Being a College Basketball fan means getting used to change. You know going in that each new crop of freshmen, at most, are only going to be around for 4 years - if you are lucky. Being a fan of a high-major College Basketball team nowadays means bracing yourself for the inevitable - the best players are going to bounce. Duke fans have been subject to this as much as anyone, the past several years especially.
Duke, and their coach Mike Krzyzewski have always recruited one-and-done players but until they showed success in implementing them into a system they weren't very successful in landing them. Perception, unfortunately, being reality had most in the media assuming that Duke didn't recruit or didn't want these players. So it appeared that Duke had changed up their ideals, their values. Anyone who knows the history of Duke misses as well as their successes on the recruiting trail knows this is a farce. In any event, here we are in 2018 and Duke has not only become a landing place for top one-and-done players, but they'e done a great job - along with the Kentucky Wildcats and other big name schools - of integrating them. Duke, in particular, has had success in adjusting and molding - almost remodeling their system each year to fit their personnel. You can argue that the results have been varied but Duke is still a top program and an attractive place for recruits. Stacking 20+ win seasons, despite injuries, deficits in on-court leadership and other sundry issues. This is what a successful program looks like. Post season success is great, and what we all shoot for but face facts, it's a tournament with 60 plus other teams. Staying atop the mountain is not as easy as it once was.
Sure, change has it's bad points:
- Hard to root for a player you know you'll only see for a few months
- The timeline for development is significantly shorter
- The leadership void.
but we can counter that with:
- the best and most exciting players will play for your team
- the best talent plus the best coaching = the best chance of winning (although nothing is ever guaranteed)
- high level talent has become much more attuned to what they need to do at the next level
Sometimes as fans we thing we are owed 4 years from every player, why are we taking it so personally? Sometimes we feel as if the fact that Duke hasn't won a championship since 2015 ( soooo long ago ), means that things aren't working. Coaches will tell you that it's hard to catch lightening in a bottle, whether you are doing it with primarily freshmen or with a team of veterans. The margin for error between success and failure is inappreciable. I'd rather do it with the best players.