Jackson To The NBA

[Devilwin]

I remind y'all that I caught grief for saying the team was burning to ashes a while back...Everyone was certain we had Knox..Nope. Now many are certain we are gonna get Duval. Maybe so..Maybe we should have developed a bench a bit more. I don't blame people for chasing the big money, but it sucks the way college ball is rapidly turning to crap. Excuse me, gotta run, I smell smoke coming from Durham...

[coldriver10]

I'm currently sitting in the DMV waiting room and I'm not sure if this place is more or less depressing than this thread.

I loved watching Frank grow last year, and I'm really going to miss watching him kill ACC competition next year. As disappointed as I am, I think being upset with Coach K regarding our roster turnover is misplaced frustration. I don't think he recruited Frank thinking he'd he one and done, or Luke two and done... unfortunately/fortunately, sometimes guys just improve to the point where making the jump earlier than we expected is worth the risk. It is disappointing that I feel many players "these days" don't appreciate the once-in-a-lifetime experience that is college or develop a sense of love for their school. I LOVED college (at Duke) and wouldn't have wanted to cut my time there short...but then again, I'm not worth potentially millions of dollars (...yet) so I can't really comment on the dilemma.
Anyway, best of luck to Frank! We'll miss you.

Now serving, D581 at Station 4. Sigh.

[westwall]

[Kennard's] somewhat disappointing freshman year,)

As his true fan, I didn't consider it "somewhat disappointing", just prologue for a breakout second year.

[FerryFor50]

The bad news: Frank's gone. Was going to really enjoy him dominate the ACC next year.

The good news: I have all 4 years of my NCAA eligibility left. If Duke decides they need a 39 year old 5'8" PG with a decent jumper and no hops, they can give me a call.

[weezie]

Giles is not coming back. He is all in on the draft.

Yes, more likely he's watching cage matches between agents vying for his signature...

[FerryFor50]

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.

The stuff I had read was that he was getting feedback to go back to school.

Even if you get a guarantee at #29 or 30 in the first round, that's risky and borderline. I can't blame him for chasing his dream, but he could have been a top 10-15 pick next year with a good season. That said, maybe he saw what happened to Grayson and was like "yea, I'm outta here while I have the chance."

[moonpie23]

wow...sad to see so many here disparaging frank's future. how can you begrudge the kid a chance to go make millions of dollars and play in the league? that's jus spiteful....and selfish..


frank showed up at duke and did his part....disappointed? sure....i would have loved to see him come back and dominate, but having a shot at the league? shoot, take that and run like crazy, frank!!!

[Bob Green]

I remind y'all that I caught grief for saying the team was burning to ashes a while back...

I'm not going to give you grief, but I still disagree with your opinion. Lots of time left to fill out the roster and lots of talent already on the roster. While it would have been nice for Jackson to return this isn't a "woe is Duke" moment. We will be okay with or without Duval, hopefully with.

[Olympic Fan]

The stuff I had read was that he was getting feedback to go back to school.

(1) That was BEFORE the scrimmage

(2) And it was coming from self-appointed experts. We don't know what the NBA guys were saying.

I very much agree with Troublemaker ... the quick change of direction seems a good indication that Frank got a guarantee after Thursday's play ... interesting that he pulled out of Friday's scrimmage. Pretty good sign that he knows where he's going.

[lotusland]

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.

I don't think Frank was a lock to go first round next year especially if Duval is our PG. The only lock may be that the over-all draft is weaker next year.
Playing primarily off ball, I'm not certain he could show enough improvement to offset the seemingly automatic reduction in perceived potential that tends to occur. And there is always the chance he would get injured or just have a bad year. I'd agree that another year at Duke would make him better prepared to stick in the league but that is a different metric than draft potential .

[FerryFor50]

(1) That was BEFORE the scrimmage

(2) And it was coming from self-appointed experts. We don't know what the NBA guys were saying.

I very much agree with Troublemaker ... the quick change of direction seems a good indication that Frank got a guarantee after Thursday's play ... interesting that he pulled out of Friday's scrimmage. Pretty good sign that he knows where he's going.

Well, that's good. I'd hate to see him declare against the advice of the NBA scouts. Pulling out of the Friday scrimmage is a good sign, for sure.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

[Redacted]. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[johnb]

Frank is a 6'2" shooting guard. How many of those thrive in the NBA? He's very athletic, but he's no DeMarcus Nelson, who was a 6'4" beast who never really made it in the NBA.

Was he facing a reality that, next year, he'd be the 3rd guard behind Grayson and Duvall?

Who knows? I would be shocked, however, that any team would "guarantee" a first round pick. I guess Utah could have promised him a 2nd round pick with guaranteed money, which presumably means that K and Quin had a chat about Frank's long-term possibilities, but even that I doubt: how do they know that Giles, say, doesn't slip to their 2nd round pick--if that's the case, I imagine, their "guarantee" is out the window.

Whatever. Duke will be fun to watch, but I am with the crowd that is bored by the annual turnover.

[Avvocato]

I'm not going to give you grief, but I still disagree with your opinion. Lots of time left to fill out the roster and lots of talent already on the roster. While it would have been nice for Jackson to return this isn't a "woe is Duke" moment. We will be okay with or without Duval, hopefully with.

