA to the Gold Medal.  Boyntons friend, Eloy Vargas is already a Gator and he is of course from the sunshine state like his friend.

If Boynton were to choose Duke he would remain in the constant media spotlight of a team which has every game televised and one which is in the basketball fanatical ACC.  He could very well be the focus of any school he chooses in a list that includes USC, Memphis, Georgia Tech and Texas along with Duke and Florida.

Florida will come in the night after the Duke staff, but you can bet that there will be a lot to think about in the Boynton household.  While UF has a wonderful basketball program, they sometimes play second fiddle to Gator Football.   Still, the local allure might be as attractive as the national spotlight and playing for a living legend in Coach K.

In the end, the decision should come down to where can he better prepare for his goal of the NBA and which school will continue to support him once he is in the league.  College will be nothing more than a temporary stop for the talented Boynton but his choice will go a long ways in defining him as a future player.

Make no mistake that the Blue Devils covet and care about young Boynton.  They want him to be a part of what looks to be a very talented team.  Duke will always compete for national prominence, but the addition of Boynton would be another step towards a national championship.

The staff has layed it on the line and Blue Devil fans have followed his every AAU move.  Now all they can hope for is that Boynton sees the golden opportunity available for him in Durham.

Blue Devil Nation Premium has covered Kenny Boynton from the very start and you can follow the process even closer by becoming a member.  You can subscribe here.  We will be moving to our new home very soon!

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Coach K helped America, Duke recruiting and World Basketball

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well, this is but one of many pictures of Coach K that will live on in time.  Coach K further cemented his name into the history books in leading Team USA to the Gold Medal, an accomplishment few can claim.  If you think Coach is satisfied with three national championships and his latest accomplishment, think again.  His staff will be hard at work on the recruiting front trying to help secure the combination of players which will be a part of the fourth or maybe even fifth title by the time they time they arrive.

No matter, how you spin the effect of the Gold Medal on Duke Basketball, there is no denying that it helps in many ways.  During the upcoming season, announcers will all allude to Coach K and his Olympic success.  Current players like Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler will benefit from his experiences and the nations spotlight will be cast no matter where the Blue Devils play.

What about recruiting?  Duke is in a hotly contested battle for Kenny Boynton in the class of 2009.  Do you think seeing Coach K handle super talented guards like Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul made an impression?  Do you think any of the five kids offered in 2010 want to be a part of something special?  Would they like to attend a school where they will play for a living legend and have all their games televised?

While nobody can answer these questions for sure, one has to think that with Coach K now turning his sole focus on Duke that there will be a lot of kids wanting to play for the man who has handled the best players in America and has produced either the first or second most NBA players, depending on where you look, than any other coach in America.

Yep!  Coach K had this talented bunch of NBA stars buy into teamwork for the greater good.  And we all know that selfless play produces winners.  Believe me, all these players are winners, having endorsements waiting in multiple countries and more importantly, representing what’s best about America!

As Duke fans or Americans, we should be proud of what Coach K had done for the United States, Duke and world basketball.  Thanks to this years edition of Team USA, millions of fans were born making basketball a household name.  Quite simply, Coach K was as selfless as his players, serving as an ambassador of basketball instead of shirking the duties to concentrate on Duke alone.

In the end, we learned a lot about teamwork and as Duke fans we are fortunate to have a legend strolling the sidelines of Cameron for years to come.

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Boynton, Knight lead Team Breakdown to Reebok Title

Kenny Boynton Jr. (2009) scored 26 points leading his team to a win in the open division championship game of the Reebok Summer Championships just outside of Las Vegas.  Breakdown lost the second game of the tournament to D-One Sports, but this game was never in doubt as indicated by the 81-64 score.

Brandon Knight (2010) chipped in 24 points.  Team Breakdown (Florida) avenged an earlier loss to D-One Sports which features John Wall who averaged 23.6 for the tournament and Ryan Kelly (16.6).

It was Knight that helped his team in the two prior games where he scored 25 and 22 which was a key to advancing.  Team Breakdown finished the event 8-1.  Boynton and Knight told the Blue Devil Nation at an earlier event that their goal was to win the title and both mentioned coming close wasn’t the way they wanted to close out the summer.  Their team lost in the final to Belmont Shores last year.  Kenny Boynton, of course is being heavily recruited by the Blue Devils and has long been their top target in the class of 2009.

Weekend scoring totals -

Kenny Boynton - 33, 21, 26, 26, 25, 17, 12, 14, 26 – 22.2

Brandon Knight – 26, 24, 2, 19, 22, 20, 25, 22, 24 - 20.4

Friday Morning Links

Starting off with AAU Basketball and Las Vegas, Kenny Boynton and Brandon Knight have scored 33/26, 21/24, and 26/19, respectively over the past three days.  The two have combined to make 17 three point shots.  Jody Demling has an extensive update from Las Vegas posted on his blog at the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The Las Vegas Review Journal has written a positive article on the ability of lesser known athletes to achieve exposure via the AAU circuit.  Adam Zagoria and Dick Weiss also have updates on their blogs.

Turning to Duke football and Desmond Scott on his decision to play for Duke University: “I wanted to play in my backyard.”  WRAL.com has more here.

Finally, here is Coach K with more thoughts on USA Basketball.

Team USA, Kenny Boynton and Duke Football

When Kobe Bryant mentions the “joy of the game,” you get an idea of what Coach K has done to make sure the players are enjoying themselves in preparation for the Olympics.  Most of the players remember little of the last time the USA won Gold.

In this blurb, the author says Team USA has that special something that is missing from most NBA teams.   There is some worry about the overall team health.  And here is CNNSI’s Chris Ballard on long range planning for the USA Basketball program.

Kenny Boynton has no shortage of confidence judging from his comments in this link.

With kickoff to football season just over a month away, Coach Cutcliffe caught the attention of coaches on Wednesday’s Operation Football.  Here is ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Duke’s “Catch 22.”  Richmond edged out James Madison in the pre season polls which is a departure from the pre season magazines which all have JMU on top.  TSN picks them #2 in the nation, Lindy’s #3 and Phil Steele has them number one.

Vegas links buffet – Boynton wows many!

Here is your daily platter of links from Las Vegas where the nation’s top basketball prospects are gathered.   Let’s start with the local paper the Las Vegas Journal Live.  Then there is this link at NBADraft.net followed by one of the better blogs around in Zags Blog.       

Let’s not forget Jeff Goodman of Fox and then there is the LATimes-Thompson says tournaments not so good  for prospect’s inflated egos.   Lastly, Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier has as a good report up.

Kenny Boynton wows Vegas with 33 points in comeback win

Kenny Boynton scored 26 second half points leading Team Breakdown to an 85-73 win during the opening day of the Reebok tournament in Las Vegas.

Boynton erupted after struggling with his shot in the first half where his team once trailed by 13 points.  Several of the nation’s top coaches were on hand to see his performance.

Teammate Brandon Knight added 22 points and the two outdueled Abdul Gaddy (26 points) and Avery Bradley (18 points).  Team Breakdown faces D-One Sports today in a much anticipated match up with John Wall. 

Wall led his team to a 87-80 win over Worldwide Orange, scoring 30 points in the victory. Here is TSN on the Breakdown game.

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