A Duke recruiting class that didn't last
Duke's Greg Paulus waits to enter the game against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.
Mar 2, 2009
Tags: ACC
Four years ago, Scout.com had Duke’s basketball recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the country, behind only Kansas.
But as the Blue Devils approach Senior Night on Tuesday, the outcome for this class is a good lesson in the unpredictable nature of college basketball now.
Duke had five prospects enter school in the fall of 2005 – point guard Greg Paulus, forward Josh McRoberts, forward Marty Pocius, center Eric Boateng and forward Jamal Boykin.
Paulus and McRoberts were both five-star recruits, according to Scout.com, and the others were four stars.
But four years later, that class is having only a small impact on the Devils season. Paulus and Pocius remain at Duke, but Paulus is no longer a starter and Pocius has scored just 29 points all season. Pocius has a year of eligibility left and won’t return.
McRoberts left for the NBA and is now averaging 2.0 points per game for the Indiana Pacers. Boateng transferred to Arizona State after one season at Duke and rarely plays this year for Herb Sendek. Boykin is starting for a good Cal team and averaging 10.2 points per game.
By comparison, North Carolina’s class in 2005 was ranked No. 4 overall by Scout, but the entire class of Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard, Bobby Frasor and Mike Copeland.
And N.C. State’s three-man class from 2005 was one of Sendek’s best and ranked No. 11 at the time. Costner was a five-star recruit and McCauley and Fells were four-star selections. That class - Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley and Courntey Fells – is still wearing red.
