Czyz Transferring

[airowe]

http://www.thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=394

Duke sophomore forward Olek Czyz has decided to transfer. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound combo forward was a highly touted recruit from the class of 2008 who chose Duke over Florida and Louisville. He was ranked by Rivals as the 29th best power forward and 112th best player overall in the class of 2008.

[juise]

I really, really hope not. But it is that time of year.

[Memphis Devil]

I can't say that this comes as a surprise. I think that everyone had pretty high hopes for Czyz coming in due to his alarming athletic ability, but his all around basketball skills just aren't there. Substantial playing time just doesn't seem to be in the cards for Olek especially considering the current state of our front court depth. If this is true, I hope he goes somewhere that he can make an impact.

[roywhite]

Olek, we hardly knew ye. Good luck.

The recruiting class of 2008 is now down to Miles Plumlee.

[BlueintheFace]

(sigh)

how many transfers is that in the last 5 years?

[yancem]

That's disappointing but not too surprising. A decade or so ago the expectations for immediate playing time was less and waiting your turn was more the norm. Unfortunately due to early nba entry becoming a norm, major programs are forced to bring in more and more talent to replace the losses. This unfortunately causes a situation where if you are not contributing as a freshman or sophomore, you may find yourself on the pine as a junior or senior as well.

Mart Pocius is a perfect example. While he was a solid player (fairly dynamic offensively) each year he was not only competing with his classmates but talented new freshman. His sophomore year in came Scheyer and Henderson. His junior year, Smith. Last year, Williams. Had he stuck around for his 5th year he would probably finally gotten some playing time since we are thin in the back court but I'm not sure how many minutes he would have stolen from Dawkins.

Freshman come in more prepared these days because they play so much aau ball. Czyz has a lot of god given ability but the experience advantage as a sophomore 10 years ago is greatly diminished. I don't see him getting many more minutes as the season goes along and if Singler stays next year or we sign Smith, I don't see a better outlook next year.

It's quite unfortunate for him. He seems to be a good kid and I think that he has a chance to become a solid basketball player but going forward, I'm not sure where he finds minutes. I think sitting out a year could be very good for him (look what it did for King) unfortunately to do that he has to either get injured or transfer. My question is was he over sold on his place on the team, did he over value his abilities or did something else not jive. I always hate to see players transfer but he may be better off at a non power program.

[Tim1515]

yeah i'll miss Olek but i think this is the best for him. Too many people tried to compare Olek's potential career to McClure's when they were actually complete opposites.

K isn't going to play someone significant minutes who is raw on the court unless he has no other options. Olek is the type of player that can go to another team, play good minutes and put up good numbers. Everyone will look at the numbers and assume Duke missed out...but what you don't see in the stat sheet is what would've kept Czyz off the Duke court. Mental mistakes, bad positioning, bad shots...etc.

He's a good kid and i wish him well...not sure Duke was ever the right fit.

[BlueintheFace]

I'd still like to hear this from a more reputable source though... (not you airowe )

[ChicagoCrazy84]

(sigh)

how many transfers is that in the last 5 years?

Way too many man, it's getting ridiculous. We have to be up near the top in amount of transfers the last decade and the last few have hurt with TK, EWill, Jamal Boykin, and even Michael Thompson. I didn't go to Duke, so I don't know first hand, but would you say a lot of them are because of the rigorous academics? Some just didn't get a ton of PT, but that happens everywhere, and you don't see them jumping ship. Can someone give me more insight? I can't stand to see this! Coach K and everyone has always preached Duke basketball as a family and that seems to be getting thrown out the window.

[cspan37421]

Duke BB is a family. K's not throwing the concept out the window at all. If the story is true, this is more a runaway than a disownment.

No idea about the motivation, but it could be PT. But it's not like K is going to go to a 10 man rotation (that does have some advantages when you're absolutely loaded, but...).

[Sixthman]

If true, there is no escaping a problem in our program and it will be time for Kevin white to insert himself.

[Duvall]

Way too many man, it's getting ridiculous. We have to be up near the top in amount of transfers the last decade and the last few have hurt with TK, EWill, Jamal Boykin, and even Michael Thompson. I didn't go to Duke, so I don't know first hand, but would you say a lot of them are because of the rigorous academics?

Not even remotely.

[Duvall]

If true, there is no escaping a problem in our program and it will be time for Kevin white to insert himself.

