Jackson To The NBA

[ncexnyc]

Is it possible to happy for Frank because he has earned this opportunity, while simultaneously being completely frustrated at the situation? Most of us here are avid college basketball fans. Is there any other sport where a fan base has to endure having players for only a single season? Is this a sustainable model?

I spent 20 years in the Army and 24 years working for Eaton. Two weeks ago I packed it in and retired. A large part of the reason for my retirement was because the work place and society in general were changing. Things evolve and college basketball isn't immune to those changes nor is Duke basketball.

While Coach K. remains a constant to the program, even he isn't immune to changing as we've witnessed these past few years, but I'm sorry to say the old philosophy of the "FIST", is long gone. Being a part of something bigger than oneself just doesn't fly with these kids today and can you really blame them when the NBA is throwing money at them left and right?

We also need to be realistic when viewing college basketball and understand that college isn't what these kids dream about, but going onto the next level is.

[azzefkram]

Best of luck Frank. I would have loved to see season 2 of Frank Jackson, Blue Devil, but I can't fault someone for grabbing a guaranteed contract to follow their dream.

[BD80]

if Knox knew this was coming? Might have made a difference ...

Good luck Frank. I don't really see him playing much for a few years (Who in the NBA can he guard? He can't create separation for a shot, can't shoot over anyone, no floater in the lane)

[COYS]

I'm happy for Frank even though I would have loved to see him dominate next season. That being said, those who feel as if this dooms Duke's '17-'18 season are wrong, in my opinion. Obviously, losing Luke and Frank hurts, but we also got some unexpected returnees. We have Grayson back, a guy who, when healthy, is capable of putting together a NPOY-caliber season. We also have Marques back, a guy who I probably would have guess was more likely to leave after his freshman year than Frank. Admittedly, we're looking really thin on the perimeter next season, and a lot hinges on where Duval decides to go to college. Still, Duke can be very good next season even without Duval (in which case I'd imagine Duke picks up a grad transfer for depth).

Duke has been very successful with a thin perimeter rotation in the past. The 2001 team featured only two real guards in Jason Williams and Chris Duhon with Mike Dunleavy, Jr. supplementing when necessary (CDu didn't even start earlier in the season as Williams basically handled the ball at all times when he was on the court).

Of course, the 2010 team was perhaps even more limited. The 2001 team at least had two point guards and a small forward with guard skills who had recently hit a growth spurt. The 2010 team had no real point guards (you know, if Duke had positions). Jon ended up being fantastic playing the role of point guard while Nolan and Kyle helped him out. Freshman Andre was really nothing more than a spot-up shooter and didn't handle the rock much at all.

So with Duval, Duke's '17-18 team will at least have three guys who can handle the rock in Grayson, Duval, and Gary. Better yet, one of those guys is a senior former All American while the other is the top rated point guard in the freshman class. And yes, I know that Duval is unlikely to have a season as incredible as Jason Williams in 00-01, but lucky for us, Duval doesn't have to play against Jason Williams and Duke's 2000-2001 team. The college basketball landscape is very different now, and Duke will be able to put out a starting five in which all five guys are likely to be NBA players, all five are possible first round picks, and a few are potential top 10 picks. That is a lot of talent.

Without Duval, our ceiling might be lower . . . or it might not. Who knows what tricks Coach K has up his sleeve with grad transfers or something else? But I fully expect Duke to be very good next year, even without Frank. I expect Grayson to return to his 2016 form. I expect Wendell and Gary to perform how top 10 freshmen tend to perform for Duke. I expect Bolden to be vastly improved. I expect Javin, Jack, and Vrank to be more ready to provide quality minutes off the bench. And I expect Duke to win a lot more games than we lose and be a credible threat to beat any team on any given day.

[Jeffrey]

Without Duval, our ceiling might be lower . . . or it might not.

Either way, it's not the roof.

[WHOneedsSOX]

Damn kind of had the feeling he would leave when he exploded in the 2nd half of the season. Good thing Allen is coming back. Still though, next season's team isn't looking that promising. Duval will help a ton but there's absolutely no wing depth even with him.

[COYS]

While Coach K. remains a constant to the program, even he isn't immune to changing as we've witnessed these past few years, but I'm sorry to say the old philosophy of the "FIST", is long gone. Being a part of something bigger than oneself just doesn't fly with these kids today and can you really blame them when the NBA is throwing money at them left and right?

We also need to be realistic when viewing college basketball and understand that college isn't what these kids dream about, but going onto the next level is.

I don't think it's fair to use the "these kids today" statement as a pejorative. It's hard for me to see how accepting NBA money is somehow evidence of poor character, a lack of respect for the concept of a team, or selfishness. Players in the past who stayed three or four years did so largely because the NBA just didn't take many early entrants. But, as you said, times change. Now the NBA has no problem taking kids with less experience and so market forces are pushing kids to leave. The attitudes of the kids haven't really changed.

If my child had an opportunity to play for no money for a university or fulfill their dream of playing professionally, I would encourage them to pursue their dream . . . unless they loved college life so much that they thought the risk of losing out on millions of dollars was worth coming back to school. Kids like Frank don't owe Duke more than they've already given. Just because they leave after one season doesn't mean they didn't buy into the idea of the "FIST" while they were here. Our 2015 team had three OADs and that was one of the more rock-solid, tight knit TEAMS Duke has ever had. There's a reason a lot of former Duke players, even the OAD guys, talk about the Duke brotherhood. For them, going to Duke WAS being part of something bigger than themselves, even if they weren't at the school for very long due to reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with their attitude or loyalty to the team.

