All Things Tre Jones Recruitment Thread

OK, if this RJ Barrett commits to Duke, that would increase our chances with Tre, right? And this Garland wants to play with Tre? Any of the other schools on Tre's list got room for them both?

And thinking about who we are losing after this year, sure we lose Lynch and Mason, those 2 will hurt, but Gaston and Bakary? Hey, nice guys but to be honest the new recruits coming in could immediately be upgrades to those 2. And do we also lose Fitz? He's listed on the roster as a RS SR? And if we do lose him, then why are we only bringing in 4 recruits?
 

Shooting guard R.J. Barrett's reclassified to the 2018 class and is a heavy Duke lean. Arguably the best High School player in the country right now. More reason to keep an eye on the Darius Garland timetable as K probably only takes one point guard now.

Wow this could be huge, thanks for update! If this were to work out and Barrett goes to Duke and that helps push Tre in Gopher direction, you'd have to say the (supposed) mythical MN curse is dissipating. I think about Hoiberg leaving IA ST at a critical time during Amir's recruitment / his knee injury that may have scared off some of the blue bloods... it's time we consider our fortune alongside misfortune. Fingers crossed things continue to fall into place.
 

OK, if this RJ Barrett commits to Duke, that would increase our chances with Tre, right? And this Garland wants to play with Tre? Any of the other schools on Tre's list got room for them both?

And thinking about who we are losing after this year, sure we lose Lynch and Mason, those 2 will hurt, but Gaston and Bakary? Hey, nice guys but to be honest the new recruits coming in could immediately be upgrades to those 2. And do we also lose Fitz? He's listed on the roster as a RS SR? And if we do lose him, then why are we only bringing in 4 recruits?

Fitz got a sixth year
 

Fitz got a sixth year

The suggestion on the board is that Fitz might be encouraged to use his last year of eligibility as a grad transfer if he doesn't fit the plans. There is no evidence that Pitino operates this way with guys who are upstanding citizens and good teammates, but the unsolicited advice in some small circles is that if we can upgrade, Fitz should be invited to seek other opportunities. I don't think it's likely to happen, but message board roster management will likely bring up this possibility if we run into a can't miss recruit with no scholarships available.
 

The suggestion on the board is that Fitz might be encouraged to use his last year of eligibility as a grad transfer if he doesn't fit the plans. There is no evidence that Pitino operates this way with guys who are upstanding citizens and good teammates, but the unsolicited advice in some small circles is that if we can upgrade, Fitz should be invited to seek other opportunities. I don't think it's likely to happen, but message board roster management will likely bring up this possibility if we run into a can't miss recruit with no scholarships available.

Well, I thought I heard at least one poster mention that Pitino said that Fitz was the best player we had in practice going into last season? Or something like that? So maybe Fitz will pan out in a way that the last thing we'd want is to lose him?

Hard to make a move that is dependent on an unknown, which is what high school recruits really are, when we have a known in our midst, as Fitz has been here to show Pitino what he can do and against his teammates, who are Big Ten quality players.

But who knows, if it was a 2 for 1 kind of deal, where Tre said he'd sign with the Gophers if we also took one of his top rated buddies like Garland, well, that could be hard to resist? Kind of glad I'm not a Div 1 P5 College bb coach, lol. Not sure I'd want to have to make such decisions.
 


It would be hard to turn down 2 5* PGs. I'm sure Jelly would beat them out and start though! ;)
 

The suggestion on the board is that Fitz might be encouraged to use his last year of eligibility as a grad transfer if he doesn't fit the plans. There is no evidence that Pitino operates this way with guys who are upstanding citizens and good teammates, but the unsolicited advice in some small circles is that if we can upgrade, Fitz should be invited to seek other opportunities. I don't think it's likely to happen, but message board roster management will likely bring up this possibility if we run into a can't miss recruit with no scholarships available.

If Gaston gets to stay for four years that tells me Pitino has a lot of character and will honor scholarships. I think a lot of coaches would have kicked him to the curb if it meant getting a guy like Race Thompson
 

Wow this could be huge, thanks for update! If this were to work out and Barrett goes to Duke and that helps push Tre in Gopher direction, you'd have to say the (supposed) mythical MN curse is dissipating. I think about Hoiberg leaving IA ST at a critical time during Amir's recruitment / his knee injury that may have scared off some of the blue bloods... it's time we consider our fortune alongside misfortune. Fingers crossed things continue to fall into place.

