Monday, September 29, 2003

A complete BS article on Duke basketball

A complete BS article on Duke basketball
I have not read such a BS article in a long time. This one concerns Duke basketball and Coach K's "new" recruiting techniques. The writer is acting like he has invented this brand new secret way to develop a college program - by not going after the top recruits all the time. I'm sorry Mr. Samuel, your premise is flawed and biased.

- Are you telling me Coach K did NOT go after the top recruits last year? There were 2 McDonald All-American's on this years team (Kris Humphries & Luol Deng). You even mention in your article that they were the "concencus No. 1 recruiting class". Are you telling me he didn't go after the best? Give me a break!! The year before, JJ Reddick scored the 5th highest point total in McDonald's game history (26), won the 3 pt contest and won the MVP. For the 2004 game (unofficial) you have DeMarcus Nelson the 17th rated player in the nation on the team. He is going after Shaun Livingston, the #1 guard in high school and top 5 player. He has Sebastian Telfair on his list, the Rivals #13 player in high school. Saying that Coach K is not going after the top recruits is total crap.

- The fact that your No. 1 freshman class performed at a sub-par level last year says more about coaching than talent. The fact that Jarett Jack at Tech had a better personal year than your freshman is just a testament to his talent, hard work and coaching. He was not as highly rated as many of the Duke recruits. Jack will be a great 4-year PG for the Tech team. Chris Bosh was a perfect example of the type of player you mention leaving early. However, you and I both know if he would have committed to Duke, Coach K would be sporting that wide crap-eating grin that we all know-and-hate.

- Do you seriously think that Coach K invented a recruiting style that says go after the 2nd level recruits? I'm sorry, this is the strategy that every average conference school has been using for years because the Duke's, UNC's, AZ's, etc have always picked off the best. Duke is having to re-think the recruiting strategy because the GAME has changed with players leaving early. It has started to impact Duke the most because they get the most blue chippers. You think Duke is the only school to realize this? What are you smoking? In fact, the top recruits could start to move away from Duke because there is no promise of 1-2 years of key playing time in order to get the top spots in the draft.

- If you really think that Coach K's strategy is not going after the top recruits, you are wrong. He logically has to rule out the top ones that will jump straight to the NBA, but he will still go after the top ones that are left. Look at what Syracuse did with a phenom freshman (Carmello A.) and a VERY young team. The won the whole ball of wax. Great coaching can only take you so far. You still need the horses.

In summary, you need to drop the moniker on your paper "The Independent Daily at Duke University". About as independent as a 2-month old baby.