Class of 2009 Recruiting Update

There’s been some important commitments over the last week or so for the Class of 2009. Let’s take a quick look at what went down and which coaches scored big:

– Ryan Kelly (#11) stayed in his home state and opted to play for Coach K and the Blue Devils. He’s a 6’10 power forward that will compliment fellow ’09 recruit Mason Plumlee quite well. Duke is one of three teams (UNC, Texas) with two players in the top-20.

– Daniel Orton (#12) is a huge coup for Billy Gillespie and the Wildcats, who sported some crazy new uniforms for this season the other day. Orton, an Oklahoma City native, is a defensive stalwart with a developing offensive game. The potential for this kid is sky-high.

– Jordan Hamilton (#13) is a 6’7 small forward from California who committed to Texas and coach Rick Barnes, one of the more underrated coaches in the nation. Hamilton is ranked as the #2 SF in the nation and could be the top pure scorer in the entire class.

– Thomas Robinson (#20) elected to play for the national champion Kansas Jayhawks. Robinson barely sneaks onto the list because he’s exploded late into his high school career playing for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. KU is putting together loaded classes for 2008 and 2009.

Updated class of 2009 list courtesy of Scout.com:

1. Derrick Favors (Favorite: Georgia Tech)

2. John Wall (Favorite: Memphis)

3. John Henson (committed to North Carolina)

4. Xavier Henry (Favorite: Memphis)

5. Renardo Sidney (Favorite: USC)

6. DeMarcus Cousins (committed to UAB)

7. Lance Stephenson (Favorite: St. John’s)

8. Kenny Boynton (Favorites: Duke, Florida)

9. Abdul Gaddy (committed to Arizona)

10. Avery Bradley (committed to Texas)

11. Ryan Kelly (committed to Duke)

12. Daniel Orton (committed to Kentucky)

13. Jordan Hamilton (committed to Texas)

14. Alex Oriakhi (committed to Connecticut)

15. Dominic Cheek (Favorites: Kansas, Villanova)

16. Wally Judge (committed to Kansas State)

17. Dante Taylor (committed to Pittsburgh)

18. Dexter Strickland (committed to North Carolina)

19. Mason Plumlee (committed to Duke)

20. Thomas Robinson (committed to Kansas)