Just playing devil's advocate here, but I don't see at all how RJ's decision affects Tre in any way. Barrett is a true wing, it'd be different if he were a guard, but he's not. There's no reason Coach K couldn't opt to go with a 1-2-3 lineup of Tre, Garland, and Barrett. It would be very similar here to be honest with Tre, Jelly, and Amir. Regardless, I see Tre being on point wherever he goes due to his distribution skills and high IQ (plus lack of outside shooting at this point in time)
 

Just playing devil's advocate here, but I don't see at all how RJ's decision affects Tre in any way. Barrett is a true wing, it'd be different if he were a guard, but he's not. There's no reason Coach K couldn't opt to go with a 1-2-3 lineup of Tre, Garland, and Barrett. It would be very similar here to be honest with Tre, Jelly, and Amir. Regardless, I see Tre being on point wherever he goes due to his distribution skills and high IQ (plus lack of outside shooting at this point in time)

Yep. Barrett is a 6-7 SF and Duke will likely have to replace their starting PG, SG and SF for next year so this has zero impact on Tre.
 




Yep. Barrett is a 6-7 SF and Duke will likely have to replace their starting PG, SG and SF for next year so this has zero impact on Tre.

Looks to me that Duke has 3 scholarships open for 2018. 9 offers outstanding. (10 if you count the Barrett reclassification)

PG: Jones and Garland
SG: Romeo Langford
SF: Cameron Reddish, Zion, Jairus Hamilton, RJ Barrett
PF: Marvin Bagley III, Emmit Williams
C: David McCormack

If Barrett commits, and Bagley does, and Garland does...Duke is done. Or any 3 players really. Unless K is waiting on Tre to give a scholarship to Zion, Bagley, Barett or Garland (seems unlikely), then this reclassification and potential commitment DOES impact Tre. You don't get unlimited scholarships and I doubt K prefers Tre over Bagley, for instance. Different players but hard to pass up #1, especially when they are heavily prediction he is going to be a Blue Devil.

You can say spots will open up when Gary Trent Jr, Trevol Duval, etc. go pro, but most kids will have committed before that AND there is no guarantee anyone jumps to the NBA (though it is very likely with a few of the incoming Duke players)

Edit: There is a lot of players strongly considering Duke, I just through out some options of who may commit there. Ignoring Cameron Reddish was not intentional, he may also take one of the 3 spots, leaving Tre, Zion, etc free to commit elsewhere.
 

If Gaston gets to stay for four years that tells me Pitino has a lot of character and will honor scholarships. I think a lot of coaches would have kicked him to the curb if it meant getting a guy like Race Thompson

If a player earns their degree in four years we have honored their scholarship. There is nothing wrong with suggesting that a grad student look elsewhere.
 

I should have included in my post about Barrett that this impacts Tre's recruitment largely because of Reddish seemingly being a lock to Duke. While K has been able to talk guys like Jabari Parker and Jaysom Tatum into playing a bit of 4 I don't think Reddish wants to (he views himself as a big guard) or really can effectively which is why they are pushing for Emmit Williams. When their class is shaping up to have Barrett and Reddish how do you sell playing time to two 5* PGs? It's hard to see a situation where those guys willingly split playing time no matter how much they've talked about being a package deal. (sidebar: Duke will have 6 open scholarships when Duval, Trent Jr and Wendell Carter declare for the draft so number of scholarships shouldn't be an issue)

The question becomes how long does Garland wait as Tre is planning to take his visits in the Fall. Does Tre cancel his visits and commit to Duke when Garland's made his decision? (seems likely) Another thing to keep an eye on is whether Marvin Bagley is deemed eligible by the NCAA to reclassify to the 2017 class. If he is forced to stay in 2018 the chances of Garland being solid to Duke go up as they are close friends and Bagley's viewed as a Duke lean.

There's a lot of dominoes here that need to fall but it's going to be interesting to follow in the next few months.
 



