Which player do you think improved the most over their time at Duke?

[Edouble]

RE: Randolph. What is "not debatable?"

Randolph's recruitment was interesting in that he was a priority target for all three Triangle schools. Duke recruits against Carolina all the time but not all that often against State. But Jerry Stackhouse and Ryan Kelly were also heavily recruited by all three Triangle schools.

I'm not sure what you mean by "crazy" in terms of Randolph's commitment or how that relates to the original thread topic. But since 2000 Duke has recruited a lot of top-10 talents against historic blue-bloods and most of them turned out to be much better college players than Shavlik Randolph. Harrison Barnes? Pretty crazy. Zion Williamson? Pretty crazy. Brandon Ingram? Pretty crazy.

Certainly no one would argue that Randolph dramatic improvements while at Duke. In fact, it could be argued the other way. Look at his first couple of games. If someone had told you then that Randolph would have gone undrafted after three years at Duke you would have thought they were crazy.

But the fact of the matter is that Shavlik Randolph was not a top-10 recruit in high school at the time he signed with Duke.

I never mentioned anything regarding Randolph's play at Duke. Outside of the 2004 Tournament, it was disappointing overall, especially when he came out of the gates blazing in his first game.

What I mean by crazy was how all three triangle schools and Florida were heavily involved and he was considered the top recruit in the country. The degree to which the schools involved pulled out the big guns: Jordan in a Shav Country shirt, Billy D getting on a plane to wave to Shav across a parking lot, then flying back home, etc etc

http://www.espn.com.br/dickvitale/vc...kRandolph.html

The race for prized 6-foot-10 recruit Shavlik Randolph has been heating up. Randolph is rated as the nation's premier high school player by recruiting guru Bob Gibbons.
-Dick Vitale

http://www.espn.com/recruiting/s/hodge145.html

Randolph's heated Tobacco Road recruiting battle reminded many of the efforts made by the ACC rivals to sign David Thompson in 1971.
--ESPN

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...avlik-randolph

Randolph is considered one of the top players in the class of 2002 and perhaps the best player in this year's class.

https://www.espn.com/ncb/columns/doy...g/1258878.html

During a recruiting period when coaches can't visit or call high school players, Donovan flew from Gainesville, Fla., to Raleigh, then rented a car and drove it into the Broughton High parking lot. There he waited until Randolph showed up for school, waved at him, then drove back to the airport.

Duke didn't need Shavlik Randolph, who entered the summer as the No. 1 rising high school senior in the country. But Duke got him, and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons knows what all of it means.

"We could be looking," he said, "at the makings of another UCLA-type dynasty."

Randolph, a rising senior at Raleigh's Broughton High, is more than the cherry on top. He is an entire ice cream sundae unto himself, a 6-foot-10 forward with the sweet shooting stroke of a guard, the work habits of a marine and the bloodlines of an All-American.

[jimsumner]

I never mentioned anything regarding Randolph's play at Duke. Outside of the 2004 Tournament, it was disappointing overall, especially when he came out of the gates blazing in his first game.

What I mean by crazy was how all three triangle schools and Florida were heavily involved and he was considered the top recruit in the country. The degree to which the schools involved pulled out the big guns: Jordan in a Shav Country shirt, Billy D getting on a plane to wave to Shav across a parking lot, then flying back home, etc etc

http://www.espn.com.br/dickvitale/vc...kRandolph.html

The race for prized 6-foot-10 recruit Shavlik Randolph has been heating up. Randolph is rated as the nation's premier high school player by recruiting guru Bob Gibbons.
-Dick Vitale

http://www.espn.com/recruiting/s/hodge145.html

Randolph's heated Tobacco Road recruiting battle reminded many of the efforts made by the ACC rivals to sign David Thompson in 1971.
--ESPN

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...avlik-randolph

Randolph is considered one of the top players in the class of 2002 and perhaps the best player in this year's class.

https://www.espn.com/ncb/columns/doy...g/1258878.html

During a recruiting period when coaches can't visit or call high school players, Donovan flew from Gainesville, Fla., to Raleigh, then rented a car and drove it into the Broughton High parking lot. There he waited until Randolph showed up for school, waved at him, then drove back to the airport.

Duke didn't need Shavlik Randolph, who entered the summer as the No. 1 rising high school senior in the country. But Duke got him, and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons knows what all of it means.

"We could be looking," he said, "at the makings of another UCLA-type dynasty."

Randolph, a rising senior at Raleigh's Broughton High, is more than the cherry on top. He is an entire ice cream sundae unto himself, a 6-foot-10 forward with the sweet shooting stroke of a guard, the work habits of a marine and the bloodlines of an All-American.

Way too much reliance on Bob Gibbons for my taste.

I could link a bunch of posts about Duke's recruitment of Harrison Barnes, which was pretty crazy.

And again, the point of the thread is players who improved the most at Duke, so why is anyone even discussing Shavlik Randolph?

[King of Defense]

Different answer to a different question: JJ made the most of his potential. Can’t jump. T-Rex arms. Still playing a GREAT NBA career.

I read once that only two NBA players (at the time of writing) had a wingspan that was less than their height.

One was Yao Ming, who had a unique physique even by basketball standards.

The other? You guessed it ... JJ.

[bundabergdevil]

I read once that only two NBA players (at the time of writing) had a wingspan that was less than their height.

One was Yao Ming, who had a unique physique even by basketball standards.

The other? You guessed it ... JJ.

I think there are a few players every year who can claim that inauspicious ratio. Not many but a few. Tyler Herro was one last draft, for example.

There's also this promising prospect. I don't even think the Raptors would give him trouble.

[duke96]

Agreed.

+1. Zoubek for sure

[luvdahops]

I’d offer up a pair of Hendersons - Phil and Gerald - for consideration.

[wsb3]

I’d offer up a pair of Hendersons - Phil and Gerald - for consideration.

I always thought Phil had one of the most underrated senior years of any Duke player.

[luvdahops]

I always thought Phil had one of the most underrated senior years of any Duke player.

Agreed - 18.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.5 spg, 41.4% on 3s and leading scorer; 2nd team All-ACC, 1st team All-ACC Tournament and NCAA All-Tournament Team

Strong finish to a pretty steady upward progression:

Freshman year - 7.3 ppg in 8 games (all non-conference) as a reserve, but academically ineligible for 2nd semester

Sophomore year - 5.9 ppg, 26.8% on 3s as the primary reserve guard, backing up Quin Snyder and Kevin Strickland

Junior year - 12.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 38.7% on 3s, and second-leading scorer (behind Danny Ferry) as the starting SG (plus the epic dunk over Mourning in the Elite Eight)

[jv001]

Too lazy to look at previous posts, so I apologize if these two players have been named. John Smith and Kevin Strickland. Both became very important players at the end of their careers.

GoDuke!

[Music man55]

I'm going to say Justin Robinson. What a shame that young man didn't get the chance to compete in the post season this past year. No telling what he might have accomplished and the role he would have played in what might have been a final four appearance.

[quahog174]

Friends, the answer is Michael Savarino. His progression from infancy to basketball team while at Duke has been quite impressive.

[throatybeard]

Speedo Guy.

[dukelifer]

Speedo Guy.

Last Speedo guy got chastised by Dick Vitale