UNC parlays national title into ACC's top recruiting class

Last in a series of reports on ACC football and basketball recruiting.

North Carolina and Duke won the basketball titles most important to the ACC last season and made sure that their programs can stay among the nation's best by adding outstanding recruiting classes.

UNC, the NCAA champion, added five players and assembled the class that analyst Bob Gibbons of All Star Sports in Lenoir ranked No. 1 in the conference.

Duke, the ACC Tournament winner, added two big men and a guard who is a major-college transfer for the ACC's No. 4-ranked class. Andre Dawkins, a 6-4 guard from Chesapeake, Va., and a member of Duke's 2010 recruiting class, is looking into enrolling a year early and could become the fourth member of this year's class.

Here's a look at the recruiting results for North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

North Carolina

UNC lost four starters, including two juniors who left early for the NBA Draft, and Coach Roy Williams will need significant help from his recruiting class.

"In '05, it was a relief when (the NCAA title) happened, but all of a sudden everybody was leaving so we were scrambling around trying to find someone who could help us win," Williams said. "This year we're losing a great deal again, but it's not quite as bad as it was in '05."

The class has plenty of height in John Henson, a 6-10 forward now living in Tampa, Fla., and 6-10 twins David and Travis Wear from Huntington Beach, Calif.

The backcourt will add Leslie McDonald, a 6-4 guard from Memphis, Tenn., and Dexter Strickland, a 6-3 guard from Rahway, N.J.

Henson is thin, along the lines of Ed Davis, a UNC freshman forward last season. But analysts consider him gifted -- Gibbons ranks him No. 5 in the nation. Henson averaged 17.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.1 blocked shots last season in his only season at Tampa's Sickles High. He previously lived in Round Rock, Texas.

Williams said he wants Henson to add weight and strength but considers him capable of playing next season at any of the three frontcourt positions.

"When we recruited him, we asked him to be able to spend a great deal of time on sliding his feet so he would be able to guard a perimeter guy," Williams said. "I would not be surprised to see John running around at the three spot (small forward)."

Gibbons said he considers Strickland an advanced defensive player. McDonald averaged 20.7 points as a senior at Briarcrest Christian High School in Eads, Tenn., and was the state's Division 2-AA Mr. Basketball for the second consecutive season.

Williams said that Strickland and McDonald might have to help at point guard as freshmen, although neither is a natural fit at the position.

Duke

Duke added significant height in Ryan Kelly, a 6-10 forward from Raleigh, and Mason Plumlee, a 6-10 forward from Warsaw, Ind., who attended Christ School in Arden, just outside of Asheville.

"The two freshmen are very talented and skilled," Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They can play right away."

Kelly, a hard worker with all-around talent, averaged 25.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 blocked shots and 3.3 assists last season and helped Ravenscroft reach the NCISAA 3-A title game. He was named Gatorade's state player of the year.

Plumlee will join his older brother Miles, a rising 6-10 sophomore forward. Mason Plumlee averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots as a senior and is an adept shooter who can hit the 3-pointer.

"They're very mature, and they're easy to play with," Krzyzewski said. "They can play multiple positions. The ball is friendly in their hands. They're very good. A freshman could start for us. Both of those kids are going to play."

Duke developed backcourt problems in the spring when Gerald Henderson left a year early for the NBA and Elliot Williams transferred after one season because of family concerns.

Krzyzewski made a run at John Wall, a point guard from Raleigh who signed with Kentucky. Dawkins could ease the backcourt problem immediately if he can gain early admittance. Seth Curry, a 6-3 guard, transferred to Duke after one season at Liberty but will sit out the 2009-10 season under NCAA transfer rules.

Dawkins has already been in high school four years. He transferred to Atlantic Shores Christian after spending his freshman year at Deep Creek High and chose to reclassify himself as a freshman to gain another season of basketball experience.

Curry is the younger brother of Stephen Curry, a former Davidson star, and is as promising a shooter as his brother. Curry averaged 20.2 points last season and had the sixth-best single-season point total (707) in Big South Conference history.

