In the 16 years Mike Krzyzewski has been at the helm of the men's basketball team, no player has left Duke early for the NBA. That streak may end over the next few years as the Blue Devils recruit some of the nation's top players, some of whom have expressed an interest in turning professional before they finish college.
One player who will almost certainly leave school early that the Blue Devils are still heavily recruiting is Kobe Bryant, a 6-foot-6 guard from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa. Bryant, considered the nation's top prep prospect, is pondering making the jump straight from high school to the NBA, a move which has caused many schools to not spend large amounts of time recruiting him. According to Lower Merion head coach Gregg Downer, Duke is one of five schools on Bryant's final list. Also on that list are LaSalle, where Bryant's father Joe is an assistant coach, and North Carolina. Downer said both Dean Smith and Krzyzewski have said they will support Bryant if he makes the expected early jump from college to the NBA.
"If [Bryant] were to go to college, I don't think there is any way he would stay for four years," Downer said. "Coach Krzyzewski has not made [staying] a restriction. He has told Kobe if he does come to Duke and decides to leave early he will support that."
An article in last Saturday's edition of the Durham Herald-Sun reported that Bryant will spurn the idea of turning pro out of high school, and instead he will give both Duke and UNC serious consideration. Downer said that the article was somewhat inaccurate and that Bryant was still considering going straight to the NBA.
"There really has been no swinging of the tide," Downer said. "He's looking at both options thoroughly."
Downer said that Bryant has been sought after by the Blue Devils since the summer of 1994, when Duke saw the nation's top prospect at an Adidas camp. He also added that both Duke and UNC have been on his list since the beginning.
Traditionally, recruits have eyed Duke as a school where they would stay for four years. Shane Battier, a junior from Detroit Country Day School and one of the Blue Devils' potential recruiting prospects for the fall of 1996, said people around his hometown consider Duke to be a four-year commitment, as opposed to Michigan, which is talked about as a two-year college after players like Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose left early.
Duke associate head coach Tommy Amaker said as the times have changed, so have the Blue Devils' attitude towards recruiting a high school player who has expressed an interest in leaving early.
"I think that overall we've recruited the ideal candidate for Duke, in terms of basketball, in terms of athletics," Amaker said. "Recently, we've had kids that are talking about going pro after one or two years. Before, once we got them, maybe it turned out they would leave. Very rarely would you recruit a kid out of high school that was thinking about leaving early.
"I think if a kid is saying he's looking to leave, we respect that."
Smith and Krzyzewski are also battling each other for another of the nation's top junior prospects-Chris Burgess, a 6-foot-9 center from Woodbridge High School in Irvine, Ca. Burgess attended the most recent Duke-UNC game in Cameron on March 3. When asked about the possibility of leaving early, Burgess said that if he felt he was ready, he would leave college and turn pro.
When Burgess visited North Carolina, Smith brought up the topic of leaving early. According to Burgess, Smith told the nation's top-ranked junior that he would probably be ready after his sophomore year to jump to the pros. Burgess said he has yet to discuss with Duke the possibility of leaving early, but when talking about Krzyzewski, Burgess said if the Duke head coach wanted him to stay another year he would listen to his coach.
Besides Bryant, the Blue Devils are currently pursuing Nate James, a senior forward from St. John's Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md. James won the three-point contest at the McDonald's All-American game and was named MVP of the NBC4 Capital Classic. Duke is one of five schools James is currently deciding on, and he will make a visit to each of the schools before making a final decision.
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