Originally Posted by
COYS
I have to say, posts like this make no sense to me for many reasons. First of all, I don't understand why many people assume that a probable one and done player will automatically be a selfish, big-headed showboat who will hurt team chemistry. Our last final four team featured a particularly talented and team-oriented one and done by the name of Luol Deng. Our '99 team featured Corey Maggette. Those guys certainly didn't hurt our team. Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Marvin Williams . . . these guys certainly didn't hurt their respective teams. Durant and Beasley didn't hurt their teams, either. I just don't understand your point.
Secondly, I don't understand what's so wrong about a kid going to college for one year knowing that he will most likely be selected high enough in the following year's draft to make leaving school after one year the right career move. That doesn't make the guy a bad teammate or a selfish player . . . it just means he's probably really, really good. In Wall's case, it appears from many of the evaluations available on the various recruiting sites that he is more of a pure point guard who gets his team involved than Boynton, but no one complained that Boynton was too selfish to play for Duke. A point guard with Wall's ability surrounded by the talented scorers already on our roster could not possibly be a bad thing. If he's good enough to be selected in the top 10 of the 2010 draft . . . even better! That's one heck of a player.
Also, you don't have to be a starter on a team to be a high draft pick. Maggette and Marvin Williams both were high draft picks while playing complementary roles. Luol Deng was only one of many talented scorers on Duke's '04 team, and he still went high in the draft. Tourney success only helps a one and done player's draft stock. Would there have been any debate as to whether Beasley would be the number one pick if Memphis had crashed out in the second round last year? Possibly, but probably not. If Wall came to Duke and averaged 12 ppg, 6 apg in 28 minutes of action and led Duke to a title, an NBA team would snatch him up no problem as he would have demonstrated that he can run an offense, share the ball, and win high-stakes games. Even if Wall only cares about making it to the NBA after one year, it's in his best interests to make it deep into the tourney.
Finally, do you really think coach K would recruit somebody that would really be detrimental to the program? It's ridiculous to me that sometimes people determine the character of a particular player based on the school they attend and a few internet write-ups that say the kid is of questionable character . . . as if we can tell better than coach K (and for that matter, Bill Self and virtually every other major coach in college basketball) what kind of person Wall is. If I were wall and I read a post like this, I would be terribly offended and think Duke is an elitist institution full of snobs. This is truly absurd speculation. I trust the staff to determine if Wall is a good fit both as a basketball player and as a person.