DJ Steward declares for NBA draft

[UrinalCake]

What a shock. I totally understand players leaving even if they're going to be late second round picks or even undrafted, if they think that they've shown enough to work through the G league and eventually earn a second contract. But Steward has shown nothing close to that. He had a couple good games and a bunch of duds. There are probably 100 guards in college better than him. He doesn't have any kind of NBA measureables or wild skillset that represents potential on which a team would pick him. Next season he would have had a chance to play all the minutes he wanted and to prove his worth and potentially be a first round pick. If there was something he didn't like about Duke then he could have transferred to another program without penalty. He could have even put his name in without hiring an agent. Just a complete head-scratcher.

[SouthernDukie]

Not gonna lie. I’m so over this stuff. When a guy comes in and tears it up, like BI, Tatum, Zion and many others that have been great for us over the last decade, I don’t mind at all. I’m thankful that they came to Duke and wish them only the best for their pro basketball future.

But when guys come in, and clearly demonstration they have no chance of going in the first round, and still decide to leave I really get irritated. At this point I am beyond tired of all this. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame Coach K if he walked right out the door behind Roy Williams. Good on him that he can keep his sanity. I know I couldn’t. It’s just so ridiculous.

Even if we pick up Keels, which I assume is definitely going to be the case now, we will still need to pick up at least one more good guard in the transfer portal or grad market.

[Natty_B]

Time to start worrying about Williams?

[Chicago 1995]

With all the kids who underperformed and left early, that’s a lot of kids who either didn’t like Duke or college, especially when compared to 2016 and prior!

Duke is an OAD school. You either like it or you don’t.

I don’t mind it, actually. I don’t find longing for the past when top ten recruits stuck around for years to be terribly productive. I also think college athletics is pretty exploitative of its best athletes, so I’m all for player empowerment including going pro or transferring in addition to NIL rights and stuff.

And given the on the court performance, I think this class didn’t like the Duke experience this year. Pandemic makes for a weird year. And sometimes, you just miss on a class. These kids just didn’t fit. So they want to be someplace they think they’ll fit better. I wish them all well.

[tommy]

Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward are going to be two of the most forgettable Duke scholarship players ever. At least for me.

[mattyoung18]

What was DJs upside?Just don't understand this move at all.

[Tooold]

Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward are going to be two of the most forgettable Duke scholarship players ever. At least for me.

I have already forgotten them. Very disappointing and count me in the camp that is tired of this.

[Dukehky]

Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward are going to be two of the most forgettable Duke scholarship players ever. At least for me.

At least Jalen had that monster dunk and we'll see "Jalen Johnson--Duke" when he gets picked in the first round.

DJ may never be heard from again. Trevon Duval thanks you, he is no longer the worst one and done in Duke history. At least Trevon had a top 8 recruiting ranking legacy to fall back on.


Sorry. This may be too hard on DJ, but this is just silly. I get it, if he wants to make any money, the G League or overseas is a better option than Duke. Not sure he would have ever bumped himself up into first round, and the days of "go when you're ready" are over. I'm just being selfish.

[Alan_Wilson]

Or maybe he didn’t like college. Or maybe he didn’t end up liking Duke the way he thought. Or maybe the only reason he ever went to college was because of the CBA requiring him to do so. There are lots of good and valid reasons for DJ to leave Duke. None of us are walking in his shoes and know everything that went into his decision. Thank the kid for his time and move on.

We're allowed to have opinions here. Whatever his reasons are, a lot of us are tired of the revolving door of OAD and the detriment to the program from guys leaving unexpectedly. I don;t know if unreasonable expectations are being sold on a recruiting level or what. But when Steward doesn't get drafted, none of us should have schadenfreude, but we should be able to have the opinion that he should have stayed in school another year. Bottom line, no one should be cheering against DJ, but we should be able to second guess these decisions and express frustration because it impacts the program.

[UrinalCake]

Time to start worrying about Williams?

To be honest, I think Williams is more draftable than Steward. So, yes.

[wsb3]

Not gonna lie. I’m so over this stuff. When a guy comes in and tears it up, like BI, Tatum, Zion and many others that have been great for us over the last decade, I don’t mind at all. I’m thankful that they came to Duke and wish them only the best for their pro basketball future.

But when guys come in, and clearly demonstration they have no chance of going in the first round, and still decide to leave I really get irritated. At this point I am beyond tired of all this. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame Coach K if he walked right out the door behind Roy Williams. Good on him that he can keep his sanity. I know I couldn’t. It’s just so ridiculous.

Even if we pick up Keels, which I assume is definitely going to be the case now, we will still need to pick up at least one more good guard in the transfer portal or grad market.

You summed it up pretty well for me. I lose more interest as each year passes. I have loved Duke basketball for almost six decades but the game today...

[vfefrenzy]

Man, there’s a ton of sour grapes around here.

I appreciate everything DJ brought to the team this year, and I hope he has a great career.

[CameronDuke]

I’m with the general sentiment expressed by several others unthread that I’m getting over this crap. Mainly for the players that are one and dones and could use more time in college to hone their skills. I loved Steward’s game but haven’t seen him listed on many mock drafts, if any, for the 2021 NBA draft. It’s harder and harder for me to root for Duke when each year seemingly a heaping haul of new guys predominantly get most of the burn and are the key cogs in the wheel. Do these kids even need to be going to class in the spring semester if this is their goal and end destination?

Rinse, wash, and repeat ...

[UrinalCake]

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?

[tommy]

At least Jalen had that monster dunk and we'll see "Jalen Johnson--Duke" when he gets picked in the first round.

DJ may never be heard from again.

Johnson quit. And I don’t envision DJ Steward staying connected with Duke and coming back in the summers to hang out with the Coach K alums and work the summer camp sessions and all of that either. Brotherhood? I don’t feel like either one is part of it.

[hallcity]

Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward are going to be two of the most forgettable Duke scholarship players ever. At least for me.

Who?

[Bob Green]

Man, there’s a ton of sour grapes around here.

Alternatively, there’s a ton of realism around here.

[Truth&Justise]

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.

[SouthernDukie]

Who?

Who is definitely not on first in this case.

[Billy Dat]

This hurts, I loved watching DJ and thought he was going to be a big part of a really good team next year.

I agree with the sentiment above about worrying that K may not have the stomach for adapting to this new era of constant roster building. Granted, we have had massive turnover for a few years but now with having to re-recruit your own roster every year? It’s a different animal. And this is impacting everyone, it doesn’t matter whether they leave for the NBA or another team...so many leave.

There is still a half to go between Duke and UNC lax, 1 vs 2 and rosters full of guys who have been at both schools for years. Go watch that...if you have ACC Network...another sign of the times.