ADVERTISEMENT

Duke vs. UK 2015 recruiting classes

Cat Ballou

Senior
Gold Member
Mar 24, 2007
5,120
4,033
113
With 2015 recruiting now in the books, most sites still have Duke as No. 1 recruiting class vs. UK. To me, UK's class is clearly better especially for our needs.

Thornton vs. Briscoe - I think most would rate Thornton as a better pure PG than Briscoe - and I would agree - but with Ulis on the roster, we don't need a pure PG - we need a combo guard, and that's Briscoe. I also love this guy's swag and wouldn't trade him for anybody at the guard position in 2015. Can't wait to watch him next year.

Kennard vs. Matthews - at one time, Kennard and Matthews were rated on about the same level, but Charles dropped after his injury. Luke is a great player, and his shooting would have been a boon to this team, but with the addition of Mulder and Murray I think think this is less of a concern. Ultimately, I think Matthews is going to be a great player for us. I think this one is a wash.

Murray vs. Ingram - I think Ingram is going to be an awesome player in 2-3 years in the NBA, but I suspect he may end up playing PF at Duke next year since Duke has so much backcourt talent and so little frontcourt talent. Unfortunately, playing PF would negate Ingram's size advantage while at the same time exposing his main weakness - lack of strength and bulk. Murray on the other hand will absolutely thrive on the wing next year at UK.

Skal vs. Jeter - no contest. Jeter will be a career bench player at Duke whereas Skal will be No. 1 draft pick next year.

Add in Mulder and possibly Wynyard, and I don't know how you rank Duke higher. Am I forgetting someone?
 
Last edited:
Your underrating Duke's class a bit IMO. Jeter's going to be a good player IMO. He may stay another year, but I think he's going to have a pretty big impact from day 1. Right here is what we'll both look like next year bro. And Obi's going to be better than a lot of people think. I can see him as a 12pt, 9rb guy. We're going to be different type teams, but I think we're the best right now. Both our benches look pretty even. Also I think Brandon Ingram will be one of the best players in the nation. Don't care what anyone says he's better than Jaylen Brown could ever think about being. Jaylen Brown's Stanley Johnson, Ingram's Paul Pierce.

UK DUKE
Tyler Ulis > Derryck Thornton
Isaiah Briscoe = Luke Kennard
Jamal Murray = Brandon Ingram
Alex Poythress = Sean Obi
Skal Labissiere > Chase Jeter

Bench Bench
Mychal Mulder < Grayson Allen
Charles Mathews > Matt Jones
Marcus Lee > Amil Jefferson
> Marshall Plumlee
 
I watched Jeter in a couple of games last year and I was not impressed at all. I think he'll be recruited over right away and be much like Plumley this year. Basically a mop up bench player.

He could surprise, but the guy just doesn't have the height or athleticism to be a major contributor. I'm think Wynyard has a higher ceiling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RondoBaller21
I like our class better but both are stellar. Ingram will be good but I think he'll have similar issues as Justin Jackson adjusting to the physicality of the college game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brando Mac
Ingram will start at PF and thrive in Duke's system.

Duke almost always plays a shooter at the 4 (Winslow, Parker, Singler, Battier).

As for the two classes, ours is better, IMHO.

Based on a neutral opinion (247sports) UK has the better class.
 
Ingram may do okay at PF for most of the season in the ACC, but at the end of the day, I'm picturing Ingram at PF matched up against someone like Alex Poythress, and yes I think he would struggle immensely.
 
The same reason Duke may have had a better class last year.

UK has Skal and Murray, quite possibly the 2 best recruits in the nation. Very easily could have an Okafor/Jones impact.

Duke's class has more depth, but color me suspicious that Thornton, Jeter and maybe even Kennard and Ingram are sure fire impact guys.

Maybe in 2-3 years, but Skal and Murray are both clear OAD's and both will be top 5 picks. In a one year scenario, give me those guys.

I'd bet everything I have that Jeter, Thornton and Kennard have zero chance of being OAD.
 
Murray is one of the two best recruits in the nation? Uhhhh... What?

