Originally Posted by
CDu
With the news that Bolden will return next year, I'd say:
1/2. Allen/Kennard. In no particular order. Getting one of them back is #1 for me. Either will be the best player on the team, and a strong candidate for ACC and National Player of the Year honors. Also, I'm not a fan of prioritizing someone we don't already have over someone we do. Especially when the someones we do are both former All-Americans.
3. Duval. He's a PG, and the best available PG. That's a great thing to add.
4. Knox. Mainly because I don't want him going to UNC to pair with Berry, Pinson, and Bradley.
5. Bamba. I think he'd likely be better than Bolden. But I think Bolden can give a close enough approximation of Bamba that I'd rate the others as more important. Plus, I want Bolden's discussion to return to be a positive, and him getting buried on the bench behind two freshmen wouldn't be a positive.
I kinda agree with this list. But I will say that I would rather have 3. than 1/2. Because there is only one Duval. There is only one player who can be a game changer at the 1 for us next year. Jackson, Kennard, and Allen are game changers. But they aren't game changers at the 1. Duval is. He has the ability to make everyone that much better. Think Kyrie in his first 9 games at Duke. What a stud!
For your 1/2, there are two of them so the odds that we get at least one are fairly high. If we assume 50% for Allen and 25% for Kennard, there is still a ~63% chance we get at least one them for next year. Of course, I understand that Allen's and Kennard's decisions likely aren't independent, but you get my drift.
The uniqueness of Duval makes him that much more important.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club