Even though it is never good to lose out on a recruit, especially to a rival, sometimes it can be a good thing. Leslie McDonald, who was on Duke’s radar for quite awhile, committed to North Carolina over the weekend. However, since the Blue Devils offered McDonald much has changed. Kenny Boynton has become one of the most sought after recruits in the 2009 class. And many think he is a Duke lean. Duke has also become very interested with two other big time commits in Jamil Wilson and Terrell Vinson. Right now Wilson is a superior player rankings wise to McDonald. The reason Duke never offered either Wilson or Vinson, was because a scholarship offer was taken by McDonald. Instead of withdrawing the offer to McDonald, Duke decided to wait out and see what would happen. Now that the scholarship is open, Duke can offer either Vinson or Wilson. I feed that an offer will be made within the week. Others think that they might start going after Derrick Favor (2009 class), or Brandon Knight (2010 class). However, I think Favor’s in already to deep into recruiting for Duke to jump in. Also he seems to want to go to a program where he is the absolute star and not just a co-contributer. Favors list Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, and Georgia Tech as his favorites. In regards to Brandon Knight, Duke will have a scholarship open after this season and he doesn’t look like a early commitment.
McDonald was a solid player, and would have been a nice addition. However, Duke probably saw the writing on the wall and were prepared with other targets. It will be interesting to see what direction they go with the scholarship now.