"I think the NBA is going to be easier" lol
"I think the NBA is going to be easier" lol
I'm long past caring what jalen Johnson thinks. good luck to him.
Who?
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Folks, he is still a Dukie. We love to talk about Semi O and Elliot Williams and Billy McCaffrey. Heck, Johnson didn't even leave Duke for another school, he left to prepare for the most important job interview of his life.
To be clear, I was upset at his decision. I wish he had stuck with the team. I do think he reneged on a commitment to his school/coach/teammates.
But all this, "he's dead to me" kinda stuff doesn't sit well with me and I strongly suspect it would really raise the ire of Coach K if he were here to comment on it.
And if Jalen becomes a strong NBA player, a situation that is entirely possible, I will hope and expect that Duke will get (and would deserve) some of the credit.
-Jason "rest assured, when the DBR Podcast talks about the NBA Draft, we will feature Jalen prominently" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Your choice, your opinion, but as a fan of the program and a staunch non-fan of the OAD model, I have even less cares for a guy who couldn't even stick out a full season.
When I say "who?", that's pretty literal, since in a few years down the road I won't remember a thing he did for our team. (I barely remember now.)
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
None of the other players mentioned pfailed to even finish a single season, as far as I know.
But whatever. The team was better off without him, anyway.
I fervently agree with CameronB&B and Mtn Devil...all those wonderful years, too many to recite here, and I disagree with Jason [I agree with you most of the time and thank you for all of your contributions throughout the years - Hustleplays] Evans.
Just because a super-gifted player shows up, and then underperforms, sometimes tries hard and sometimes doesn't, and quits in his freshman year -- for his own, personal career advancement reasons -- doesn't at all make him a Dukie. For me, it makes him a definite non-Dukie. Doesn't our brand stand for something, like team, grit, excellence, sacrifice? [Our brand also used to denote academic excellence, but I won't digress. Thank you, Grant Hill!] Being a Dukie needs to be earned!
“I love it. Coach, when we came here, we had a three-hour meeting about the core values. If you really represent the core values, it means diving on the floor, sacrificing your body for your teammates, no matter how much you’re up by or how much you’re down by, always playing hard.” -- Zion
Oh no question about it really. Comparing him to other OAD players, or even to guys who have transferred, is apples and oranges.
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but to me, what makes a guy a Dukie involves, among other things, honor and integrity. You don't become a member of a brotherhood without exhibiting those qualities. There have been guys in this program over the years who have not exhibited them, and they have been cast out. Simply put, quitting on your teammates in the middle of the year to pursue your own goals, is not what a brother does.
Everyone knows that Johnson's excuse for leaving, to "prepare for the draft," was bogus. From the day he quit to the day of the draft was 165 days. Had he finished the season -- just another 23 days as it turns out -- he would have had 142 days to prepare instead of 165. You're telling me that could possibly make a material difference in his preparedness for the draft or even the pre-draft workouts? Please.
As for Coach K, of course he has to publicly support Johnson, because if he doesn't, he knows it will be used against him in recruiting (he "doesn't support his players" etc.) and the media would be all over him for it too. But I strongly suspect that in private moments with those closest to him, whether they be his family, his assistant coaches, or the administration, Coach K was pretty p*ssed about what Johnson did, and I seriously doubt he'll be invited to participate in future events involving alumni of the program. Coach K has spoken often about one of the cornerstone values of the program being the willingness and ability to sacrifice one's own selfish interests for the greater good, and being part of something bigger than oneself. Johnson obviously did not do that. The idea that he'll be thought of as a member in good standing of the brotherhood strains credulity.
Curious… weren’t there players that transferred after the fall semester ended… like in December? Are they different? I don’t think I got the feeling that they “quit” on the team… ?
Yes. Like you said, they transferred. Almost all of them did so because they saw the writing on the wall that they weren't going to get playing time. They also did so after playing a year or two (or three?) under K.
Name one that left "for the NBA" in their freshman year. (Jalen didn't leave for the NBA, he quit, thus the quotes.)
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Cameron BnB hits the key difference in their post, but the other difference is that most (all?) of the other transfers on K-led Duke teams have not left a team who was scrapping to even make the postseason. That’s a huge difference IMO.
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Unrelated to the above quote but related to whether we should think of Jalen J as a Dukie… What was K’s fist analogy again? Or, the principles behind it, rather… Communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride?
Do we feel like Johnson embodied those traits in the way he handled leaving early?
I am in the “he isn’t a Dukie” camp. His decision is a reflection of his character, and, IMO, it did not demonstrate integrity or the other qualities that K describes. And, as trivial as this is, his grammatical error in his explanation (“this was the best decision for my family and I”) is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I know this has become a very common error (and it has nothing to do with integrity or other character issues), but every time I hear someone misuse “I” as an object, my respect for that person drops a little bit.
Boy am I crabby today!
Uh, the deal was, you get a year of Duke education, fully paid, and in return you play for the basketball team...for a full season. He didn't keep his end of the bargain.
You want to be part of the brotherhood, do like Kyrie and Zion. If you're injured, support your team from the bench, and return to play when fully healthy. Some said Zion should quit the team to protect his draft stock. He didn't, and that exemplifies "brotherhood."
There is likely more to the story than we know. I have no problem calling him a Dukie - but last year was a strange season in every respect. The lack of fans- the strange gaps in the season- the lack of team cohesion- the ACC tourney exit due to Covid - and the end of season exodus of players- all contribute to a less than positive view of Jalen and others. Looking forward to a normal year.