Yes, it’s a fact. The Duke Blue Devils had five NBA Draft picks, including three in the top 20, on their roster last season.
It’s also true that the Blue Devils lost 82-67 to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament championship game and 81-77 to rival North Carolina in the Final Four.
Duke’s NBA Draft Picks:
1) Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
15) Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
16) AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
26) Wendell Moore Jr, Minnesota Timberwolves
42) Trevor Keels, New York Knicks
In other words, Duke and Coach K had five NBA Draft picks, including No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero, on their roster and won nothing.
Does this mean Coach K sucks? Of course not. K is arguably the best college basketball coach of all time.
The fact is that it’s simply hard to win championships, particularly national championships. I mean, if it was easy, everyone would do it, right?
I encourage faithful BBN fans to keep this in mind before taking shots at John Calipari. Coach Cal led Kentucky to a 26-8 record with only one (bottom of the first round) NBA player on the roster. Perhaps he deserves praise for a job well done. The upset loss in the NCAA Tournament was unacceptable, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to kick Cal to the curb.
I mean, things could be worse.
