Why would someone choose Duke over Kentucky?

[Getslow]

So, you are saying that Coach K/Duke are better than Coach Cal/UK at getting guys into the NBA at this point in time?

 

Well what I'm really saying is that I don't particularly care but the UK religious zealots are always amusing.

[jbwill2]

Well what I'm really saying is that I don't particularly care but the UK religious zealots are always amusing.

But I'm not a UK basketball zealot. I don't particularly care for the sport of basketball. From my perspective, if I am a top flight prep player who wants to make it big in the NBA, I'd be picking Cal/UK every day of the week and twice on Sunday, and it surprises me that lately Cal is coming up on the short end in head to head recruiting battles against Duke. It makes me wonder if there is some other motivating factor at play, other than merely picking the program/coach that has the best track record of landing people in the pros...

[PurplePride92]

But I'm not a UK basketball zealot. I don't particularly care for the sport of basketball. From my perspective, if I am a top flight prep player who wants to make it big in the NBA, I'd be picking Cal/UK every day of the week and twice on Sunday, and it surprises me that lately Cal is coming up on the short end in head to head recruiting battles against Duke. It makes me wonder if there is some other motivating factor at play, other than merely picking the program/coach that has the best track record of landing people in the pros...

 

Harry Giles said it felt like family when he talked to the coaching staff and Coach K at Duke. He said the family feeling is what won him over.

[PurplePride92]

So, you are saying that Coach K/Duke are better than Coach Cal/UK at getting guys into the NBA at this point in time?

 

I don't think anyone is saying that. At the same time Coach K has been putting players in the pros since the 1980s. It's not like he just started producing pro talent at Duke. What he has done recently is a much better job at successfully recruiting one and done basketball players. That and winning championships with them.

 

I don't know what Coach K and his staff is saying to the kids to convince them to come to Duke. I am hearing that Jeff Capel has become one of the best recruiters in the nation. If I am not mistaken some of the home run hitters for UK recruiting are no longer on the staff. Someone like @gametime can answer that question.

[gametime]

I think more than anything the emphasis on connecting the elite young talent to USA Basketball has paid off for K as the face of the program. Now that he is stepping aside, the tide will turn on that angle, but for now Duke is getting the rewards for having the top coach in the world having access to the best talent in the world from an early age.

 

3 years ago all the top kids wanted to ride the momentum of Cal and UK. Now the tide has turned and Cal is forced to deal with getting the 2nd best crop of talent.

 

Oh the humanity...

[gametime]

And if you wanted to throw a fit over UK "falling behind" in the recruiting game, the 2015 class was the time to flip out. Cal still landed 2 of the 4 most talented kids in the world with Skal and Murray.

 

Poor Cal...

[PurplePride92]

Since Coach Calipari has come to UK he has had unmatched success in getting his players drafted into the NBA, and several of his former UK players are experiencing significant success in the pros. However, for the past 2 years Duke has bested UK in the recruiting wars, and Duke is now poised to make it 3 years in row with the nation's top recruiting class.

 

With all that being said, why would a kid who is a big-time high school player and has designs on spending 1-2 years in college and jumping to the pros choose Duke (or any school) over UK at this point? I would understand it if the kid has a connection to a particular program (ie, has a family member who went there or is a fan of the team), but otherwise why would a kid who has a chance to play under Calipari at UK not sign with UK?

 

This particular question in high school football terms would be why would a kid choose Highlands over Trinity.

[jbwill2]

This particular question in high school football terms would be why would a kid choose Highlands over Trinity.

Well, Duke and UK recruit players. Are you suggesting that Trinity and Highlands are recruiting kids to come to their schools for the purposes of playing football? If they are, then I would say that it would be best to pick Trinity over Highlands, just like it would be best to pick UK over Duke.

[uk#1fan]

Simple coach K is the better coach.

[PurplePride92]

Well, Duke and UK recruit players. Are you suggesting that Trinity and Highlands are recruiting kids to come to their schools for the purposes of playing football? If they are, then I would say that it would be best to pick Trinity over Highlands, just like it would be best to pick UK over Duke.

 

Nope. I don't make suggestions and I've never felt that Highlands of Trinity recruits any of their players. I was using both schools and their program status as an analogy. A football player at Highlands doesn't miss out on anything that a football player at Trinity has or experiences. Both are the upper echelon of football programs. As are Duke and UK of college basketball.

 

The idea that choosing Duke over UK is somehow a slight is laughable but as you said you don't know anything about college basketball so that explains your original question.

[NKU20]

It is so sad that someone really feels that a player has a better chance getting to the pros going to KY than to Duke. If you're not from KY there are plenty of reasons to go to Duke. Have you ever been on Duke's campus? Coach K. The weather. The education to name a few.

[98NCCalum]

I'm still in awe that this is a legit thread.

[The Professor]

I'm as big a UK fan as anyone, but I fully understand why many elite players want to play for Coach K and Duke. Duke has players in the NBA too, has been getting them drafted before K ever got there, and that number has escalated under K. Duke has had good basketball and tradition dating back to the '60s, a great campus and a quality education. K has won 5 national titles and has success on the international level. It's no surprise to me why top players want to play there.

[75center]

My question would be why do some players choose neither?

[TAC]

It is so sad that someone really feels that a player has a better chance getting to the pros going to KY than to Duke. If you're not from KY there are plenty of reasons to go to Duke. Have you ever been on Duke's campus? Coach K. The weather. The education to name a few.

 

Did it really take 41 posts for someone to mention Education? You get a far better education and the hook ups you would get would be outstanding.