Welcome to Duke AJ Griffin!

[BD80]

Wow, I hadn’t put it together that AJ Griffin is Adrian Griffin’s son (the J in AJ is apparently for “Jr”, sort of like the second “J” in JJ Redick). Adrian Griffin was a consummate professional. Hope AJ got those traits but with more skill!

MORE skill than a guy who carved out a 10 year NBA career? OK.


Most schools are happy to get a guy with the skill to make it to the D league.

[camion]

MORE skill than a guy who carved out a 10 year NBA career? OK.


Most schools are happy to get a guy with the skill to make it to the D league.

It’s been mentioned before. —> We been spoiled.

I personally expect us to recruit a generational talent at least every other year.

[NSDukeFan]

Thanks for everyone posting highlight videos and articles. I really liked Adrian Griffin as a player and am extremely excited to cheer for his son at Duke. Yay!

[DevilHorse]

Wow, I hadn’t put it together that AJ Griffin is Adrian Griffin’s son (the J in AJ is apparently for “Jr”, sort of like the second “J” in JJ Redick). Adrian Griffin was a consummate professional. Hope AJ got those traits but with more skill!

See #44 above.

[DavidBenAkiva]

I came across this video from the winter when Stepanic and AJ Griffin took on Jeremy Roach and Paul VI. The backcourt of Paul VI last season was as good as you could find in the high school ranks. Jeremy Roach ran the show and shared the backcourt with top junior and Duke recruiting target Trevor Keels. The Paul VI squad also featured top sophomore PG prospect Dug McDaniels. Griffin was a man among boys in this game, displaying a tantalizing mix of playmaking on both ends of the court. I think you can get a glimpse at why Griffin is going to be a special player. He can score from all over the court and defend nearly any position.

[JasonEvans]

Oh my!! Some of those blocked shots were scary! He swallowed the ball on shots from legit high-major prospects.. including several by a future teammate(?)s

[DukieInBrasil]

It’s been mentioned before. —> We been spoiled.

I personally expect us to recruit a generational talent at least every other year.

weak. I expect two per year.

[jaywilliams22]

I came across this video from the winter when Stepanic and AJ Griffin took on Jeremy Roach and Paul VI. The backcourt of Paul VI last season was as good as you could find in the high school ranks. Jeremy Roach ran the show and shared the backcourt with top junior and Duke recruiting target Trevor Keels. The Paul VI squad also featured top sophomore PG prospect Dug McDaniels. Griffin was a man among boys in this game, displaying a tantalizing mix of playmaking on both ends of the court. I think you can get a glimpse at why Griffin is going to be a special player. He can score from all over the court and defend nearly any position.

I've said it for awhile now - I think he'll be the #1 pick in 2022 (dependent on if Emoni Bates reclassifies)

[MarkD83]

weak. I expect two per year.

So in order to bring the controversial topics away from the "off-topic" board and over here....

Have we become like Kentucky fans and the best thing about basketball is recruiting and the number of top draft picks on the team?

(This might be a sure way to lose all of my sporks )

[DavidBenAkiva]

So in order to bring the controversial topics away from the "off-topic" board and over here...

Have we become like Kentucky fans and the best thing about basketball is recruiting and the number of top draft picks on the team?

(This might be a sure way to lose all of my sporks )

In a word, no, Duke has not become like Kentucky. This upcoming season, Kentucky will have 1 player on its roster that played any significant minutes on its team last year. Everyone else left, some knowing they won't get drafted. The guys that left Duke this past season either graduated or are expecting to have their name called whenever there is a draft.

This upcoming season, Duke will feature two players that were 5-star recruits and McDonald's All-Americans in Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore. The year before that, we had Tre Jones. The year before that, we had Marques Bolden. The year before that, we had Grayson Allen. Not everyone has to leave Duke after a year or even two at Duke. Stay as long as you want or need.

In the entire time John Calipari has been coaching in Lexington, he's had exactly 1 5-star McD All-American stay all four year: Alex Poythress. Over that same time, Duke has had 7 by my count: Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee, Marshall Plumlee, Quin Cook, Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, and Grayson Allen. All of those guys got an NBA contract with the exception of Matt Jones.

