[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 I’m still miffed at Okafor’s decision to attend Duke.  I understand Tyus Jones decision to go to Duke because Duke runs a guard happy system with lots of threes and they always gives their guards lots of freedom.  I’m a UNC fan obviously and am dissappointed that we’ll have to go against Jahlil for a year or two because he’s a very good player.  When’s the last time Duke produced an all-american post player?  I think it was Shelden Williams in 2006 and he went on to become on of the biggest busts in NBA history after being picked 5th and I believe he is out of the league now.  I don’t think Jahlil made the best decision for HIM.  He made a good decision because he gets to play with Tyus, but for HIS development, I’m not so sure.  I know Coach K is great at being able to adapt his system to his personnel, but I really question if he’s going to give Jahlil his touches in the post next year instead of having him just screen for the guards who will be shooting a lot of threes next year.

Many top recruits like Mitch Mcgary had stated that Duke bigs only set screens and rebound which has definitely been true recently.  Mason Plumlee finally become a serviceable post player after four years at Duke, but really never had any fluid post moves in his senior year.  Jahlil isn’t the athlete that Plumlee was and is a much weaker rebounder as well.  Duke hasn’t had luck recruiting elite bigs and that has really been a weakness of their in the last decade.  The 2010 title team had Brian Zoubek who fit that system perfectly with his rebounding, but was far from an elite talent.  Jahlil had stated a while back that he was irritated that everybody as saying that he was a Duke lock. He then commits to Duke anyways.  There were also rumors that he was leaning away from committing to Duke as his recruitment neared it’s end.  This makes me believe Tyus Jones really controlled Jahlil’s decision to commit to Duke.  I’m not saying he can’t be a good player in Coach K’s system, but I don’t see Duke really becoming an inside out team since they’ve lived and died by the three for so many years.  Jahlil’s development as a POST PLAYER could really be stunted at Duke and his draft stock could take a big hit.  The package deals that are happening now in college basketball are puzzling.  Guys want to play with friends they played with in AAU and might make decisions that aren’t great fits for their specific skill set.  

 

 

 

[DondiJohnParticipant]

In Duke, he’s going to be the main big man 

[DondiJohnParticipant]

In Duke, he’s going to be the main big man 

[IknoBall12Participant]

 Yes u do sound like a hater. Haha. While ur points are valid that duke hasn’t really had a good post player in a while I think ur forgetting that duke hasn’t exactly recruited a great back to the basket post player since Sheldon. We’ve recruited a lot of bigs who are athletic pick and roll players or in Ryan Kelly’s favor great shooters. Do u honestly think in the 1 year or so that okafor plays with us coach k won’t feature him? Let’s be serious

[IknoBall12Participant]

 Yes u do sound like a hater. Haha. While ur points are valid that duke hasn’t really had a good post player in a while I think ur forgetting that duke hasn’t exactly recruited a great back to the basket post player since Sheldon. We’ve recruited a lot of bigs who are athletic pick and roll players or in Ryan Kelly’s favor great shooters. Do u honestly think in the 1 year or so that okafor plays with us coach k won’t feature him? Let’s be serious

[SiggyParticipant]

 Coach K is adaptable. He will tweak his system to suit Jahlil. That’s what they did for Mason Plumlee once he developed a somewhat decent post game.  Same thing he did for Shelden Williams, Boozer and Elton Brand too.  Why hasn’t Coach K’s offense been more post oriented? Because true back to the basket post players are not common anymore.

[SiggyParticipant]

 Coach K is adaptable. He will tweak his system to suit Jahlil. That’s what they did for Mason Plumlee once he developed a somewhat decent post game.  Same thing he did for Shelden Williams, Boozer and Elton Brand too.  Why hasn’t Coach K’s offense been more post oriented? Because true back to the basket post players are not common anymore.

[Sewok15Participant]

Shavlik Randolph played 7 years in the NBA…Josh McRboberts is in his 8th year…if Coach K can get these 2 into the league I think Okafor will be fine.

I am an admitted Duke and Coach K hater but he can teach you things that will keep you in the league. Shane Battier is a guy that has made a very nice living doing the things that Coach K preaches. I never question a prospect when they decide to go to Duke…I am usually not happy about it but you can’t argue with results.

[Sewok15Participant]

Shavlik Randolph played 7 years in the NBA…Josh McRboberts is in his 8th year…if Coach K can get these 2 into the league I think Okafor will be fine.

