Blue Devils in the NBA 2024-2025

phaedrus said:
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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Holmgren is an interesting reference. I could see similar numbers but usage for Flagg should be much higher. I definitely get the comp…
 
phaedrus said:
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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It's true that it's rare to see a No. 1-ranked recruit have a truly *bad* season. But they can sometimes fall in the lower part of the first round of the draft, and they're not necessarily transformative. I'd be happy if he has as much impact as Bagley and even happier if he has as much impact as Zion.
 
Best wishes to AJ Griffin. His mental health is paramount; it takes courage for him to seek help and even consider another field of work.

If he never played another game, I would still have fond memories of some of those high-arcing, amazingly soft shots from distance that he made for Duke.
 
King of Defense said:
It's true that it's rare to see a No. 1-ranked recruit have a truly *bad* season. But they can sometimes fall in the lower part of the first round of the draft, and they're not necessarily transformative. I'd be happy if he has as much impact as Bagley and even happier if he has as much impact as Zion.
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Yes, I'll be happy if Cooper is ACC player of the year, and even happier if he is the national player of the year. :cool:
 
roywhite said:
Best wishes to AJ Griffin. His mental health is paramount; it takes courage for him to seek help and even consider another field of work.

If he never played another game, I would still have fond memories of some of those high-arcing, amazingly soft shots from distance that he made for Duke.
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Pro athletes have either the best worst jobs in the world or the worst best jobs.

It's good money. Travel has gotten to be pretty good -- charter planes, nice hotels, etc.

But it's a grind. The NBA seems especially brutal, with so many games, so many back-to-backs, etc. If you're not completely happy with your team and your town, you're probably hating it.

Best of luck to him.
 
It’s been a few years since I graduated. At the young age of 21, would it be relatively straightforward for Griffin to return to school and work towards his degree full time? I imagine there are challenges when you leave after only one year and I have no idea how he wrapped up that year academically.
 
roywhite said:
Best wishes to AJ Griffin. His mental health is paramount; it takes courage for him to seek help and even consider another field of work.

If he never played another game, I would still have fond memories of some of those high-arcing, amazingly soft shots from distance that he made for Duke.
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The article does not mention mental health. All we know is that he is stepping away from basketball.

Could be for any number of reasons. Maybe he has a cardiac issue. Maybe he is passionate about something else. Maybe he wants to move to France.
 
brevity said:
If you needed proof that the Charlotte Hornets have new ownership, they are conducting their training camp at Duke.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834298872082076093

goduke.com

Duke to Host Charlotte Hornets Training Camp - Duke University

Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson announced Thursday the team will host its 2024 training camp at the Michael W. Krzyzewski Center on
goduke.com goduke.com
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Who knows this new ownership might get me back to rooting for the Hornets. Now the Panthers, that's another question.

GoDuke!
 
cato said:
It’s been a few years since I graduated. At the young age of 21, would it be relatively straightforward for Griffin to return to school and work towards his degree full time? I imagine there are challenges when you leave after only one year and I have no idea how he wrapped up that year academically.
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Not saying I know how things went for AJ in school, but...
1726327175389.png
He was part of an embarrassingly bad APR score that appears to have been caused by a number of guys not finishing their school work before moving on to the NBA. We cannot say for certain but based on guys who returned from that team and guys who graduated from that team, it would appear that the dudes who left early for the NBA (AJ, Paolo, Mark, Wendell, and Trevor) largely did not leave in good academic standing.
 
I remember the Hornets doing a preseason intrasquad scrimmage in Cameron. Kurt Rambis seemed perplexed when the Crazies did their free-throw disruption routine.

And it was painfully obvious that Marty Nessley wasn't going to make the team.
 
We don't have a general 24-25 NBA thread going yet so I thought I'd post this here. ESPN has a decent round up about the possibility of NBA expansion. The gist is that it's very likely to happen, but will probably wait until after the sale of the Celtics (there's your Duke connection I guess), which is expected to reset the market on NBA franchise value and allow the league to demand a larger franchise fee. It's expected to be a two team expansion, with Seattle and Vegas as the obvious cities (the article suggests Mexico City as a wildcard alternative but I don't see it). Because they would both be in the West, that would require a current West team to move to the East (with Minnesota making the most sense).
 
crote said:
We don't have a general 24-25 NBA thread going yet so I thought I'd post this here. ESPN has a decent round up about the possibility of NBA expansion. The gist is that it's very likely to happen, but will probably wait until after the sale of the Celtics (there's your Duke connection I guess), which is expected to reset the market on NBA franchise value and allow the league to demand a larger franchise fee. It's expected to be a two team expansion, with Seattle and Vegas as the obvious cities (the article suggests Mexico City as a wildcard alternative but I don't see it). Because they would both be in the West, that would require a current West team to move to the East (with Minnesota making the most sense).
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The Sonics would make me a regular NBA fan again.
 
BandAlum83 said:
bleacherreport.com

Report: AJ Griffin 'Seriously Considering' Stepping Away from NBA After Rockets Trade

The 2024-25 season was going to be AJ Griffin's third in the NBA, but he reportedly may be done with his career. Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic…
bleacherreport.com bleacherreport.com
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roywhite said:
Best wishes to AJ Griffin.
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Shams Charania reports that the Houston Rockets are "waiving AJ Griffin via contract buyout".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1837241283032797305

I hesitate to say more about Griffin's career or personal life without dipping deeply into unwarranted speculation. That doesn't stop the DBR front page from doing what it does best: pontificating without copy editing.

"Well it’s official: former Blue Devil AJ Griffith has cut ties with the Houston Rockets and appears to be leaving the NBA after just two seasons.

For most people, this is a shocking decision because for most of us, the NBA is an unobtainable dream. You would get a chance to play on the absolute highest stage of the sport, you’d be well-known around the world, and you’d go out with models and spend time around beautiful people (just stay away from Diddy parties)."

Never change, JD King.
 
brevity said:
Shams Charania reports that the Houston Rockets are "waiving AJ Griffin via contract buyout".

https://twitter.com/x/status/1837241283032797305

I hesitate to say more about Griffin's career or personal life without dipping deeply into unwarranted speculation. That doesn't stop the DBR front page from doing what it does best: pontificating without copy editing.

"Well it’s official: former Blue Devil AJ Griffith has cut ties with the Houston Rockets and appears to be leaving the NBA after just two seasons.

For most people, this is a shocking decision because for most of us, the NBA is an unobtainable dream. You would get a chance to play on the absolute highest stage of the sport, you’d be well-known around the world, and you’d go out with models and spend time around beautiful people (just stay away from Diddy parties)."

Never change, JD King.
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This is where I hope and expect the Brotherhood and K to step up if AJ is receptive to the support.

Best of luck to AJ. Hope to see you in future K academy pics, surrounded by people who love you unconditionally.
 
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