Surprising process

[Classof06]

Disclaimer: What's done is done, so this thread is a bit of a moot point. Anyhow, the following quote is from the FOX article off DBR's homepage:

"McRoberts had met with Coach K after his freshman season and the two had pretty much decided that he would leave after this season."


Don't want to cry over spilled milk, but I'm surprised Krzyzewski made what seems like a one year contract with Josh at the end of last year. Especially when he knew he'd have such a young team and that continuity would probably be important going into 07-08. This year's team lacked chemistry and now they have to go into next year without the kid who played the most minutes on the team. Based on the quote above, that could've been avoided. Obviously we would've sucked without Josh this year, but did anybody really expect us to cut any nets down? Josh isn't much more ready for the NBA than he was a year ago.

After getting knocked out in the 1st round this year, hindsight is definitely 20/20, but Josh's departure this year certainly sets us back. If we lose out on Patterson, then it hurts even more because a Boateng or a Zoubek could've then had a full year under their belts. Instead, Boateng is gone and Zoubek played 235 minutes while McRoberts' 1164 get us nowhere in terms of next year. If Krzyzewski saw McRoberts play the way he did and knew he'd be gone after the year, why not make an effort to get Zoubek more playing time as the season progressed? I'll admit that Josh leaving strengthens our chance of getting Patterson, but at this point a lot is now being wagered on where Patterson decides to sign the dotted line. It just seems like the inevitable was ignored a little bit. Thoughts?

[SMO]

"If Krzyzewski saw McRoberts play the way he did and knew he'd be gone after the year, why not make an effort to get Zoubek more playing time as the season progressed? "

Coach K always tries to win in the moment. There was no way he was going to play Z just to set him up for next year. Was it just me or did Josh look almost relieved playing VCU, knowing it was one of his last games?

[Classof06]

Point well taken. But given Josh and Lance's frequent foul trouble, there were times when we needed a big body and Zoubek's number wasn't always called. And yes, Josh definitely looked relieved at the end. IMO, his body language spoke a lot for him this season.

[gus]

Coach K always tries to win in the moment.


I'm not sure that's really an accurate statement. He always tries to win, but his focus has never been on the short term. Zoubek's playing time is probably more of function of what Jumbo keeps flogging: development comes primarily in the off-season, and in practice... not by playing games.

[Troublemaker]

One of things I said early in the season was that I hoped Z could get some playing time because that would ease the transition to 08. I think Coach K did what he thought was best for maximizing the team's chances in 07, and I'm okay with that.

I do think Josh is more ready for the NBA having stayed another season. He got the opportunity to be the main inside player on a good team in a major conference (as opposed to leaving after having just been a role player). He got an opportunity to lead. He became a nice force on the defensive end with his shotblocking. He was able to utilize his passing skills and ballhandling skills. He didn't score with consistency overall, but the beginning of a reliable right-handed hook shot threatened to emerge for most of the season. He can build on all of this. His sophomore year was valuable to him.

[gus]

...I'm surprised Krzyzewski made what seems like a one year contract with Josh at the end of last year.

I think it's a matter of perspective.

Krzyzewski and McRoberts clearly have had dialogues about Josh's goals. It seems far better to me that Josh was able to be upfront and honest with the coaching staff, and the coaching staff cares enough about Josh to be honest in their assessments and treatment of him. While I believe Krzyzewski is sincere in caring about his players, it is still a good long term strategy to exhibit this care, as it helps in convincing other blue chips that Duke's system is one in which they can excel and advance in their chosen profession.

In other words, it's good for the players (and therefore good for the program) that players like Josh can approach the staff and discuss their draft potential, and the timing of their early exits, even a year or two in advance.

[Cavlaw]

Someone indicated to me earlier in the season that it appeared Krzyzewski was allowing McRoberts to play point-forward (and disrupt the offense) to let him showcase himself for the NBA, and that if Krzyzewski hadn't agreed to it, Josh might have otherwise already left.

It seemed somewhat reasonable at the time, and infintely more so now.

