What I wrote was incredibly polite, did not attack a single player or coach, and even clarified that it was not an attempt to kick the program when it was down. I thought it was a rather innocent remark
Look at the last few years and then tell me if you don't see a difference between the maturity of the featured players versus the maturity of the guys that were part of the other title teams.
2018: Bagley (Fr.)
2017: Tatum (Fr.)
2016: Ingram (Fr.)
2015: Okafor (Fr.)
2014: Parker (Fr.)
2013: Plumlee (Sr.)
2012: Rivers (Fr.)
2011: Smith (Sr.)....Would have been a good team if Irving had stayed healthy
2010: Smith (Jr)/Scheyer (Sr.
2001: Battier (Sr.)
1992: Laettner (Sr.)/Hurley (Jr.)
1991: Laettner (Jr.)
This team works best when the person you are featuring is an upperclassman....And then you have talented freshmen and sophomore surrounding them as second and third options.
I believe K's system requires time to learn and to run properly....You can't get that if your players hardly every get a chance to play together for more than a year.
It's not an attack on anyone....It's a belief that the philosophy is not a good fit for what K does well. He is a teacher who preaches a team first mentality..
Look at the Virginia roster.....You need to go pretty far down before you see a true freshman playing any minutes....Those two or three years spent playing together pay off, especially on defense.
I don't totally disagree with your premise, but I still insist there's a few flawed arguments you made.
1) Last season we weren't nearly as young as we are this season. We had two seniors who played vital roles on a national championship team, as well as a junior All-American. In addition to that, we had a sophomore who turned himself into an All-American. Jayson Tatum was really the only featured freshman last season, and at times Frank Jackson played like that. Harry Giles, while a one-and-done player, never played more than 20 minutes in a game because of his past injuries. Lastly, it was never expected that Luke Kennard and Frank Jackson wouldn't be on this team. Those kinds of things are factors.
2) In 2016, I think one could argue that Grayson was our 'best' player, along with Brandon Ingram.
3) I don't have to explain 2015. Our three three freshmen were our 'best' players, but Quinn was clearly the most important.
4) I think you're cherry-picking 2010 a little. Do you remember how frustrating 2007, 2008 and 2009 were? I have a sneaking suspicion you were probably complaining then, too. But maybe I'm wrong. In those three season's prior to our '10 championship, we were much more limited than we are today.
5) Going back much farther is useless. Times change. Christian Laettner and Grant Hill don't play in college for four years today. That doesn't mean we don't wish we hadn't recruited them.
6) Both 2014 and 2012 were, by and large, veteran teams. It's just that each of those season's a freshman was our best player. We didn't lose to Lehigh or Mercer because of that. I get that it helps your argument much better, but you don't seriously believe that, do you?
6) I don't like the one-and-done era, either. Not because Duke has invested so much in it, but because I just think it's a stupid rule that benefits the NBA. The more frustrating thing for me is that we haven't been very good in the postseason since 2004, with the exception of 2010, 2013 and 2015. So taking a look back from 2005 through 2017, and taking out those three aforementioned (leaving 10 other seasons), we've prematurely exited the tournament, IMO, those years. In 2005 through 2009, we didn't have a single freshman who left after one year, and just once (Singler's freshman year), was a freshman one of our top three scorers. What's the excuse for that? In 2011, we remember Kyrie's injury....unfortunate but revisionist history. I've mentioned the two embarrassing year's, so I'll refrain from bringing it up again. Then there's the last two years. Frustrating, I get that. But both years weren't freshman-dominated teams....in fact, neither were.
My point? Postseason success hasn't been what I feel it should be. But let's not pretend it's been one issue. We've done it every which way. It's just that the 'current' way, which features more prominent freshman, is what sits in our mind the most. I posted on this board from 2005-09....it wasn't pretty, specifically 2007-09.
