National Hoops Report's Justin Young is hearing that Kyrie Irving will likely commit to Duke at some point today. Sources have told me something similar.
If Coach K can get a commitment from Irving – one of the nation's elite point guards – and then secure Harrison Barnes, arguably the nation's top player, the Blue Devils could be back in business and competing for national titles once again.
There's also a third part of the equation - 2011 elite guard Austin Rivers, Doc’s son, who recently took a visit to Durham and will choose between Florida and Duke.
Here's the Southern Conference Offseason Report. Please e-mail me with any corrections or changes at jngoodman@aol.com.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Appalachian State: New coach Buzz Peterson retained Matt McMahon, brought in Jamie Kachmarik (Coastal Carolina) and also hired Jason Capel. The Mountaineers will play in the Hall of Fame Showcase and also has non-conference road games against Arkansas (Nov. 20), Louisville (Nov. 23) and Dayton (Dec. 21). Two guys -Quinche Dowdell (Carson-Newman) and Donterious Hughes (Wallace St.) - left the program, and Omar Carter (Charleston Southern) and Anthony Breeze (Coastal Carolina) transferred in.
College of Charleston: Bobby Cremins' team will play in the Diamond Head Classic in late December in Hawaii and also has non-league road games against Tennessee (Nov. 27) and Clemson (Dec. 19) and a home contest against North Carolina (Jan. 4).
Chattanooga: The Mocs will play in the South Padre Island in late November and also host the Dr. Pepper Classic from Dec. 29-30. They also have a non-conference game against Georgia Tech (Dec. 14). Georgetown transfer Omar Wattad joined the program.
Citadel: The Bulldogs will play in Hispanic College Fund Classic at Missouri State in late November and also have road non-conference games at West Virginia (Nov. 24) and Texas A&M (Dec. 19) and a home contest against Michigan State (Dec. 7). Ed Conroy's team brought in Washington big man Joe Wolfinger as a transfer and lost John Brown (Roane State).
Davidson: Matt Matheny got the head job at Elon and was replaced by Landry Kosnalski. The Wildcats will play in the Charleston Classic from Nov. 19-22 and also will play in the Holiday Festival in New York. Non-league games include against Gonzaga (Dec. 12) in Seattle, at Butler (Nov. 14), against Rhode Island (Nov. 28) and UMass (Dec. 30). Clinton Mann transferred in from Iowa State.
Elon: New coach Matt Matheny (Davidson) hired a staff that includes Tim Sweeney, Justin Gainey, Will Roberson and Jack Wooten as the director of basketball operations. The Phoenix will play in the Duke pod in the Preseason NIT Tip-off and also have non-league games at Wake Forest (Dec. 13) and at N.C. State (Dec. 17).
Furman: David Willson (Elon) replaced Mark Price on the staff and DBO Nate Muse also left. The Paladin’s will play in the Cal Christmas tournament along with UC Santa Barbara and Utah Valley State. Non-conference games include at Clemson (12-13) and at South Carolina (12-21). Connor Nolte (walk-on at Georgia) left.
Georgia Southern: New coach Charlton Young's staff consists of Chris Kreider (Georgia Tech), Steve Smith (USC Upstate), Pershin Williams (Lafayette) and director of basketball operations Erik Podell, who was retained from the previous staff. The Eagles will play in the Legends Classic, where they face Florida and have three home games against Valparaiso, Troy and Arkansas-Fort Smith. The non-league slate includes at South Carolina (Nov. 16), at Florida (Nov. 18), at N.C. State (Dec. 12) and at Auburn (Jan. 2). Nate Blackburn transferred out to Queens.
Samford: The Bulldogs will play in the Hispanic Fund Classic at Kent State from Nov. 13-15 along with Wisconsin-Green Bay and UAB. The non-league slate includes road games against Texas A&M (Nov. 20), Texas Tech (Nov. 28) and Alabama (Dec. 16).
UNC Greensboro: Kevin Easley (High Point) and Ben Thompson (St. Leo) both left and were replaced by Corey Gipson (Virginia State) and director of basketball operations Kevin Oleskiak. The Spartans have a brutal non-conference schedule that includes road games at Duke (Nov. 13), Virginia Tech (Nov. 17) and Richmond (Dec. 22) and contests in Greensboro against Clemson (Nov. 20), Wake Forest (Dec. 28), N.C. State (Dec. 31) and Maryland (Jan. 3). Three players left the program: Landon Clement (NC Central), Daniel Oliver (St. Leo) and Damien Eargle (Youngstown State).
Western Carolina: The Catamounts will play in the CBE Classic and also have non-league contests at Louisville (Dec. 12) and at Clemson (Dec. 22). Greg Avery transferred to Findlay.
Wofford: Mike Young's club will play in the Las Vegas Invitational and also in the Cable Car Classic at Santa Clara on Dec. 29-30. The non-conference slate includes games at Pittsburgh (Nov. 13), at Georgia (Nov. 17), at Michigan State (Dec. 4) and at South Carolina (Dec. 19).
RANDOM NOTES: Josh Selby, according to numerous reports, has trimmed his list to six schools: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Miami, Indiana and Baylor. ... Another one of the nation's top players, Terrence Jones, has cut it down to seven, according to Scout.com: Washington, Oregon, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, UCLA and Arizona.
Irving is probaly a 2 year player. He is a good get for Duke and a special talent. Glad to see he is not comming to Big East country. He is also only to 2nd best PG in NJ, behing Pitt commit Epps.
12323402:54 PM EST