University of North Carolina and Duke University basketball fans are not used to their favorites being told "no" by recruits, but it happened a couple of times last week.

Greg Monroe, a 6-foot-10 center at Harvey (La.) Cox, and the top-ranked player in the class of 2008, chose Georgetown over Duke.

On Thursday, Iman Shumpert, a 6-4 shooting guard in Oak Park, Ill., chose Georgia Tech over Marquette and UNC.

UNC is awaiting the decision of 6-11 Tyler Zeller of Washington, Ind., and Duke is still recruiting 6-4 Elliott Williams of Collierville (Tenn.) St. George. Beyond that, Duke and Carolina don't seem to have a lot of targets left.

"This has been a very uncharacteristic year for UNC and Duke," said recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports. "Rarely will you see this many players turn down what are two of the elite programs in college basketball. They just aren't used to being told 'no.' "

UNC is on Zeller's final list, but geography may be a problem. His older brother, Luke, plays at Notre Dame, which could be a plus or minus for the Irish.

"Would Tyler compete with Luke for playing time, or would Notre Dame find a way to play both of them?" Gibbons said. "Purdue is another nearby option where the family could get to most of the games of both sons. Indiana is another close option.

"But UNC is UNC, and Zeller has said he likes the idea of playing in the ACC."

Tech did a masterful job recruiting Shumpert, Gibbons said.

"He wants to play the point, and Carolina already has Larry Drew, a point guard, committed from this class," Gibbons said. "Tech pitched the idea that it uses tall point guards and gets them ready for the NBA. Paul Hewitt points to Jarrett Jack and Javaris Crittenton as examples. Hewitt just did a great job recruiting Iman."

Monroe's decision to join a young and promising club came after he also had considered Duke, Texas, LSU and Connecticut. He had planned to visit Duke this month.

"It was very surprising in some ways, but Monroe enjoyed the people at Georgetown," Gibbons said. "I didn't expect him to decide so quickly."

Williams, who is expected to announce on Nov. 2, is down to Duke, Tennessee, Memphis and Virginia.

"There is no guarantee that Duke will get Williams," Gibbons said. "There is still some recruiting to be done."

Regardless, the bulk of the class of 2008 already has committed. Duke and Carolina, along with most major programs, soon will turn their efforts to the class of '09.

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