Has anyone been to Duke’s campus?

[WildcatsAndBourbon]

Is Duke’s campus exactly what you would expect it to be?

I just looked through the Cooper Flagg post a bit and most everyone seems pretty certain that if he goes to college, it’ll be Duke.

I didn’t come from top 5% wealth or really anything like that, but I’m white, my family was in decent financial shape. I excelled in academics. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but I was a pretty solid fencer until the program fell apart. I’m getting off track…

I started college at CCU and ended at UK and can honestly say that as much as I love Kentucky sports; I hated every minute of attending classes at UK. Classes too large, campus too large, buildings very hit or miss, teachers definitely hit or miss. The point is, coming from a somewhat privileged, white background with emphasis on academics…if I have the choice to go to UK for free or Duke for free…I’m going to Duke. I think that’s a reality we have to accept as UK sports fans.

 

[Fox2monk]

Is Duke’s campus exactly what you would expect it to be?

I just looked through the Cooper Flagg post a bit and most everyone seems pretty certain that if he goes to college, it’ll be Duke.

I didn’t come from top 5% wealth or really anything like that, but I’m white, my family was in decent financial shape. I excelled in academics. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but I was a pretty solid fencer until the program fell apart. I’m getting off track…

I started college at CCU and ended at UK and can honestly say that as much as I love Kentucky sports; I hated every minute of attending classes at UK. Classes too large, campus too large, buildings very hit or miss, teachers definitely hit or miss. The point is, coming from a somewhat privileged, white background with emphasis on academics…if I have the choice to go to UK for free or Duke for free…I’m going to Duke. I think that’s a reality we have to accept as UK sports fans.

You don’t think Duke’s campus is large? I don’t understand the point of this post. You sound more sad that you didn’t get to go to White Privilege U.

 

[WeWant9]

Yeah, I’m sure his one year of college will be filled with rigorous classes that really push him. I like how Duke fans try to act like being a ond there is any different than any other school.

 

[notelvis]

Duke would be difficult to turn down if you were the upper middle class private academy educated most likely white kid. The campus is more collegiate than anything UK can offer. And NOW....... students from North Carolina who's parents earn less than $150,000 per year can get a tuition waiver and attend Duke for no tuition charge.

The catch is that in all of North Carolina there might be a half-dozen kids who's parents earn less than $150,000 per year and kids who posess the academic credentials to be accepted at Duke.

Disclaimer 1) The acceptance standards are different if you are a top prospect athlete.

Disclaimer 2) I am a retired high school counselor. In 29 years working at three different high schools in this state, I NEVER had one of my students accepted at Duke. Not one time. Chapel Hill - yes. UK - yes. UT - yes. Notre Dame - yes. Penn - yes. Clemson - yes. South Carolina - yes. MIT - yes. Yale - yes. Southern California - yes. Arizona State - yes. Wake Forest - yes. Georgia Tech - yes. Many others - yes.

But not a single one at Duke.

 

[WildcatsAndBourbon]

Duke is less than half the size of UK. And the student body is, well, a little more, umm, focused and capable. There are more connections to be made. And no, not sad I didn’t go to Duke. I didn’t apply. I was looking for a solid marine science program at the time. Needed to be on the coast. Ended up back at UK after Coastal because I was love sick. Didn’t really like much of the student body at CCU either, because outside of the marine science programs, it was mostly a party school for New England (Boston, NYC, New Joisy) frat types. But I did love the school itself.

I don’t really care if I come off as condescending for the sake of this post;. I’m not that person as a whole, but in this context, yea…I totally understand why upper class, white recruits end up a Duke. Vandy could probably accomplish the same thing if they would put more resources into athletics.

 

[Padsfs07]

Duke has a beautiful campus, but there is zero chance that has anything to do with Flaggs college decision.

 

[drawing_dead]

i live here, in the belly of the beast.

the campus is nice enough, but the enrollment is very small relative to UK.

Krewshahooskie ville is a joke now. just a bunch of empty tents.

