Catch 22

Coach K announced today that 3 Top 50 players have signed with the program in the early signing period: Nolan Smith, who is from Oak Hill (see Carmelo Anthony) will most likely step in and play the point or will play along side Greg Paulus since Coach K loves having 2 primary ball handlers on the court at the same time. Taylor King is a 6'7'' Small Forward who basically committed to Duke years ago so expect him to be a 4-year player. Finally, Kyle Singler signed with the Blue Devils today and he is ranked as the #4 prospect by rivals.com. Some scouts are comparing his game to that of Dirk Nowitski. If that comparison is even remotely accurate, they will be jumping for joy in Durham the moment he steps on the floor.

I know it's a little early to start thinking about the 2007-08 seasons considering the season just started yesterday but I, like many Duke fans, find themselves square in the middle of a Catch 22. As we all know, Josh McRoberts was within minutes of leaving Duke last year and many consider it an almost certainty that he will bolt to the NBA after this season, especially if he plays at the high level everyone around college basketball expects him to play with the departure of Redick and Williams. If McRoberts plays McNasty this year, he will undoubtedly be a lottery pick in the 2007 NBA Draft but if McRoberts has another pedestrian year, he will probably hang around Duke for another year or two. The dilemma facing us Duke fans is that we desperately need McRoberts to play well this year for this inexperienced Duke team to have any shot at contending but that would, in essence, lead to his premature departure and hurt their chances for next year and beyond, especially with such a high powered recruiting class coming in next year. Best case scenario is that McRoberts has a McNasty year and the cheerleader he's dating gives him a reason to stay.