Obi will not contribute much. Early talk is that he has a lot to learn still.

Ingram will thrive at Duke, especially considering how much scoring he'll be asked to provide.

I don't think Jeter will make an immediate impact at Duke

Duke will play a bit like 2010... A few big bodies to rebound surrounded by shooters. Between Kennard, Allen, and Ingram, Duke has a few really good shooters.
 
I'd bet everything I have that Jeter, Thornton and Kennard have zero chance of being OAD.

I only give Thornton any chance at all of being OAD. I don't think he will be, but he's the only one I'm giving any chance of proving this statement wrong. Kennard screams at least three year player to me; reminds me some of a bigger (and perhaps slightly more athletic) version of Jon Scheyer. I do think his skills should translate pretty well immediately; at least in comparison to Jeter, who seems like more of a project. Not sure how many minutes he sees with Grayson Allen and a junior Matt Jones in front of him. Although his handle isn't bad, so he should see some time at point guard when Thornton isn't in the game. Chase Jeter seems a bit like Brice Johnson of UNC to me; so my expectations are he'll have some flashes but also some struggles in his freshman year like Johnson did.

Brandon Ingram I expect will split his time between small forward and power forward. Should be great on the offensive end of the floor, but I doubt he'll make Duke fans forget Justise Winslow on the defensive end. From an athletic standpoint he'll be fine, but he doesn't have anywhere close to the pure strength of Winslow; who was very NBA ready in terms of strength; which allowed him to bang some with opposing fours defensively. I can't see Ingram doing this anywhere near as effectively as Winslow was able to do. So I'd also expect some big lineups as well; combination of Amile Jefferson/Jeter at the four and Plumlee/Obi at the five.
 
Between Kennard, Allen, and Ingram, Duke has a few really good shooters.

I'd add Matt Jones to this as well. He wasn't the most consistent, but 37.6 percent from three is certainly respectable and something I believe he can improve upon if he's working on it in the gym during the summer
 
You don't think when the final rankings come out, Murray will be in the top 5? He was better than Skal and Simmons in the Nike Hoops Summit.
 
Duke will be solid this year Ingram will be in the running for ACC player of the year because he will have to score/shoot so much, their season will depend on how many outside shots Kennard, Jones, and Allen can knock down.
 
It will be Interesting to see Ingram this year because he does have a great skill set for the size and position he's at. I think he's going to be really good for Duke.

I don't know any specifics on Thornton, but I sure do like the intangibles that Briscoe provides us.

It'll be a VERY 'nice' matchup when these two play early in the season. I'm curious to see how the Cats handle some high level competition.
 
Comparing the classes (I'm ranking each player on the 1-100 scale with 100 being a perfect number only attainable by the once in 5 or 10 year kind of player, the elite of the elite's, i.e. the John Walls, Anthony Davis', and Lebron James of the world) -

UK -
Skal Labissiere ***** rank - 99
Jamal Murray ***** rank - 99
Isaiah Briscoe ***** rank - 98
Charles Matthews **** rank - 95
Mychal Mulder **** rank - 88

total - 479

Duke -
Brandon Ingram ***** rank - 99
Derryck Thornton ***** rank - 98
Chase Jeter ***** rank - 96
Luke Kennard ***** rank - 96

total - 389

Duke has more 5-stars, but UK has more 5-stars ranked in the top 10. The quality of UK's recruits are much higher than that of Duke IMHO. Ingram and Thornton are elite talents, but I do not view Jeter or Kennard as elite level players. On the flip side, I view Labissierre, Murray, and Briscoe as elite players for UK (By elite I mean player who could leave after one year and be a lottery to mid-1st rounder). So, I see that although UK does not have more overall 5-star talent in the class than DUke, but they have more overall elite talent than Duke has. Obviously, the duo of Jeter and Kennard will rank higher than the duo of Matthews and Mulder, but the difference in talent there does not overcome the difference in talent between UK and Duke at the upper end of the class. I think to rank UK's class higher is not only logical, but it'd be downright idiotic not to do so.
 