I am an admitted Duke and Coach K hater but he can teach you things that will keep you in the league. Shane Battier is a guy that has made a very nice living doing the things that Coach K preaches. I never question a prospect when they decide to go to Duke…I am usually not happy about it but you can’t argue with results.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

Josh McRoberts was the number one power forward recruit in his class coming out of high school.  Shavlik Randolph was a top ten recruit coming out of high school.  Neither came even close to maximizing their potential under Coach K’s tutelage.  What are Randolph’s career NBA numbers?  How many teams has McRoberts played for in his career.  If I was a Duke fan, I would have serious concerns about how Okafor will develop with Steve Wojochiechowski teaching him post moves and post defense.  

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

Josh McRoberts was the number one power forward recruit in his class coming out of high school.  Shavlik Randolph was a top ten recruit coming out of high school.  Neither came even close to maximizing their potential under Coach K’s tutelage.  What are Randolph’s career NBA numbers?  How many teams has McRoberts played for in his career.  If I was a Duke fan, I would have serious concerns about how Okafor will develop with Steve Wojochiechowski teaching him post moves and post defense.  

[Sewok15Participant]

Rivals actually had Shavlik Randolph ranked as the 7th Power Forward in his class back in 2002. He was behind guys like Travis Garrison of Maryland, Alexander Johnson of FSU and Brad Buckman of Texas. Chris Bosh, Sean May and Shelden Williams were also ahead of him understandably.

Now McRoberts is a different story being that he was the #2 overall prospect behind only Gerald Green. The 2005 class was a pretty weak class and it was the last year you could enter straight from High School. McRoberts probably would have been best suited from a financial standpoint to enter out of High School. He would have been a potential lottery pick but he went to Duke instead and for the longevity of his career that was probably a great decision.

McRoberts was incredibly overrated coming out of high school and especially after he tore up the McDonalds All American game. Guys like McRoberts do great in those games though because nobody boxes out or runs the floor. You can catch lobs and put back rebounds all the way to the MVP award….look at Kenneth Faried in the rookie game. McRoberts was said to be an ultra athletic 6"10 power forward with 3 point range and great versatility…but the only part that was accurate was the first part (athletic 6"10). He dominated High School games however he wanted to whether it was shooting 3’s or handling the ball…but against D1 competition it turned out those weren’t really his strengths.

Once he got to Duke he started very slow his freshmen year. He was no longer the best athlete and player on the court and he had to learn to do the little things to help his team win. None of this really helped his draft stock as it seemed to go down the longer he stayed at Duke. However I can guarentee if you talk to him he will credit Coach K a lot for him being where he is today…which coincidently is back in the state of North Carolina playing the best basketball of his NBA career.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/Duke/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-52

[Sewok15Participant]

Rivals actually had Shavlik Randolph ranked as the 7th Power Forward in his class back in 2002. He was behind guys like Travis Garrison of Maryland, Alexander Johnson of FSU and Brad Buckman of Texas. Chris Bosh, Sean May and Shelden Williams were also ahead of him understandably.

Now McRoberts is a different story being that he was the #2 overall prospect behind only Gerald Green. The 2005 class was a pretty weak class and it was the last year you could enter straight from High School. McRoberts probably would have been best suited from a financial standpoint to enter out of High School. He would have been a potential lottery pick but he went to Duke instead and for the longevity of his career that was probably a great decision.

McRoberts was incredibly overrated coming out of high school and especially after he tore up the McDonalds All American game. Guys like McRoberts do great in those games though because nobody boxes out or runs the floor. You can catch lobs and put back rebounds all the way to the MVP award….look at Kenneth Faried in the rookie game. McRoberts was said to be an ultra athletic 6"10 power forward with 3 point range and great versatility…but the only part that was accurate was the first part (athletic 6"10). He dominated High School games however he wanted to whether it was shooting 3’s or handling the ball…but against D1 competition it turned out those weren’t really his strengths.

Once he got to Duke he started very slow his freshmen year. He was no longer the best athlete and player on the court and he had to learn to do the little things to help his team win. None of this really helped his draft stock as it seemed to go down the longer he stayed at Duke. However I can guarentee if you talk to him he will credit Coach K a lot for him being where he is today…which coincidently is back in the state of North Carolina playing the best basketball of his NBA career.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/Duke/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-52

[jwostrumParticipant]

im a Carolina fan, but coach k would be a fool not to use jahlil every chance he gets, and coach k is no fool. unfortunately for Carolina fans and every one else in the acc, jahlil okafor will be brutalizing their post players, especially now that you can’t put a forearm on your man in the post. okafor will be easily the best bigman coach k has ever had.

[jwostrumParticipant]

im a Carolina fan, but coach k would be a fool not to use jahlil every chance he gets, and coach k is no fool. unfortunately for Carolina fans and every one else in the acc, jahlil okafor will be brutalizing their post players, especially now that you can’t put a forearm on your man in the post. okafor will be easily the best bigman coach k has ever had.

[Author]

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