What OAD player do you most wish came back for a sophomore campaign?

[drummerdevil]

I would have loved to see a sophomore Frank Jackson this year. With him, coach K is forced to play a deeper rotation, and I'm all for that.

[lotusland]

I would have loved to see a sophomore Frank Jackson this year. With him, coach K is forced to play a deeper rotation, and I'm all for that.

I wouldn't pick Jackson over Tyus in this poll but yeah, Jackson leaving was a huge disappointment. I don't blame him for leaving but it's a bummer and highlights how hard it is to recruit guys who can contribute yet stay around a couple or three years. Tyus and Frank both seemed like multi-year players.

[The_Dukester]

One of the great Duke teams that never happened was in 2005. Not only did Deng leave early, but Shaun Livingston had committed to Duke and decided very late to enter the NBA draft. I don't think the Duke coaches expected either of those losses. The 2005 team would've been one of the best Duke teams ever.
PG - Shaun Livingston
SG - Daniel Ewing
SG - JJ Redick
F - L. Deng
C - S. Williams
Bench
S. Dockery
D. Nelson
S. Randolph
L. Melchionni
R. Love
D. McClure

A lot more talent and lineup flexibility than the roster coach K ended up with, which ended up being one of his best coaching jobs. I believe this team keeps UNC from winning in 2005. So if I could have Deng for a 2nd year AND Livingston for one, I'm all in!

[elvis14]

I voted for Deng and it's actually an easy choice. It isn't just that he was good, it's that he was exactly what we needed that next year to win a championship.

JJ didn't need Deng to get a championship. All he needed was a couple of decent refs.

Don't even get me started on the UConn or the LSU game...I sound like and NC State fan every time I start talking about those 2 games.

[LasVegas]

Give me another healthy year of Brian Zoubek!!!! An absolute all time favorite of mine.

[Spanarkel]

Bill Jackman. He shot 55% (5/9) from 3 and 100% (10/10) from the charity stripe in his one year at Duke, then went on to a modest career at Nebraska(~6ppg). Still remember hearing rumors as a student that he had some Bird-like skills.

[English]

Mike Conley and Greg Oden beg to differ, as do the Fab Five.

Except, are they really starting a trend if the trend doesn't, ya know, start after them? If they started the trend, we wouldn't be talking about the trend STARTING in a 2017 podcast.

They may have been two earlier examples, and they are almost certainly not the only ones or even the earliest ones, but it's tough to argue they started a trend of super-recruits teaming together if that trend is only now taking firm hold in CBB. I'd argue it's the NBA super teams that are actually most responsible, but this is DBR, so I'll throw a bone to our 2015 natty champs.

[bob blue devil]

Except, are they really starting a trend if the trend doesn't, ya know, start after them? If they started the trend, we wouldn't be talking about the trend STARTING in a 2017 podcast.

They may have been two earlier examples, and they are almost certainly not the only ones or even the earliest ones, but it's tough to argue they started a trend of super-recruits teaming together if that trend is only now taking firm hold in CBB. I'd argue it's the NBA super teams that are actually most responsible, but this is DBR, so I'll throw a bone to our 2015 natty champs.

there might have been a trend in the late 60s/early 70s of the best players all winding up on the best team...

[fidel]

Not really in the spirit of the thread but I would have loved to have seen Taylor King get some religion and learn to work hard on his game. What a shooter.

[DavidBenAkiva]

It would have been fun to see Kyrie stay for a full season, but my answer is Tyus Jones. We haven't really gotten to see Tyus play much in the NBA. I contend that Jones on that 2015-16 team would have had an All-American caliber season and positioned himself much better (in a much weaker draft) for success in the NBA had he returned.

PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Grayson Allen
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Amile Jefferson
C: Marshall Plumlee

Bench: Matt Jones, Luke Kennard

The team would not have been deep at all with only 7 players getting significant minutes, but that lineup would have been a perfect mix player and talent had Jones stayed and Jefferson remained healthy all year. I really thought with that frontcourt, the team could have been as good as anyone and a legitimate Final Four contender. Hell, the team limped into the Sweet 16 with 60% of that starting lineup. How good would it have been with Jones and Jefferson in tow? I felt like Jones going to the NBA and the injury bug robbed us of a great team (and surprising counter to the one-and-done narrative given the mix of experience on that particular roster).

[elvis14]

It would have been fun to see Kyrie stay for a full season, but my answer is Tyus Jones. We haven't really gotten to see Tyus play much in the NBA. I contend that Jones on that 2015-16 team would have had an All-American caliber season and positioned himself much better (in a much weaker draft) for success in the NBA had he returned.

PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Grayson Allen
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Amile Jefferson
C: Marshall Plumlee

Bench: Matt Jones, Luke Kennard

The team would not have been deep at all with only 7 players getting significant minutes, but that lineup would have been a perfect mix player and talent had Jones stayed and Jefferson remained healthy all year. I really thought with that frontcourt, the team could have been as good as anyone and a legitimate Final Four contender. Hell, the team limped into the Sweet 16 with 60% of that starting lineup. How good would it have been with Jones and Jefferson in tow? I felt like Jones going to the NBA and the injury bug robbed us of a great team (and surprising counter to the one-and-done narrative given the mix of experience on that particular roster).

