Duke Recruits Weigh in on Andre Dawkins Going to Durham Early
Words. Jason Jordan
Montrose Christian’s Josh Hairston wishes he could join Dawkins early
Gonzaga College High’s (Washington, D.C.) Tyler Thornton wouldn’t mind being in Andre Dawkins’ shoes, but he’s content with “winning another championship and getting better” during his senior year.
Montrose Christian’s (Md.) Joshua Hairston is more concerned that Dawkins will treat Hairston and Thornton “like little kids once we get to Duke now that he’s gonna have a year at Duke under his belt.”
“He’s gonna be like ‘come on under my wing young fellas,” says Hairston, a 6-8 forward. “No, we’re all real tight because we were a three-man class so far for 2010, and we all committed around the same time. I think it’s a really smart move for Dre to go to Duke now. They were gonna struggle because you can’t win with just two guards, but now they’ve got him there to help. I’m behind him 100 percent.”
Dawkins was unavailable for comment.
Hairston talked to Dawkins Thursday morning on Facebook and said that Dawkins was “excited about the opportunity.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” Hairston said. “I told him it’s gonna be weird seeing him on TV before we get down there. He was just saying how excited he was.”
Added Thornton: “I can see why he’s excited. If I had the opportunity to leave early, I’d do the same thing.”
Dawkins’ opportunity worked out like this: His family moved to Chesapeake, Va., from Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2005. There he played at Deep Creek High as a freshman, and after the school year, Dawkins transferred again, this time to Atlantic Shores, and reclassified, for basketball purposes, as a ninth-grader.
Hairston said that he and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski talked about the Dawkins scenario “a while ago.”
“He (Krzyzewski) was saying how he wished Andre was coming in with the 2009 class because he’s a guard,” said Hairston. “He was saying how much that would help them this year. As you see now, he is coming.”
Dawkins’ impromptu arrival will instantly upgrade Duke’s once depleted backcourt – just two experienced scholarship guards (Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer) after losing Gerald Henderson to the NBA Draft and Elliot Williams to transfer. And, according to Thornton, don’t expect the freshman learning curve to be a factor for Dawkins.
“He has all of the tools to be successful right away. He’s that good,” said Thornton, a 6-1 guard. “They have a shortage at the guard position and he’s a great wing player. They can have Nolan or Jon bring the ball up the floor and have him (Dawkins) on the wing. He’s very athletic and he can shoot the ball real well. This isn’t just exciting for Dre, it’s great for Duke.”
[...] forward or shooting guard who can take over for the departure of Gerald Henderson to the NBA. IfDawkins is able to graduate early, Coach K will have a lot more options available to tweak the Duke [...]