2017 demands of DT

[Laettner]

My cousin is an assistant coach for a WCC team & has close ties with recruiters at other large programs. Below is what he passed along last night directly to me:

DT's camp wanted K to guarantee the starting PG position along with a dominant role in offensive scheme. K simply could not guarantee time & touches so they decided to walk. DT's camp is in contact with other programs & these demands are imperative for them to even consider the school.

Basketball can be ugly at times & this is an example. Heck I see it at the 10 yr old AAU tourney level with parents.

 

[Duke_Fan_1338]

Man- that's rough to hear if true. Because K would guarantee offensive for Thornton over Tatum, Allen, Jackson, and Giles?

 

[nets on nets on nets]

I would assume that stuff like this happens behind the scenes much more than us fans ever know. It's a shame things couldn't work out for DT and Duke though, as he possibly could have played a crucial role for a National Title contender.

My question would be...did K have to choose between DT and Bolden??? Or if DT returned, I wonder if he had another hand to play, maybe OBI??? Guess we will never know now.

Oh, and now Bolden feels like a must-get.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

Thornton had to know what he was going to be asked to do with the talent that was going to be at Duke this coming year. Most guys would kill to be the PG for this team. If his family is not happy with the opportunity that Derryck had this year and would have next year then best of luck to whoever gets his services. I hate it for him mostly because he seems to be allowing his family be a negative influence on his career. If he wants to be the go to scorer, then he made the right decision.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

I would assume that stuff like this happens behind the scenes much more than us fans ever know. It's a shame things couldn't work out for DT and Duke though, as he possibly could have played a crucial role for a National Title contender.

My question would be...did K have to choose between DT and Bolden??? Or if DT returned, I wonder if he had another hand to play, maybe OBI??? Guess we will never know now.

Oh, and now Bolden feels like a must-get.

Take my opinion for what it's worth, but I in no way believe that Thornton was sacrificed for Bolden. DT was the only PG on the roster, if there were to be a sacrificial lamb, it would undoubtedly be Obi.
Also, I don't necessarily think that Bolden is a must get because of Thornton leaving. He will be a great get, either way.

 

[MikeD2891]

I hate it for him mostly because he seems to be allowing his family be a negative influence on his career.

Judging from his uncle's tweets, I would say that's a definite.

 

[vcugreg]

Take my opinion for what it's worth, but I in no way believe that Thornton was sacrificed for Bolden. DT was the only PG on the roster, if there were to be a sacrificial lamb, it would undoubtedly be Obi.
Also, I don't necessarily think that Bolden is a must get because of Thornton leaving. He will be a great get, either way.

THIS. I can't stand everybody saying Duke pushed this kid out to make room for Bolden... It makes ZERO sense. Why would K push out his starting PG when there are lower people on the totem pole like Vrank, Chase or Obi? It's just fodder for news headlines to get more clicks. Also, if K REALLY were in a bind with scholarships, he could have simply not offered Jack White. Simple as that. I'm sure he knew then that DT was not coming back.

Thanks Laettner for the info! It's much appreciated buddy.

 

[Neners]

Good luck to DT. I mean that genuinely. But I'm not going to mince words: this was a stupid decision that, by the sounds of it, was heavily influenced by people with an overinflated sense of where DT is as a player. Put the short-term PT issue aside. How much would DT have improved by having so much talent around him? How much would he have grown by having to go up against Frank Jackson in practice every single day? Where is he going to go that will give him as much national exposure as Duke? I don't mean to sound harsh, but this decision was myopic at best.

 

[LongTimeDukeFan]

I agree @Neners -- good luck to DT. I am not sure exactly what his issue is.

I am pretty sure that he thinks he is doing the smart thing. Of course, there are a lot of "smart things" that I did as an 18 year-old. At that age I was was pretty much a 24x7 genius.

I wish 52 year-old LTDF could time travel back and b!tch-slap 18 year-old LTDF...

Wisdom > Smart

 

[2 skerz 3_rivals208847]

If he wants to be a "go to player" he should look heavily at schools such as UNC-Ashville, Montana, South Dakota, etc...

