It’s probably just me, but I’m eyerolling my way through the hype that Duke is getting for its barnstorming tour of Canada.
The preseason #2 in the ACC is suddenly the second coming of the Dream Team. Zion Williamson is Charles Barkley 2.0. R.J. Barrett is, OK, he’s a chucker – he hoisted 30 shots in Duke’s 86-67 win over Ryerson University, which actually exists, on Wednesday, and another 26 attempts in the 96-60 win over the University of Toronto (playing, presumably, without Kawhi Leonard) on Friday.
The nation’s best recruiting class is already dealing with injuries – Tre Jones and Cam Reddish – aren’t playing in Canada because of injury, so the hype machine isn’t turned up to 11 on them just yet.
The latest group of one-and-dones in the waning years of Coach K’s run at Duke will be another crapshoot. For all the talent K has assembled in Durham in his sixth experiment with kids who don’t take classes after spring midterms, he has one national title – in 2015 – to show for it.
His one-and-done teams are actually more likely to go home the first weekend (2014, 2017) as they are to bring home the big trophy.
ESPN is obviously bored with itself, it being summer, the NFL and college football being a few weeks away still, and nobody watching that horrible “Get Up!” or any of their other studio shows.
But, folks, they’re beating up on Canada. Canada. Not UNC, not UVA, not Kentucky. Canada.
Let’s all slow our roll here, shall we?
Column by Chris Graham
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