just felt there was not enough DUKE or K handwringing threads. Hopefully, we can get at least half of the first page full of them.
DUKE
- Thread starter Blueaz
- Start date
It's similar to Alabama football cowering in fear because Ohio State landed a top 5 prospect. I just don't get it.
I think the handwringing is over way more than Duke landing a top 5 player. I think fans get angry and worry because they know that on top of signing an incredible class, Duke will have every other advantage that other schools don't. Favorable draw in the tourney, the media, officials, Coach K effect, etc etc.
Most of us feel like even when we sign a superior class to Duke that it's still damn hard to beat them or outperform them because of all their other built-in advantages. Duke > UK right now. There's no such thing as a "Higgins" getting in the way in Duke's world. They will truly be the favorite year in and year out.
Are you ever going to stop? Or just seeing how far you can push before you have to change usernames again?
Duke didn't seem > UK last year, while they spent all season sputtering towards a second round exit.
Truth is, the Duke hype makes it that much more enjoyable when they blow it. Except for guys like you.
When presented in this way, I agree. Duke gets fluff and biased, but let's not act like Duke always strolls through their region. Last year they were as talented as anyone and couldn't get by a 7 seed.
The point others are trying to make is we are Kentucky. We win 25+ games most seasons and have a top 2 recruiting class year after year. We are in contention for a title every year. The tough regions, the media slurping of Duke, the Higgins getting in the way... that's sadly just the way it is. I don't like it anymore than you do, but what can you do?
I obviously enjoy this board, or I wouldn't spend so much time here, but the trolls make it nearly unbearable.
Newsflash: every good thing that happens to Duke does not equal Duke > Kentucky. That isn't how the real world works.
Duke will sign some players (so will we). Duke will hit some jumpers (so will we). Duke will win some games (so will we).
Because Duke JUST signed a player, or JUST hit a jumper, or JUST won a game...that doesn't mean they passed us.
Seriously folks. This is getting as bad as the game threads. And I know a lot of it is trolls (still don't understand why they get free run), but we have some good fans freaking out too.
In September.
September.
Nothing has happened. Duke just got Reddish. Just like they got Tatum. And Ingram. And Parker. This isn't news.
And for the record, nothing significant happened due to those signings.
Tatum, Ingram, and Parker won a grand total of 3 NCAA tournament games. What did we actually play those guys? One time? Beat the pants off of em.
Calm down.
Newsflash: every good thing that happens to Duke does not equal Duke > Kentucky. That isn't how the real world works.
Duke will sign some players (so will we). Duke will hit some jumpers (so will we). Duke will win some games (so will we).
Because Duke JUST signed a player, or JUST hit a jumper, or JUST won a game...that doesn't mean they passed us.
Seriously folks. This is getting as bad as the game threads. And I know a lot of it is trolls (still don't understand why they get free run), but we have some good fans freaking out too.
In September.
September.
Nothing has happened. Duke just got Reddish. Just like they got Tatum. And Ingram. And Parker. This isn't news.
And for the record, nothing significant happened due to those signings.
Tatum, Ingram, and Parker won a grand total of 3 NCAA tournament games. What did we actually play those guys? One time? Beat the pants off of em.
Calm down.
The guy represents those UK fans you speak of. Pretty easy to figure out the rest.
The bottom line is pretty simple:
Duke will never be Kentucky. We have decades of history and tradition, way better facilities, bigger fan base, more successful alumni, and best them in every statistical category. Why would any Kentucky fan belittle themselves to the envy of Duke?
Let Duke envy us and North Carolina can envy Duke and their fans jumping around in a High School gym like a pack of pansies.
We are UK and we're better than that. If anyone cannot shoulder the weight in support of the greatest program of all time, go bounce around with the pussies in Durham.
Duke will never be Kentucky. We have decades of history and tradition, way better facilities, bigger fan base, more successful alumni, and best them in every statistical category. Why would any Kentucky fan belittle themselves to the envy of Duke?
Let Duke envy us and North Carolina can envy Duke and their fans jumping around in a High School gym like a pack of pansies.
We are UK and we're better than that. If anyone cannot shoulder the weight in support of the greatest program of all time, go bounce around with the pussies in Durham.
There was a big shift in 2014 for them: They started really gunning for 5* players and not just the pretty-good student athletes they got earlier this century. Pre-2014 and their classes were pretty "meh". They went from guys like Singler and Smith, classes having only one 5*.. to classes with three or four.