 

[CRAZIE4LIFE]

He should have stayed and been an even player by year three and possibly being that go to guy his JR rather than sit out and who knows what happens. Oh well glad we are done with that drama of a family but best of luck to DT

 

[Showenuff]

This will be blunt, but anyone that thinks Thornton is gone so that we can accommodate Bolden, is stupid.

 

[denverexpat]

If those demands are real then it flies in the face of what Coach K stands for - the FIST philosophy. As soon as you put your priorities ahead of the teams your time in a Duke uniform is limited. Sorry to hear that the kid may have received some misguided advice but applaud Coach K for being consistent with his belief and philosophy that basketball success is a team endeavor and wont be sacrificed for the demands of any one player.

 

[Kingbluedevil]

If he wants to be a "go to player" he should look heavily at schools such as UNC-Ashville, Montana, South Dakota, etc...

I agree with the form on his shot and passing ability. I hope he signs with UCLA so uncle clown can watch every home game and keep stats.

 

[nets on nets on nets]

I really wish he would have stayed. Looking forward to next year, now our biggest (and only) weakness should be the lack of a true PG. DT would have somewhat filled that void.

With that being said, DT was unable to come in and fully make the PG position his this season. For a Duke team that had zero other solid options at PG, and for a bad Duke team, where mistakes were even expected.
Everyone (including me) seemed to point to the fact that he re-classified and just wasn't mature enough yet. However, HE WAS OLDER THAN BRANDON INGRAM.

Overall, I think everyone is over-reacting to the loss of him from a pure talent standpoint. If he couldn't be a solid PG on a bad Duke team, what makes us believe he would be a solid PG on a good Duke team????? I do agree that the loss from a roster-construction standpoint is big though.

 

[dukiejay]

I don't think anyone feels losing DT was a good thing....but if he didn't want to be here and his best interests fell more in line with himself then I think it's a good thing he's gone.

 

[HuffyJB]

As others have mentioned, the situation has a lot of similarities to the Sulaimon situation. Rasheed and DT are both good players who ostensibly make a team better, but that is only true if they buy in and are fully invested. If the latter doesn't occur, their talent level does not make up for the negative influence on the team and morale.

 

[Shadowstare]

Can we take a moment to differentiate between DT the kid and this decision. I firmly believe that his Uncle (and perhaps his Dad) had everything to do with this decision. The uncle was on Twitter talking about how DT was misled. If anybody was misled if was the uncle and family thinking they can dictate tell Coach how to run his program. He's a great kid with a lot of talent and potential, but nobody is promised anything at Duke but a healthy environment, Coaches willing to help and an opportunity to play.

I wish DT the best wherever he ends up, but if he's going to get anywhere, he's got to check his Uncle and Dad. No coach worth their salt is going to cow-tow to their demands. Kid has talent, but he's not the only kid out there playing.

 

[HuffyJB]

I don't have even a shred of doubt that K and staff never "misled" anyone. They told him he would have opportunity. 20 starts and 26 minutes a game as a freshman on the defending National Champions most certainly constitutes opportunity.

 

[Jake1985]

DT leaving and Bolden potentially coming are not linked in any way (if you want to play the scholarship count card, Duke was prepared to have both next year).

It's simple, Duke had a role for DT that was not embraced by him. He saw Grayson (and Luke to a some degree) create for themselves and that's what he (and his family) wanted. Once Frank was committed and Grayson announced his return, the DT camp thought he would only initiate for others; and not get his.

Not every college program is a good fit for every player (or their family expectations). It's life. It happens. Wish him well and move on.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Mind bottling.

OFC

 

[CatcherForLife6]

His uncles tweets yesterday were hilarious. To me, this is what society seems to be trending towards. Meaning, when your back is against the wall and you aren't given what you want. Leave and go somewhere else instead of working your tail off and sticking it out through the rough times. Quinn Cook is the perfect example of this.

Oh well, Duke will move on and still be there. Wish DT the best where ever he lands.