 

[flacat22]

I’ve been, beautiful campus it not one where I’d see any kid swayed by it alone.

 

[UK90]

if I have the choice to go to UK for free or Duke for free…I’m going to Duke.

This makes sense if your goal is to get an actual degree and pursue a normal entry-level job in the real world.

But I don't see why it should make a damn bit of difference if you're a basketball player who's just planning on making a brief pit stop there before entering the pros. Which is what nearly all the top recruits are nowadays.

 

[jwhkchawk]

When I went through the college search (ended up at Vandy) i had been accepted to both UNC and Duke and went on tours of each campus. UNC is fairly nice and chapel hill is calm but still has a college town vibe.

Durham is a trash heap but the campus is pretty. The actual thing that swayed my decision to vandy was that Cameron Indoor was a high school gym dropped inside a church. Obviously historic and cool, but as a Jayhawk fan it was nauseating listing to the “best home court advantage and best basketball history schpeal they gave to all the touring students. I feel like y’all would feel the same way.

I don’t think Durham is where I personally would want to spend my 1 college year if I’m Flagg because he would be the center of attention anywhere and there’s a lot more fun places to live.

But for the future, Duke and it’s dumbass “brotherhood” and east coast media love may be the best path to a big Nike deal and a lucrative career after hoops if needed just based on school name alone. That’s something UK and KU offer less that some parents may consider even if their kid will be making $50mil a year playing hoops haha.

 

[BBNinSC]

Duke would be difficult to turn down if you were the upper middle class private academy educated most likely white kid. The campus is more collegiate than anything UK can offer. And NOW....... students from North Carolina who's parents earn less than $150,000 per year can get a tuition waiver and attend Duke for no tuition charge.

The catch is that in all of North Carolina there might be a half-dozen kids who's parents earn less than $150,000 per year and kids who posess the academic credentials to be accepted at Duke.

Disclaimer 1) The acceptance standards are different if you are a top prospect athlete.

Disclaimer 2) I am a retired high school counselor. In 29 years working at three different high schools in this state, I NEVER had one of my students accepted at Duke. Not one time. Chapel Hill - yes. UK - yes. UT - yes. Notre Dame - yes. Penn - yes. Clemson - yes. South Carolina - yes. MIT - yes. Yale - yes. Southern California - yes. Arizona State - yes. Wake Forest - yes. Georgia Tech - yes. Many others - yes.

But not a single one at Duke.

I can't believe that the admission requirements are greater at Duke than MIT, Yale, or even Georgia Tech.

If I picked a college by the physical campus, I'd go to Pepperdine or Stanford

 

[howitis]

what does you being white and a fencer have to do with anything? is this a meme post? you sound weird as ****. to your point. UK and state schools and many private schools have large classes for eng 101, chem 101 and other bull shit classes that exist because they know your high school work was probably terrible and you need to be brought up to speed. once you move on to classes that actually have to do with your major the classes aren't large. I highly doubt you are going to get a small class size for math 109, some BS college algebra course at duke.

 

[NC Weasel]

Used to live over there. Both Duke & UNC have nice campus buildings. Duke was intentionally made to have an Ivy League look to it. Although both the football & basketball facilities also look like Ivy League facilities which is disgraceful when they accept ACC level conference money but refuse to invest in making those facilities on par with the rest of their conference. A few years ago the ACC forced Duke to upgrade the football stadium, but its still not Power 5 worthy, not even close.

Frankly UNC has the campus and facilities one would expect from a rich, private school with successful sports programs. But they are a state school, with an inflated sense of entitlement.. Go figure.

 

[MissingWCC]

Is Duke’s campus exactly what you would expect it to be?

I just looked through the Cooper Flagg post a bit and most everyone seems pretty certain that if he goes to college, it’ll be Duke.