"He believes he's a good player, and he is one," Krzyzewski said. "I haven't coached him yet, so I don't know if he's as good as his brother. I hope he is. That'll be really good. I'll be a better coach."

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech has had losing seasons three times in the last four years and hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2007, but a big, talented recruiting class could solve Tech's problems.

Coach Paul Hewitt signed six players and one of the top classes in program history. Gibbons ranked it No. 2 in the ACC, saying: "Paul Hewitt really did the best job of getting what he needed."

Derrick Favors, a 6-9, 233-pound forward and center, was ranked the nation's No. 1 senior by Gibbons. He led South Atlanta High to the Class 3-A state title by averaging 28.1 points, 13.3 rebounds and five blocked shots. He also won the Naismith Trophy, given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top high-school boys player in the country.

A second key addition is 6-3 Mfon Udofia, who could be the answer to shaky play at point guard. He helped Miller Grove High of Stone Mountain, Ga., win the Class 4-A state title last season by averaging 20.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Tech also benefitted from a coaching change at rival Georgia. Daniel Miller, a 6-10 center and forward from Loganville, Ga., had committed to Georgia but signed with Georgia Tech.

Also in the class are: Glen Rice Jr., a 6-4 guard and the son of Glen Rice, who played at Michigan and then in the NBA; Brian Oliver, a 6-6 swingman from New Castle, Del.; and Kammeon Holsey, a 6-7 forward from Sparta, Ga.

Miami

Miami is stocking up under Coach Frank Haith in its bid to become an ACC contender and will add four freshmen who should help with outside shooting.

Garrius Adams, a 6-5 shooting guard, is the fourth player from North Carolina that Haith has signed since becoming Miami's coach in 2005. Adams attended Apex Middle Creek, averaged 21.8 points as a senior and set the school's career-scoring record.

Durand Scott, a 6-5 shooting guard from New York, led Brother Rice High to the State Federation title by scoring 23 points in the championship, and his tying 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds left forced overtime.

Donnavan Kirk, a 6-8 forward, played at Detroit (Mich.) Country Day -- the same program that produced Duke's Shane Battier and Michigan's Chris Webber -- and averaged 13.2 points and nine rebounds as a senior on a 24-2 team.

Antoine Allen, a 6-2 guard from Baltimore, spent a postgraduate year at Mississippi Elite Christian Academy, where he averaged 20 points and six assists.

Gibbons ranked the class No. 6 in the ACC.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech had to deal with the expected and the unexpected in putting together a five-player class that includes a major-college transfer.

A.D. Vassallo, one of the top scorers in school history, exhausted his eligibility after last season and then Hank Thorns, a sophomore point guard, decided to transfer. During the recruiting season, point guard Lamont Jones from Oak Hill Academy withdrew his commitment and signed with Southern California.

Virginia Tech added Manny Atkins, a 6-7 wing player from Stone Mountain, Ga., who has "the total package," according to Coach Seth Greenberg; Ben Boggs, a 6-4 guard from Roanoke, Va.; Erick Green, a 6-2 guard from Fairfax, Va.; Cadarian Raines, a 6-8 forward from Petersburg, Va.; and Allan Chaney, a 6-8, 231-pound forward from Baltimore who originally played at Florida.

Chaney will have three seasons of eligibility after sitting out the coming season. He played in 23 games last season and averaged 9.8 minutes, three points and 2.1 rebounds.

Virginia

Virginia added two players, but neither was recruited by new coach Tony Bennett. Dave Leitao, Bennett's predecessor, signed both, and Bennett will have to coach next season with a team that Leitao recruited.

The newcomers are Tristan Spurlock, a 6-7 forward from Woodbridge, Va., and Jontel Evans, a 5-11 guard from Hampton, Va. Leitao liked Spurlock for his all-around ability and considered him capable of playing shooting guard. He considered Evans a dogged defender.

Gibbons ranked the class No. 11 in the ACC.

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.