Georgetown and Duke are developing a bit of a recruiting rivalry.
The Hoyas won out with Greg Monroe and Hollis Thompson, but lost to Coach K and company on Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton.
The newest member of that club is Tyler Adams.
Adams committed to Duke back in April, but the relationship seemed to be rocky when the 6'8" Mississippi native attended Georgetown’s Midnight Madness. On October 26th, news leaked that Adams had officially reneged on his commitment to the Blue Devils. Late last night, he gave his verbal to Georgetown. Adams joins Mikael Hopkins, one of the best centers in the class of 2011, and Jabril Trawick in the Hoya’s 2011 recruiting class.
Now, one of the no-no’s in the recruiting world is going after a player that is already committed to another school. Its like pursuing a girl that has a boyfriend. You may not technically be doing anything wrong, but its an easy way to make yourself look bad. That said, Evan Daniels makes it seem as if Adams and Duke already parted ways prior to Midnight Madness. And even if Adams had yet to make it official with the Duke coaching staff, attending another school’s March Madness isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for their relationship. I hate to use the girlfriend analogy again, but when she is sleeping over at another guy’s house, the writing is on the wall, buddy.
Adams and Hopkins will both be solid additions to the Georgetown front line. Hopkins is a shot blocker and a rebounder, while Adams is more of a big-bodied bruiser as he checks in at about 260 lb. Throw in current Georgetown freshmen Nate Lubick and Moses Ayegba, and the Hoyas should have a bevy of able big men next season.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.