DJ Steward declares for NBA draft

[roywhite]

These young mercenaries are toying with our affections.

It's enough to make this old fan feel foolish.

[Hartford Dukie]

That's one part of the problem. The other part is that these guys who are ranked in that 20-40 range and who should be planning on multiple years at Duke often get "recruited over" with OAD talent at their position. What impact does the Keels decision have on Steward? Is it a coincidence that Steward makes this announcement the day before Keels announces?

I thought most here wanted another guard for next year...that Roach and Steward weren't enough. So K/Duke is recruiting another guard - about #20 in his class, not top 10. How is that recruiting over Steward? Are you suggesting that K should not have recruited Keels?

[lotusland]

Perhaps this is a discussion for another day or another thread, but if the OAD rule didn't exist, would it have made any difference?

Idk why he didn’t just go straight to the G league out of HS. If you don’t want to go to college and you want to get ready for the NBA making G league money, why go to college?

[UrinalCake]

The biggest head scratcher one and done Duke player power rankings gotta include Trevon Duval and DJ Steward near the top, with Frank Jackson as an honorable mention. Things that just make you go HUH?

Duval and Jackson at least had NBA-level size and athleticism. Steward isn’t anywhere close to the same level as those two.

[DavidBenAkiva]

My two cents, for what it is worth.

This was a hard year. DJ's announcement pointed to that. I am not going to fault anyone for wanting to change their situation. This was a difficult year for everyone, including coaches.

It is the goal of every 4- and 5-star player that commits to Duke to get to the NBA. We shouldn't be surprised when they do. That being said, I expected DJ to be a sophomore at Duke. There is still a chance, however small, that her returns. He has until, I believe, May 30th to make the choice final. Even having an agent, he may get feedback that another year at Duke, with the roster as it is expected to look, would benefit him. There are players like DJ that have benefitted from a second year, including Immanuel Quickley and Ayo Dosunmu (or a 3rd year, in his case). Whatever decision he makes, I hope he succeeds. He appears to be a bright young man with a ton of talent. I think the best environment for him next year is at Duke, both in the short and long term, but it's not my decision to make. It is his life and I sincerely hope that he becomes a great NBA player.

[CameronDuke]

Let the boys go pro out of high school. We live in a capitalistic society and if you think your skills at your craft can attain you money for your labor, prove it.

But if you step foot on campus and enroll at a division 1 institution, a rule that student athletes must stay a minimum of 3 years at said institution should be implemented for men’s college basketball. Make the rule mirror NCAA baseball’s rule for division 1 institutions. I propose that if guys want to go to a JUCO, they could still be one and dones and leave for professional basketball after a year just like they can do at JUCOs for baseball. But at this point we are making a mockery of division 1 men’s basketball “student-athletes” - come on, now.

[dukelifer]

I agree with the general consensus that this makes no sense. On the surface. Based on what we know. Because these are VERY young men, there’s a lot we may not know. Especially so this year when we barely got to know this team due to COVID.

I’m sad and frustrated about what this means for the potential of next year’s team. And I was excited to see what a sophomore DJ could do. But I will not take my personal feelings out on a kid who by all accounts played his heart out wearing a Duke uniform in the most tumultuous college basketball season ever.

Best of luck DJ. I really hope you know something we don’t and it all works out for you.

P.S. This decision has some parallels to Jordan Poole leaving Michigan after his sophomore year in 2019. Both were above average college players who had reputations as stellar shooters that didn’t always come through in their play, and not great NBA size. People questioned whether Poole would be drafted. He got picked by Golden State at the end of the first round and has been stellar this year in extended playing time after Curry’s injury. All of this is to say: you never know.

He needs to become a great shooter- that is his only path.

[simplyluvin]

That's one part of the problem. The other part is that these guys who are ranked in that 20-40 range and who should be planning on multiple years at Duke often get "recruited over" with OAD talent at their position. What impact does the Keels decision have on Steward? Is it a coincidence that Steward makes this announcement the day before Keels announces?

It’s an interesting question of what decision prompted another. It’s likely a tangled web that Coach is managing, but could Keels’ decision have pushed JGold and DJ? Or the other way around? Sign that Hurt is coming back and DJ didn’t want to be 4th option? Hypotheticals for which we may never know the answer, I know.

[UrinalCake]

Pretty sure Steward would have started over Keels. I don’t think Keels’ recruitment has anything to do with Steward’s decision.

Agree, and Keels at 6’5 210 is closer in size to Moore than Steward.

[Hartford Dukie]

My two cents, for what it is worth.

This was a hard year. DJ's announcement pointed to that. I am not going to fault anyone for wanting to change their situation. This was a difficult year for everyone, including coaches.

It is the goal of every 4- and 5-star player that commits to Duke to get to the NBA. We shouldn't be surprised when they do. That being said, I expected DJ to be a sophomore at Duke. There is still a chance, however small, that her returns. He has until, I believe, May 30th to make the choice final. Even having an agent, he may get feedback that another year at Duke, with the roster as it is expected to look, would benefit him. There are players like DJ that have benefitted from a second year, including Immanuel Quickley and Ayo Dosunmu (or a 3rd year, in his case). Whatever decision he makes, I hope he succeeds. He appears to be a bright young man with a ton of talent. I think the best environment for him next year is at Duke, both in the short and long term, but it's not my decision to make. It is his life and I sincerely hope that he becomes a great NBA player.

