As always, Bob Gibbons Tournament Of Champions took place with some of the top high school talent in America in attendance.  Duke recruits and commits had very successful trips to the triangle.

Mason Plumlee, the only commit in the 09 class so far, was a big story all weekend.  Plumlee has been getting more and more exposure since committing to Duke, and is starting to seem like a possible McD’s All-American next year.  Much has been made about his little man skills at the height of 6’10″.  Mason has been saying recently that his main concern is getting stronger before he gets to Duke.  And with a whole year to work, I am really looking forward to see what he looks like in fall 09.

The other focus for Duke fans was the play of AAU teammates Kenny Boynton and Brandon Knight.

Boynton is one of the top players in the 09 class and has had a Duke scholarship offer for awhile now.  Along with Knight, a 2010 recruit, they put on a show at the triangle and made Duke fans even hungrier to see them in a Blue Devils uniform.  Many fans seem to think that Boynton is Duke’s player to lose.  However, we have learned in the past years to never get your hopes up until the ink is dry on the paper.

Hearing about what these three players did in the TOC this past weekend, makes you excited to see what Duke could be in the next few years.  There were also many other players playing that are on the Duke radar, and the amount of talent in high school in the coming years is really outstanding.  Duke looks good going into next year.  However, it could be even better in the next few years.

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2008 recruiting is in the bag.  2009 recruiting won’t pick back up till late summer.  Even though these are slow times in Duke nation, the message boards are still hoping because of a news story that came out this week.

Duke University is considering changing a big part of the epi-center of basketball, Cameron Indoor Stadium.  While actually blue prints haven’t been seen, people are still worried about how the addition of luxury suites would affect the nostalgia of CIS.  Cameron has long been the one place that hasn’t tried to keep up with changing times.  While other Universities build million dollar, 20,000 seat arenas, Duke has been quite content on the fact that CIS, which is old, is still the most recognized arena is college and even professional sports.

Many of Duke forums around the Internet had been on fire with people talking up the topic.  Dukereport.com, DBR, and The Devils Den all have a thread on the topic.

The general consensus from the fans.  “Don’t mess with success!”.  I absolutely agree.  While more seats in Cameron, suites or regular, would make it easier for non-students and alumni to go to the game, it would take away from the lure that is Cameron Indoor Stadium.  CIS is apart of what makes Duke basketball so great.  Don’t fix what is not broken.  Stop trying to keep up with other basketball teams.  In case you were wondering, every other basketball team wishes they were us.

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We all thought long ago that the 2008 class was all but set.  One elite All-American, and a big man with a lot of potential.  Showing that recruiting in any year is never over till it is over, Duke got a nice surprise with the commitment of Miles Plumlee.  From the time Mason Plumlee committed to Duke, his brother was talked about but was already committed to Stanford.  A coaching change later, and Miles Plumlee will setup shop before his brother even graduates high school.  Duke will welcome Miles to a front court that still has many questions.  There will be a fierce competition for playing time on the inside, with Thomas, Zoubek, Czyz, McClure, and Plumlee.  It should be interesting to see how time is dissed out and what each player will bring to the table.

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