Our 5 yr plan?

[BCHoopster]

I think most of the Shaka excitement is about having an actual system and knowing what to expect game in, game out. Once that’s established the recruiting will take care of itself

I fully expect to surprise people this year and make the tournament. In the words of Robert Hunter “this train’s got to run today” and once we get going we ain’t stopping

Better temper your excitement, I asked somebody in the know, last year he stated they had 3 top college players, this year maybe 1, Justin Lewis.  Athletic players
who need to work on there skills as they are young.  They will improve during the year, but getting to the dance, not sure about that.

[Lennys Tap]

Better temper your excitement, I asked somebody in the know, last year he stated they had 3 top college players, this year maybe 1, Justin Lewis.  Athletic players
who need to work on there skills as they are young.  They will improve during the year, but getting to the dance, not sure about that.

Who the heck was our third “top college player” last year?

[Dr. Blackheart]

Who the heck was our third “top college player” last year?

Who was the 2nd and 3rd?

[The Equalizer]

I did not write "the best ones (will) transfer". My point was that Shaka is almost certainly going to give a fair amount of PT to the freshmen even though that will likely increase the possibility of losing some games in which minimizing their PT might result in a W. I think that by bringing in 5 freshmen Shaka is "saying" (de facto) that's part of his long range plan. I also think that he may persuade one of them to redshirt. Five freshmen is a tall order.

I don't think it's in the DNA of any college coach to take an L in a winnable game simply to get different players more experience.  If there's a chance to win and it requires playing Morsell, Kur, and Greg 30 mpg each, Shaka will play them 30 mpg each.

The only two situations I see benching the upperclassmen in lieu of a poorer performing freshman are a) in an individual game where the outcome is no longer in doubt--once you're down 20+ you'll give the frosh more playing time.  Or b) the entire season is dumpster fire--say you start 1-9 in the conference, you bench the seniors to give the frosh more time. 

The fact that Shaka brought in 4 experienced transfers (2 of them graduate seniors) suggests he's not throwing in the towel on the season.  Five freshmen makes for a young team, but we finished 4th in the league with 4 frosh in 2006.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The best players are going to play.  No coach will sacrifice that for the worse ones to get "experience."

[brewcity77]

Who the heck was our third “top college player” last year?

If the conversation occurred preseason, I would guess DJ Carton and Dawson Garcia were two, though it seems unlikely Justin would've been included before he hit the court. Theo or Jamal seem more likely, maybe Koby, but none scream "top college player" to me as of September 2020.

This year, I would similarly argue it's hard to say Justin would be our "top college player" ahead of Morsell considering how unproven Justin is and how much Morsell has accomplished. Morsell might be just an average offensive player, but his truly elite defense would have him ahead of Lewis if I was looking at overall game.

[bilsu]

The best players are going to play.  No coach will sacrifice that for the worse ones to get "experience."

I think some coaches goal is to have the best team at the end of the year, which can mean playing a younger player over a senior at the start of the season. Generally, these coaches already know they are going to make the NCAA tournament. I think Izzo is this way. His teams almost always are good in March.
You cannot do this, if you cannot afford a loss.

[MU82]

The disaster-to-be at Duke, Jon Scheyer, having already secured a top-5 recruiting class for 2022, just landed Caleb Foster, perhaps the #1 PG of the 2023 class.

Recruiting is only a part of being a coach (though the biggest part), so maybe Scheyer will be the disaster that most Scoopers seem to think he'll be.

Right now, though, it would be nice to see Shaka land a couple of Scheyer's rejects.

[Uncle Rico]

The disaster-to-be at Duke, Jon Scheyer, having already secured a top-5 recruiting class for 2022, just landed Caleb Foster, perhaps the #1 PG of the 2023 class.

Recruiting is only a part of being a coach (though the biggest part), so maybe Scheyer will be the disaster that most Scoopers seem to think he'll be.

Right now, though, it would be nice to see Shaka land a couple of Scheyer's rejects.

As long as Nike wants Duke to be a flagship program, they’ll be just fine