I didn’t come from top 5% wealth or really anything like that, but I’m white, my family was in decent financial shape. I excelled in academics. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but I was a pretty solid fencer until the program fell apart. I’m getting off track…

I started college at CCU and ended at UK and can honestly say that as much as I love Kentucky sports; I hated every minute of attending classes at UK. Classes too large, campus too large, buildings very hit or miss, teachers definitely hit or miss. The point is, coming from a somewhat privileged, white background with emphasis on academics…if I have the choice to go to UK for free or Duke for free…I’m going to Duke. I think that’s a reality we have to accept as UK sports fans.

The campus is very nice. I don't know anything about their academics but their transplant team is top notch. UK is not even close.

 

[JohnnyWalker]

I've been to UNC and Duke's campus, and I think UNC's is actually superior to Duke's. Also, the town of Chapel Hill is nicer than Durham. Honestly, I don't feel Duke's campus is superior to most of the campuses I have visited. The thing is, kid's don't commit to Duke (or anywhere else, for that matter) because of the campus. Kids will always be attracted to Duke because of the massive lift from ESPN and Nike.

 

[mebeblue2]

Ole Miss has a beautiful campus, so i am not really sure of the point of this thread

 

[WildcatsAndBourbon]

what does you being white and a fencer have to do with anything? is this a meme post? you sound weird as ****. to your point. UK and state schools and many private schools have large classes for eng 101, chem 101 and other bull shit classes that exist because they know your high school work was probably terrible and you need to be brought up to speed. once you move on to classes that actually have to do with your major the classes aren't large. I highly doubt you are going to get a small class size for math 109, some BS college algebra course at duke.

Because I was sprinkling in some of the mindset of the demographic. Fencing is a sport that you would associate with uppity people. And the white part…I mean that’s always a central talking point on this board when it comes to recruits that end up at Duke. I kind of feel the need to clear something up here in defense of myself. Despite my inherently gifted brain, and my cushier childhood, I didn’t succeed in life by American standards. My family had a ton of intelligence on both sides, but also a ton of significant mental health issues. I completely went off the rails in my 20s and have spent most of the last decade+ struggling both financially and with overall well being. On top of that, most of my family roots are from the hollers of Eastern Kentucky and the tobacco and cattle farms of Central, Kentucky. My favorite people are smart hillbillies and that’s usually who I find myself around the most (I don’t consider hillbilly to be a derogatory term, but a way of life). The original post was only to illustrate the mindset of well off white kids and why they are more likely to end up at Duke than UK if all other things are held equal. Once upon a time, my parents were considering enrolling me at Sayre. Duke vs UK is kinda like Sayre vs say, Bourbon County HS. Going to Sayre carries prestige. As long as you don’t totally F up…the connections you can make there and being able to put Sayre School on college applications will open a lot of doors.

 

[DreadLox]

Ole Miss has a beautiful campus, so i am not really sure of the point of this thread

Friends of ours lived in Oxford, and it's our regret that we didn't get down there until they were closing up their house to move. Oxford is what you imagine a Southern college town to be. The big square. The quaint houses. Everybody knows everybody else's business. Menus have local dishes with local color names. We really enjoyed it.

We drove past the Duke campus. I have no memory of why we were in Durham. It's an island of privilege surrounded by much less prosperous neighbors. We didn't drive through but the campus we saw had a high wall by the highway. I've seen enough campus gothic to last a lifetime so we weren't even tempted.

 

[SDC888]

I have.

If I'm a pro basketball prospect, my concern is who will better prepare me, not who has the best Sociology 101 class.

 

[sammysdad05]

He’s going to Duke, pretty simple. As others mentioned, east coast media push and the fact that they’re Nikes big school are the 2 biggest reasons. Has nothing to do with what type of campus they have or how nice his Economics 101 classroom will be. Nike will push him there and then offer to market the hell out of him for going there. ESPN will promote him the heaviest there. It’s a business decision. Now we would all say that business is better under cal with all his draft picks, etc. But some kids fall for the Nike pitch and the extra media attention you get a push from at Duke. Plus look at Flagg. If I just showed you his photo and you didn’t know who he was, guarantee you’d still say he’s probably a Duke player.