I hope this is a joke. What, we're going to guarantee playing time for everyone now?

[roywhite]

Duke BB is a family. K's not throwing the concept out the window at all. If the story is true, this is more a runaway than a disownment.

No idea about the motivation, but it could be PT. But it's not like K is going to go to a 10 man rotation (that does have some advantages when you're absolutely loaded, but...).

The issue of transfers from guys not getting early playing time is a tough one for Duke.

My theory is that the retention of players not getting early playing time works out as a big advantage for UNC, and for certain other in-state schools. For example, Mike Copeland, Will Graves, Reyshawn Terry, and David Noel were all in-state recruits who had been UNC fans all their lives and were thrilled to get a scholarship offer. They are less likely to transfer and often develop into good players.

Not all that often does the same situation happen at Duke. Nearly all the players are highly recruited prospects from outside the state and don't hesitate to move on when things don't work out their first year or two. Lee Melchionni and Clay Buckley are examples of guys who did stick around and contributed but each had strong family ties to Duke.

UNC is not immune from transfers; no school really is, especially in recent years. But the "end of the bench" guys at Duke seem more likely to move on in search of playing time. It has an impact on the program over time.

[Jumbo]

Way too many man, it's getting ridiculous. We have to be up near the top in amount of transfers the last decade and the last few have hurt with TK, EWill, Jamal Boykin, and even Michael Thompson. I didn't go to Duke, so I don't know first hand, but would you say a lot of them are because of the rigorous academics? Some just didn't get a ton of PT, but that happens everywhere, and you don't see them jumping ship. Can someone give me more insight? I can't stand to see this! Coach K and everyone has always preached Duke basketball as a family and that seems to be getting thrown out the window.

If true, there is no escaping a problem in our program and it will be time for Kevin white to insert himself.

I would respectfully ask people to familiarize themselves with facts before adding baseless opinions to conversations. First of all, it is not a "problem" if/when the 10th man on a basketball team -- with no prospect of legit playing time on the horizon -- decides to go play somewhere else.

Secondly, Duke is not in some sort of unique position with transfers. I posted the following list a year and a half ago, after Taylor King left. Since then, Duke has obviously lost Elliot Williams, but that was due to extenuating circumstances. And other programs have lost more players -- Drew Gordon left UCLA, Jai Lucas left Florida, etc. In fact, Florida has lost eight players as transfers since the 2003-04 season.

If Duke -- as well as other elite programs -- continue build rosters with 10-plus highly regarded players, some guys simply won't be happy with their playing time and will leave. That's a fact of life. Hopefully this isn't true, but if it is, we'll move on.

[killerleft]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sixthman
If true, there is no escaping a problem in our program and it will be time for Kevin white to insert himself.

Duvall: I hope this is a joke. What, we're going to guarantee playing time for everyone now?

Yeah, just what is Kevin White going to do about it, and why do you think he would "insert himself"? Please explain.

[BlueintheFace]

I would respectfully ask people to familiarize themselves with facts before adding baseless opinions to conversations. First of all, it is not a "problem" if/when the 10th man on a basketball team -- with no prospect of legit playing time on the horizon -- decides to go play somewhere else.

Secondly, Duke is not in some sort of unique position with transfers. I posted the following list a year and a half ago, after Taylor King left. Since then, Duke has obviously lost Elliot Williams, but that was due to extenuating circumstances. And other programs have lost more players -- Drew Gordon left UCLA, Jai Lucas left Florida, etc. In fact, Florida has lost eight players as transfers since the 2003-04 season.

If Duke -- as well as other elite programs -- continue build rosters with 10-plus highly regarded players, some guys simply won't be happy with their playing time and will leave. That's a fact of life. Hopefully this isn't true, but if it is, we'll move on.

Georgetown has had some issues too.

[Jumbo]

Georgetown has had some issues too.

Yup. Jeremiah Rivers and Vernon Macklin, among others. Plenty of updates to that list since I posted it in April of 2008 -- but I'm way too tired and I just don't have the interest to look up the more recent info.

[juise]

Austin Rivers

I'm sure they wish that they were lucky enough to have Austin for a while. They had Jeremiah.

[Jumbo]

I'm sure they wish that they were lucky enough to have Austin for a while. They had Jeremiah.

Ha! Fixing now ... nothing to see here ...