Man I know this isn't Kansas basketball related but how in the hell is Duke signing 4 small forwards in the same class yet we're being investigated by the FBI http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2773966-5-star-duke-commit-joey-baker-reclassifies-to-join-loaded-2018-recruiting-class ↗
He has been committed for awhile. Duke clearing space for the 19 class...
Wrong category--not football!
mayjay said:
Wrong category--not football!
Moved.
Could it be possible that Nike is not paying players?
So far Baker was struggling in the live period AAU events to date. Looks like he's trying to get a leg up on any 19 recruits. Not a 5 star player IMO. Depth, probably doesn't play much as a freshie
We beat Puke..
HighEliteMajor said:
Could it be possible that Nike is not paying players?
Is this a serious question?
HighEliteMajor said:
@BShark I don't know. Kind of. Just wondering if dumb people get indicted and smart people were, well, smarter about how they did things.
I would say it's very possible that Nike was smarter. Gatto was at Nike for quite awhile though, so he might be able to roll on them too, who knows. What is apparent to me is that all the shoecos involved were paying.
How do they avoid NCAA trouble?
By having a first-rate law college that pumps out future attorneys by the truckload. The NCAA is afraid to challenge Duke... I promise you that!
@drgnslayr Ouch. Not a ringing endorsement for all my friends who graduated from Kansas law...
I don't understand what kind of team Duke is trying to build here. Maybe they are ahead of the curve, but it seems like they are just signing the same guy over and over again with no regard to how those pieces fit together. Perhaps Coach K is doing something different, but I don't know how this is going to work.
justanotherfan said:
I don't understand what kind of team Duke is trying to build here. Maybe they are ahead of the curve, but it seems like they are just signing the same guy over and over again with no regard to how those pieces fit together. Perhaps Coach K is doing something different, but I don't know how this is going to work.
What makes this situation extra weird is that I don't even think Baker will play that much. So why not just wait?
I'd bet anything Duke goes small ball next year and will be better for it. Might even see Zion with his strength at the 5.
Going small makes sense, and I think Zion can certainly handle the 5, but the issue is that Reddish, Williamson, Barrett and now Baker are all fairly similar. Baker is a better shooter than the other three, but all four play off the ball, but are primary scorers. Jones is a PG, which helps, but Barrett isn't really a 2 and Williamson isn't really a 4 like the article tries to claim. They are all SF.
Jones is the only primary ballhandler out of the group. None of the others is even really a secondary ballhandler or in the mold of someone like Quentin Grimes that can slide over to the point and handle those duties. They all work off the ball and need guys to set the table to get them shots. Simply put, although this group is very talented, I don't know if they have enough ball handling and passing to make each guy effective. Baker is a catch and shoot guy. He's not going to set other people up. He will spread the floor, but he won't necessarily get other guys shots. Reddish and Williamson are both isolation type players. They aren't necessarily drive and kick type players that will help get the most out of a player like Baker. Barrett is the best of the group, but even he isn't a passer.
They have four guys that can shoot, which is good. They have four guys that can slash, which is also good. They have one guy that can distribute. That guy does not have a backup on the roster. That is a problem. Jones has to make sure everyone eats, which puts a huge burden on him on every possession to keep everyone in the game.
@justanotherfan It's been done. Hamidou Diallo reclassified at Kentucky in December 2016 but then didn't play and saved his eligibility.
He did attend the 2017 combine in the summer but returned for the 2017/18 season and as of two hours ago or thereabouts, it looks as if Diallo is returning for the 2018/19 season.
@justanotherfan Coach K won the NCAA in 2015 and just five years before that. There are a hell of a lot of other teams who wished they had Duke's problems.
Kinda fun to beat them the last 3 times we've played them!❤️🏀💙🥊
I know other guys have re-classified. That makes sense. Diallo re-classified, but intended to play. He just wasn't allowed play because of academic requirements. He would have played if he were eligible.
But with this group at Duke, it doesn't make a lot of basketball sense. Now maybe they can make it work to get all four of those guys minutes while letting them each tap into their unique skills. But if I had to guess, I think that will be hard because there is overlap and redundancy in places that don't help.
You can never have enough ball handling, shooting and rebounding. Duke has shooting and rebounding, but probably not enough ball handling. The upside is that Williamson, Barrett and Reddish are so talented they might just make it work anyway, but the downside is that they also might just be in each other's way.
"...the downside is that they also might just be in each other’s way."
Well, we can only hope.
Duke's is one of the better Law Schools in the country.
That was what I was told.
I don't think a Kansas parent would get away with this -