Ingram may do okay at PF for most of the season in the ACC, but at the end of the day, I'm picturing Ingram at PF matched up against someone like Alex Poythress, and yes I think he would struggle immensely.

I do agree that Ingram will see some PF during the season if Duke needs more of a small ball lineup, but Amile Jefferson will be the starting PF for most of the season. Ingram will play the SF a lot and be asked to score a lot. I don't see him being out matched at the SF position.

That said, it's really hard to compare these classes right now. As a long time Duke fan, I would have thought last years class of Jabari Parker would make some noise. I was really wrong. I had a little hesitation about this years class, and they won it all.

I think both classes are good and I think they will plug the holes left from the early departures for each team...with one exception, there is no way Duke replaces Okafor. He had his issues on defense or the free throw line, but no way Duke plugs that hole.

That said, it will be fun to see how each class plays, because UK has Ulis, a returning PG, while Duke will have a freshman PG. That right there will make it easier for UK.

At this point, if I'm being honest, I would rate UK's class a little higher. I think with one-and-done talent in Briscoe, Murray and Skal, and a returning PG in Ulis, sets you guys up for some stability.

But it will be fun to watch it unfold.
 
I think Kentucky's class overall is slightly better but I think a lot of you are selling Ingram short. Dude is going to be a legit star.
 
Your underrating Duke's class a bit IMO. Jeter's going to be a good player IMO. He may stay another year, but I think he's going to have a pretty big impact from day 1. Right here is what we'll both look like next year bro. And Obi's going to be better than a lot of people think. I can see him as a 12pt, 9rb guy. We're going to be different type teams, but I think we're the best right now. Both our benches look pretty even. Also I think Brandon Ingram will be one of the best players in the nation. Don't care what anyone says he's better than Jaylen Brown could ever think about being. Jaylen Brown's Stanley Johnson, Ingram's Paul Pierce.

UK DUKE
Tyler Ulis > Derryck Thornton
Isaiah Briscoe = Luke Kennard
Jamal Murray = Brandon Ingram
Alex Poythress = Sean Obi
Skal Labissiere > Chase Jeter

Bench Bench
Mychal Mulder < Grayson Allen
Charles Mathews > Matt Jones
Marcus Lee > Amil Jefferson
> Marshall Plumlee

Uhhh, that ain't gonna be our starting line-up buddy. Grayson Allen is a lock to start over Kennard and I don't think either one of Jeter or Obi will start.

I think our starting 5 will be Thornton, Allen, Ingram, Jefferson, and either Plumlee or Obi at the 5. I could also see us going small and starting Thornton, Allen, Jones, Ingram, and then either Plumlee or Obi in the middle. But there is quite literally a 0% chance that our starting frontcourt is Obi and Jeter. Jefferson and Ingram will play like 99% of total minutes available at the 4.
 
I think Allen is going to blowup this year. He'd be my dark horse pick for ACC POY. I think you've also got to find a way to get Kennard and Jones on the floor. K is going to play his 5 best players at the end of the day, and I think you'll see the small lineup on the court a lot.
 
Wow, some nice discussion going on here! Both are great classes and will be fun to watch. UKs might be a bit better, but returning Poy and Ulis is going to be huge for UK. Is it basketball season yet?
 
Uhhh, that ain't gonna be our starting line-up buddy. Grayson Allen is a lock to start over Kennard and I don't think either one of Jeter or Obi will start.

I think our starting 5 will be Thornton, Allen, Ingram, Jefferson, and either Plumlee or Obi at the 5. I could also see us going small and starting Thornton, Allen, Jones, Ingram, and then either Plumlee or Obi in the middle. But there is quite literally a 0% chance that our starting frontcourt is Obi and Jeter. Jefferson and Ingram will play like 99% of total minutes available at the 4.

From what I took Obi was pretty solid at Rice. And yes its Rice but still. didn't he average a double-double. I'd bet money he starts. But you may be right about you guys going small and putting Ingram at the 4 since it worked for yall last year.
 
We can summarize it this way.

For 2015-16? Give me UK's class.
For the next 1-3 years? Give me Duke's class.

