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BD80
07-22-2016, 02:33 PM
Duke is bringing the superteam back to college basketball

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/7/21/12243850/duke-basketball-superteam-recruiting-rankings-jayson-tatum-harry-giles

"College basketball has seen superteams before, ... There's something different about this Duke team, though. This time, it's returning players that serve as the backbone for a powerhouse while a loaded freshman class fills in the cracks. ...

Even with a relatively light non-conference schedule, Duke won't run the table like Kentucky nearly did because the ACC in 2016-17 is going to be so much tougher than the SEC in 2014-15. ...

If nothing else, the presence of this Duke team changes the national conversation heading into the season. Last year proved to be as wide open as expected until Villanova played picture-perfect ball at the right time. This year, there's a common enemy. If you come at Coach K, you better not miss."

DukieInBrasil
07-22-2016, 02:48 PM
Fun article to read, gets the juices pumped and ready to go! Is it November yet? What? Not even October?
Only quibble, people keep parading out the talking point that Duke recruited over Thornton. But they give away the lie in the same sentence, that they don't have anyone to play PG. How can you recruit over someone and not have someone who plays that position? Really, are they that lacking in awareness?

rsvman
07-22-2016, 03:00 PM
Fun article to read, gets the juices pumped and ready to go! Is it November yet? What? Not even October?
Only quibble, people keep parading out the talking point that Duke recruited over Thornton. But they give away the lie in the same sentence, that they don't have anyone to play PG. How can you recruit over someone and not have someone who plays that position? Really, are they that lacking in awareness?

Probably. It's sbnation.

CDu
07-22-2016, 03:28 PM
Fun article to read, gets the juices pumped and ready to go! Is it November yet? What? Not even October?
Only quibble, people keep parading out the talking point that Duke recruited over Thornton. But they give away the lie in the same sentence, that they don't have anyone to play PG. How can you recruit over someone and not have someone who plays that position? Really, are they that lacking in awareness?

To be fair, one might argue that Thornton didn't play PG last year either. But, yeah, it's not like SBNation is setting the bar for reason here.

flyingdutchdevil
07-22-2016, 03:36 PM
Fun article to read, gets the juices pumped and ready to go! Is it November yet? What? Not even October?
Only quibble, people keep parading out the talking point that Duke recruited over Thornton. But they give away the lie in the same sentence, that they don't have anyone to play PG. How can you recruit over someone and not have someone who plays that position? Really, are they that lacking in awareness?

One of my pet peeves about DBR is how many posters - and I'm not referring to you - believe that Coach K doesn't "recruit over" his own players. IMO, that is complete BS. If you think other coaches do (like Calipari), then Coach K absolutely does as well, especially in the OAD era.

I don't think Thornton got recruited over (Frank Jackson is a Grayson Allen type player, not a true PG), but Coach K absolutely has recruited over in the past. IMO, recruiting a better player is just smart recruiting. It's one of many, many tactics that great coaches use to always be competitive, year in and year out.

Not every player pans out. We've had a few in the last 5 years who just didn't live up to the hype.

DukieTiger
07-22-2016, 06:17 PM
One of my pet peeves about DBR is how many posters - and I'm not referring to you - believe that Coach K doesn't "recruit over" his own players. IMO, that is complete BS. If you think other coaches do (like Calipari), then Coach K absolutely does as well, especially in the OAD era.

I don't think Thornton got recruited over (Frank Jackson is a Grayson Allen type player, not a true PG), but Coach K absolutely has recruited over in the past. IMO, recruiting a better player is just smart recruiting. It's one of many, many tactics that great coaches use to always be competitive, year in and year out.

Not every player pans out. We've had a few in the last 5 years who just didn't live up to the hype.

Agree and would just add that the idea of "recruiting over" a player being a bad thing presupposes that if a player is signed, he is promised his role for 4 years. In reality, from Harry Giles to Vrank the Tank, everyone Duke recruits knows that they must earn their spot, not just every year, but every day. Meritocracy.

MarkD83
07-23-2016, 07:08 AM
Agree and would just add that the idea of "recruiting over" a player being a bad thing presupposes that if a player is signed, he is promised his role for 4 years. In reality, from Harry Giles to Vrank the Tank, everyone Duke recruits knows that they must earn their spot, not just every year, but every day. Meritocracy.

And this competition makes the players better. The latest example of this is Marshall. If he did not have to play against Jahil in practice do we think he would have improved enough to be in the NBA?

Philadukie
07-23-2016, 11:10 AM
Agree and would just add that the idea of "recruiting over" a player being a bad thing presupposes that if a player is signed, he is promised his role for 4 years. In reality, from Harry Giles to Vrank the Tank, everyone Duke recruits knows that they must earn their spot, not just every year, but every day. Meritocracy.

Except.

Watch the Hurley E60. In it, Coach K says - with a twinkle in his eye - that what Laettner didn't realize when he complained that Hurley was given the keys to the team from day one before earning it in practice is that Hurley DID earn it. He just earned it before he arrived at Duke while still in high school.

Point being: yes, there is a "meritocracy" at Duke. But what's considered within the criteria of merit - probably most importantly - is a player's skill and talent before even arriving on campus.

People often seem to equate Duke's meritocracy with sheer effort during practice. I find it interesting when people state that a Jason Tatum or a Harry Giles (if healthy) won't start if they don't earn it on the practice floor. This is as not true at Duke as any other school. They are starters from Day 1 due to their talent, and they'd frankly have to do some pretty egregious things to lose that status during the course of the season (notwithstanding the times when K may bench a starter to make a point).

sagegrouse
07-23-2016, 11:29 AM
FWIW, Coach K goes after the best players available, so anyone can be "recruited over." Happily, hoops is a game where, if you have two or three A-A players roughly the same size, there is usually a way for all to play.

Ultrarunner
07-24-2016, 03:31 PM
Probably. It's sbnation.

Apparently I must spread love around to others. Still, nice job hitting the hanging curve.