 

[WildcatsAndBourbon]

Last thought from me on this post. At CCU, my largest class, even at Freshman entry level was around 50, most were 20-30. Smallest was about 10 students. At UK, even at Junior and Senior level within the major, it was rare to have a class with less than 50. My largest was around 300 and there were several with 100+. At CCU I didn’t have one professor with less than a masters. At UK, I mostly only ever had TAs teaching classes.

 

[BlueBlackNWhite]

I don't think how beautiful a college campus is factors into the decision for a D1 college basketball player, much less a D1 player who will be there for 1 year.

What I do think factors in: at Duke, along with UK, Kansas, and UNC (these are probably the top 4) you will get the most nationally televised games, and you will play in the most sold-out arenas.
What I think separates Duke from the pack is the connections you will gain and the life after basketball that you will be set up for. The commissioner of the NBA went to Duke. The GM of the Golden State Warriors went to Duke. Countless other high-up front office positions have Duke players. This is all before even getting into the many TV personalities that played basketball at Duke.
On top of all that, Nike pushing kids to Duke definitely doesn't hurt.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

UNC's is just as pretty, and you don't even have to go to class to become an academic all-american. That'd be my choice.

 

[davekersey]

Don't count out UConn for flagg.

 

[JonathanW]

Is Duke’s campus exactly what you would expect it to be?

I just looked through the Cooper Flagg post a bit and most everyone seems pretty certain that if he goes to college, it’ll be Duke.

I didn’t come from top 5% wealth or really anything like that, but I’m white, my family was in decent financial shape. I excelled in academics. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but I was a pretty solid fencer until the program fell apart. I’m getting off track…

I started college at CCU and ended at UK and can honestly say that as much as I love Kentucky sports; I hated every minute of attending classes at UK. Classes too large, campus too large, buildings very hit or miss, teachers definitely hit or miss. The point is, coming from a somewhat privileged, white background with emphasis on academics…if I have the choice to go to UK for free or Duke for free…I’m going to Duke. I think that’s a reality we have to accept as UK sports fans.

I've been to Duke's campus many times. Played their golf course many times also. Beautiful campus. And huge considering only 10K students. Durham on the other hand.... well it's gotten much better the past 10 years or so, but it used to be a shit-hole. There are still bad parts, more than most places, but everywhere has some bad parts.

But when you are looking at the top 20 (maybe top 40) basketball players every recruiting year, most of them are not going to complete their degree, they are instead using college as a minor-league path to the NBA. And there is nothing wrong with that. Look at Brandon Knight for UK, HS Valedictorian, but still was OAD. Will be the same for Flagg.

 

[drew_ukfan]

I have not been, I don’t want to see frat boys and ugly chicks

 

[SemperFiCat]

I'll come right out and say it plainly... Duke will do whatever it takes to get the elite white kid from any class. It's part of their program's DNA. Make of that what you will.

 

[notelvis]

I can't believe that the admission requirements are greater at Duke than MIT, Yale, or even Georgia Tech.

If I picked a college by the physical campus, I'd go to Pepperdine or Stanford

Fewer spots available in each incoming class at Duke and as many or more highly qualified applicants. Even the brightest kids in a generation coming out of a small rural, public high school have little chance of acceptance at Duke.

 

[JonathanW]

I have not been, I don’t want to see frat boys and ugly chicks

Shockingly there are some hot girls at Duke. Not a lot, but some.

 

[Blueheart32]

I've been to Duke's campus many times. Played their golf course many times also. Beautiful campus. And huge considering only 10K students. Durham on the other hand.... well it's gotten much better the past 10 years or so, but it used to be a shit-hole. There are still bad parts, more than most places, but everywhere has some bad parts.

But when you are looking at the top 20 (maybe top 40) basketball players every recruiting year, most of them are not going to complete their degree, they are instead using college as a minor-league path to the NBA. And there is nothing wrong with that. Look at Brandon Knight for UK, HS Valedictorian, but still was OAD. Will be the same for Flagg.

What did you think of the Golf Course?

