Has any other program's "generational talents" epically underachieved as much as Duke's?

[Son_Of_Saul]

Austin Rivers.
Jabari Parker.
Jahlil Okafor.
Harry Giles.
Marvin Bagley, Jr.
R.J. Barrett.
Cam Reddish.
Jalen Johnson.
Marquis Bolden.
Trevon Duval.

About one-third of these guys were considered to be the top guy in their class, and some were labeled as "generational talent" (Okafor, Parker, Bagley, and Barrett). Two of them are completely out of the league, and two others are considered to be guys that GMs don't want to build around (Bagley and Barrett). Even Reddish, a former RSCI #2 recruit (Barrett was #1, just like Bagley the year before) looks like he's going to be a journeyman forward for the rest of his career. Rivers was inexplicably ranked higher than Davis, Beal, and MKG in their respective class, and he's been mostly a bench role player for his entire NBA career.

Duke's had their fair share of elite players who have transitioned well to the pros (Irving, Ingram, Tatum, and now Banchero), but their duds far outnumber their elite players in the league.

I often wonder: is there a mental weakness with players who prefer the pampered sale's job Duke promotes - one of cheesy letterman's jackets, a "set for life" Ivy-league level pretend emphasis on education, and a diva culture that lends itself to lame mantras like "the brotherhood"?

I think there's a certain type of player who selects Duke over a program like Kentucky. They see themselves as separate, but it's also a culture of elitism and entitlement, and that entitlement often comes with coasting throughout their playing careers, feasting off of their raw talent but finding contentment with never engaging their inner junkyard dog. Tatum and a few others are the obvious exceptions, but the general rule for elite Duke recruits is a mentality that is soft as Charmin.

 

[RunninRichie]

Lol Tatum is not an exception. He is a very soft player.

 

[The_Answer1313]

That one year they had Zion was a massive failure lol.

 

[ukcatz12]

That one year they had Zion was a massive failure lol.

It wasn't a massive failure. They lost in the Elite 8 to a 2 seed by one point. That's what happens in the tournament sometimes.

 

[know1]

This is a college forum. If we are talking about under achieving, it should be for their colleges.

And by that measure, they've done ok.

UK, on the other hand, has a bunch of players doing really well in the NBA. What does that say about how they performed in college?

 

[BlueBomb]

Doesn’t matter. K said Dukies are set for like.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

And K continued to steal guys from Cal even though his players rarely are stars. Meanwhile Cal has Davis, Booker, KAT, Wall… etc. etc. I hate Dook and I’m so glad they suck now!

 

[BBUK]

Five ships since 1991... to three, I'd take that... duke u must not be players first...

 

[LineSkiCat14]

This is a college forum. If we are talking about under achieving, it should be for their colleges.

And by that measure, they've done ok.

UK, on the other hand, has a bunch of players doing really well in the NBA. What does that say about how they performed in college?

A lot of the guys SOS mentioned were apart of #1 (#2 at the worst) recruiting classes.. and with them, Duke was regularly seen as a top5 team.. Id say that 2016 to 2020 period where Dukes recruiting was at its peak, largely underperformed. Duke did much better when they mixed lesser recruiting classes with upperclassmen, that's how they won in 2010 and 2015.

As far as our guys playing well in the NBA, I'm not sure that matters much. Almost every single one of them was much better after a few years in the NBA, than their 1 year as a freshman. I mean look at SGA. We only started to unlock his potential in February and he still was a fraction of the player he is now. As we all know, AD was our like 4th leading scorer. AD was great for us, but not nearly as great as he is now.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

It wasn't a massive failure. They lost in the Elite 8 to a 2 seed by one point. That's what happens in the tournament sometimes.

We lost in the E8 game in overtime that same tournament and it’s considered a massive failure by the CHC!!

 

[The_Answer1313]

We lost in the E8 game in overtime that same tournament and it’s considered a massive failure by the CHC!!

Exactly. Given the standards of bluebloods like UK and Duke, that was a failure for them.

