[j2khitmanParticipant]

Mitch McGary, do yourself a favor and become the Great Wolverine that Michigan has been searching for since Chris Webber. As much as it pains me to say this, it would be in McGary’s best interest to enroll at Michigan and compete against some of the top teams in the Big 10.

 

McGary is listed as the best big man in the 2012 recruiting class and every top school in the nation is drooling at the chance to have him in their program. From all the reports I have been read, it is down between Michigan, Duke, and North Carolina. All three are great programs and he will make an immediate impact wherever he goes, but if he wants to be a star as soon as he steps foot on campus, then he needs to go to Michigan.

 

Michigan’s entire playbook will be focused around Mcgary. He will have the opportunity to play as many minutes as he can, he would be counted on to deliver from the moment he steps on the court, and he will play in the Big Ten, which is considered to be a better overall conference then the ACC.

 

I love Duke and what they stand for, but they don’t have a great history of developing great big men. Josh McRoberts, Shavlick Randolph, Brian Zoubek, and even Mason Plumlee, are a few names that come to mind when thinking about how disappointing their college careers have turn out. These are four kids that were supposed to be the next Elton Brand or Carlos Boozer, but they never even came close to duplicating what those two players have accomplished at Duke. Plumlee’s draft stock is falling rapidly and if he can’t figure out a way to put his talents together on a consistent basis then he might end up going undrafted. I don’t want to see McGary end up this way.

 

McGary has the heart and determination of UNC great Tyler Hansbrough and the court vision and passing ability of Duke’s Josh McRoberts. What makes him special is that he enjoys playing a physical type of game and his motor never stops. He will never quit on a play and he will finish strong above the rim.

 

McGary will have a tough decision to make. He can avoid college altogether and attend prep school or even play in Europe where his stock won’t be affected. His decision will be coming soon. Let’s see what he decides.

[Anton123Participant]

 It still scares me that the guy is just as old as Harrison Barnes and still in high school

[stickdogParticipant]

Name one college team that has developed its white American big men better than Duke has.

Name just a single college team that has placed 4+ white American big men in the NBA since Tom Chambers retired.

In fact, forget about colleges completely and try to name the 10 best white American big men who have played in the NBA since Tom Chambers retired. (Hint: Christian Laettener may be the best the bunch with the exception of Kevin Love.)

Who are the best big men that John Beilein has ever coached? How are their NBA careers going?

This is what is so funny to me. Mark Alarie, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettener, Cherokee Parks, Shavlik Randolph and Josh McRoberts are supposed to form some sort of legacy of big white man busts at Duke, according to rival fans. But what other college has produced a better crop of big white American NBA players over the last 25 years? Can you name just one?

[SheliaJParticipant]

Oh, and Andre will only improve as the season continues, hes taking a while to come along, but he is still one of the premier prospects of the last decade….and Oriahki and the others will do well soon as well…UConn is a very serious contender

[j2khitmanParticipant]

This topic isn’t a black or white issue. It’s about developing big men. The fact that you think Christian Laettener ranks in the top ten of "white American big men" who have played in the NBA since Tom Chambers retired shows how little you know about basketball.

Christian Laettener was an icon in college and arguable the best player Duke has ever had on their team, but in the NBA he didn’t cut it and anyone that knows basketball will tell you that. I am sure that Laettener himself would tell you that he wasn’t even a top big man in the NBA ever.

Now if you want me to name a school that has produced some good big men then what about Florida. Within the past ten or less years that have produced David Lee, Joakim Noah, and Al Horford. All three players are flourishing and two are all-stars in the NBA.

Uconn is another program that has produced a good amount of big men.

Don’t get me wrong I am a huge Duke fan, but I can also admit what their flaws are. They get good talent that fits well in their program, but they don’t develop their big men well. McRoberts was the second best player in his class and he didn’t live up to his potential in college or the NBA. Randolph at one point was listed as the best player in his class and now he is a bench warmer somewhere.

 

[Johnny Chill]

Webber and Howard, Tractor Taylor….anyone else in the NBA?

Duke actually has a better track record than Michigan getting big men into the NBA in the last 20 years.

 

 

[WizardofOzParticipant]

McGary isn’t going to Michigan, he’s going to Maryland. 🙂

But if he doesn’t come to Maryland, I’d be fine with Robert Carter or Charles Micthell.

[stickdogParticipant]

 Florida has three decent NBA posts, but Duke has Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer and they are the best pair of post players in the NBA from any one college team.

Not to mention that Deng, Battier and Grant Hill all played PF at Duke.

It’s hilarious. David Lee — who can’t play defense to save his life — is a NBA success but Christian Laettner, who had over 20,000 career points+rebounds+assists+blocks+steals was an NBA failure. Why not simply name all the white American players since Laettner who have had better overall NBA careers than Laettner? Take the challenge. Let’s see your list.

People say it is not a black/white issue, but it simply is. Whenever people point out all Duke’s supposed NBA big man busts, they list off a bunch of white players. My point is that no other school has produced more than a couple even halfway decent American big white guys lately. Duke gets blasted because it can’t do something that no other school can do. Does that make any sense to you? For whatever reason, big white American players haven’t had much NBA success — no matter which college developed them — since the days of Bird, McHale and Chambers. 

[j2khitmanParticipant]

One question…

Do you really think Laettner was a better pro than David Lee has been?

If you think he is then you shouldn’t be analyzing basketball. It’s funny that you ask for my list when you can’t even get the facts right. Laettner will go down as one of the best college players and probably the best Dukie of all time, but his game couldn’t translate to the NBA

 You are wrong on many issues. For one, Laetnner never scored 20,000 points in the NBA; he scored a little over 11,000. Deng, Battier, and Hill were all three that were forced to play the four because Duke didn’t have any developed post players. David Lee was the last pick in the first round the year he got drafted and he did more with his time in the NBA then Laettner ever did.

Let me be clear. Duke is my favorite team out of all sports, but I am also realistic. They are a guard oriented school. Austin Rivers will be a star, but players like Mason Plumlee won’t be. Stop being biased. Do your research and then come up with facts and not opinions.

With Capel part of the Duke Staff, I hope that he can develop their big men. Duke already has an advantage because they recruit and usually get some of the best nig men, but now it’s time to make them better. Mason Plumlee should have been a monster by now and he hasn’t lived up to expectation.

 

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