 

[Blueheart32]

Don't count out UConn for flagg.

Flagg is at Duke today. Kind of an under the radar visit. It seemed to come out of nowhere. We might hear something soon.

 

[UK90]

Last thought from me on this post. At CCU, my largest class, even at Freshman entry level was around 50, most were 20-30. Smallest was about 10 students. At UK, even at Junior and Senior level within the major, it was rare to have a class with less than 50. My largest was around 300 and there were several with 100+. At CCU I didn’t have one professor with less than a masters. At UK, I mostly only ever had TAs teaching classes.

What CCU are you talking about? I’m guessin you probably mean Coastal Carolina … but, you know, that’s not an acronym that’s familiar to folks in the way those of more well known schools are.

And I seriously doubt you had TAs doing the lectures with hundreds of students. As I recall, the TAs only handled smaller groups, never the big ass auditorium ones. Personally, I never got the problem with large classes. You get the same content, books, and material and don't have to listen to the annoying students ask dumb questions nearly as much as you do in smaller classes. The big ole classes were fine by me.

Frankly, you kinda come across as someone who's perhaps a bit bitter that he just didn't do as well at UK as he did at CCU.

 

[NociHTTP]

Duke is less than half the size of UK. And the student body is, well, a little more, umm, focused and capable. There are more connections to be made. And no, not sad I didn’t go to Duke. I didn’t apply. I was looking for a solid marine science program at the time. Needed to be on the coast. Ended up back at UK after Coastal because I was love sick. Didn’t really like much of the student body at CCU either, because outside of the marine science programs, it was mostly a party school for New England (Boston, NYC, New Joisy) frat types. But I did love the school itself.

I don’t really care if I come off as condescending for the sake of this post;. I’m not that person as a whole, but in this context, yea…I totally understand why upper class, white recruits end up a Duke. Vandy could probably accomplish the same thing if they would put more resources into athletics.

I lived in Boston back in 2009, hubby and I visited there twice last autumn. I strongly recommend that anyone who hasn't been to the New England area, that they at least make one visit. Just beautiful in the spring and fall. Whole different culture than Kentucky.

 

[Emarc]

Shockingly there are some hot girls at Duke. Not a lot, but some.

Daddy is rich and momma good lookin.

 

[NociHTTP]

I can't believe that the admission requirements are greater at Duke than MIT, Yale, or even Georgia Tech.

If I picked a college by the physical campus, I'd go to Pepperdine or Stanford

I highly doubt the admission requirements are greater at DUKE than MIT. Requirements at what? MIT is an elite school for the elite of students.

 

[Blueheart32]

I highly doubt the admission requirements are greater at DUKE than MIT. Requirements at what? MIT is an elite school for the elite of students.

Only one school has a lower acceptance rate than MIT

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/lowest-acceptance-rate

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

I've been to Duke's campus twice for events with a good friend who is an alum, it's gorgeous. That whole area of North Carolina is great. (hate to say it, but it's the truth) I Doubt that factors into many of the athletes decisions on where to play, but it sure doesn't hurt.

 

[ukdesi]

So your point is Duke is a more prestigious school than UK? Great thanks for the insight. For the type of basketball players we and they are recruiting, this is a minor factor. For a regular Joe -- a lot of factors go into a college decision-- prestige is one factor and there's probably variation on how heavily it is weighted by any individual. I chose to go to a state school out of high school because that's what I always wanted to do.

Been to Duke's campus many times -- it's nice but I was never overly impressed to be honest.

 

[drew_ukfan]

Shockingly there are some hot girls at Duke. Not a lot, but some.

I used to have a friend that went to Duke when I lived in WV/VA, we had both just graduated. She was okay looking, I met some of her friends, less than stellar. Nice people tho

But then you go to Bama, Clemson, UGA, USC, etc that’s where it’s at

 

[Smashcat]

He’s going to Duke, pretty simple. As others mentioned, east coast media push and the fact that they’re Nikes big school are the 2 biggest reasons.

This.