People here consider 17 and 19 failures for us and those E8 games came down to one possession. Same applies for Duke then.

 

[JadedCat]

2018 Duke had a myriad of talent that lost to KU in the NCAA and had to be a massive flop. Of course they would have gotten killed by Nova but that had to be a huge miss.

 

[Bank Cat]

Austin Rivers.
Jabari Parker.
Jahlil Okafor.
Harry Giles.
Marvin Bagley, Jr.
R.J. Barrett.
Cam Reddish.
Jalen Johnson.
Marquis Bolden.
Trevon Duval.

About one-third of these guys were considered to be the top guy in their class, and some were labeled as "generational talent" (Okafor, Parker, Bagley, and Barrett). Two of them are completely out of the league, and two others are considered to be guys that GMs don't want to build around (Bagley and Barrett). Even Reddish, a former RSCI #2 recruit (Barrett was #1, just like Bagley the year before) looks like he's going to be a journeyman forward for the rest of his career. Rivers was inexplicably ranked higher than Davis, Beal, and MKG in their respective class, and he's been mostly a bench role player for his entire NBA career.

Duke's had their fair share of elite players who have transitioned well to the pros (Irving, Ingram, Tatum, and now Banchero), but their duds far outnumber their elite players in the league.

I often wonder: is there a mental weakness with players who prefer the pampered sale's job Duke promotes - one of cheesy letterman's jackets, a "set for life" Ivy-league level pretend emphasis on education, and a diva culture that lends itself to lame mantras like "the brotherhood"?

I think there's a certain type of player who selects Duke over a program like Kentucky. They see themselves as separate, but it's also a culture of elitism and entitlement, and that entitlement often comes with coasting throughout their playing careers, feasting off of their raw talent but finding contentment with never engaging their inner junkyard dog. Tatum and a few others are the obvious exceptions, but the general rule for elite Duke recruits is a mentality that is soft as Charmin.

Only one I feel bad for is Giles. He hardly played.

Zion is generational. But he may be done with injuries by 2026. Just a guess.

 

[Bank Cat]

Duke players are the easiest to hate. But it was more fun to hate guys like Wojo, Chris Collins and Jeff Capel because they were hyped but easily beatable.
I hate Okofor, but he played in what should have been OUR championship game.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Five ships since 1991... to three, I'd take that... duke u must not be players first...

We have had 5 title games during that period.i cant remember there total

 

[BBUK]

We have had 5 title games during that period.i cant remember there total

duke u won five championships... not sure I care how many times UK played for the championship. UK did win three so... apples to apples...

 

[BC_Wader]

We have had 5 title games during that period.i cant remember there total

96, 98, 2012. That's 3 since 91

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Duke players are the easiest to hate. But it was more fun to hate guys like Wojo, Chris Collins and Jeff Capel because they were hyped but easily beatable.
I hate Okofor, but he played in what should have been OUR championship game.

The more I saw of them in the NBA, the more I think we'd have run them out of the building if we got to play them. Wisconsin was just the absolute perfect team to match up with us, not to mention some very untimely bad officiating.

Okafor was a total bust, ans so was Justice WInslow. Funny enough, it's the Jones brother who is having the best NBA career, but I still think our guards make life hell for him if we played, and he certainly wouldn't be able to stop any of us.

 

[BC_Wader]

96, 98, 2012. That's 3 since 91

Title GAMES. My bad.

 

[BigKari]

Duke is the path of least resistance if you’re a top recruit.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

96, 98, 2012. That's 3 since 91

97 2014

 

[KYFOSSIL]

duke u won five championships... not sure I care how many times UK played for the championship. UK did win three so... apples to apples...

I could care less about what you care about. Might point was how close the seperation was.

 

[K_TIME]

Austin Rivers.
Jabari Parker.
Jahlil Okafor.
Harry Giles.
Marvin Bagley, Jr.
R.J. Barrett.
Cam Reddish.
Jalen Johnson.
Marquis Bolden.
Trevon Duval.

