DJ can definitely play in the NBA. But with Cook, he was already and very good passer and shooter going in. I don't think most deny he can, just not for awhile, and he could be staying at Duke to develop and get a degree, so he has something to fall back on.
DJ Steward
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I mean he admitted he was. I'll have to find the article but he and Popovich talk about it took him a few years to really try on that end.
Popovich is talking about a player on a different team? We are talking about Jayson Tatum, right?
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That article says nothing about his defense at Duke. You barely have anyone that tries on defense in the NBA. Look at Zion in the NBA. He rarely plays defense but at Duke I remember seeing him switching on guards and blocking shots everywhere
My hope for the future? Every time a human being makes a significant personal decision, it will be announced on the internet so people can chime in with their personal “insights” and pass judgement on the decision maker. That would be awesome.
While I understand there’s a lot of pressure for these guys to perform , it’s hard to see them as victims when 99 % of kids their ages would trade places with them in a heartbeat. Work is a 16 hour shift at the hospital or painting houses for 10 hours until your arm falls off. Don’t insult people who actually work for a living by calling basketball work
Been waiting for some one to say this. Your spot on KD. Let half these kids get on a shovel or masonary and they will be in class at six a.m. every morning asking coaches for their next drill.
I dont blame him for leaving, why play another year in college take a chance getting hurt. Even if he goes to g league he will get paid.
So do only people who do manual labor jobs work?
I think he’s speaking in general more of physical work in general rather then the mental work. Most 18-21 years old don’t hold down a IT job or manager job .
To be fair playing for Duke must be a lot of pressure. This board goes into meltdown mode if we have a sub par season.
This board goes into meltdown if we have a subpar possession
And 98% of them would have no idea how hard these guys work to be successful.
This is so true. The amount of bitching in the game threads after a single turnover ia hilarious.
A 16 hour shift at the hospital can encompass a lot of different things, but I should know better at this point to say anything critical of y’all’s lil darlings
I join y’all on the bender but I am just a lightweight that you can only count on me for an hour or so just like our players
So by your account 98% don’t attempt to work hard and attempt to be successful? Only the 64 in the draft ?
Come on. That is not remotely what I said. I was talking about KD's comment about how many kids would trade places with current college basketball players. What I meant is that THOSE jealous kids have no clue how hard players at a high major D1 program have to work to get to the point to be recruited by that school and to see the floor. I was reacting to KD's suggestion that these athletes just get too have a fun time and don't work, or don't work sufficiently for their efforts to be considered and recognized. A number of kids who have come through the Duke program have talked about how they had no idea how much was expected of them once they got to Duke.
I dont think anyone disagrees with the value of 16/hr Hospital shifts etc and the concept that they are underappreciated and underpaid in relation to other fields.
That doesnt lessen the argument that athletes work really hard and sacrifice a lot too. Just because they play a game that we love and get lots of perks that we would love too, doesnt mean they don't work hard sacrifice a lot.
Look at JJ. Even with his talent, which was finely honed from countess hours of shooting all by himself before college, and his high level of success his 1st 2 years at Duke, he totally doubles down, worked even harder and completely changed his diet to become the star he is. Diet, sleep, workouts all before stepping on the court. The harrassment from opposing fans. The character attacks from even being in a room where someone may have been smoking pot. Lot of people in a lot of fields, with a lot of fame, power, money, etc who don't have to make those kinds of sacrifices.
In the end, it is all relative and most of us are more familiar with the sacrifices we make and the lack of credit we get than those in other fields. Human nature.
That doesnt lessen the argument that athletes work really hard and sacrifice a lot too. Just because they play a game that we love and get lots of perks that we would love too, doesnt mean they don't work hard sacrifice a lot.
Look at JJ. Even with his talent, which was finely honed from countess hours of shooting all by himself before college, and his high level of success his 1st 2 years at Duke, he totally doubles down, worked even harder and completely changed his diet to become the star he is. Diet, sleep, workouts all before stepping on the court. The harrassment from opposing fans. The character attacks from even being in a room where someone may have been smoking pot. Lot of people in a lot of fields, with a lot of fame, power, money, etc who don't have to make those kinds of sacrifices.
In the end, it is all relative and most of us are more familiar with the sacrifices we make and the lack of credit we get than those in other fields. Human nature.