But even we get Keels tomorrow, don't we have to go out and hopefully find another guard....do you think K should just sit on his hands and wait til May 30th?

[lotusland]

I'm going to laugh at a lot of folks in this thread when he has a good pro career. DJ owes nothing to anyone in this thread.

Is it surprising? Yes. He was neither a top-10 recruit (#24 in the RSCI) nor did he have an outstanding freshmen season. Plus the weaknesses in his game could be addressed with a good offseason and sophomore year, indicating he could have improved his draft stock by coming back.

But it's his own decision, I wish him well. I'll never begrudge anyone for wanting to get paid for their labor.

Nobody on this thread owes anything to DJ. It doesn’t matter to me if he succeeds in the NBA or not.

[dukelifer]

Pretty sure Steward would have started over Keels. I don’t think Keels’ recruitment has anything to do with Steward’s decision.

I agree- the expected experience gained from last year's team to next years is waning by the day. The back court was going to be a strength and now it is a weakness and not deep.

[UrinalCake]

There is still a chance, however small, that her returns. He has until, I believe, May 30th to make the choice final. Even having an agent, he may get feedback that another year at Duke, with the roster as it is expected to look, would benefit him.

Is this right? I always thought that hiring an agent meant you forfeit all eligibility. I remember there was this whole thing where certain “elite” players would be allowed to hire agents while in school and retain eligibility, but I haven’t heard anything about that since it was initially announced.

[CameronDuke]

Duval and Jackson at least had NBA-level size and athleticism. Steward isn’t anywhere close to the same level as those two.

Duval had good size but had an awful stroke. His sub-30 percent 3-point accuracy and 59.6 hit rate from the charity stripe were gross. Steward had him in those two statistical categories. Steward shot 34.1 percent from 3 and 81.1 percent from the charity stripe this past season.

[SkyBrickey]

Pretty sure Steward would have started over Keels. I don’t think Keels’ recruitment has anything to do with Steward’s decision.

He may have started over him at the beginning of the season, but Keels is a higher ranked recruit who plays the same position. At the very least, Keels + Moore playing more 2 would cut into Steward's opportunities to shine.

My point is that I do think the Duke OAD recruiting and culture contributes to more borderline NBA guys and slower developing guys leaving the program early. And this year is just extra crazy...

[SkyBrickey]

Agree, and Keels at 6’5 210 is closer in size to Moore than Steward.

His size may be closer to Moore, but Keels is pure SG - especially on this team with Moore, Griffin and Baker all available to log minutes at SF. Any playing time he earns - which could be a lot - pushes Steward either to the bench or over to play PG.

[ice-9]

Honestly I’m right there with you. My interest has waned quite a bit the last 5 years. Could also be me having a family now and getting older but it’s hard to keep a vested interest these days in P5 college basketball.

I've become much more or an NBA fan than a college basketball fan these past few years. The quality of play in the NBA is much higher, and it's weirdly easier to root for Duke players there.

[DavidBenAkiva]

But even we get Keels tomorrow, don't we have to go out and hopefully find another guard...do you think K should just sit on his hands and wait til May 30th?

I don't think it is a must or immediate need. There are going to be a TON of players in the transfer portal and another crop of incoming freshmen. On top of that, the coaching carousel is in full swing. Coaches are leaving, coaches are coming, transfers are making choices, and it's all very fluid. I don't see that settling down for another couple of months. If you have the chance to retain DJ Steward, I would hold onto that (under the assumption that Roach, Moore, and Keels are on the roster next year). There will be another option to serve as an emergency guard option or incoming recruit that wants to see if they can prove themselves at Duke. Panic is never the place to make decisions.

[CDu]

He may have started over him at the beginning of the season, but Keels is a higher ranked recruit who plays the same position. At the very least, Keels + Moore playing more 2 would cut into Steward's opportunities to shine.

My point is that I do think the Duke OAD recruiting and culture contributes to more borderline NBA guys and slower developing guys leaving the program early. And this year is just extra crazy...

Keels isn’t a notably higher rated recruit. He is about #20 in his class where Steward was #24 in his class. That is a wash. Steward would have started and played as much as he wanted next year.

I get that you want to make everything about Duke’s one-and-done culture. But the last couple of recruiting classes were supposedly what folks wanted: a lot of second-tier recruits. Only the results this year weren’t as good, and guys still go pro early. There will always be guys who go pro early, for whatever reason.

[CameronDuke]

I've become much more or an NBA fan than a college basketball fan these past few years. The quality of play in the NBA is much higher, and it's weirdly easier to root for Duke players there.

I would expect the quality of play to be higher for groups of professionals compared to amateurs ... watching the Lakers or Nets and watching Wake Forest/Boston College type clubs are two different experiences ...