I am totally in this corner. Congrats to Frank and good luck. Duke will still be fine. Without another recruit, Duke will have Allen, Bolden, Carter and Trent, all highly ranked players, let alone O'Connell, Vrankovich, White, DeLaurier and possibly Duval and/or Tucker. Coach K took about 5-6 guys two years ago to the Sweet 16. What he does is see what he has, and develops his team around the players he has. Don't have a true point guard, don't need one. We'll play this way. We have a low post guy (e.g., Okafor), we'll play this way. No center, we'll play this way. That's what he does best. While we all would love to have 9-10 all americas every year and play them all, it's okay if we don't (K hasn't recently played that many anyway, as we know). What we have is still more talent than most.

I am just as frustrated by the craziness of this OAD era. It's tough when players leave after a year or two. I think 2015 caught K by surprise when he lost Jones and Winslow. I'm not sure he expected one or both to leave after their freshmen years, and it left us bare in 2015-16. I think he has tried to recruit some longer-term guys to complement the expected OAD candidates (e.g., DeLaurier, Vrank, White, I'm sure he thought Kennard was in that category, etc.). But it's also hard to know when guys will leave early. I don't think anyone came into this year thinking Kennard was gone after his sophomore year. However, following up the above, it's another reason why K is so great. He basically has to rebuild his team every year, and going into the season, he doesn't know what he has in half his roster. Last year, we all thought we would have something in Giles, Bolden, etc. We hoped Jeter would be ready out of the gate the year before. Sometimes you get 2015 and freshmen are ready out of the gate, sometimes you don't. Most young players aren't able to pick up the D at the Division 1 level right away. He's constantly starting from scratch. But when the dust settles, we always (knock on wood) have 25+ wins, we're fighting for top seeds, championships, etc. Ol' Roy is a great coach (cough), but God forbid he doesn't have a point guard to run his system, and the whole team collapses. K always adapts and finds a way.

That's my long way of saying that we will be fine. It's always great to have as much talent as possible. It's great to watch our young talent develop. But we have plenty of talent and the best coach in college basketball, if not in all of sports. We will be fine. We will be better than fine.

[Jeffrey]

Excuse me, gotta run, I smell smoke coming from Durham...

It's a wind shift. Evidence continues to be rapidly burned in Chapel Hill.

[DukeWarhead]

wow...sad to see so many here disparaging frank's future. how can you begrudge the kid a chance to go make millions of dollars and play in the league? that's jus spiteful...and selfish..


frank showed up at duke and did his part...disappointed? sure...i would have loved to see him come back and dominate, but having a shot at the league? shoot, take that and run like crazy, frank!!!

1. If a player can be selfish and bolt the team for a chance at millions (which they can), then its probably okay for fans to be selfish and opine that he would stay.
2. His chance to make millions from this draft is highly questionable, that's why nobody begrudged Tatum, who will.
3. I don't see too many people wishing ill on him. I see a lot of people questioning the decision since the NBA is not a sure thing at this point and disappointed that Frank doesn't seem to want to stick around a la Grayson last year. That's not spite.
4. It's spilled milk and won't matter come October. Whatever happens to next years team will be determined by the players that chose to play for Duke next season. I didn't see anybody blaming Derryck for us losing to South Carolina in the tourney.

[Billy Dat]

Good luck, Frank. I was hoping you'd be this year's sophomore breakout but that will have to be Marques..or Javin...or Jack...maybe all 3.

There's definitely a sea change going on with one-and-done's, I don't think it's just us noticing it since the program fully adopted this model. Kentucky will be as inexperienced as ever in the Cal era due to losing their top 8, they've never had that level of attrition. With the new NBA salary cap, and the improvement in the DLeague, young guys on cheap rookie contracts are valuable commodities. Teams are willing to sign a guy to a $500K contract and stash him in the DLeague so he doesn't take up a roster spot but also doesn't damage their cap. Also, you've got the relatively new trend of guys not hurting their draft stock by under-performing in college. The likely #1 pick, Mr. Fultz, was a 3rd team All American whose team did not make the NCAAs. The correlation between college achievement and NBA value has shrinking importance. Guys like Frank who gave everyone a taste and still have huge perceived untapped UPSIDE now strike when the iron is hottest.

The two sports the compete with pro sports for attention and dollars - football and basketball - have avoided the fate of college baseball and hockey for two reasons - March Madness for basketball and lack of one-and-done phenomenon in football. But, as many have pointed out, if the guys who turn out to be NBA stars increasingly aren't a big part of March Madness, that, too, will take a hit.

K's years are numbered, but with the recent pursuit of 3 and 4 star players, it looks like he's calibrating. It's tough to watch UNC's success the past two years, but let's see how long they can walk that line.

[lotusland]

[Redacted]. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Wait aren't you supposed to be the paradigm of optimism? That seems a bit cynical.

[Jeffrey]

I'd agree that another year at Duke would make him better prepared to stick in the league but that is a different metric than draft potential .

Yep, the more important Will Avery metric.

[Troublemaker]

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

Who knows? I would be shocked, however, that any team would "guarantee" a first round pick.

Guarantees are real things, guys. I'd post links but I trust you can use the google.

Wait aren't you supposed to be the paradigm of optimism? That seems a bit cynical.

Ozzie is probably still very optimistic about the team. He's just not apparently in the mood to congratulate Frank.