About one-third of these guys were considered to be the top guy in their class, and some were labeled as "generational talent" (Okafor, Parker, Bagley, and Barrett). Two of them are completely out of the league, and two others are considered to be guys that GMs don't want to build around (Bagley and Barrett). Even Reddish, a former RSCI #2 recruit (Barrett was #1, just like Bagley the year before) looks like he's going to be a journeyman forward for the rest of his career. Rivers was inexplicably ranked higher than Davis, Beal, and MKG in their respective class, and he's been mostly a bench role player for his entire NBA career.

Duke's had their fair share of elite players who have transitioned well to the pros (Irving, Ingram, Tatum, and now Banchero), but their duds far outnumber their elite players in the league.

I often wonder: is there a mental weakness with players who prefer the pampered sale's job Duke promotes - one of cheesy letterman's jackets, a "set for life" Ivy-league level pretend emphasis on education, and a diva culture that lends itself to lame mantras like "the brotherhood"?

I think there's a certain type of player who selects Duke over a program like Kentucky. They see themselves as separate, but it's also a culture of elitism and entitlement, and that entitlement often comes with coasting throughout their playing careers, feasting off of their raw talent but finding contentment with never engaging their inner junkyard dog. Tatum and a few others are the obvious exceptions, but the general rule for elite Duke recruits is a mentality that is soft as Charmin.

Great history of Duke flops..why big men go there is beyoind all comprehension

 

[Kentucky15]

Duke is the most overhyped program in sports history. Bought and paid for by outside influence and a product of east coast bias. Players that go there usually buy into a “coach K” system that does little to prepare them for their second contract. Coach K, however, cashed in on two titles. Shouldn’t have happened but when the ncaa wind is at your back while Calipari ties one arm behind his back….

 

[NewHock15]

In the NBA absolutely. Which is strange that top players keep going there if the NBA is your ultimate aspiration.

 

[BBUK]

I could care less about what you care about. Might point was how close the seperation was.

Glad you are able to discern what your point was anyway. (Not sure a two championship separation is close in that time frame... but that is for you to decide, which I guess you have.) Take care...

 

[Disappointed Cat]

Austin Rivers.
Jabari Parker.
Jahlil Okafor.
Harry Giles.
Marvin Bagley, Jr.
R.J. Barrett.
Cam Reddish.
Jalen Johnson.
Marquis Bolden.
Trevon Duval.

About one-third of these guys were considered to be the top guy in their class, and some were labeled as "generational talent" (Okafor, Parker, Bagley, and Barrett). Two of them are completely out of the league, and two others are considered to be guys that GMs don't want to build around (Bagley and Barrett). Even Reddish, a former RSCI #2 recruit (Barrett was #1, just like Bagley the year before) looks like he's going to be a journeyman forward for the rest of his career. Rivers was inexplicably ranked higher than Davis, Beal, and MKG in their respective class, and he's been mostly a bench role player for his entire NBA career.

Duke's had their fair share of elite players who have transitioned well to the pros (Irving, Ingram, Tatum, and now Banchero), but their duds far outnumber their elite players in the league.

I often wonder: is there a mental weakness with players who prefer the pampered sale's job Duke promotes - one of cheesy letterman's jackets, a "set for life" Ivy-league level pretend emphasis on education, and a diva culture that lends itself to lame mantras like "the brotherhood"?

I think there's a certain type of player who selects Duke over a program like Kentucky. They see themselves as separate, but it's also a culture of elitism and entitlement, and that entitlement often comes with coasting throughout their playing careers, feasting off of their raw talent but finding contentment with never engaging their inner junkyard dog. Tatum and a few others are the obvious exceptions, but the general rule for elite Duke recruits is a mentality that is soft as Charmin.

Glad you are able to discern what your point was anyway. (Not sure a two championship separation is close in that time frame... but that is for you to decide, which I guess you have.) Take care...

Duh, take a look at what Cal has done with the top ranked recruiting classes the past several years and the answer will be painfully obvious.