After his team’s season ended in the NCAA Tournament Thursday, Mike Krzyzewski conceded that the Blue Devils needed a point guard, in addition to a post player.
Just a few days later, Duke might be closing in on some of the guards it needs.
John Wall, the nation’s No. 1 point guard recruit, will visit campus Sunday and meet with Krzyzewski, and the Blue Devils have also requested permission to speak with Seth Curry, the brother of Stephen Curry, who has decided to transfer after his freshman year at Liberty.
Wall, from Raleigh’s Word of God Christian Academy, is the best uncommitted player left in the Class of 2009, and he’s also considering Baylor, Kansas, Memphis and N.C. State, according to scout.com. Duke has not yet offered him a scholarship, but Wall has attended several Duke games this year.
Curry, on the other hand, has already played a season of college basketball, and he led the nation’s freshmen by scoring 20.2 points per game at Liberty. He has announced his intentions to transfer, and five ACC schools have requested permission to speak with him, perhaps trying to do penance for missing him and his brother in high school. Curry has said that he wants to play in the ACC, and on Friday, ACC Sports Journal’s David Glenn reported that Curry’s wish list consisted of Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson.
Curry’s makeup is one of his strengths–Krzyzewski has publicy lauded the Curry family before–but Wall’s less stable situation led to an excellent takeout in The (Raleigh) News & Observer last month. One of the subheads of the story, “Questions for Duke,” focuses on Wall’s relationship with Duke, and how his two advisers, Levi Beckwith and Brian Clifton, are skeptical of Duke:
In Wall, they see a young man who has matured but with a history of challenging authority, who wants to leave college after one year, who wants to play in a less structured, fast-breaking offense.
“It would behoove him to be in a situation that he would be able to play for a coach who has a more free-flowing offense, who is going to afford him the opportunity to be expressive and to do the things that he needs to do [to prepare for the NBA],” Clifton said.
If not for the recent rule that prevents players from jumping straight from high school to the NBA, Clifton said, Wall would have considered skipping college. One draft site, nbadraft.net, projects him as the No. 1 pick in 2010.
Anticipating an eventual meeting with Krzyzewski, Beckwith was already voicing his questions.
“I’m going to say, ‘Look, this is what John’s going to do. Now, what are you going to do when he does that?’ ” Beckwith said. “When you’re playing Carolina and things aren’t going well, when you take him out of the game and he mumbles, ‘I shoulda gone to Carolina,’ which to you is disrespectful and it’s not the right thing to say … how long are you going to sit him out? If he’s going to be done for the year, then don’t take him.”
The Word of God coach has a tip for Wall as well: “If you’re really serious about going to Duke, all this flashy stuff, stop it. And let’s see how you like it.”
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This won’t make or break Duke’s program. But this WILL make or break Duke’s season next year.
Gerald may come back but let’s be honest, even if he does sweet 16 is how far we will get again. If Gerald doesn’t come back we may be the worst Duke team in Coach K’s tenure (imagine gaurd play of Scheyer, Williams, Smith)…they would get tired so fast and none are true playmakers. (Someone better not mention Jordan Davidson…)
If John Wall comes to Duke though IMAGINE a starting lineup of: John Wall, Elliot Williams, Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler, (Insert Center/Big Man Here: hopefully Mason Plumlee). Incredible. Duke’s Defense will always be good with Coach K. The offense though relies on a playmaking PG and we have not had that since Daniel Ewing.
I think it’s pretty clear how badly coach K wants Wall. Smart game to announce how badly we need a PG at the post-game conference.
Playing devil’s advocate here, but could all this so-called interested in Duke just be an image clean-up tactic? Wall does seem to have a sort of prima donna air and considering a squeaky clean program like Duke might help him seem like more of a team player type of guy.
If the chronicle could blog about this once they hear how the visit went that would be great!
The best thing that can happen for Wall is Coach K. K has proven he can deal with prima donnas with the Olympic victories and other dealings with “pro” athletes. How many other coaches have dealt with the current cream of the crop in the NBA? Wall needs a guy like coach K and a mentor like Nate James to keep him focused and steady. I hope Wall chooses Duke for his sake, personally and professionally – one and done or not – he can benefit from the experience for a lifetime.
I am sure he’s a great player, but let him go somewhere else. I want Duke to win as much as anyone, but care more about the integrity of the program. If this article is true, it makes a mockery of the term “student athlete.” We’re a university, not a training camp for the NBA.
I want to know how the visit went because there is nothing anywhere without having to pay for it