It's that simple.

I see their class very similar to UK's 2010 class of Knight, Lamb, Jones and Kanter.
 
Murray is one of the two best recruits in the nation? Uhhhh... What?

Obi will not contribute much. Early talk is that he has a lot to learn still.

Ingram will thrive at Duke, especially considering how much scoring he'll be asked to provide.

I don't think Jeter will make an immediate impact at Duke

Duke will play a bit like 2010... A few big bodies to rebound surrounded by shooters. Between Kennard, Allen, and Ingram, Duke has a few really good shooters.
Uh yeah. It's not like Murray was the best player on the floor during the Nike Hoop Summit game? Oh yeah...he was!! He made Kennard look foolish and Jeter has to be the most overrated recruit ive ever seen. He's not even close to being a five star player. Kentucky's class is easily the better of the two.
 
Ingram is the skinniest player I've ever seen predicted to be a star. He might be. Who knows? But he's skinnier than I was, and I thought I was skeletal. 6'8" 180. Whoooboy. If he succeeds, good for him.
 
Gotta agree with the posters about Jeter. Watched him play a couple of times and was unimpressed. I honestly haven't seen Thornton play at all but would find it hard to believe he is better than Murray or Briscoe. Ingram looks like an insanely versatile and dangerous player. He will be a stud at the 3 or the 4 at the collegiate level IMHO.

In conclusion I believe that Skal is what puts the Cat's class slightly ahead of Duke. He looked so smooth, skilled and confident. His size and skill set seperate the classes. He has a swagger about his game that screams #1 pick IMHO.
 
According to 247 rankings:

Labissiere #2 >Ingram #3
Murray #10 > Thornton #14
Briscoe #12 (he was #11 the other day, what changed?) > Jeter #15
Matthews #52 < Kennard #22

Then Mulder is bonus.

UK has the better class.

Not that it really matters.

We had more talent last year. It takes more than talent. You need a little luck along the way (and a good draw in the tourney helps).
 
I'm afraid I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you on that one.....as long as Alex is completely recovered, that is.

I hope. Maybe I'm overrating Obi a little. But I thought he was supposed to be a beast. I think he averaged a double-double at Rice. So I was thinking he's a big time rebounder, and a good post scorer. But according to that Duke fan I am over rating him quite a bit. I've never seen him play. Just going by what I've read and heard. I have a friend who's a Duke fan and he's talked him up quite a bit to the point where he said he'd average 10-12 points, and 8-10 rebounds and be drafted after his first year at Duke. IDK I hope he sucks. lol.
 
I hope. Maybe I'm overrating Obi a little. But I thought he was supposed to be a beast. I think he averaged a double-double at Rice. So I was thinking he's a big time rebounder, and a good post scorer. But according to that Duke fan I am over rating him quite a bit. I've never seen him play. Just going by what I've read and heard. I have a friend who's a Duke fan and he's talked him up quite a bit to the point where he said he'd average 10-12 points, and 8-10 rebounds and be drafted after his first year at Duke. IDK I hope he sucks. lol.

Would love this, but all sensible reports out of Duke is that Obi is not ready to contribute offensively. Poy is light years beyond him. Your friend might be overly optimistic.

Murray was good in that game. But the idea that he is the second best recruit seems a bit much; I haven't seen a single scout or recruiting service rank him anywhere near that high, not even since the reclassification. This feels like "shiney new toy" syndrome.

Agree that Jeter will not be a OAD... He hasn't been that impressive in the loosey goosey games. But we don't need a OAD in that spot, with two seniors at the post.

I would agree that UKs class is slightly better, but as mentioned above, it also matters for how many years. No OADs for Duke would be perfect, if they were then joined by Jackson/Tatum/Giles next year.
 
I still don't understand how you can objectively put Duke's class ahead of ours at this point. Using 247's Composite Rankings.....

