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From Fayetteville Observor:
Commitment could be sacrificial for Duke
Thad Mumau
Duke's gain may turn out to also be Duke's loss.
The Blue Devils received a commitment from 6-foot-7 Taylor King earlier
this month, but it could cost them a chance to catch an even bigger fish.
Not long after King's announcement, Kevin Love "unofficially" narrowed
his field to North Carolina and UCLA by trimming Duke.
King, a small forward from Santa Ana (Cal.) Mater Dei, is ranked the No.
12 junior in the country by prepstars.com, while Love is No. 3. He is a 6
-10, 255-pound power forward from Lake Oswego (Ore.) High School.
The word unofficial is used here in reference to Love having just two
finalists because of what his coach is saying in regard to the subject.
"I heard something about that (there being only two survivors on Love's
list)," Lake Oswego coach Mark Shoff said, "but I don't know that it's
official or final, or anything like that.
"The fact that King committed to Duke is the reason linked to Kevin
eliminating Duke, but we'll see. I'm still thinking it's North Carolina, UCLA
and Duke.
"There is a long time to go before Kevin makes up his mind," Shoff said.
"The deadline, I think, is after his AAU season, which would be the end of
the summer. That's when he wants to have it done."
Love is enjoying a tremendous junior season, averaging 27 points, 17
rebounds and three blocked shots for a 14-3 team. He grabbed 32
rebounds to go with 27 points against Dominguez (Cal.) High in the City
of Palms tournament.
He has scored a season-high 45 points and has thrown in 40 or more two
other times. His career high of 50 came last year when he was a
sophomore.
A prototypical power forward with plenty of power, Love has expanded
his game this season to include some fairly polished perimeter skills.
"That's Kevin's biggest improvement over last year," Shoff said.
"He has a nice three-point jump shot and he is handling the ball more
and better. Of course, at this level, his power is enough. But it won't
always be that way."
Love nailed a pair of 3-pointers vs. Our Savior Lutheran in the recent Ball
Firm Shootout in New York City in a performance that saw him get 29
points and 20 rebounds.
"His strength is inside," Shoff said. "He is so strong underneath that it's
unbelievable. Kevin is like (UNC freshman Tyler) Hansbrough, but
stronger. Seeing those two together would be something.
"I think if Kevin would choose Carolina and Hansbrough and the crowd
coming in next year would stay around, you would have to be talking
about a Final Four-type team in 2007-08. No, make that a final (two)
team.
"Kevin has a real nice jump hook with either hand," Shoff said. "He has
such a good left hand, in fact, that you really can't tell it's his off hand.
He has a great drop step and can score on both blocks. He has a good
step-back jumper on the baseline too.
"He is pretty fundamentally sound for his age. He is explosive for a kid
his size and can also play with finesse. He's awfully hard to stop."
Commitment could be sacrificial for Duke
Thad Mumau
Duke's gain may turn out to also be Duke's loss.
The Blue Devils received a commitment from 6-foot-7 Taylor King earlier
this month, but it could cost them a chance to catch an even bigger fish.
Not long after King's announcement, Kevin Love "unofficially" narrowed
his field to North Carolina and UCLA by trimming Duke.
King, a small forward from Santa Ana (Cal.) Mater Dei, is ranked the No.
12 junior in the country by prepstars.com, while Love is No. 3. He is a 6
-10, 255-pound power forward from Lake Oswego (Ore.) High School.
The word unofficial is used here in reference to Love having just two
finalists because of what his coach is saying in regard to the subject.
"I heard something about that (there being only two survivors on Love's
list)," Lake Oswego coach Mark Shoff said, "but I don't know that it's
official or final, or anything like that.
"The fact that King committed to Duke is the reason linked to Kevin
eliminating Duke, but we'll see. I'm still thinking it's North Carolina, UCLA
and Duke.
"There is a long time to go before Kevin makes up his mind," Shoff said.
"The deadline, I think, is after his AAU season, which would be the end of
the summer. That's when he wants to have it done."
Love is enjoying a tremendous junior season, averaging 27 points, 17
rebounds and three blocked shots for a 14-3 team. He grabbed 32
rebounds to go with 27 points against Dominguez (Cal.) High in the City
of Palms tournament.
He has scored a season-high 45 points and has thrown in 40 or more two
other times. His career high of 50 came last year when he was a
sophomore.
A prototypical power forward with plenty of power, Love has expanded
his game this season to include some fairly polished perimeter skills.
"That's Kevin's biggest improvement over last year," Shoff said.
"He has a nice three-point jump shot and he is handling the ball more
and better. Of course, at this level, his power is enough. But it won't
always be that way."
Love nailed a pair of 3-pointers vs. Our Savior Lutheran in the recent Ball
Firm Shootout in New York City in a performance that saw him get 29
points and 20 rebounds.
"His strength is inside," Shoff said. "He is so strong underneath that it's
unbelievable. Kevin is like (UNC freshman Tyler) Hansbrough, but
stronger. Seeing those two together would be something.
"I think if Kevin would choose Carolina and Hansbrough and the crowd
coming in next year would stay around, you would have to be talking
about a Final Four-type team in 2007-08. No, make that a final (two)
team.
"Kevin has a real nice jump hook with either hand," Shoff said. "He has
such a good left hand, in fact, that you really can't tell it's his off hand.
He has a great drop step and can score on both blocks. He has a good
step-back jumper on the baseline too.
"He is pretty fundamentally sound for his age. He is explosive for a kid
his size and can also play with finesse. He's awfully hard to stop."