Blue Devils in the NBA 2024-2025

Billy Dat said:
I know many of them are not NBA players, but based on the social media posts put out by the team, many of which were captured in the front page article about the Boozers visit (see link below), it looks like he held what they labeled "Pro Devils Weekend". It was an incredible collection of recent Duke players, especially big men.

Based on the photos, I saw...
RJ, Keels, DJ Stewart, Lively, Vernon Carey, Cassius Stanley, Jah (looking lean), Jared McCain, Marques Bolden, Mark Williams, Battier, Dahntay, Daniel Ewing, Hairston, Bilas, Theo John

Here's the front page story
www.dukebasketballreport.com

The Boozers Picked A Great Weekend To Visit Duke

The Brotherhood turned out in a big way
www.dukebasketballreport.com www.dukebasketballreport.com

The Duke Men's team IG account posted all the photos that I was reviewing, @dukembb
Click to expand...
I'm really pleased that Theo John stays connected. I really admired his leadership on his Duke team and hoped he could scrap his way into the NBA. He certainly has the physique for it.
 
Regarding the front page article about BI, i don't claim any inside knowledge, but the quote attributed to BI seems, well...infantile. I mean, even aside from its grammatical awkwardness. Does he want a mid-contract raise? Does he want ownership to guarantee some sort of increase in usage? Does he want them to not promote Zion so much?
He's an excellent player, but not top-tier. He's been an All-Star once (2019-20), never made any all-NBA team...
In my estimation, he's an excellent complementary player, but really struggles to be the alpha player on a team. Maybe he values himself differently.
 
DukieInBrasil said:
Regarding the front page article about BI, i don't claim any inside knowledge, but the quote attributed to BI seems, well...infantile. I mean, even aside from its grammatical awkwardness. Does he want a mid-contract raise? Does he want ownership to guarantee some sort of increase in usage? Does he want them to not promote Zion so much?
He's an excellent player, but not top-tier. He's been an All-Star once (2019-20), never made any all-NBA team...
In my estimation, he's an excellent complementary player, but really struggles to be the alpha player on a team. Maybe he values himself differently.
Click to expand...
Man. After seeing this comment I went to the front page expecting something really salacious. I'll agree it's a bit inelegantly worded, but it doesn't seem infantile to me. It's just pseudo-cryptic jibber-jabber like many athletes who use social media.

“You cannot stay in environments where people don’t know the true value of you.”
 
This thread effectively functions as a place to discuss former Duke players, whether in the NBA or not. I was researching a pair of current Dartmouth players who went to Beijing, and while on the school's athletics website, I stumbled upon this article from last month:

dartmouthsports.com

Looking Back to Crawford Palmer’s 2000 Olympic Silver Medal With France - Dartmouth College Athletics

Crawford Palmer '93 will never forget the 2000 Olympics, when as a member of France, his team advanced to the gold medal game following a semifinal win over Australia.
dartmouthsports.com dartmouthsports.com

Palmer began his college career at Duke, playing from 1988-91, then transferred to Dartmouth. After sitting out a season due to transfer rules, he played for the Big Green in 1992-93. Following Dartmouth, he went to France to play professionally.
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There was a moment at Duke, which told Palmer he needed a change, ultimately leading him to Hanover, New Hampshire.

"I remember in the 1991 ACC Tournament, I played a few minutes at the end of the game," said Palmer. "And it was the first time I was thinking I hope coach doesn't put me in because I don't want to play."
Click to expand...
 
brevity said:
This thread effectively functions as a place to discuss former Duke players, whether in the NBA or not. I was researching a pair of current Dartmouth players who went to Beijing, and while on the school's athletics website, I stumbled upon this article from last month:

dartmouthsports.com

Looking Back to Crawford Palmer’s 2000 Olympic Silver Medal With France - Dartmouth College Athletics

Crawford Palmer '93 will never forget the 2000 Olympics, when as a member of France, his team advanced to the gold medal game following a semifinal win over Australia.
dartmouthsports.com dartmouthsports.com
Click to expand...
2-time National Champion Crawford Palmer
 
sagegrouse said:
But then he won a silver medal for La Belle France in the 2000 Olympics.
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Right, but not a natty.

