I'm calling Duke being dirty. Coach K probably has a bag man 5 assistant coaches away from him. Duke seemingly started getting one and dones out of nowhere after not being that type of program.
To get one and dones you have to compete with other schools that are going after them and other schools are for sure offering to pay these kids. Duke started paying kids to keep up.
For once I sort of agree with Fraternity2017.
It is interesting how the level of raw talent coming into Duke has increased so much in the last 7-10 years. Previously Duke brought in very good talent, and a few great players, but never classes on par with or better than Coach Cal's best classes.
Something has changed and I am not if sure Duke is not getting a bit dirty or not. On the other hand the Duke academic standards are still there to some extent. Unlike some Big Ten programs (Michigan, Illinois) over the years, they did not completely depart from their normal very demanding academic profile to get BB players in school.
I am on the fence about coach K. I used to hate coach K (and I liked his pal Bobby Knight), and disliked his teams. I started to notice that he trusted his players let them play a pretty exciting free flowing game, and with even better players, he looks even better as a coach. I am actually a Coach K fan now and will miss him when he is gone soon.
I think now he is recruiting top crust elite basketball players, that are very different from some of the elite players going other places .. Many of these top guys (Trent, Jones for example) come from upper middle class families or come from affluent areas (with good public schools and college prep), but also have NBA/ 1 and done talent, which is the big shift. In years past coach K tried to steer clear of that 1 and done stuff, which if you recall is why Kris Humphries ended up at Minnesota.
I suspect Duke might be slightly crooked (hiring family members in some capacity, ect), but not nearly as crooked as others, but less likeable due to their image. I guarantee the John Wooden UCLA program in its last 12 years was way more crooked than anyone today.