kshepinthehouse
Member
I think losing Blakes/Mitchell was addition by subtraction. It’s nice to have everyone at least be somewhat of a threat offensively.
MBB/WBB: Former Duke Players Now at Other Schools
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fidel
Member
They have a Vandeweghe and a Marbury. Good genes.
And a Stojakovic
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
And a Goodall. Probably not related but you never know. And if anyone would know anything about genes, it would be a Goodall.
MChambers
Member
Which is interesting to me, given that his father had a lengthy NBA career, albeit as a journeyman. And Sean played high school ball at the preeminent program in the nation. I am surprised he doesn’t seem to know more of the fine points of basketball.
In his one game so far Blakes scored 12 points on 75% shooting. I doubt he's ahead of Tyrese or Caleb or Sion in the rotation, but I don't think it's crazy to suggest that senior Blakes could have been useful depth. Like, we are one injury away from either playing two guards 40 minutes/game or playing extended minutes with only one guard on the floor. Would be nice to have some insurance against that!
kshepinthehouse
Member
He’d be our 12th man this year.
I'm guessing he'd be the second guard off the bench.
I get and agree that Blakes would not have a huge role if everyone else was healthy, but the hostility to the proposition "having more than three scholarship guards could be useful" is weird.
kshepinthehouse
Member
Nah. Blakes wouldn’t get mins on this team. Why do you think he transferred.
Kon can play guard. Harris is a guard. Evans could play guard. I’d rather see any of the three at guard vs Blakes. Blakes is a black hole offensively and over rated defensively jn my opinion.
What I love about this year’s team is almost every player seems to be capable of knocking down a 3.
Also, I’m sure I’m in the minority, but players like Thornton, Goldwire, and Blakes lessen the overall talent of the team. I don’t think they’re talented enough to be playing meaningful minutes at Duke. And if they are, to me, it speaks to an overall talent issue on the team. There’s a reason why the latter two didn’t finish their career at Duke.
MChambers
Member
He might have been useful depth as a fourth guard, but good luck getting someone like that to stay. He's getting a lot more PT at Stanford than he would at Duke.
DukieInBrasil
Member
I agree that there is not a single player that transferred that I would rather have than who we have on the roster in their stead, with perhaps the exception of Cameron Sheffield vs. Roach or Blakes. Roach wasn't gonna have the role at Duke he wanted, maybe he'll be able to grab that role at Baylor? Having Blakes as an additional G would be nice as an insurance player, but that's not what he wanted, so good for him getting to Stanford and have a solid first game there. Jaylen had like 4 games at Duke where he really shined offensively, and the rest of the time it was like "how on earth did he score 17 points in consecutive games?" The fact that Mark scored 8 points on 33% shooting in his new expanded role at Mizzou is a good data point indicating that Duke is better without him. He's a good, versatile player, but not what Duke needed. I'm sure Sean will have a few games this year that will dazzle, and maybe he could have been useful as another big off the bench, but that's not what he wanted, so good for him finding a better fit at tOSU.
The other guys like Brakefield and Coleman continue to have fine college careers elsewhere, but have not been stars on their new teams. Which is fine.
The other guys like Brakefield and Coleman continue to have fine college careers elsewhere, but have not been stars on their new teams. Which is fine.
kshepinthehouse
Member
It may be that Duke didn’t want Blakes either. Or basically told him he wouldn’t play much.
Just my take, but I don't think Blakes is looking at a significant future in basketball after college.
But in terms of an overall resume, his experience both academically and athletically at Duke and Stanford can open many doors.
Duke79UNLV77
Member
I don’t think the lament of some is based on talent or wins and losses. If a player would want to come back in the role available but is encouraged to leave so we can buy a shinier object in the transfer pool, then I think Duke basketball has lost some of what it’s about. Coach K treated scholarships as 4-year commitments if the player wanted to stay. Blakes makes sense as someone who went to a great school in a role he never would have had at Duke, but I hope we don’t have a pattern of 6-8 transfers per year.
-jk
Well-known Moderator
Is a player being "encouraged to leave" if they're being told in a frank way that their skillset won't lead to significant minutes next year, that the team is looking for more from the position? Or that it'll be two or three years before they may get a significant role and they'll need to put in a ton of work to have the chance?
I've never heard that K or Scheyer actively chased players away just for a lack of skills. I have heard, again and again, that it's a meritocracy and that nothing is promised. (I've also heard that Duke will honor a scholarship even if a player stops playing.) The current landscape of NCAA D1 basketball (and creeping into D2) has both players and coaches looking for immediate results. It's become a great reshuffling every spring, matching teams and players with needs, positions, and playing time. Perhaps better for the players if not the fans.
I loved the years when we'd watch players develop over a 4 year arc. (Zoubs!) Those days are gone.
-jk
DukieInBrasil
Member
not necessarily. I would not be surprised if Tyrese Proctor were to play for Duke next year, nor if Caleb Foster were at Duke next year and maybe as a Sr. too. Both are good players for Duke, but has either shown an NBA-level skillset? Either or both could have great seasons and really show they deserve a shot right away, or either/both could show that they have improved from last year and not draw NBA attention.
I just hope they play well, enjoy being at Duke, and help Duke win a Natty!
Duke79UNLV77
Member
Blakes got his Duke degree and knew he would never be more than a fringe rotation guy with us. He can get a grad degree at one of the best schools in the world and be a starter. That's terrific.
If, however, Stewart and Power would have been happy to play the roles that Brown and Gillis are playing, but we pursued Brown and Gillis as somewhat better talent fits, even though we understood that doing so would likely prompt Stewart and Power to transfer, than I don't really like it. It's nothing against Brown or Gillis. My uncle knows Gillis well and could not speak more highly of him as a person. But, that landscape may be why Wright, Bennett, and Saban have left coaching, and K says that if he were a young coach today, he likely wouldn't stay in college.
JasonEvans
Host, The Duke Basketball Roundup
First of all, Sean Stewart belongs with the bigs, not the wings.
That team would really lack guys who can score for themselves. Roach is really the only guy on that list who looks like he can generate offense on his own. After him, I guess maybe Brakefield.
I think that team would probably finish around .500 in a major conference, likely a little bit below it, and perhaps have an outside chance at the NCAA tourney. The wings would be a be problem on D as Mitchell is really the only good defender in that group. The bigs are almost uniformly poor offensive players. There isn't a single guy there who can be counted on to score reliably in the post.