Decision time is rapidly approaching for Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood who made an official visit to Durham this past weekend. The 6-foot-8 guard was an all SEC freshman this past season after starting and averaging more than 10 points per game. Hood decided to transfer after the Bulldogs former coach Rick Stansbury retired.
Hood, grew up a Duke fan but the Blue Devils did not offer him a scholarship back when he was first being recruited. The recent transfer for Mike Gbinije opened up a scholarship spot on the wing and the Blue Devils coaching staff offered that spot to Hood. It remains to be seen if being a fan of the program will help Duke's chances in his recruitment.
Hood brings a lot of athleticism out on the perimeter and the Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy has gone as far as saying he feels that Hood could be a real breakout player for what ever team he signs with once he becomes eligible in the 2012-2013 season.
By all accounts the visit to Duke went very well and reports are that Hood will decide between Duke and Ohio State within the next week, though he also visited Memphis.
Many in the media and fans alike have hinted that Hood appears to be a Duke lean but that has been said many times before about other players and has not always panned out so until he announces that he will be a Blue Devil I'm not considering it a done deal.
Hood would be a fabulous addition to the team next year even if he isn't eligible to play until the following season. It isn't often a program gets a player of that quality that can offer them someone who will put up some serious competition in practice while he learns the system.
Obviously with the currently 2013 recruiting class that features several perimeter wing oriented players it will be interested to see how that affects Hood or, if he comes to Duke, how it would affect other potential targets.
At this point it is again time to take the wait and see approach. Though if he does commit to Duke it would be another positive spin to an offseason that started off horribly but has shown signs of being just a bad memory.
Stay tuned to the Duke Sports Blog for more updates on Hood and recruiting.
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