I
The question becomes how long does Garland wait as Tre is planning to take his visits in the Fall. Does Tre cancel his visits and commit to Duke when Garland's made his decision? (seems likely) Another thing to keep an eye on is whether Marvin Bagley is deemed eligible by the NCAA to reclassify to the 2017 class. If he is forced to stay in 2018 the chances of Garland being solid to Duke go up as they are close friends and Bagley's viewed as a Duke lean.

There's a lot of dominoes here that need to fall but it's going to be interesting to follow in the next few months.

I am a little slow I guess but when you say 'when Garland's made a decision' do you mean he already has, or he is about to, or when and if? Or might your post imply those two may split up and each go a separate way, or I suppose they stay a tandem for some other college?
 



I am a little slow I guess but when you say 'when Garland's made a decision' do you mean he already has, or he is about to, or when and if? Or might your post imply those two may split up and each go a separate way, or I suppose they stay a tandem for some other college?

haha I could see how someone could be confused by what I said. I meant more along the lines of Garland isn't far off or at least closer to a decision than Tre if you go by what's said in interviews. Garland's cut his list to 6 and has already visited Duke a couple times. So I'm going by the assumption that his decision is made in the next month or so before Tre makes his. With Duke looking favorites for 2 of the better wings in the class I imagine it will get to a point where K gives the Jones family an ultimatum. After they got snubbed a couple times in 2017 I don't think they'll wait around for guys as the 2018 class is probably Coach K's last chance at a national title before he retires.

The Jones/Garland(and Reddish) package deal is seemingly only for Duke. With the ways things are shaking out with Barrett and Reddish having strong interest in Duke it's tough to see a situation where Jones and Garland play together in college. The issue is if you go by what recruiting reporters say both guys are acting as slient commits pretty much and are recruiting other guys to Duke. The Barrett news really throws a monkey wrench in the whole thing.
 

The Jones/Garland(and Reddish) package deal is seemingly only for Duke. With the ways things are shaking out with Barrett and Reddish having strong interest in Duke it's tough to see a situation where Jones and Garland play together in college. The issue is if you go by what recruiting reporters say both guys are acting as slient commits pretty much and are recruiting other guys to Duke. The Barrett news really throws a monkey wrench in the whole thing.

Thanks for the clarity. One more question , have either Jones or Garland or both said that they would like to play together or is that some sort of fan assumption? If they have, why would one be out in front of the other in being ready to make a decision?
 

Thanks for the clarity. One more question , have either Jones or Garland or both said that they would like to play together or is that some sort of fan assumption? If they have, why would one be out in front of the other in being ready to make a decision?

They've "talked about" playing together. In the interview I read, it sounded more like they were talking to each other about what it would be like if they both happened to commit to Duke. People on here are making it out like they are planning on being a package deal which is not the case. In other words, they aren't saying to each other "Hey, I really want to play with you so we should both commit to Duke." It's more like, "Hey, Duke is recruiting both of us hard and we are both likely to commit to Duke, I guess I'd be open to playing with you and we should talk more about what thats going to be like."
 

They've "talked about" playing together. In the interview I read, it sounded more like they were talking to each other about what it would be like if they both happened to commit to Duke. People on here are making it out like they are planning on being a package deal which is not the case. In other words, they aren't saying to each other "Hey, I really want to play with you so we should both commit to Duke." It's more like, "Hey, Duke is recruiting both of us hard and we are both likely to commit to Duke, I guess I'd be open to playing with you and we should talk more about what thats going to be like."
This makes sense, especially with family and friends tugging at them from different distances and voices.
 

I'm hoping he joins his Howard Pulley Brothers at Minnesota!
 

They've "talked about" playing together. In the interview I read, it sounded more like they were talking to each other about what it would be like if they both happened to commit to Duke. People on here are making it out like they are planning on being a package deal which is not the case. In other words, they aren't saying to each other "Hey, I really want to play with you so we should both commit to Duke." It's more like, "Hey, Duke is recruiting both of us hard and we are both likely to commit to Duke, I guess I'd be open to playing with you and we should talk more about what thats going to be like."