Doesn't mean they win the tournament. They'd only won it once since 2013, and otherwise have flamed out. But saying "they've always recruited at this level" is false. Coach K is all in on the 1AD model it seems. So while it makes them dangerous at times, it also makes them ripe for the picking. Coach K butt-fumbled last season with young talent, and his team only got younger.
All this means is that there's another big player going for the 25 or so 5*'s every year.
http://www.espn.com/colleges/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/150/class/2013
Doesn't mean they win the tournament. They'd only won it once since 2013, and otherwise have flamed out. But saying "they've always recruited at this level" is false. Coach K is all in on the 1AD model it seems. So while it makes them dangerous at times, it also makes them ripe for the picking. Coach K butt-fumbled last season with young talent, and his team only got younger.
All this means is that there's another big player going for the 25 or so 5*'s every year.
http://www.espn.com/colleges/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/150/class/2013
Duke's class rankings since Calipari came on board in 2009 (According to ESPN, who is of course biased in their later rankings as we know):
2009: 9th
2010: 6th
2011: 2nd
2012: 12th
2013: 15th
--------------------
2014: 1st
2015: 1st
2016: 2nd
2017: 1st
2018: 1st (so far)
Means nothing until March. But you can't look at that and say "ehh, I don't see any difference"...
2009: 9th
2010: 6th
2011: 2nd
2012: 12th
2013: 15th
--------------------
2014: 1st
2015: 1st
2016: 2nd
2017: 1st
2018: 1st (so far)
Means nothing until March. But you can't look at that and say "ehh, I don't see any difference"...
Only won it once since 2013? Hell thats only 4 years. That's pretty damn good, what are you talking about?
They won that title with a lot of help, though. But that raises caution for me. Duke will continue to get help as long as K is there. And now they are adding truly elite talent. I can't imagine how silly good Kentucky would have been over the past 8 years if we got that treatment.. You're probably talking titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015.. And then 2016 and 2017 probably long runs as well. Let's say they slip up here and there.. I don't see how we don't have 3-4 titles and 7 final fours since Cal has been here.
That's what is so scary about Duke right now. Year in and year out, regardless of how talented their team is, they will always get favorable treatment that gives them a chance. Now combine that treatment with tons of talent and look out.
Well, let's see. Coach K has proven to be a pretty weak players coach. It's hard to say where he's at with 1AD.. You could argue that he has 1 title, and is a healthy Giles away from another deep run.. or it could go the other way.. that 2015 team could have very easily gone home early, had they played anyone decent, because as it turns out, Jones/Okafor/Winslow really aren't as good as we thought.
Still, more often than not, Coach K fails with 1AD talent, and fails pretty bad. This will be his youngest team yet this season, and even more so next. Allen had issues, guys like Jackson and Thornton and Sulaimon wanted out (Cal has yet to have a single player call it quits aside from a playing time issue)..
Still, more often than not, Coach K fails with 1AD talent, and fails pretty bad. This will be his youngest team yet this season, and even more so next. Allen had issues, guys like Jackson and Thornton and Sulaimon wanted out (Cal has yet to have a single player call it quits aside from a playing time issue)..
People keep listing Duke as number 1 in 2015, but our Skal/Murray class outranked them. Maybe not with ESPN, since they didn't count Murray.
I really question these kids and their handlers for not doing their homework.
Just look at the net worth of Cal's players over the last decade, and compare to Coach K's. If you look at all of that, how can you pick Duke over UK?
Cal is killing K, when it comes to preparing guys to not just get drafted, but to be successful in the NBA in the long term.
Now I know why Bagley chose Duke. That's the only way he gets eligible this season.
Some of the others are head scratchers.
Just look at the net worth of Cal's players over the last decade, and compare to Coach K's. If you look at all of that, how can you pick Duke over UK?
Cal is killing K, when it comes to preparing guys to not just get drafted, but to be successful in the NBA in the long term.
Now I know why Bagley chose Duke. That's the only way he gets eligible this season.
Some of the others are head scratchers.
Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke Duke
I posed the same question in another thread.
Our fans boast all the time about how Cal truly cares about the players (and I believe he does) but evidently it doesn't mean the same to some big time recruits as it does others.
Maybe so. They still didn't play anyone up to that point. I heard that Dekker played hurt in that regular season game. Not sure if true, though.
Why didn't Irving stay multiple years? Irving ? Will bagz stay multiple years? Duval? Reddish ? They prolly will... maybe?
