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Coming out of high school, Rodney Hood was considered one of the top prospects within the class of 2011. Hood was the headline name in a recruiting class at Mississippi State that had some increasingly high expectations. However, a coaching change and an exodus of transfers ultimately ended those hopes for the Bulldogs, so when Hood opted to look elsewhere, nobody was all that shocked.
Hood landed on his feet with the Duke Blue Devils and after sitting out the 2012-13 season per NCAA guidelines, the 6-foot-8 wing is ready to hit the hardwood next season. A rare talent, Hood has the ability to impact the Blue Devils’ rotation right away. In fact, even though Hood has not played in over a year, NBA scouts are salivating at what he can bring to the professional level some day. Hood is considered to be a first round talent at this point, but a lot of that hype will become more fine tuned during the 2013-14 season.
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The Blue Devils are facing a difficult task in replacing a good amount of talent which includes NBA Draft selections Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly, as well as the sharpshooting ability of Seth Curry. However, as head coach Mike Krzyzewski has proven in the past, the Blue Devils will be just fine thanks to some key returnees and a new crop of incoming talent. Led in all by highly-touted Chicago-native Jabari Parker, the forward and center positions for the Blue Devils are stacked when you throw in the likes of Hood, Amile Jefferson, Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee.
Coach K has the talent and the fluctuation to be creative with next year’s lineups and rotations. Hood’s versatility will be the biggest key to that, so don’t be surprised when this newcomer provides an immediate impact at Duke next season.
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
