Everyone take a deep breath

[MarkD83]

One of the stories on the front of DBR is about players interested in Duke being invited to a USA BBall mini-camp. The linked article is from Devil's Lair which is a Duke fan site. I don't think the Devil's Lair article has any connection to the bad journalism of the previous USBBall / recruiting articles. Devil's Lair is just doing what a fan site does, reporting information of interest related to Duke.

And by the way my view on the whole recruiting advantage thing is "tough nuggies" (sp). If your coach is only good enough to coach the Dominican Republic that's your problem.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Agree. I didn't get that link or attempted connection. Much ado about nothing.

[ChrisP]

One of the stories on the front of DBR is about players interested in Duke being invited to a USA BBall mini-camp. The linked article is from Devil's Lair which is a Duke fan site. I don't think the Devil's Lair article has any connection to the bad journalism of the previous USBBall / recruiting articles. Devil's Lair is just doing what a fan site does, reporting information of interest related to Duke.

And by the way my view on the whole recruiting advantage thing is "tough nuggies" (sp). If your coach is only good enough to coach the Dominican Republic that's your problem.

Totally agree. I read the article expecting some horrible bias or sniping at K, didn't see it and thought..."meh". As Sgt. Hulka once said, "Lighten up, Francis"

[johnb]

One issue that isn't discussed is that working with these super-elite players not only provides face time, but a learning opportunity for the coaches. Where else is Coach K going to get the sort of experience that will make him a better coach for players like Jabari or Kyrie or Jahlil? In preparing for Jahlil's season as a Devil, it's very helpful to have worked with the Plumlees and a 20 yr old Boozer and an 18 yr old Brand, but working with a whole roster of all star adults is a unique way to get not only external street cred but an actual and unique skill set. Who else has that skill set? Several college coaches have roughly the same experience working with all star adolescents, but, by now, NO ONE in the HISTORY of college basketball has had the experience working with so many top-level players for so many years while also coaching (and recruiting) the younger version of those players. If I'm a bottom-line top player, I'd have to have a really good reason not to go to Duke, and it's not just because the coach's face is familiar... it's because he's moved from being one of the elite coaches to being singular.

[blazindw]

This has nothing to do with Coach K. He's not running the camp, he didn't select the players, and to my knowledge he's not even expected to show given that we are in the middle of preseason practice. He's nowhere near involved with the USA Junior National Team, as it has its own coaches, team directors and staff. To link this roster to anything Coach K does with USA Basketball is the true definition of yellow journalism.