247 sports
"It wasn’t that long ago that the college basketball recruiting world was effectively dominated by Kentucky coach John Calipari. For many years the Wildcats were routinely bringing in the best high school recruits in the country in groups that made up the nation’s No.1 recruiting class.
And then head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devil program reevaluated their recruiting priorities.
Since 2014 Duke Men’s Basketball has changed the narrative in a big way. The Blue Devils have landed the top ranked recruiting class in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have continued to recruit at a nearly as high level, landed the second rated class in each of those years, and actually getting the top group in 2015 (when Duke finished second).
You can hardly find a discussion of elite high major recruiting without mention of the two programs, though admittedly Duke always seems to get just a little more praise and recognition.
Certainly Coach K’s recruiting prowess was the talk of college basketball last season as the Blue Devils brought in three of the best players in the country in Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and RJ Barrett. That trio was ranked by one national service as the top three players in the class of 2018 which kicked the narratives into overdrive.
That media attention seems to have struck a nerve with Calipari, however as the Wildcat head coach appeared to take yet another shot at Duke via his social media accounts on Tuesday night.
“We don’t promote two guys and push everyone else to the curb," wrote the Kentucky head coach. "This is about all these kids becoming their best version. As this team succeeds, we all become our best version. BIG TEAM, BETTER ME. And yes, we trademarked that."Was that a shot at Coach K and Duke? It would certainly seem like it as much of the narrative surrounding the Blue Devils centered on the dynamic duo of Williamson and Barrett - both of whom became First Team All-Americans with Williamson sweeping every major national player of year award.
Lost in the shuffle appeared to be Reddish who was often referred to as the third wheel in Duke's three headed offensive monster. Often times Reddish's contributions would go unnoticed when compared to the brilliance of his two classmates, but the 6-foot-8 wing still managed to have a strong freshman season and showed enough to be drafted No. 10 overall by the Atlanta Hawks.
Prior to the NBA Draft, Krzyzewski had kind words for Reddish and noted that his season was anything but a disappointment.
"In Cam you have an extremely talented kid. A player, and a great kid. A little bit younger in the game. He's more of a freshman. That's not bad, he was a hell of a freshman. And he had some nagging injuries that have been taken care of. I think he has the biggest growth potential. And I'm hoping that he goes to a program that will develop him that way, and doesn't expect him to be necessarily a double-double guy right away. I think he's got a great chance to be an outstanding player in the league."
Though he was 'more of a freshman' over the course of the season, Reddish was pretty advanced against Calipari's preseason No. 1 team when Duke met Kentucky last season. In that game Reddish (22 points) joined his two teammates Williamson (28 points, seven rebounds) and Barrett (33 points, four rebounds, six assists) in helping the Blue Devils embarrass Kentucky by a 118-84 margin.
Calipari's latest social media barb comes less than a year after he seemed to take another shot at the Blue Devils after Duke landed Williamson.
"I don't sell, 'When you come here, the university and the state will take care of you for the rest of your life,'" Calipari said, per Kentucky Sports Radio. "You may buy that, and I've got some great property and some swampland in Florida to sell you too."
Fair enough, but those comments seem to sync up nicely with Williamson's public comments following his commitment to the Blue Devils.
"It was always more than basketball with Coach K," Williamson said, per the Charlotte Observer's Scott Fowler. "That basketball can stop bouncing for you at any time. If basketball was to end for me tomorrow, I would know I'm in good hands at Duke University."
Based on his history, it sure seems that one coach spends an awful lot of time thinking of another. And maybe we'll have another chance to see these two elite teams meet again this season. Should such a match-up take place, it'll be another good one. Both teams are safe bets to be ranked among the five best teams in the country heading into the season."
"It wasn’t that long ago that the college basketball recruiting world was effectively dominated by Kentucky coach John Calipari. For many years the Wildcats were routinely bringing in the best high school recruits in the country in groups that made up the nation’s No.1 recruiting class.
And then head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devil program reevaluated their recruiting priorities.
Since 2014 Duke Men’s Basketball has changed the narrative in a big way. The Blue Devils have landed the top ranked recruiting class in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have continued to recruit at a nearly as high level, landed the second rated class in each of those years, and actually getting the top group in 2015 (when Duke finished second).
You can hardly find a discussion of elite high major recruiting without mention of the two programs, though admittedly Duke always seems to get just a little more praise and recognition.
Certainly Coach K’s recruiting prowess was the talk of college basketball last season as the Blue Devils brought in three of the best players in the country in Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and RJ Barrett. That trio was ranked by one national service as the top three players in the class of 2018 which kicked the narratives into overdrive.
That media attention seems to have struck a nerve with Calipari, however as the Wildcat head coach appeared to take yet another shot at Duke via his social media accounts on Tuesday night.
“We don’t promote two guys and push everyone else to the curb," wrote the Kentucky head coach. "This is about all these kids becoming their best version. As this team succeeds, we all become our best version. BIG TEAM, BETTER ME. And yes, we trademarked that."Was that a shot at Coach K and Duke? It would certainly seem like it as much of the narrative surrounding the Blue Devils centered on the dynamic duo of Williamson and Barrett - both of whom became First Team All-Americans with Williamson sweeping every major national player of year award.
Lost in the shuffle appeared to be Reddish who was often referred to as the third wheel in Duke's three headed offensive monster. Often times Reddish's contributions would go unnoticed when compared to the brilliance of his two classmates, but the 6-foot-8 wing still managed to have a strong freshman season and showed enough to be drafted No. 10 overall by the Atlanta Hawks.
Prior to the NBA Draft, Krzyzewski had kind words for Reddish and noted that his season was anything but a disappointment.
"In Cam you have an extremely talented kid. A player, and a great kid. A little bit younger in the game. He's more of a freshman. That's not bad, he was a hell of a freshman. And he had some nagging injuries that have been taken care of. I think he has the biggest growth potential. And I'm hoping that he goes to a program that will develop him that way, and doesn't expect him to be necessarily a double-double guy right away. I think he's got a great chance to be an outstanding player in the league."
Though he was 'more of a freshman' over the course of the season, Reddish was pretty advanced against Calipari's preseason No. 1 team when Duke met Kentucky last season. In that game Reddish (22 points) joined his two teammates Williamson (28 points, seven rebounds) and Barrett (33 points, four rebounds, six assists) in helping the Blue Devils embarrass Kentucky by a 118-84 margin.
Calipari's latest social media barb comes less than a year after he seemed to take another shot at the Blue Devils after Duke landed Williamson.
"I don't sell, 'When you come here, the university and the state will take care of you for the rest of your life,'" Calipari said, per Kentucky Sports Radio. "You may buy that, and I've got some great property and some swampland in Florida to sell you too."
Fair enough, but those comments seem to sync up nicely with Williamson's public comments following his commitment to the Blue Devils.
"It was always more than basketball with Coach K," Williamson said, per the Charlotte Observer's Scott Fowler. "That basketball can stop bouncing for you at any time. If basketball was to end for me tomorrow, I would know I'm in good hands at Duke University."
Based on his history, it sure seems that one coach spends an awful lot of time thinking of another. And maybe we'll have another chance to see these two elite teams meet again this season. Should such a match-up take place, it'll be another good one. Both teams are safe bets to be ranked among the five best teams in the country heading into the season."
