Austin Rivers
Photo by Nicholas Koza
Mike Krzyzewski has his man.
A year after being spurned by top target Harrison Barnes (now at North Carolina), Duke has received a verbal commitment from highly-touted guard Austin Rivers of Winter Park (Fla.). Rivers is the No. 2-ranked player in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100.
"It was tough because he had Kansas, Duke and North Carolina as his finalists," said Therion Joseph, Rivers' club coach with Each 1 Teach 1. "For Austin, the basketball will take care of itself. It came down to what he is going to be doing 40 years from now after he is done with basketball. That Duke education and Duke alumni base was really important."
Rivers, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard, averaged 23.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a junior in leading Winter Park to Florida's Class 6A state title. The Wildcats earned a trip to the National High School Invitational, where the future Blue Devil poured in 37 points in a first-round win over Christ School (Arden, N.C.).
"He wants the ball in his hand at all times," Joseph said of Rivers. "He does whatever it takes for his team to win, whether it is scoring, passing or making his teammates better."
Thursday's decision wasn't the first time Rivers has made a verbal commitment. In July of 2008, he signaled his intentions to play for Billy Donovan at Florida only to pull back and re-open his recruitment in April.
The son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, Austin continued his string of success this summer by winning a gold medal with the United States under-18 team at the FIBA Americas Championship and the AAU Super Showcase as a member of Joseph's Each 1 Teach 1 program.
Rivers joins a Duke recruiting class that also includes Virginia wing Michael Gbinije (No. 41 in 2011 Top 100), Mississippi's Tyler Adams (No. 53) and 7-footer Marshall Plumlee (No. 75).