Why are you a Duke fan? You obviously hate this coaching staff. This year, it became pretty apparent chemistry was the problem. Duke was a different team when JJ left. We were 6-3 to end the season with road losses to 2 NCAA tournament teams and an OT loss to the first team out. Besides 4 minutes in the Louisville game, we looked far and away the best team at the ACC Tournament. Not to mention, we had what, 5 games cancelled because of COVID? This team could have been entirely different...
As for 2019, we judged that team on what we did against Kentucky and that was far and away the perfect storm. Duke struggled against experienced, old teams. And in the end, chemistry on court never materialized due to injuries. If Zion does not get hurt, I think Duke rolls. But everytime we clicked, injury happened. Look, we were dominating Syracuse until Jones got hurt.
To be fair, if someone paid me that to play basketball then I’d be all over it.
But the majority of the players that your referring to that came through Duke stayed longer then a year. I mean in all fairness they signed a LOI which in given the terms of their scholarship and the talkings they had with coaches and earlier members of the team I’m pretty sure they had a good idea .
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I was talking about the kids that don’t play college ball and used the Duke kids to support the idea that being a D1 athlete is harder than most people realize. I don’t know why you keeping trying to twist what I am saying.
Yes this coaching staff has been terrible as of late. Like I said before there’s no way Zion shouldn’t have been a champion. Even Calipari couldn’t mess up AD but somehow we can’t make the title game with TWO NPOYs on one team. That’s poor coaching. In 2019 we beat the eventual champions twice so it’s false that we struggled with experienced teams.
this year our staff looked disinterested. We cancelled games. They weren’t cancelled because of positive tests. They were cancelled because K didn’t want to play this year period. They weren’t locked in this year. Too many times he came into post game interviews saying they weren’t prepared. And as far as the team, we played a terrible style for the team we had. You can tell we didn’t care about defense based on the lineups out there. No way Hurt should’ve played more than a few minutes at the 5. Then we had our top recruit who was primarily a point guard coming in playing on the block. Coach K had no idea what to do with Jalen skill set because he never had anyone like that before. Jalen played point guard for Team USA and excelled
Every time Jalen got on the break and took the ball down, he was stripped. He did not show that he could play pg and K had other guard options. The fact that Jalen could play point before he got to college was beside the point. As far as playing the 5, Jalen played well against lesser teams but did not show when the competition got better. Hard to have him on the court when he was not playing well.
In coach k’s defense (I’m sure he’s grateful) injuries derailed team chemistry, Barrett was too alpha at times and held the ball too long, and cam was wildly inconsistent shooting the three most of the year. Given all that an nc was not gonna happen
I just wasn’t suggesting high level athletes don’t bust their *** or make sacrifices I just feel that a factory job or construction job is a different animal given the hours, the soul crushing tedium involved, and the fact that they don’t get you a free ride to college and help you get laid.
I guess I don’t understand this argument. There is almost always someone out there who has it worse than any of us. That doesn’t mean we should all keep our mouths shut . There is an inequity in college basketball and there is no reason why the kids should not push for a realignment that is more in their favor. They are the ones putting their bodies on the line and risking career ending injuries.
Good post, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. My angle is trying to improve the situation is positive but there’s a line that’s crossed at sone point where athletes seem to be saying they’re being exploited. I’ve heard all of these arguments before who hasn’t. I just feel playing is a privelege not a right and has given many of them from underprivileged backgrounds the opportunity to attend world class universities they would not have otherwise have
I see both sides of the equation here. Personally, I lean more towards the letting them have NIL and not paying them a salary. I can't begin to figure out how you would afford to pay athletes in college. I believe most athletics are funded with what is made in the major sports. You would see smaller schools struggle to keep their programs afloat with salaries being given to players. Also, how much do we pay? They're definitely exploited, no one can deny that. I just don't see how we pay all athletes across collegiate sports.
True How would you figure out who gets what? Most sports lose money so would these athletes get paid? Would the walk on punter get as much as the star quarterback? If someone gets hurt and loses a year would they still get paid? Talk about Pandora’s box
Agreed. Not sure how to make this work. I do think NIL is the way to go. Paying players just doesn't seem logical across the board. Great point about the walk on punter and star QB. Look at Alabama or Clemson comparatively, how will they decide what to pay these guys? Do the big time programs pay their guys more because they have more revenue? Smaller division one programs can't afford a base salary for their players in the major sports, much less others like baseball, soccer, tennis, etc. I just think we will be going down a road that further ruins major collegiate sports. Ultimately, the Loyola Chicago's of the world will be the ones to suffer the most.