Deng to visit UVa., Duke, Missouri

By Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

Luol Deng, the No. 2-ranked player in the Class of 2003, has set up three official visits. The trips begin in the middle of this month and stretch into October.

Joe Mantegna, head coach at Blair Academy (Blairstown N.J.) for the 6-foot-7 small forward, says that Deng will visit Virginia the weekend of Sept. 20 and Missouri the weekend of Sept. 27. He'll trip to Duke just about a month later on the weekend of Oct. 25.

As far as the other visits go, Deng would have two remaining. Challenging for those slots would be Texas, Indiana and George Washington.

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A snapshot into Deng's home visit schedule reveals that Mike Krzyzewski will be at Blair on Tuesday and Indiana's Mike Davis is scheduled to appear on Wednesday.

It was originally thought that scheduling official visits might be tough on Deng since Blair Academy conducts Saturday classes, but Mantegna says it hasn't been a problem.

"We only have a half day on Saturdays and we've given [Deng and Charlie Villanueva] lighter Saturday loads knowing they would miss some school in the spring and fall. They won't miss any Friday classes."

Mantegna confirmed that Wake Forest took itself out of the running for Deng the other day when the Demon Deacons closed out their recruiting with a commitment from forward Kyle Visser.

Deng, a small forward, might get some playing time at a new position this year. Blair is heavy on athletes but light on PGs. When the question was asked who will run the show, Mantegna's answer was almost predictable.

"His name might be Deng. We'll probably do point guard by committee."

One interesting note about Deng's recruitment centers around relationships. Missouri coach Quin Snyder was Duke's top assistant before leaving to take the job in Columbia. Now, Deng is clearly the No. 1 target of each program as the pupil and teacher engage in a good old fashioned recruiting battle.

"Obviously, there's mutual respect there [from both parties] and there's been no issue," Mantegna said of the two programs.

 

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