By Antonio Curro – Midwest PUNKS Editor
The #1 2011 prospect in the country is off the board after a whirlwind recruitment as Austin Rivers of Winter Park H.S. in Florida verbally committed to Duke this morning. Long regarded as one of the premiere talents in the country, Rivers chose the Blue Devils with a number of official visits including one to rival North Carolina scheduled for October.
This is obviously a huge recruiting grab for Coach K and the Blue Devils as Rivers is regarded by some as the #1 player in the country and is a consensus top 5 prospect nationally on virtually every other board. At 6-4 Rivers has excellent size and as the son of former NBA star and current Boston Celtics head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers the Winter Park standout has an exceptional pedigree for the hardwood. While the foundation is easy to see, the younger Rivers is exceptionally skilled with a lethal scoring package that includes handles, range, scoring off the bounce, dribble penetration skills, and an ability to take over the game and score in bunches. Add to the mix a fierce competitive fire, exceptional court awareness, nice vision, and the ability to be high major impact talent at either the PG or SG spots at the high major level, and it’s easy to see how Rivers is an big time catch for the Blue Devils.
Austin Rivers played with the Each 1 Teach 1 (i.e. also referred to by some as Team STAT) during the grassroots travel season.
Note: Antonio Curro is the National Recruiting Editor for NY2LASPORTS.COM and the Midwest PUNKS Editor for SLAM Magazine.
