It is official. I will close the other thread. Discuss here.
Profoundly disappointing. My engagement in Duke basketball slips ever further.
(While down the road they win a title with a senior who was a top-10 recruit, a junior NPOY candidate who is returning for his senior season, and a junior top-15 recruit who is returning for his senior season. Karma? What karma?)
Best of luck, Frank!
GoDuke press release
“Frank has a bright future ahead of him,” Krzyzewski said. “His combination of athleticism and fearlessness makes him a special player. The next step for him is continuing to develop so he can maximize his exceptional potential. He'll always be a member of our brotherhood and we want nothing but the very best for him.”
Good for Frank and his family. Come on down Mr. Duval.
I've never been more disappointed with a decision by a Duke player ever.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out Frank.
What happened with last year's team? It almost feels like a revolt. I don't know how to wrap my head around this degree of underclassmen turnover... Tatum, Giles, Jackson, Kennard, Jeter, Obi. I will be cheering hard for all who suit up in the correct color blue. But wow... this just feels off to me. I'm sure I'm wrong and it's just all a matter of really bad timing. I hope.
This world of OAD is tough. You can't not recruit these guys, right? Or maybe you make a conscious decision not to recruit kids with OAD aspirations. I don't know. It would require a multi-year transition period to pull back from OAD recruiting. It feels like KY is the only program that has made a steady and successful enough practice of recruiting OADs to make it really work from the standpoint of fielding deep teams each year (not from the standpoint of championships). And now we find ourselves in a bit of a pickle for next year... and who knows how many years after this if we keep pushing hard on the top top top talent. It's definitely a catch 22. Not faulting or calling out our staff but it does feel like we're caught a little in the middle right now.
Last edited by JBDuke; 05-12-2017 at 05:57 PM. Reason: removed inappropriate language
“Coach said no 3s.” - Zion on The Block
3rd straight year in a row with an unexpected point guard departure. I can't possibly fault the coaches for recruiting the way they have, but we have got to have a better insurance policy going forward. Dunno if goldwire is part of such a plan, but getting some 4* ball handlers in addition to the 5* guys seems like a must going forward. If a guy looks like he has a 1% chance of going OAD, we have to expect that it can and will happen.
I don't get this reaction at all. The kid has a chance to go make money playing the sport he loves. Why knock him for it because you don't agree with it? Seems selfish to me.
You can have a reasonable conversation about believing Frank made a poor professional choice by electing to stay in the draft, but that's not remotely what you did.
Imagine if Allen had left...
All but one of those departures was obvious. Tatum was a top-5 prospect who will be a top-5 pick. Giles was a top-5 prospect who will be a first-round pick on potential despite recovering from knee issues. Kennard just had one of the most impressive offensive seasons in memory, whose athletic limitations mean his first-round status is as good as it will get. Jeter was a top-20 recruit who couldn't crack the rotation for two years and wasn't likely to start next year. Obi graduated and wasn't going to play at Duke. Only Jackson, Allen, and Bolden had reasonable questions regarding their decisions, and we kept two of three.
Last edited by JBDuke; 05-12-2017 at 05:58 PM.
I wish nothing but all the best to Frank.
I really hope this means that he expects to be taken in the first or received a guarantee from someone like Utah at #30. Hopefully his good combine performance earned him that guarantee. If he's certain he's a first round pick, it's the right decision.
If he has no guarantee, I'd expect 2nd round and D-league. If he prefers D-League to starring for Duke and almost certainly being taken in first round next year, it's his life and his decision. So I guess he still made the right decision for him.
Overall, Duke will be fine! We've lost plenty of players early we expected back. We are always fine. Grayson has similar strengths as Frank - athletic, scoring guard who can get to the rim. Grayson creates better for teammates and shoots better. I'm giddy about a senior captain season from Grayson.
If we get Duval, and I fully expect that we will, this could help team chemistry. I was honestly worried about team chemistry if Frank returned after all the buzz that he didn't want to play on a team with Duval and Grayson. Duval, Grayson, Trent, Carter, and Bolden are a pretty incredibly talented starting 5. Duke has plenty of playing time available. And we should have some incredible distributors who love to set up teammates.
So let's also go get Tucker and Bamba! I can't imagine a better landing spot for either of them right now. Duke will be fine, and Duke will be Duke.
All the best to Frank, and I wish him the utmost success.
Most experienced returning player would be...Marques Bolden. With his 157 minutes played (4.2mpg). Yeah, the turnover this off-season is ridiculous. And I am insanely jealous that somehow UNC manages to keep top 10 recruits who are lotto picks 3 years, yet we can't keep our bench guys from bolting to the NBA. No hard feelings to Frank, though, and wish him the best. I honestly do think that this season wasn't that much fun for the guys, particularly with the Grayson hate tsunami all season long. These guys are kids, it's got to impact them. Heck, I'm an adult who is not even remotely close to the program, and I'm sad to say it affected me in some capacity (not looking for sympathy, just stating the truth as pathetic as that sounds). I'm just a bit bitter by all this, but will still enjoy seeing what the guys can do that are on our team next season. LGD!
Too bad. Really wanted to root for him next year. Hate relying so much on freshmen.
I understand Frank's decision. Especially in light of how he performed yesterday.
However, that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed.
If we don't get Duval, we're in a little bit of a bind at guard/wing.
- Chillin
At the beginning of the year, we were expecting to lose Allen, Kennard, Giles, Tatum, Jackson, and Bolden in addition to the graduation of Jefferson and Jones and we were all ecstatic at the firepower that we had on the team. Now, we're telling them to not let the door hit them on the way out? Is it because we didn't win it all? Cuz after this year, I still expected all of them to leave. I hoped a few would stay, and Jackson's departure is probably the most surprising. But, the NBA is built on potential and Jackson has a ton of it. He likely balled out at the combine and some teams gave him the word that if available in the first round they will take him.
I wish Frank nothing but the best. I was hoping he'd come back, but understand that he has a great opportunity and is going to seek his dream. I can't be mad at that at all. And I will always consider him a part of the Duke family. I would hope that everyone else joins me in that sentiment.