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Monday / April 14.
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    • Duke, Recruiting

    Duke officially announced the signing of its three-man class of Gary Trent Jr., Wendell Carter Jr. and Alex O’Connell.

    The Class of 2017 group is ranked No. 4 by Scout.com behind Kentucky, UCLA and Arizona.

    The 6-foot-5 Trent Jr. is a five-star recruit ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 shooting guard in the class of 2017 by ESPN.

    “He works at his game,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He wants to be an outstanding player. He wants to do the process.”

    Breaking News, Duke, Michigan State

    By JOEDY McCREARY

    DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Grayson Allen scored 24 points, Luke Kennard added 20 and No. 5 Duke beat Michigan State 78-69 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

    Amile Jefferson had 17 points and 13 rebounds while freshman Frank Jackson finished with 11 points and keyed a timely 11-0 run for the Blue Devils (7-1).

    They won their fourth straight despite shooting just 27 percent from 3-point range.

    Eron Harris scored 14 points for Michigan State (4-4). Playing their first game as an unranked team since March 2015, the Spartans had 18 turnovers and star freshman Miles Bridges was held to 11 points — six fewer than his team-leading average — on 4-of-13 shooting.

    Duke, Kentucky, NBA Draft

    UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and Kentucky freshman shooting guard Malik Monk both made big leaps in the latest 2017 NBA Mock Draft from DraftExpress.com.

    The 6-foot-6 Ball moved up to No. 4 from No. 16, while the 6-4 Monk moved up to No. 5 from No. 11.

    The top three picks remained Washington freshman guard Markelle Fultz at No. 1, N.C. State freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. at No. 2 and Kansas freshman wing Josh Jackson at No. 3. All would be one-and-dones, as would Ball and Monk.

    “Ball is special,” one NBA scout told ZAGSBLOG. “Top three.”

    Ball went for 16 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds Sunday night when the No. 14 Bruins topped Texas A&M, 74-67, to win the Wooden Legacy championship. He was named MVP of the event and the Pac-12 Player of the Week.

    For the season, he’s averaging 16.0 points, 9.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds.

    “He’s a terrific talent but he’s going to continue to get better,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “That might be scary but he’s going to get better.”

    Duke, Recruiting

    Wendell Carter Jr. will join his friend and USA Basketball teammate Gary Trent Jr. at Duke, even if it took Carter Jr. two weeks longer than Trent Jr. to announce.

    The 6-foot-10 Carter Jr., who this summer won a gold medal with Trent Jr. and the USA U17 team, signed with Duke during the early signing period and announced on Wednesday morning.

    “I made my decision,” he said in a Bleacher Report video that depicted him as James Bond. “I choose Duke University.”

    Carter Jr., out of Atlanta (GA) Pace Academy, also considered Harvard, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

    “Wendell has a varied skill set that allows him to face the basket as well as post up in a true post offensive scheme,” USA Basketball coach Don Showalter told ZAGSBLOG. “He has greatly improved his defense, especially guarding a face up offensive player.”

    Trent Jr. committed to Duke on Nov. 10 and said in his USA Today blog that both he and Carter Jr. “loved” their Duke visit — which they took together.

    Rhode Island

    UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Until Saturday, Rhode Island was simply a talented team with a number next to its name.

    Now it has a Top-25 win and and a golden opportunity to knock off the No. 1 team in the nation on Sunday afternoon in Mohegan Sun Arena.

    “As far as playing Duke, I think that’s what every team looks forward to,” senior guard E.C. Matthews said after scoring 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half as Rhode Island roared back from a 12-point first-half deficit to take down No. 24 Cincinnati, 76-71, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.

    “We know [Duke’s] history and the coach they have, so it’s going to be an opportunity for us and we’re going to be excited to play,” Matthews added.

    It was only the second top-25 win since Dan Hurley became the head coach at Rhode Island, and it came with his father, Naismith Hall of Fame St. Anthony’s coach Bob Hurley Sr., sitting courtside.

    Kuran Iverson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Rhode Island, and Jared Terrell and Hassan Martin scored 14 apiece.

    Jacob Evans led Cincinnati with 25 points and 6 rebounds, and Kyle Washington went for 23 and 10.

    Duke advanced with a 78-68 win over Penn State in the first game, but both Duke and Rhode Island sustained injuries to key players.

    Copyright 2016 Zagsblog. Partner of iOne Digital / Cassius Network
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