Players want to get to the NBA. That's the highest level of basketball in the world. Both Duke and Kentucky do a great job of getting their guys to the NBA. But Duke has just about the best track record of getting its guys to the NBA when they are ready to go.

Bottom line, recruiting is the lifeblood of college basketball. And Duke does it better than anyone.

[MarkD83]

In a word, no, Duke has not become like Kentucky. This upcoming season, Kentucky will have 1 player on its roster that played any significant minutes on its team last year. Everyone else left, some knowing they won't get drafted. The guys that left Duke this past season either graduated or are expecting to have their name called whenever there is a draft.

This upcoming season, Duke will feature two players that were 5-star recruits and McDonald's All-Americans in Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore. The year before that, we had Tre Jones. The year before that, we had Marques Bolden. The year before that, we had Grayson Allen. Not everyone has to leave Duke after a year or even two at Duke. Stay as long as you want or need.

In the entire time John Calipari has been coaching in Lexington, he's had exactly 1 5-star McD All-American stay all four year: Alex Poythress. Over that same time, Duke has had 7 by my count: Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee, Marshall Plumlee, Quin Cook, Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, and Grayson Allen. All of those guys got an NBA contract with the exception of Matt Jones.

Players want to get to the NBA. That's the highest level of basketball in the world. Both Duke and Kentucky do a great job of getting their guys to the NBA. But Duke has just about the best track record of getting its guys to the NBA when they are ready to go.

Bottom line, recruiting is the lifeblood of college basketball. And Duke does it better than anyone.

But lets keep the logic going and disprove the null hypothesis...

Since 2015-16 the following players were one and done : Ingram, Jackson, Tatum, Giles, Duval, Trent Jr., Bagley, Carter, Reddish, Williamson, Barrett, Stanley, Carey Jr.

We were very excited on this board by the number of great players and potential pros on the various rosters. It takes talent to win championships (I agree with your statement).

However, were we more excited about the potential of the teams ...or about the actual game results...
Were we more excited about how high the players were drafted...or disappointed when they left...

I am excited by who will be on the future Duke rosters...but more disappointed that we have not won an ACC regular season or been to a Final 4 since 2015.

I am not really interested in the NBA draft other than it is good to see Duke players fulfill their dreams...but more disappointed to think what last year's team would have looked like with the last 12 players on the roster and Tre Jones. (I know that positions and playing time would prevent this from happening but wow!!!)

[DavidBenAkiva]

The goal for Duke each and every year is to win it all. A lot of teams aspire to that level of consistent success but have to suffer bad years in between the fleeting windows of opportunity. For Duke, a couple of missed shots and the program might have been to 2 Final Fours in both 2018 and 2019. In 2017, the team won the ACC Tournament and took 2 out of 3 from the National Championship team that year. A flat performance in the second round in an effective road game prevented that team from making a run at the Final Four. And then in 2016, the injury to Amile Jefferson effectively lowered the ceiling on accomplishing much more than a well-earned Sweet 16.

With better health and maybe a little bit of luck, Duke is right there each and every year. How many programs can boast 3 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8 appearances, and two conference tournament titles? I can think of a handful of teams that have better success over the same time period, but it is not a very long list. Fact of the matter is that Duke has been insanely successful. I love that the fans want even more and so do I, but let's keep a little perspective.

[Kedsy]

So in order to bring the controversial topics away from the "off-topic" board and over here...

Have we become like Kentucky fans and the best thing about basketball is recruiting and the number of top draft picks on the team?

(This might be a sure way to lose all of my sporks )

Until they're actually able to play basketball games, what else do we have?

[MarkD83]

Until they're actually able to play basketball games, what else do we have?

You and DavidBenAkiva are correct on this...just trying to keep some discussion going about basketball...

So what else do we have to discuss about basketball...probably different threads but this is about the time of year we discuss 1) scrimmages or 2) schedules...any information at all about the individual work outs or who Duke might play (other than ACC opponents)?