 

[Showenuff]

Sounds to me like DT's family is trying to help K coach the team. I'm pretty sure that's not gonna work.

 

[nets on nets on nets]

Any guesses on where DT looks to go?? I'd assume it will be somewhere out West. If he wants to come in and be "the guy" than I doubt it is somewhere like UCLA , Arizona, or USC.

Maybe a lower tier Pac12 program like Washington State, Arizona State??? Or go the mid-major route, UNLV, San Diego State???

 

[RanDEVILman]

I really have a hard time believing any college coach would straight up lie to a player about something like that. I was a manager for a low-level DI school for a while and during my time there the HC was as slippery and sketchy as they get and he still seemed to be pretty open about things like PT and offensive focus. I of course don't know everything that happens, but I find it hard to believe that even coaches like Cal who seem super-dirty would lie about this. Every coach knows that it will hurt recruiting and perception etc. It also hurts the actual team when everyone is NOT on the same page. Its in the coach's best interest to be honest about stuff like this. Now paper classes....thats a whole other issue.

 

[SWEc/o95]

Sounds more like Elliot Williams to me except the family are the ones who pushed DT away. Williams made similar demands at the end of the season and threatened to transfer if they were not met. I'm pretty sure he was told to explore his other options. The sick family member was just a convenient excuse.

 

[pisgah101]

If he wants to be a "go to player" he should look heavily at schools such as UNC-Ashville, Montana, South Dakota, etc...

Not UNCA... The top two guards there were freshmen this year and around 6-5,6-6

 

[gottagonow]

You can read the tweets of his Uncle and make a pretty good determination of what his family has in mind for DT. He was a nice PG but had the misfortune of no Quinn cook in the back court with him like Tyus Jones had. The DT family might not be happy with the next team he plays for unless its Golden State or the Clippers though.

 

[nets on nets on nets]

Sounds more like Elliot Williams to me except the family are the ones who pushed DT away. Williams made similar demands at the end of the season and threatened to transfer if they were not met. I'm pretty sure he was told to explore his other options. The sick family member was just a convenient excuse.

I was 2 years older than Elliott but saw him every summer on the AAU Circuit ( I always tried to watch and be around the Duke recruits.) I was playing my own college ball while his transfer happened, so I wasn't keeping up with things.

Anyone care to go into more detail about Elliott and why he really left?????
I remember him really coming on the end of his Freshman year. Back in the day, he always played up a year or 2 in AAU and I would have bet my last dollar that he would be an NBA All star.

 

[2 skerz 3_rivals208847]

His uncles tweets yesterday were hilarious. To me, this is what society seems to be trending towards. Meaning, when your back is against the wall and you aren't given what you want. Leave and go somewhere else instead of working your tail off and sticking it out through the rough times. Quinn Cook is the perfect example of this.

Oh well, Duke will move on and still be there. Wish DT the best where ever he lands.

Can you post the tweets?

 

[df64]

Well, at least he would have had a chance next year with Duke. As a transfer, he will be sitting out and not creating for anyone or running any high pick and rolls. It is kind of ironic. If he was indeed ready to be the man next year, he would have had the perfect opportunity to showcase it on the biggest stage with the perfect cast to do it with if he stayed. If he wasn't completely ready, his point is kind of moot. At least he would have gotten the work to enable him to do it the following year, and the next, with another probable great cast(s). This year was already gone. Next year, he just nixed. He was unwilling to wait/prove himself, so he forced himself to wait with no chance to prove it next year.

 

[dadecodevil]

Two things, I heard that DT was personally very conflicted on leaving, and that the kid loves Duke and his teammates for what it's worth. This decision was made for him. 2., if he lands at Southern Cal, does his family really think he will get the coaching and media coverage that it will take to get to the next level? Who will his teammates be, and how is it better to get 10 more minutes a game on a NIT team? If anyone watched Oakland this year, they had a guard that was dropping 30on people including Sparty. That kid is the real deal, gets no press, and is probably headed to Europe.

 

[dbav]

This decision was made for him.

If this is truly the case, then I genuinely feel bad for the kid.