Phil Jackson is Misguided with Duke Players Statement

If you have watched enough basketball in your life you have noticed that a lot of players that you felt were going to be solid players in the NBA because of their accomplishments in college ended up flaming out when they had to play against grown men for 82 games.

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There is no college basketball program that is immune from having this happen. When NBA teams draft players, one of two things are going to happen with the choice.

The team is either going to hit or miss.

“The Zen Master” Phil Jackson has won 11 championships as a coach. Some people however, still question his coaching prowess because of the fact that he coached teams that were on the cusp of breaking through with established superstars on hand, instead of taking a team that was a “fixer-upper” to the promise land like Larry Brown did with the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

Honestly, there are people who would say that Mike Krzyzewski is a better coach than Phil Jackson.

Jackson is now taking his understanding of the game to the front office of the New York Knicks and is trying to show a critical eye for talent.

In attempting to show a critical eye for talent, Jackson decided that he was going to give an opinion on how he feels about the overall crop of talent to come out of Duke University.

According to a piece done by Dan Feldman on probasketballtalk.com, Phil Jackson was quoted as saying to ESPN’s Charlie Rosen that in essence Duke Blue Devil players are overrated when they leave Durham.

"If you look at the guys who came to the NBA from Duke, aside from Grant Hill, which ones lived up to expectations?”"

Let’s be honest, Duke players for the most part have extra expectations placed on them entering the league for the simple fact that they are coached by the great Mike Krzyzewski.

But Duke players flame out at a similar rate as everyone else and, if anything, some of these players have actually had some unfortunate things happen to them that took them out of the game before we could really say with certainty that they stink.

Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams deserve a pass because of having unfortunate accidents that clearly derailed their playing days.

Chicago Bulls rookie point guard Jay Williams works against Toronto Raptors’ Lindsey Hunter during the fourth quarter Friday, Oct. 11, 2002, in Chicago. Williams had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds in his Chicago debut as the Bulls won 87-79. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey) ORG XMIT: CXA105Rob Kinnan / USA TODAY Sports

In Jay Williams case, he was actually playing pretty decently for the Chicago Bulls before he got into a motorcycle accident and messed up his career.

Averaging 9.5 points and 4.7 assists is something that a franchise can work with in a rookie campaign, even if Williams only shot 39.9%.

However, it is not like Duke has not had it’s share of mega-busts. Some of these were really not surprises.

Christian Laettner was a great college player. He played on the original Dream Team, and had all the hype in the world behind him after sending Jamal Mashburn and the Kentucky Wildcats home at the buzzer in the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

But after being selected No.3 by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1992 NBA Draft, Christian Laettner fell way short of being the next Kevin McHale or whatever he was projected to be.

Though averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds for a 13-year career would be considered solid for some, it is considered a bust for Laettner because of the hype.

The other notable flops that people expected like Cherokee Parks, Danny Ferry, Roshown McCleod, Sheldon Williams, Daniel Ewing, Nolan Smith and Chris Carrawell, lend themselves to the “some players simply flame out” narrative.

But also there are players like Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving, Luol Deng, J.J. Reddick, Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier, who actually contributed to the NBA in strong fashion.

Kyrie Irving may be on a Hall of Fame track depending on if he can simply stay healthy. His story is still being written.

Then again some may feel that his popularity in the NBA is built off of an All-star appearance that was handed to him an not necessarily earned. He has validated that 2013 appearance though since then.

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Duke Blue Devils

Austin Rivers story is also being written. People think that he is some kind of a failure after entering the league in 2012. But he is still young and if he had stayed in school would just be coming out of the draft right now.

There is still time for Rodney Hood, and also Miles and Mason Plumlee to write their story.

Bottom line is that if Phil Jackson is trying to use past Duke history for justifying not taking Justise Winslow or Jahlil Okafor in the 2015 NBA Draft, it is a lame excuse.

Duke’s bust history is no different than anyone else’s.

Phil Jackson should not like Carmelo Anthony either if this is the case based on Syracuse flops like Sherman Douglas, Johnny Flynn, Pearl Washington, Billy Owens and Wesley Johnson.

The Zen logic makes no sense.

Next: Iowa State Non-Conference Schedule Breakdown

ACC Basketball: Phil Jackson is Misguided with Statement About Duke Players

By James Fitzgerald | Jul 27, 2015

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