Had Luol Deng returned:

PG: Daniel Ewing
SG: JJ Redick
SF: Demarcus Nelson
PF: Shav (and others)
C: Sheldon Williams

Bench: Reggie Love, Sean Dockery, Lee Melchioni, David McClure, Patrick Davidson

Without Deng that team went 27-6, losing in the sweet 16 to MSU who in turn lost to the Cheaters (playing with McCants and other players who shouldn't have been eligible). Didn't we end up playing Lee at the 3 and Demarcus at the 4? Was that also the year Demarcus was hurt and wearing an 18 lb. ankle brace/weight?

[UrinalCake]

Here's another wrinkle: if Tyus had stayed, would Duke still have developed the reputation as having become a "OAD factory" in the mold of Kentucky? Whenever people talk about Duke now relying on OAD's, they always point to 2015. Everybody knew that Oak was only staying for a year, but Tyus and Winslow weren't considered OAD guys when they were recruited. So people have sort of rewritten history. If Tyus had stayed then Winslow would have been the only real surprise. And we would have basically just had one OAD each other season up until 2016-2017. Nobody was calling us a OAD factory when Kyrie, Austin, and Jabari each left. It was the combined effect of having three guys leave and winning a title that season that created the narrative that we rely solely on OAD's. So I think the perception would have been very different had Tyus stayed.

[kAzE]

I voted for Kyrie in the poll, but I actually would have preferred if he could have just played his entire freshman year on that 2011 team. That team IMO was one of the best Duke teams of all time if he played the whole season.

After listening to the recent DBR podcast in which they discussed this thread, I'd have to go with Luol Deng or Jayson Tatum. Tatum on this year's team would be unbelievable. He'd certainly solve the small forward issue that we have, and it would be probably one of the biggest and most physically dominant teams in the country, which we already are, but even bigger and more dominant.

Deng on the '04-'05 team with Redick and Williams would have been spectacular as well, but I somewhat disagree with JasonEvans's idea (from the podcast) that it would have easily won us the championship. We had 2 great players in Williams and Redick, but that team lacked a strong play making point guard. Our top guards were Redick, Ewing, Dockery, and a freshman DeMarcus Nelson. Deng certainly would have helped with our overall athleticism and versatility, since we were playing Melchionni over 20 minutes per game that year, and we would have likely been a #1 seed, but it's hard to say with any certainty that we would have won it all. We had a stronger team Luol's freshman year because we still had Duhon.

[superdave]

Loul Deng. He would have been scary in his second year, and Demarcus Nelson would not have had to play out of position.

The OAD who did come back for his sophomore year that I am most thankful for is Grant Hill.

I want to say we had a similar discuss on this board in the last 5-6 years.

Deng is the obvious choice because Duke had just lost in the Final Four but were bringing back everyone but Duhon (Redick, Williams, Ewing, Shav). they were also allegedly bringing in Shaun Livingston and some Kardashian guy, but those two never arrived.

The middle part of the decade was very frustrating but Deng could have led them to the 2005 title, which Unc will soon be vacating anyways.

[DevilFalcon]

I don't see how anyone can vote for anyone else. He was leaps and bounds beyond every other player during those 11 games. A sophomore Kyrie could team up with me and a few of my friends and we could win a championship. Come on, there is no other option here.

[elvis14]

I don't see how anyone can vote for anyone else. He was leaps and bounds beyond every other player during those 11 games. A sophomore Kyrie could team up with me and a few of my friends and we could win a championship. Come on, there is no other option here.

Why are there other options besides Deng? A sophomore Deng coupled with JJ and Sheldon and we would have won a championship. Look I love Kyrie and all but as I said before...the choice is Deng and it's not even a hard decision. Recency bias?

[budwom]

Jim Fitzsimmons

[Troublemaker]

Tatum on this year's team would be unbelievable. He'd certainly solve the small forward issue that we have, and it would be probably one of the biggest and most physically dominant teams in the country, which we already are, but even bigger and more dominant.

This is a semantics issue, but I can't call Gary Trent an "issue" at small forward. He's going to be better than 95% of Div-1 SFs, and among Power 5 SFs, I think he's still going to be better than 75% of them.

Our issue is probably perimeter depth, which Tatum WOULD solve by moving Trent to the bench.

[sagegrouse]

Why are there other options besides Deng? A sophomore Deng coupled with JJ and Sheldon and we would have won a championship. Look I love Kyrie and all but as I said before...the choice is Deng and it's not even a hard decision. Recency bias?

Deng is a reasonable choice, and there was evidence at the time that he wanted to return. His family in the UK needed the income.

Man, what would 2015 have looked like if Jabari Parker had stayed for a second year? If one let the random results replenish, it might have been two undefeated teams in the finals.

I personally would have liked to see Maggette return for the 2000 season (and put off this one-and-done nonsense for five years). This team, which made the Elite Eight, was 29-5 and 15-1 in the ACC without him. Let's see... Battier, Maggette, Carrawell and Nate James joined by freshmen JWill, Boozer and Dunleavy.

[Edouble]

Deng is a reasonable choice, and there was evidence at the time that he wanted to return. His family in the UK needed the income.

Man, what would 2015 have looked like if Jabari Parker had stayed for a second year? If one let the random results replenish, it might have been two undefeated teams in the finals.

I personally would have liked to see Maggette return for the 2000 season (and put off this one-and-done nonsense for five years). This team, which made the Elite Eight, was 29-5 and 15-1 in the ACC without him. Let's see... Battier, Maggette, Carrawell and Nate James joined by freshmen JWill, Boozer and Dunleavy.

Actually that team made the Sweet 16. We got by Kansas in a tough game to make it out of the first weekend, then got beaten by Florida in the next round.