In the spring of 1988, Palmer and another Duke recruit, some guy named Laettner, played in the Capital Classic All-Star game in Landover, MD. (Back then the Capital Classic attracted the best high school player.) A couple of my work colleagues went to the game and told me the next day that Duke had gotten a good one in Palmer. They weren't impressed by Laettner.
 
MChambers said:
Right, but not a natty.

In the spring of 1988, Palmer and another Duke recruit, some guy named Laettner, played in the Capital Classic All-Star game in Landover, MD. (Back then the Capital Classic attracted the best high school player.) A couple of my work colleagues went to the game and told me the next day that Duke had gotten a good one in Palmer. They weren't impressed by Laettner.
Click to expand...
So are they scouts now for the Charlotte Hornets?
 
Per Shams, AJ Griffin is stepping away from basketball. Not sure what’s going on there, but obviously wishing him the best. Some things are more important than basketball.
 
MChambers said:
Right, but not a natty.

In the spring of 1988, Palmer and another Duke recruit, some guy named Laettner, played in the Capital Classic All-Star game in Landover, MD. (Back then the Capital Classic attracted the best high school player.) A couple of my work colleagues went to the game and told me the next day that Duke had gotten a good one in Palmer. They weren't impressed by Laettner.
Click to expand...

I vaguely remember that Palmer was ranked ahead of Laettner by at least one national outlet.

There was a persistent rumor that Palmer was going to join the Duke Wind Symphony on trumpet before or after basketball season, but I don't see how the timing would've worked out unless he somehow could've done both.
 
Of course, if you want to talk national recruiting rankings and hindsight, consider 2018 ...

No. 1: RJ Barrett
No. 2: Cam Reddish
No. 3: Nassir Little

...

No. 4: Zion Williamson

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/awards/men/rsci-recruit-rankings-2018.html

Same composite rankings in different years:

2021: Jaden Hardy (2) ahead of Banchero (3). (Holmgren was No. 1.)

2006: Greg Oden (1) ahead of Kevin Durant (2). (In fairness, Oden would surely have had at least a half-decent NBA career if not for injuries.)

2003: No. 4 Ndudi Ebi. No. 6 Chris Paul. (1 and 2 were LeBron and Luol.)

Joel Embiid was No. 16 in 2013. Jalen Brunson: No. 19, 2015.

Kawhi Leonard: 48.

Devin Booker: 23.

James Harden: 17.

Stephen Curry: who?

(Yes, this is why I don't believe freshman hype. Maybe Cooper Flagg doesn't live up to expectations -- which, at this point, he could only do if he averages a triple-double and leads Duke to a 20-point rout in the national final -- while Darren Harris becomes the next Curry.)
 
King of Defense said:
Of course, if you want to talk national recruiting rankings and hindsight, consider 2018 ...

No. 1: RJ Barrett
No. 2: Cam Reddish
No. 3: Nassir Little

...

No. 4: Zion Williamson

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/awards/men/rsci-recruit-rankings-2018.html

Same composite rankings in different years:

2021: Jaden Hardy (2) ahead of Banchero (3). (Holmgren was No. 1.)

2006: Greg Oden (1) ahead of Kevin Durant (2). (In fairness, Oden would surely have had at least a half-decent NBA career if not for injuries.)

2003: No. 4 Ndudi Ebi. No. 6 Chris Paul. (1 and 2 were LeBron and Luol.)

Joel Embiid was No. 16 in 2013. Jalen Brunson: No. 19, 2015.

Kawhi Leonard: 48.

Devin Booker: 23.

James Harden: 17.

Stephen Curry: who?

(Yes, this is why I don't believe freshman hype. Maybe Cooper Flagg doesn't live up to expectations -- which, at this point, he could only do if he averages a triple-double and leads Duke to a 20-point rout in the national final -- while Darren Harris becomes the next Curry.)
Click to expand...
All the #1 ranked recruits you listed had extremely good freshman seasons - even if one or two, like RJ, were overshadowed by other freshmen. So yeah, Cooper might not live up to the hype 100%, but if he only ends up playing as well as, say, Chet Holmgren, I'll take it, and I won't feel like I was duped by the hype.
 
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