Whether that is true or not, I wish Josh all the best, and appreciate the effort he put into the program. Next play.

[mapei]

I totally agree, gus.

[Troublemaker]

Someone indicated to me earlier in the season that it appeared Krzyzewski was allowing McRoberts to play point-forward (and disrupt the offense) to let him showcase himself for the NBA, and that if Krzyzewski hadn't agreed to it, Josh might have otherwise already left.

It seemed somewhat reasonable at the time, and infintely more so now.

Whether that is true or not, I wish Josh all the best, and appreciate the effort he put into the program. Next play.

I don't consider that scenario to be reasonable at all. Coach K's stature and Duke's stature are such that we're not going to be held hostage by such a promise to any player. If Josh had left, we would've moved on and been just fine in the long run (and arguably better off for 08). It's Duke we're talking about here.

[gus]

I don't consider that scenario to be reasonable at all. Coach K's stature and Duke's stature are such that we're not going to be held hostage by such a promise to any player. If Josh had left, we would've moved on and been just fine in the long run (and arguably better off for 08). It's Duke we're talking about here.

I agree with your assesment: it's really unlikely K would give in to a "play me in this role or I'll leave" threat (see Humphries, Kris).

However, K has often adapted his system to capitalize on the strengths of his stars, which could easily be interpreted as "showcasing" those skills. However, I think the goal in those casese is winning games, not pimping the player.

[Sir Stealth]

I don't think that anyone who wanted to build for the future would have been happy if Duke ended up missing the NCAA tournament or having a complete meltdown season (like UNC did). While I doubt most would have expected it, I also don't think anyone would have been shocked to make a Final Four run in this tournament - anything can happen in the postseason. Also, Duke was projected to finish 2nd in the conference - should that kind of season just have been thrown away, even though it ended up being a disappointment. Plus, if they thought it was best for Josh to stay, would K have really told him thanks but I want to develop Brian Zoubek?

[Clipsfan]

I think that it's really simple: If your "best" player tells you that he'd like to stay another year, rather than leaving now, are you going to tell him no? It's perspective, really. Josh said that he would stay another year (which of course K wanted him to do) but that would be all. K (and us, the fans) were happy to have Josh back, especially given the overall youth of the team and the loss of the two best players to graduation.

[FanFair]

Assuming that his teammates probably knew Josh would be leaving at the end of this season - while it would appear that that could the reason for the lack of team chemisty - does anyone know if in fact if that was the case? Long losing streaks are a bit out of the norm for Duke basketball. Was there an attitude conflict within the team? Will we, in fact, be better next year, as other threads suggest, even without Josh?

[Classof06]

I think that it's really simple: If your "best" player tells you that he'd like to stay another year, rather than leaving now, are you going to tell him no? It's perspective, really. Josh said that he would stay another year (which of course K wanted him to do) but that would be all. K (and us, the fans) were happy to have Josh back, especially given the overall youth of the team and the loss of the two best players to graduation.


I just want to clear up that Coach K convinced McRoberts to stay another year. Josh originally wanted to leave after his freshman year. If he wanted to stay another year from the beginning, Coach K would never tell him to leave, but it also wouldn't have taken him so long to "decide" to return for a second year. It took him almost a month to decide last year as opposed to a week this time around...

[Cavlaw]

That's fair.

In the interest of not being misconstrued, at no point did I, or the person I was talking to, hypothesize a 'hostage situation' wherein Josh demanded anything. I have no notion of him as some sort of villain, and apologize for any misunderstanding there resulting from the structure of my post.

We envisioned it more like Krzyzewski sitting down with Josh at the end of last season and telling him how he intended to develop him, and Josh deciding to stay because that role suited him. Given the way the then-current bench and incoming class looked, developing Josh as a point forward probably seemed like a great fit with the program and was certainly a great fit for Josh. A win-win. If that fit hadn't been there, we believe it is likely Josh would have left.

Unfortunately, given the way the season developed, it appeared to us that the fit didn't materialize, and we really needed a true center of Josh's ability to attack the offensive boards. By then, however, he had been developed into another role.