BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 60,761
- Reaction score
- 16,138
- Points
- 113
per Zags/Forbes:
Duke's "Big Three" of freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish dominated Kentucky in the Champions Classic, 118-84, on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in what was the worst loss of Kentucky coach John Calipari’s career.
But while the game opened the 2018-19 college basketball season, it may have actually been decided during the summer and fall of 2017 on the recruiting trail.
That's when Duke landed the No. 1 recruiting class and acquired the top three prospects in the Class of 2018 -- something that no program, not even vaunted Kentucky, had ever accomplished.
"I’m not a believer that coaches develop lottery picks," ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas told me in Indianapolis. "They recruit them. Recruiting is part of coaching. Sometimes there’s more distance between No. 1 and No. 2 than the numbers suggest. Duke has the top three freshmen, and three of the likely top five picks in the NBA Draft. They’re pretty darn good."
For years, Calipari dominated the college basketball recruiting world and became the king of one-and-done.
Between 2008-15, Kentucky had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in seven of eight years, according to 247Sports.com.
Yet Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, he of the five NCAA championships and three Olympic gold medals, has flipped the script and beaten Calipari at his own game in recent years. Duke has had the No. 1 class three years running and in four of the last five, according to 247Sports.com.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamza...g-john-calipari-at-his-own-game/#1b88ce2026f2
Go Gophers!!
Duke's "Big Three" of freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish dominated Kentucky in the Champions Classic, 118-84, on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in what was the worst loss of Kentucky coach John Calipari’s career.
But while the game opened the 2018-19 college basketball season, it may have actually been decided during the summer and fall of 2017 on the recruiting trail.
That's when Duke landed the No. 1 recruiting class and acquired the top three prospects in the Class of 2018 -- something that no program, not even vaunted Kentucky, had ever accomplished.
"I’m not a believer that coaches develop lottery picks," ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas told me in Indianapolis. "They recruit them. Recruiting is part of coaching. Sometimes there’s more distance between No. 1 and No. 2 than the numbers suggest. Duke has the top three freshmen, and three of the likely top five picks in the NBA Draft. They’re pretty darn good."
For years, Calipari dominated the college basketball recruiting world and became the king of one-and-done.
Between 2008-15, Kentucky had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in seven of eight years, according to 247Sports.com.
Yet Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, he of the five NCAA championships and three Olympic gold medals, has flipped the script and beaten Calipari at his own game in recent years. Duke has had the No. 1 class three years running and in four of the last five, according to 247Sports.com.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamza...g-john-calipari-at-his-own-game/#1b88ce2026f2
Go Gophers!!