His best recruiting class ever just enrolled. Bet he gets another year
It’s a fine class if you look at the rankings (35th), but 7 guys and only 1 top 150 player. Mid 50’s in terms of average player ranking. Not sure that’ll be enough to turn it around. We’ll see!
Rivals has it 19th
A composite seems like a better source to look towards (especially with Rivals’ scouting issues), but like I said, we’ll see!
Torvik has Duke down to 29th.
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They may get better at becoming more than their parts - Coach K is obviously one kind of gold standard - but they are simply not that good a team right now. I maintain my initial assessment - they really lack the talent one would associate with any recent vintage Duke teams.
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Curious as to some thoughts on this. Disclaimer…can’t stand K and would love to pile on but I think he is largely right here. I know I made these points earlier in Oct./Nov. but the lack of leadership here is not helping this situation. I still think a May Madness is the best solution at this point to have any semblance of a normal season. I love the distraction of having a CBB season right now but it just does not feel right.
I personally don’t think it’s really fair to judge how it’s going based on the number of games that are cancelled given how cautious most teams and conferences are being. Not to mention that due to all the testing protocols the players are probably safer now than they would be if there was no season and the athletic departments weren’t spending big bucks to keep them safe.
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I think he makes a good point but I also think he is only saying this because his team sucks.
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Yeah, making an assessment on the merits is tough for me when the motivation is so transparently self serving. I’d prefer to have that discussion outside this context.
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Maybe Coach K can just give his team a postseason ban for this year, like Auburn this year and a crappy Louisville team in the past, and pretend that gives him a clean slate. Seems to be the year to try that.
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To be fair, he was clear that his team isn’t very good and recognized that he could be seen as making excuses.
With the understanding that players and coaches aren’t going into lockdown if the season gets cancelled/postponed, is there any evidence that playing puts them at greater risk than they would be otherwise?
If so, I shutting down would be appropriate, but I don’t think anyone thinks that’s the case.
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Bilas had some strong language last night, and I thought it was good.
What did he say? I didn’t see the game.
He called the players essential workers. Fudged on whether they should be actually playing the season or not, but said that doing it right would require a more detailed conversation and strategy than has been applied thus far. Made the point that the decision to play was made a few months back when conditions weren’t quite so infections. Said that the players wanting to play is not sufficient justification for doing so.
I honestly and truly don’t know what to think.
As far as I know, these players have every right to opt out of the season and retain their scholarships. I’m willing to bet the overwhelming majority want to play and are willing to put up with these program pauses and rescheduling games.
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I tend to agree with DeCourcy on this.
There’s no good option, but it doesn’t really make any sense to just take a break at this point. What is that going to gain? You aren’t going to wait out a COVID vaccine, you aren’t going to have fans in buildings in January. Send kids home for two months? Leave less time to get games in for the NCAAT?
It’s not a great situation for anyone but it seems like the best bet is to try to make the most of it.
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Yeah I think the only reasonable options are
- Continue, accept that you will have to cancel games and some won’t be able to be made up.
- Push back the NCAA tournament so that there is extra time to make up games.
- Cancel the whole season and the tournament.
And clearly 3 isn’t considered an option
I like things in steps. If people are uncomfortable then make them wear masks on the court too. Michigan high school soccer played in masks this year. If your fitness level was high and your mask was not super restrictive then it was fine and presumably much safer.
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