Duke Basketball: 5 Recruits the Blue Devils Would Love to Land for 2012

With the recruitment of Harrison Barnes, Kyrie Irving and Austin Rivers, Duke is giving a clear signal that it is now a major contender in the recruiting business. The Blue Devils are not content with just grabbing players that are happy to develop in four years.

They got in late on the recruitment of John Wall and Derrick Rose, but with the 2012 recruits Duke is knee-deep, sleeves rolled up and firing from all cylinders.

If they want to continue to be the best, they need to get the elite players or produce a mediocre product that loses in the early rounds of the tournament and become a punching bag for their cross-town rivals North Carolina.

Mason Plumlee may decide to become a professional after his junior year and his older brother Miles will be a senior next season—so that's two possible vacancies Duke needs to fill at forward.

The good news is that of the top 10 recruits of the 2012 class, at least six of them are big men. Only one has committed so far, and that's center Isaiah Austin to Baylor.

Duke has five recruits to implement next season so it is hard to say for certain what other needs it may have.

At the moment the Blue Devils have at least two players at each position, which is solid for any program.

Rodney Purvis, 6'4" Shooting Guard

Best of Rodney Purvis

Rodney Purvis is a powerfully built shooting guard, known for his hard-nose defense. Judging from his videos, he resembles DeMarcus Nelson, who played at Duke from 20004 to 2008.

Purvis' ESPN recruiting profile describes him as a slasher that needs to work on his shooting, especially the three-point shot.

Kentucky Sports recently reported that Purvis narrowed his choices down to three schools: Duke, North Carolina State and Missouri, because he wants his family to watch him play but the statement below reveals a lot.

 "Louisville is not in the picture anymore," he told Scout.com. "Once they got Kevin Ware, my family and I decided that I just take them off my list. (Kentucky) got Ryan Harrow so I felt that it was best for me to take them off my list, too."

If he is prepared to rule out these two schools because they are loaded at guard, so is Duke. His family would have to move to Missouri to watch him play. Unless he has been giving assurances that a Duke guard will be leaving school early he will probably end up at NC State.

Tony Parker, 6'9" and 274-Pound Power Forward

Tony Parker, no relation to the San Antonio Spur's French star, is a big and powerful kid.

His recruiting priorities are: “A great place to play, a great basketball school. Just an all-around good learning experience and good academics.”

Sounds like Duke.

However, he did also state that of his three top schools, including Duke and Memphis, Ohio State is probably the best fit for him because of its pace of play and the types of bigs the school attracts. 

Duke is still in the running for Parker's services as he plans to make recruiting visits to all his top schools.

Parker is a left-handed forward with an array of low post moves in the mold of Jared Sullinger—definitely a player worth having and will fit in with Duke's abundance of wing players.

Mitch McGary, 6'10" and 250-Pound Center

He says Duke and North Carolina are "coming at him hard." Steve Wojociechowski has been on the phone to him a lot and so has North Carolina's assistant coach, Steve Robinson.

As always, any battle with Duke and North Carolina is worth watching.

UNC's Roy Williams won Harrison Barnes and Duke got Austin Rivers, for anyone keeping score.

McGary's Rivals.com and Scout.com profiles says that Duke has only medium interest in him. This might be because the lefty center has only recently been reclassified as a five-star recruit after a great summer.

He has a pretty jump shot and is comfortable on either side of the basket.

Andre Drummond, 6'11" and 275-Pound Center

All the size available in the 2012 class means the reclaiming of basketball by real big men.

Andre Drummond is the cream of this crop and everyone wants this guy.

Big men are always a desirable, especially in the NBA where the center position is the weakest. With injuries to Greg Oden and Yao Ming, an aging Shaquille O'Neal became the hottest addition in the last free agent bonanza. Now that he is retired only one center dominates any top 10 list of the best NBA players: Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard.

It is not a coincidence that Dirk Nowitzki became a champion after the demise of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.

If the NBA could take a time-out on its one-and-done rule it would be for Drummond.

Consider that the best big in the 2011 draft class is Derrick Williams, a 6'8" combo forward. The NCAA ruled Kentucky center, Enes Kanter, ineligible so he has yet to prove himself in the USA.

My only worry about Drummond is that he averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds as a high school junior.

These are good numbers for an above-average college player, but a high school center at 6'11" normally has a size advantage over other players. This seems the bare minimal.

Then I read on Draftexpress that he should have been in the 2011 class but reclassified as he needed more time to develop.

By the time he reaches college he will be a 20-year-old man-child.

He is extremely athletic, and as of 2009 he had a wing span of 7'5"—that was two years ago so he must have grown some more, which is great for blocking shots and rebounding.

Shabazz Muhammad, 6'6" Small Forward

Duke already has one commitment from a wing player in the 2012 class: Rasheed Sulaimon. Another 2012 small forward, Alex Murphy decided he could not wait another year and is enrolling this fall.

One more wing player Duke would love to add is Shabazz Muhammad. Think of a left-handed Harrison Barnes but much quicker and more athletic.

Muhammad plays the game with joy and relishes competition. In a perfect world he would be the consensus No. 1 in his class, but due to height bias he fluctuates around second or third across the major recruiting lists.

“I think everyone thinks they’re the number one player, but I don’t worry about that,” Muhammad told CBS Sports. “But it affects the way I play, big-time. Having a target on my back, it’s a great opportunity for me.”

As we have witnessed in the NCAA Finals and NBA finals having a player that relishes competition is vital for winning championships.

In the NCAA tournament, Kemba Walker led his team to victory numerous times that culminated in a second championship for UConn under Jim Calhoun. 

In the NBA Finals LeBron James continued to infuriate his remaining fans and stimulate his detractors with his failure to take over games when it matters most.

Having a player that does not shy away from competition is extremely underrated. Muhammad has been on every top lists since his fresh man year, and the trend normally is for players to fade.

Presumably some high school freshmen are bigger than others and get ranked high but as their peers grow the early developer tends to fade. Muhammad is an exception and will be a major contributor from his freshman season for whichever college he chooses.

By the way I think it is just a coincidence that most of the players on this list are left handed.