Andre Dawkins to Play at Duke in 2009-10

Andre Dawkins, ESPN’s #2 Shooting Guard and #10 Overall prospect in the class of 2010, has been cleared by the NCAA to play for Duke for the 2009-10 season, one year early, according to Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.  This is absolutely huge news for the Blue Devils as Dawkins will be able to step right in to a team left with only two scholarship guards on its roster following graduation (Greg Paulus), early departure (Gerald Henderson and Marty Pocius), and transfer (Elliot Williams).

Dawkins is an extremely athletic 6’4 Shooting Guard who can stroke it from deep.  Think JJ Redick shooting with Gerald Henderson athletic ability, or Ray Allen for a single player comparison.  He is a consensus top recruit who committed to Duke last year and was expected to be a major part of Duke’s monster 2010 class, but will happily enroll at Duke early.  This move will provide much needed scoring from the guard position off the bench and allow rest for both Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer.  It also prevents guys like 6’8 Kyle Singler and 6’10 Ryan Kelly from having to play out of position at 2-guard.  Andre Dawkins will be a fan favorite over the next four years (if he doesn’t leave early for the NBA) and should keep Duke among the title contenders for this upcoming season. Dawkins joins two other 5-star players in SF/PF Ryan Kelly and 6′11 C Mason Plumlee in Duke’s 2009 class.  Check out a highlight video of Dawkins:

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