Kentucky
Skal Labissiere #2
Jamal Murray #10
Isaiah Briscoe #12
Mychal Mulder 4 Star JUCO
Charles Matthews #57

Duke
Brandon Ingram #3
Derryck Thorton #14
Chase Jeter #15
Luke Kennard #22

We have 2 top 10 guys, they have 1 top 10 guys.
We have 3 top 15 guys, they have 3 top 15 guys. Ours are ranked higher.
We have 3 players ranked higher than their second highest ranked player.
 
Last edited:
I still don't understand how you can objectively put Duke's class ahead of ours at this point. Using 247's Composite Rankings.....

Kentucky
Skal Labissiere #2
Jamal Murray #10
Isaiah Briscoe #12
Mychal Mulder 4 Star JUCO
Charles Matthews #57

Duke
Brandon Ingram #3
Derryck Thorton #14
Chase Jeter #15
Luke Kennard #22

We have 2 top 10 guys, they have 1 top 10 guys.
We have 3 top 15 guys, they have 3 top 15 guys. Ours are ranked higher.
We have one more player in our class than they do.
We have 3 players ranked higher than their second highest ranked player.

If you're looking at 247 and click on dukes actual class they have two more guys not listed, both three stars. Antonio Vrankovic and Justin Robinson (David Robinsons son).
 
Would love this, but all sensible reports out of Duke is that Obi is not ready to contribute offensively. Poy is light years beyond him. Your friend might be overly optimistic.

Murray was good in that game. But the idea that he is the second best recruit seems a bit much; I haven't seen a single scout or recruiting service rank him anywhere near that high, not even since the reclassification. This feels like "shiney new toy" syndrome.

Agree that Jeter will not be a OAD... He hasn't been that impressive in the loosey goosey games. But we don't need a OAD in that spot, with two seniors at the post.

I would agree that UKs class is slightly better, but as mentioned above, it also matters for how many years. No OADs for Duke would be perfect, if they were then joined by Jackson/Tatum/Giles next year.

Jackson AND Tatum??? Or I guess you meant 1 or 2 of those 3 guys.
 
Last edited:
Would love this, but all sensible reports out of Duke is that Obi is not ready to contribute offensively. Poy is light years beyond him. Your friend might be overly optimistic.

Murray was good in that game. But the idea that he is the second best recruit seems a bit much; I haven't seen a single scout or recruiting service rank him anywhere near that high, not even since the reclassification. This feels like "shiney new toy" syndrome.

Agree that Jeter will not be a OAD... He hasn't been that impressive in the loosey goosey games. But we don't need a OAD in that spot, with two seniors at the post.

I would agree that UKs class is slightly better, but as mentioned above, it also matters for how many years. No OADs for Duke would be perfect, if they were then joined by Jackson/Tatum/Giles next year.
Actually Sports Illustrated and a couple others are predicting Murray to go third overall in the draft. So id say that that's the only ranking that matters.
 
Sorry, yeah. Forgot there were two jacksons in that class... Meant Frank:)
 
Would love this, but all sensible reports out of Duke is that Obi is not ready to contribute offensively. Poy is light years beyond him. Your friend might be overly optimistic.

Murray was good in that game. But the idea that he is the second best recruit seems a bit much; I haven't seen a single scout or recruiting service rank him anywhere near that high, not even since the reclassification. This feels like "shiney new toy" syndrome.

Agree that Jeter will not be a OAD... He hasn't been that impressive in the loosey goosey games. But we don't need a OAD in that spot, with two seniors at the post.

I would agree that UKs class is slightly better, but as mentioned above, it also matters for how many years. No OADs for Duke would be perfect, if they were then joined by Jackson/Tatum/Giles next year.


Man, if Duke gets all those guys back and those three, then K will have to platoon that season. [roll]

But seriously, Ingram is likely gone, wouldn't you think?

Still, that's a pretty loaded team with Thornton and Jackson at the guards, third year starter Jones and Tatum on the wings, and Giles inside. Allen, Kennard, Jeter, and Obi off the bench.

Should be preseason number one with that team. Maybe K's swan song? Win a title and ride off into the sunset on top?

It's next to impossible for him to catch Wooden, so what would there be left to do?
 
ADVERTISEMENT