I totally see your line of thinking though. I was discussing this very thing with 19 of my friends today and we all came to the conclusion that if
Knight
Davis
Towns
Randle
Bledsoe
Wall
Cousins
Fox
Monk
Bam
And a few others .... had they gone to Duke they 100% would have stayed at LEAST 2 years . At LEAST. Like at the very very least. Coach K just had that spark about him that makes recruits/ NBA easy players to stay multiple seasons.
I can only help cal learns the secret soon. One can hope right ?
Youve made an *Excellent* point man. Definitely something others round' here should ponder
And yet we continue to outperform them on the court, year in and year out.
Duke ESPN/Scout's Class Rankings:
2014: #1/#1
2015: #1/#2
2016: #2/#1
2017: #1/#2
UK ESPN/Scout Class Rankings:
2014: #2/#2
2015: #2/#1
2016: #1/#2
2017: #2/#1
Kentucky and Duke have pretty much split every year according to the 2 main recruiting services. The only year where Duke was #1 on both was Scout and that was because both services ranked KAT around #9 (lol). Also, despite the fact that Duke has supposedly been even with UK over the past 4 recruiting classes, there isn't a one of their classes I would take over ours (I feel like I'm being objective saying that). UK's pros are also vastly out performing Duke's to this point, so either that shows that there is a bias when it comes to ranking Duke recruits, or Calipari is just a much better at evaluating talent.
We have all of this about Duke, Coach K, and recruiting that it makes me feel like I am on Duke's Rival Basketball forum. Just because of the Marvin Bagley and the Reddish commit it seems like once again most of our fans are in Panic Mode again. We have to remember that we were loaded with Knox, Diallo, Vanderbilt, PJ Washington, Green, Alexander, Gabriel, SKJ, Green, etc. to have Bagley pick UK and most fans and experts favored Reddish to Duke so I don't understand why fans are surprised on his commit to Duke. The Kevin Knox upset when 90% of the Fans and Experts that had Knox to Duke probably sealed the deal with Bagley to Duke over UK. If Knox had went to Duke this might had been a Bagley commit to UK instead of Duke. We just don't know for sure but we do know at the time Bagley decided to Reclassify we knew with our Commits for 2017 and then adding a huge commit in Knox when most thought he was headed to Duke we knew it would be hard to get Bagley to UK with who we have currently with our 2017 commits to add with Gabriel and SKJ. Then most experts and fans have said all along that Reddish was heavy lean to Duke over UK. Most of the experts have been saying that UK would get Quickley, Williamson, and maybe Barrett since he reclassified to 2018, to go with maybe Keldon Johnson and Canada's Shittu. That would be an outstanding class for next year and probably another #1 recruiting class. I just don't understand each year we go through this with our fans with our recruiting when we know that in 8 years Coach Cal had the #1 or #2 recruiting class. Duke like UK will always get there share of 5* players just like we do each year. I really don't see why our fans would even get upset with our recruiting when in the end Coach Cal will bring in the #1 or #2 Recruiting Class each year.
My only interest in the whole thing:
These mutual targets that are signing with Duke---do they not remember Krzyzewski's whole mouthing off / lying / crying / more lying fiasco over Dillon Brooks?
Maybe they just never heard of it. Maybe they have no idea about that side of K. Even though it was only last year. So maybe they never heard about that, and they're getting played by that slime, and I feel sorry for them.
But if they did hear about it.....
And if they want to play for that douchebag anyway........
Phukk em.
It's no loss.
It's not sour grapes, either.
I honestly have less than zero interest ever winning even one game with the help of a kid that could be attracted to that type of personality.
K may be doing us a favor, weeding them out.
Consider it.
These mutual targets that are signing with Duke---do they not remember Krzyzewski's whole mouthing off / lying / crying / more lying fiasco over Dillon Brooks?
Maybe they just never heard of it. Maybe they have no idea about that side of K. Even though it was only last year. So maybe they never heard about that, and they're getting played by that slime, and I feel sorry for them.
But if they did hear about it.....
And if they want to play for that douchebag anyway........
Phukk em.
It's no loss.
It's not sour grapes, either.
I honestly have less than zero interest ever winning even one game with the help of a kid that could be attracted to that type of personality.
K may be doing us a favor, weeding them out.
Consider it.
Yeap. Notre Dame beat Duke twice that year. The team we had to beat to even play Wisconsin. Funny how Duke was on the opposite side of the bracket.