I've gotten the vibe that it's something Garland is more interested. And for Tre it be cool if it worked out that way but it's not a Gary Trent/Wendell Carter or Tyus and Okafor situation
 

Maybe this has been posted before already but just saw this in a interview not too long ago with Marvin Bagley

RIVALS: OK, then. Well, who is the most entertaining player that you have gone up against and watched?

BAGLEY: Entertaining? Aw, man. I really like Darius Garland. For me, personally, I really like watching Darius Garland. I played with him in seventh and eighth grade; really, my whole middle school. I really like his game.

RIVALS: What makes Darius Garland’s game so special?

BAGLEY: He competes and he wants to win, just like everybody else. He is a great player that plays the right way. He can shoot, dribble, pass; he just does it all. I really like his game.

RIVALS: Who is the most difficult opponent that you have ever faced?

BAGLEY: I would say Michael Porter. I like playing against him. It is always great competition. Playing him in the EYBL and during the high school year; it is always good to go up against someone like that to see how they play the game. I like how he plays and hopefully I will be able to go up against him in the future.

RIVALS: You said Darius Garland was one of the guys that you enjoyed playing the most with and against, but who is the one point guard you wouldn’t mind playing with?

BAGLEY: Darius Garland, that is my guy; he is like my brother. But, if not him, Tyger Campbell. One of those two. Those are my brothers. We have been through a lot of tough games. It is like a brotherhood being around them. We built a friendship. I will always have love for those guys.
 

Maybe this has been posted before already but just saw this in a interview not too long ago with Marvin Bagley

RIVALS: OK, then. Well, who is the most entertaining player that you have gone up against and watched?

BAGLEY: Entertaining? Aw, man. I really like Darius Garland. For me, personally, I really like watching Darius Garland. I played with him in seventh and eighth grade; really, my whole middle school. I really like his game.

RIVALS: What makes Darius Garland’s game so special?

BAGLEY: He competes and he wants to win, just like everybody else. He is a great player that plays the right way. He can shoot, dribble, pass; he just does it all. I really like his game.

RIVALS: Who is the most difficult opponent that you have ever faced?

BAGLEY: I would say Michael Porter. I like playing against him. It is always great competition. Playing him in the EYBL and during the high school year; it is always good to go up against someone like that to see how they play the game. I like how he plays and hopefully I will be able to go up against him in the future.

RIVALS: You said Darius Garland was one of the guys that you enjoyed playing the most with and against, but who is the one point guard you wouldn’t mind playing with?

BAGLEY: Darius Garland, that is my guy; he is like my brother. But, if not him, Tyger Campbell. One of those two. Those are my brothers. We have been through a lot of tough games. It is like a brotherhood being around them. We built a friendship. I will always have love for those guys.

Related:

Marvin Bagley III was slated to visit the Arizona Wildcats in the first week of August, but those plans have been nixed, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.

Bagley, the top recruit in 2018, is “likely” to reclassify to 2017 and the Wildcats already have 13 scholarship players on their roster for the 2017-18 season, meaning they have no room to add Bagley — and evidently aren’t willing or able to make room for him.

Link
 


Apparently decision coming soon, obviously Duke would be the assumption but no word like there was with Jarvis and Gabe.
 

Apparently decision coming soon, obviously Duke would be the assumption but no word like there was with Jarvis and Gabe.

If you say so. He must be setting up his fall visits for show?
 


If the rumors are true it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. As I tried to point out a page or two before, with Duke looking favorites for other high end targets in the class it was always going to be Jones or Garland and not both. This would suggest the inevitable ultimatum was given by the Duke staff and Tre either cancels his vists he's been talking about taking all summer and commits or they move on. The number of 2018 offers the Gophers have thrown out in the past few weeks with just one scholarship left should speak volumes as to what the situation is.
 

If the rumors are true it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. As I tried to point out a page or two before, with Duke looking favorites for other high end targets in the class it was always going to be Jones or Garland and not both. This would suggest the inevitable ultimatum was given by the Duke staff and Tre either cancels his vists he's been talking about taking all summer and commits or they move on. The number of 2018 offers the Gophers have thrown out in the past few weeks with just one scholarship left should speak volumes as to what the situation is.

This rationale seems logical to me. For Gopher fans it is too bad Duke didn't fill up while Tre was contemplating his decision.
 




Top Bottom