International F Declan Duru commits to Texas (Wednesday, 9:24 a.m.)

[Neil Leininger]

3 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Texas 2025-26 roster...
Tramon Mark, CG, 6-6, Gr. (10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists)

Simeon Wilcher, CG, 6-4, junior (8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists) 

Jordan Pope, CG, 6-0, senior (11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists)

Chendall Weaver, G, 6-3, senior (6.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists)

Dailyn Swain, F/G, 6-8, junior (11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals at Xavier)

Camden Heide, F, 6-7, junior (4.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 39.2% from three at Purdue) 

Matas Vokietaitas, C, 7-0, sophomore (10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds at FAU)

Lassina Traore, C, 6-10, senior (11.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 2023-24 at LBSU) 

Declan Duru, PF, 6-9, freshman 

Nic Codie, PF,  6-9, sophomore

John Clark, PF, 6-8.5, freshman

Lewis Obiorah, C, 7-1, freshman 

This team is so freaking tall. If they can defend the perimeter with this length, good luck trying to score.

[Robbin Antono]

@Gerry Hamilton are we still waiting for 6’4” combo guard coming in?

[Rocky P]

3 hours ago, HenryJames said:

How does he compare to Kylian Mbappe?

Wrong sport but I like it.  Kylian can score more goals on the pitch, but I don't think he stands a chance on the court.

[Gerry Hamilton]

16 minutes ago, Robbin Antono said:

@Gerry Hamilton are we still waiting for 6’4” combo guard coming in?

No. Roster is complete 

[Gerry Hamilton]

On Duru … where he begins at Texas and possible impact he could make year one out of the gate will come down to Codie and John Clark … where they are at by August. 

They should be well ahead to start 

[Gerry Hamilton]

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2026-march-madness-men-field-predictions

[harveycmd]

After watching some Duru film, I was a little disappointed. Open set shots and plodding drives. Didn't see any signs of elite athleticism. Hope he has it.

[Jordan91]

10 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

After watching some Duru film, I was a little disappointed. Open set shots and plodding drives. Didn't see any signs of elite athleticism. Hope he has it.

That’s what you will find this late. OU and Colorado were the competition. It’s not like Duke was after him. He has a slow shot release from the perimeter too. If he ends up getting more minutes than Codie it means there wasn’t much development over the summer from Codie. 

[harveycmd]

7 minutes ago, Jordan91 said:

That’s what you will find this late. OU and Colorado were the competition. It’s not like Duke was after him. He has a slow shot release from the perimeter too. If he ends up getting more minutes than Codie it means there wasn’t much development over the summer from Codie. 

I didn't see what I would consider NBA upside. Looks more like a rotational piece to me. Perhaps the raw development tools are there if he has the work ethic and determination.

 

[Gerry Hamilton]

58 minutes ago, Jordan91 said:

That’s what you will find this late. OU and Colorado were the competition. It’s not like Duke was after him. He has a slow shot release from the perimeter too. If he ends up getting more minutes than Codie it means there wasn’t much development over the summer from Codie. 

He didn’t decide to come over until later.  He had a lot of interest if he had made the decision earlier (Baylor, Illinois, etc…) 

What will hurt him in year one is not getting to Austin until August.

You act like everyone doesn’t have any development left as a player sometimes. Blows my mind to be honest.

[Gerry Hamilton]

50 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

1 hour ago, harveycmd said:

After watching some Duru film, I was a little disappointed. Open set shots and plodding drives. Didn't see any signs of elite athleticism. Hope he has  it. 

How many elite athletes did the National Champion Florida Gators have last year in your opinion? 

 

[Gerry Hamilton]

13 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Future NBA draft pick level pickup IMO ...

From NBAdraft.net

Notes: Measured: 6’8″ (w/o shoes), 8’8.25″ standing reach, 223 lbs, 7’0″ wingspan, 31.5″ standing vert, and a 38.5″ max vert at the 2024 Basketball Without Borders Europe …

For the athleticism convo … this was Duru’s vert testing numbers as a 17-18 year old 

…

This was NBA Combine numbers this year for all forwards in the draft in standing vert and max vert 

[harveycmd]

1 minute ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

How many elite athletes did the National Champion Florida Gators have last year in your opinion? 

 

I'd say four. Clayton had elite skill. Condon and Chenyilu played above the rim in the post, especially on defense. Richard could get up, shoot, and power his was to the basket with quickness. 

Maybe Duru can do something like that. I just didn't see it. I didn't see a single jump shot. Didn't see him go above rim level for a rebound. Didn't see any kind of burst or ball quickness. I sure hope he has some of it.

[Gerry Hamilton]

6 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

I'd say four. Clayton had elite skill. Condon and Chenyilu played above the rim in the post, especially on defense. Richard could get up, shoot, and power his was to the basket with quickness. 

Maybe Duru can do something like that. I just didn't see it. I didn't see a single jump shot. Didn't see him go above rim level for a rebound. Didn't see any kind of burst or ball quickness. I sure hope he has some of it.

You said elite athleticism … 

In terms of elite athleticism… Florida Gators had zero 

Clayton is a plus lateral movement athlete, but not pro elite in terms of vertical ability or quickness. 1st rounder 

Alijah Martin … not a pro elite athlete when compared to others in agility of vertical pop. Second round pick 

None of the Gators bigs will turn in pro elite athleticism testing numbers, but Condo will be drafted for sure and Hough likely will be 

IMO, knowing how to play is just as important. And the ability to create floor spacing through range in the current game 

[harveycmd]

18 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

You said elite athleticism … 

In terms of elite athleticism… Florida Gators had zero 

Clayton is a plus lateral movement athlete, but not pro elite in terms of vertical ability or quickness. 1st rounder 

Alijah Martin … not a pro elite athlete when compared to others in agility of vertical pop. Second round pick 

None of the Gators bigs will turn in pro elite athleticism testing numbers, but Condo will be drafted for sure and Hough likely will be 

IMO, knowing how to play is just as important. And the ability to create floor spacing through range in the current game 

You may be right. I consider elite lateral quickness and skill to be a pretty big deal in basketball. I didn't mention Martin. I said Richard. Further, an elite trait or two won't guarantee NBA success, but it's sure hard to get to the NBA without something elite. Again, I didn't see Duru elevate and shoot from the perimeter. All set shots. Didn't see him go over the rim fighting for the ball. Didn't see him shoot or drive quickly. He could be a decent college player without that.