Duke Forward Rodney Hood will leave Durham early and declare for the NBA Draft. Hood has both size (6-foot-8) and shooting (41 percent on 3-pointers) in his favor. He can also rise to the rim quite effectively, so he projects as a mid first rounder, late lottery.
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Here’s where we have Rodney Hood in our NBA mock draft. Last night, during the McDonald’s All-American Jam Fest (three-point shooting competition, dunk contest and skills competition) broadcast, the announcers Jalen Rose and Jay Williams had a short discussion on Rodney Hood.
Williams, a former Dukie, said Rodney Hood is gone to the NBA. And just hours ago Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv & https://NBA.com Basketball Insider tweeted this:
Duke’s Rodney Hood will declare for the NBA Draft, sources told @SNYtv. Announcement may take a few days.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 31, 2014
Also the hand of Rodney Hood was tipped by Coach K, back on St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, via Daniel Carp of The Chronicle:
“I wish we had him for more than one year, because the growth that he’s had in this year is terrific, and it’s because he wants to be coached and he takes responsibility,” Krzyzewski said. “Anybody’s who’s willing to take responsibility for his or her actions usually does better, and that’s what Rodney does.”
Rodney Hood is no stranger to transition, and the adjustments that come along with it. He transferred to Duke from Mississippi State. His name came up because last night’s Jamfest was dominated by would have been Blue Devils teammates. The nation’s #1 rated recruit, Jahlil Okafor helped put on a show for his hometown of Chicago.
Okafor acted as a prop for future Blue Devil Grayson Allen, the Jacksonville, Florida native who won the dunk contest. Tyus Jones of Apple Valley, Minnesota won the skills competition, so future Dukies dominated the event held on the University of Chicago campus. The game itself is 8:30 p.m tomorrow. There is a fourth Duke signee in the game: Justise Winslow (St. John’s High School – Houston, Tex.)
The 2014 McDonald’s All American game will also feature four guys committed to Kentucky. Duke and big blue are tied for the most representatives in the game with four.
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