Plumlee shines, Coach K readying for China, Peach Jam and more

Duke commitment Mason Plumlee struggled a bit in his most recent game, but had 14 points and 14 rebounds in the previous game versus the Bahama’s as Team USA U-18 team continues to win.  The semi-finals start today with Team USA taking on Canada.

The time has been set for 9:00 est for the Duke at Purdue game which is part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.  This link lists the time for all games.  An aside, Mason and Miles Plumlee’s Mom played for the Purdue Women’s Basketball team and his Dad grew up rooting for the school.  His parents will have the opportunity to see their eldest son Miles in action just up the road.

Speaking of scheduling, Montana is looking forward to their jaunt to Cameron which highlights the Grizzlies schedule.

Team USA wants to re-establish itself to the world.  This link tells of how they plan to do it. 

Dwight Howard is looking forward to July 21st which will be the start of practice in the quest for the Gold Medal.  Coach K is currently busy ironing out the final plans.  This is surely a busy time of year for Duke fans.

Boo Williams won the boy’s 17-U championship at the Peach Jam.  Blue Devil Nation Premium members have access to several interviews with the likes of Andre Dawkins, Jamil Wilson, John Wall and many more.  BDNP is a subscription service which takes you behind the scenes and allows access to discuss those issues on a premium members only message board.  Go to one of the paypal logos in the right side of the menu in this link which is our old site.

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Peach Jam Update, Xavier Henry and John Wall impress

Top Scorers – Xavier Henry 24.8, D. Richardson 22.0, Gary Franklin 21.8, Tommy Mason-Griffin 20.8, Terrence Boyd, 18.5, Carl Tankson 18.3, John Wall 18.3, Andrie Coleman 18.3

Top’s in rebounds – Keith Gallon 44, Alex Oriakhi 42, Colley 36, Wall 32, Hamilton 31, Noack 31, Stinson 30

Top’s in assists – John Wall 25, Phil Pressey 24, C. Payne 22, Marshall 20, Mason-Griffin 18, Selby 14

Blocked Shots – Oriakhi 10, Spencer 8, Riley 8, Noack 7, Ratliffe 7, Wilson 7, Johnson 6

There are no stats on the 16-U teams, but some of the best ball of the tournament is going on in this bracket.  Albany City Rocks went to 4-0 defeating Boo Williams, in a game with two loaded teams.  BDNP will have interviews with three of the players from these teams in the coming days.

Some of the U-16’s who’ve played well as I watched are, Travis McKie, James McAdoo, a 2012 kid named Justin Anderson, all from Boo Williams.  Jason Morris who pulled double duty for the New York Gauchos and Team Playaz played well.  Morris took a nasty fall after a dunk and fractured both cheekbones and got six stitches.  He then played in the next game.  More details on BDN Premium.    Then there was Michael Gilchrist of Team Final, Taurin Buie, Will Regan and Tibias Harris of Albany City Rocks.

The top players I viewed in in the 17-U division were Xavier Henry (pictured), a physical speciman who never quits.  We will have a brief talk with this national prospect this week along with his teammate Daniel Orton who is close to a decision.  Henry will take four official visits to Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and Texas before deciding.

John Wall really revved it up in his last two games, but his team was eliminated going 2-3.  He is a serious talent worth the hype.  Keith Gallon of Houston Hoops is an absolute load and plays hard on the blocks.  Alex Oriachi looked very good down low as well.  Gary Franklin continued his torrid play, where he pretty much does it all.  And there were several Boo Williams and other kids which impressed as well.  Recardo Ratliffe and Steven Pledger rose to the top for Boo in their win today.  Pledger, who is not listed in the top 100 in Prep Stars has been consistent all summer.  He is, IMO, top 75 for sure.  Kammeon Holsey, who committed to Georgia Tech played two really solid games, scoring in the high 20’s to lead his team the Georgia Stars to a 4-0 record.

The play offs begin today and the finals are tomorrow.  Complete coverage of the Duke prospects is available on Blue Devil Nation Premium.

Nike Peach Jam Day One (afternoon)

The Nike Peach Jam kicked off this morning with several of the nations top prospects trying to impress college coaches.  Daniel Orton and Xavier Henry led their team to a win over California Supreme, who was without star center Jeremy Tyler, a no show.

UNC prospect Leslie McDonald was also missing with his duties with the national U-18 team.  Still, there are many stars from John Wall to Josh Selby and more.  The majority of the prospects are unsigned and some have even opened their recruitment back up after committing.  One of those players is Marshawn Powell who had originally said Arkansas was his choice.

Powell plays for AAU power Boo Williams, but even with the help of eight Division I futures, the tournament favorite went down to defeat in their first game.  In fact, it took a three point shot at the buzzer to knock them out 67-64 after blowing a sizable lead. 

The winner, Team Texas was led by Gary Franklin.  Of course, Boo Williams features Duke’s first 2010 commitment Andre Dawkins.  Dawkins didn’t disappoint.  He came into the game with 8:33 left in the second half and immediately drained two jumpers.  He has 12 of his 14 points in the first half in the aforementioned allotted time.  He was 5 of 9 from the field and 4 of 8 from the three point stripe.

Duke Assistant Steve Wojciechowski watched from the sidelines.  Also watching the game were Roy Williams, Billy Donovan, Seth Greenberg and a multitude of assistant coaches.  All watched as a cast of Tristan Spurlock, Steven Pledger, Kendall Marshall, Deshawn Painter and the aforementioned Powell and Dawkins couldn’t will their team to victory.  An aside, Marshall and Dawkins are the only 2010 players on this veteran team.

Peach Jam Alum include – Amare Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony, Shelden Williams, Kevin Durant, Brendan Wright, JJ Redick, Dwayne Wade, Greg Oden, Baron Davis, Elton Brand and Dirk Nowitkzi.

Blue Devil Nation Premium will take in Jamil Wilson’s 6:00 game and and Boo Williams following that.  John Wall and others are on tomorrow’s schedule and we’ll try to make a later afternoon game where Nate Lubick and Jason Morris are in action in Aiken, S.C.

Blue Devil Nation Premium members will continue to receive updates as the weekend goes on.  Members will also get to hear interviews with the prospects and in depth scouting reports.  You can subscribe by going to the paypal links in the left menu in this link.