Duke hones in on McGary, Parker for low-post vacancy

According to Mitch McGary’s blog on ESPNHS, McGary will decide on a college destination within the next month. McGary wrote, “Duke has been up here the most. I really like what Coach K has been talking to me about.” McGary also wrote, “As far as more visits, I don’t think I’ll make any.” ESPN’s recruiting analyst, Dave Telep, tweeted Monday, “If I were to set the odds, I’d install Michigan as the favorite with McGary at this juncture.”

North Carolina might be out of the running for McGary after receiving a commitment from four-star big man, 6-foot-10 big man Joel James on Sunday. The Florida native will join point guard Marcus Paige and small forward JP Tokoto in Chapel Hill next season. The Tar Heels also have offers out to Roscoe Allen, TJ Warren and Brice Johnson according to a tweet by Evan Daniels of scout.com.

Duke’s other prospective 2012 big man, Tony Parker, has eliminated Memphis and Georgetown from his list of possible schools, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution last week. Parker has already taken his official visit to Ohio State and took his official visit to UCLA this past weekend.  Kansas and Georgia Tech are also still involved in Parker’s recruitment, although Ohio State, UCLA and Duke are considered the leaders at this point. The Constitution also reported that Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski was in Georgia to watch Parker workout last week. Parker will take his official visit to Duke October 28th.

Online rumors have circulated lately regarding the reclassification of 2013 Duke target, Nerlens Noel, to the class of 2012. If reclassification occurs, it could provide Duke another viable option for a 2012 low post player, especially if Duke misses out on McGary and Parker. Noel is also considering North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, Georgetown, Pitt and Florida among others. Recruiting analysts consider Noel the best shot-blocker in high school basketball and have compared him to Greg Oden and John Henson. If Noel does reclassify and Duke pursues him, the Blue Devils will likely have significant ground to make up in his recruitment since he has not visited campus yet. If Noel reclassifies, he likely would not sign until the spring.

In other news: After struggling the past few years, North Carolina State took a big step towards resurgence last Friday afternoon when Raleigh native and former Duke target Rodney Purvis verbally committed to the Wolfpack. Duke had offered Purvis prior to his verbal commitment to Louisville last winter. After Louisville assistant Tim Fuller left Louisville for Missouri, Purvis decommitted and reopened his commitment. In the meantime, Duke picked up a commitment from Rasheed Sulaimon and then chose not to pursue Purvis again. Purvis will team up with Tyler Lewis, a fellow North Carolina native and top ten point guard in 2012, which promises to be a formidable backcourt duo in years to come. The Wolfpack could finish with a top ten 2012 class if they can land T.J. Warren, a consensus top five small forward and Durham native.