[westwall]

I didn't know I was [Kennard's] #1 guy; I just like to think of myself as the person who got on the train first, but I'll gladly accept that mantle.

Well, I grew up a couple of miles from Franklin Ohio, and have been his fan since early recruiting
days, so we may tie as his # 1 guy.

[Hauerwas]

After Frank's dads comments about one and done you just felt like they were going to go this direction no matter the outcome or no matter the prognosis. It's an incredibly risky move and one that brings Will Avery to mind. Frank isn't elite at anything yet and learning on the job is a lot different to learning in college. But, if you don't want to be a Duke then leave, this just seems like a really, really short-sighted decision but only time will tell.

I can't imagine K and the staff embracing this decision. But some of life's lessons are best learned by failing, so welcome to the real world Frank.

[kAzE]

Well, I grew up a couple of miles from Franklin Ohio, and have been his fan since early recruiting
days, so we may tie as his # 1 guy.

Alright, you win. I'll still take credit for being the loudest and most obnoxiously supportive poster on these forums about his game during his somewhat disappointing freshman year, when most of us were pretty skeptical of his shooting ability. (I'm looking at you, Kedsy )

[Troublemaker]

Well, I grew up a couple of miles from Franklin Ohio, and have been his fan since early recruiting
days, so we may tie as his # 1 guy.

GumboMoop was Luke #1 until he disappeared, no offense to either KaZe or you. I was up there, too. We'd all be homicide suspects in the case of GumboMoop.

[CDu]

GumboMoop was Luke #1 until he disappeared, no offense to either KaZe or you. I was up there, too. We'd all be homicide suspects in the case of GumboMoop.

Yeah, Gumbo had pegged Kennard as our 2015-16 PG, if I recall correctly. He or she was really high on Kennard.

[hallcity]

Coach K needs to put a limit on one and dones -- no more than two a year -- and recruit more four star players who are going to be around four years. I know he's competitive and wants to beat out the other schools for the best talent but too many one and dones don't help you put the best team on the court year in and year out.

[English]

Would not have helped us next year because he'd have to sit out. Additionally, our recruiting prospects for next year look good. Good mix of one and done and multi-year guys, don't want Mason hurting that. Plus we have started looking at Durham from UConn who has tons of upside.

This is largely true, but Durham from UConn is 6'11, so he's not exactly mutually exclusive to Makai Mason or any other guard. That is, unless the coaching staff sees this year as a cautionary tale and overcommits on the scholarship limit.

[richardjackson199]

Coach K needs to put a limit on one and dones -- no more than two a year -- and recruit more four star players who are going to be around four years. I know he's competitive and wants to beat out the other schools for the best talent but too many one and dones don't help you put the best team on the court year in and year out.

I'm glad we had 3 OAD's in 2015. That team was pretty special. I'll trust K knows what he is doing.

[DukeTrinity11]

Thank goodness Frank made a decision based on how it benefits him and his family and not how it benefits you.

I'm very skeptical that this decision truly benefits Frank unless Portland or Utah gave him a guarantee that they would select him in the 1st Round. Its common knowledge that Frank would have been a 1st Round lock and perhaps a lottery pick next year had he come back to Duke and worked on his ball handling and decision making skills a bit more due to the draft class being weaker next year.

[duke79]

I saw today that Makai Mason committed to Baylor. Bummer

edit to add: turns out he'll still be playing for Yale this next season, and will play at Baylor the year after next. This is because he missed a year and the Ivy League doesn't allow redshirts, so he already knows he'll need to play his 4th season somewhere else.

Baylor?? Why? When I first read your post, I thought you were joking. But, apparently, no joke.

http://www.ourdailybears.com/2017/5/...18-2019-season

I realize he will have a year of eligibility left when his Yale career is over but couldn't he have followed the lead of the good Dr. Brodhead and go from Yale to Duke?
Maybe Duke had no interest in him but, from what I saw a year ago, that kid can play some ball (and shoot too). Maybe his injury has set him back and Duke had no interest but it seems to me that it would be nice to have him on the Duke team. Admittedly, I have no clue what our guard situation will look like for the 18/19 season but it never hurts to have an experienced, talented guard available. It just seems like a weird choice to me for a Yale kid from New England to go to Waco, TX for your last year of college BB.

[DukeTrinity11]

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.

I didn't use foul language or berate Jackson in any way. Perhaps my response was a bit snarky but I'm emotionally unattached to Frank at this point as his decision hurts the Duke program next year and himself since he's not a guaranteed 1st Round pick.

[Troublemaker]

I'm very skeptical that this decision truly benefits Frank unless Portland or Utah gave him a guarantee that they would select him in the 1st Round. Its common knowledge that Frank would have been a 1st Round lock and perhaps a lottery pick next year had he come back to Duke and worked on his ball handling and decision making skills a bit more due to the draft class being weaker next year.

Frank's great day at the combine followed by quickly hiring an agent is highly suggestive that he was happy with his feedback and may have earned a guarantee. I expect him to go in the 1st-round.

[BigZ]

I doubt NBA teams guarantee picks. If so they aren't very smart