ARDEN, N.C. - The handful of North Carolina Tar Heels jerseys he owns, Mason Plumlee says he'll put them on eBay.
The 6-foot-11 Christ School junior, who grew up in Winona Lake and played on the varsity basketall team at Warsaw Community High School before transferring to a private school outside of Asheville N.C., is now a fan of the Duke Blue Devils.Plumlee was offered a full-ride scholarship from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski last week, and on Tuesday the talented power forward called Krzyzewski and committed to play for the Blue Devils.
"I called him on the phone and told him I wanted to come to Duke," Plumlee said in a phone conversation this morning. "A lot of it had to do with meeting Coach K and getting to know him. He's a Hall of Fame coach, he's a great coach. But in the last few weeks I've really gotten to know him personally, and I like him a lot. I feel real comfortable around him. He's spent a lot of time with my family, and I feel as comfortable around him as any of the other coaches that were recruiting me."
Among Plumlee's final list of suitors were Georgetown, UCLA, Stanford and Michigan.
David Gaines, Plumlee's coach at Christ School, said he thinks Duke is a perfect fit for Plumlee.
"The way they're planning on using Mason, I think Duke is a perfect fit," said Gaines. "In Duke's motion offense, they don't have a true center. And at 6-11, Mason is comfortable handling the ball and playing 20 feet from the basket. At that size, though, he's also effective underneath. He's a terrific passer and can put the ball on the floor, and they know he can shoot the three. They're pretty excited about getting him."
Plumlee averaged 12.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this year for the Christ School Greenies, who finished with a 34-2 record after winning their second-straight NCISAA 3A state championship.
Christ School beat Greensboro Day 50-41 to win the state champioship this past Saturday. Plumlee led the Greenies with 15 points. He and 6-10 brother Miles Plumlee, a senior who has already signed a letter of intent to play at Stanford, were named to the All-State team.
In the last two weeks, Plumlee has taken two unofficial visits to the Duke campus in Durham.
When he was in attendance at the nationally-televised game with ACC rival Maryland, the student section chanted his name before tipoff and during timeouts.
Just as Gaines thinks Plumlee is a perfect fit for Duke's offense, his four-syllable name is perfect for chanting. And the student section at Duke, known as the Cameron Crazies, certainly got the 17-year-old's attention.
"It was crazy," Plumlee said of hearing the Duke fans chant his name. "That was pretty cool. They're some of the smartest basketball fans there are. They know everything about the team and the recruits."
They knew Krzyzewski wanted Plumlee. And he got him.
When he takes to the hallowed court at Duke, maybe Plumlee will give the Cameron Crazies another reason to chant his name.
