Duke's loss with Maggette? A dream others will fulfill

Sporting News, The, May 31, 1999 by Mike DeCourcy

He was not a truly great high school player, not consistent or determined enough to be the best in his city. His club team was a morass of escalating egos and conflicting self-interests.

He was humiliated at the 1997 Nike All-American Camp in the most notable game of his week. In college, Corey Maggette was a sub.

In that context, it doesn't appear the Duke Blue Devils and their fans lost much with Maggette's decision to enter the NBA draft after one season and 691 minutes of playing time as an athletically extraordinary 6-7 wing. Of they did.

They lost the dream of what Maggette might become if presented with a starring role, and how that would help the Blue Devils repair holes created in their lineup by the departure of All-American center Elton Brand and point guard William Avery.

It might have been just that: a dream. And when the Blue Devils wake up October 15, they still should be in position to challenge for the national championship.

Recruiting analysts know this because they know the players who will fortify the Duke roster: point guard Jason Williams, center Casey Sanders, power forwards Carlos Boozer and Nick Horvath and shooting guard Mike Dunleavy.

"I think you have a heck of a program when you can lose Trajan Langdon by graduation, Chris Burgess by transfer and William Avery, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette by hardship--I think it says a lot for your program when you can lose five people like that and you're going to be in the upper division of the ACC," says Stephen Wacaser, who publishes the Assists, Turnovers & Loose Balls scouting letter.

This class addresses Duke's needs and keeps the talent at an unconscionable level. "They're still going to have six McDonald's All-Americans and a Parade All-American," says North Carolina-based PrepStars analyst Brick Oettinger. "Most anybody else in the nation would be drooling to have that talent."

The center spot is most problematic. Boozer has superior strength and skill, but he must learn to be content inside after fighting so long to show off perimeter skills. Sanders is a shot blocker who jumps and runs like a small forward, but he was trashed around at the Nike Hoop Summit.

Avery left a year ahead of schedule, but Williams arrives as a better pure point. Not a better player, at this stage, but someone who understands the position. With Nate James joining Williams in the backcourt and Chris Carrawell and Shane Battier at forward, the Blue Devils have four players who can attack the goal or sting opponents with jump shots.

"I'm not sure there are five teams in college basketball that wouldn't want to be Duke next year," says Clark Francis of the Louisville-based HoopScoop service. "In this day and age, having young players who are hungry, that might be a blessing in disguise."

Wacaser expects Maggette will become a great pro but thinks it is not guaranteed. "One reason he looked so good was he was surrounded by a lot of talent, and there wasn't a lot of responsibility attached to his play," Wacaser says. "I think it would have been important for him to be a leader at Duke, to be a responsible player, and see how he handled that."

In Maggette's final prep game, he shot 4-of-22, and suburban Chicago's Fenwick High was eliminated in the state quarterfinals. The dub team he joined with UCLA's JaRon Rush and the Pistons' Korleone Young was a consistent, early-round loser in amateur tournaments.

At the Nike Camp, in front of an audience jammed with scouts and coaches, Maggette heard future Indiana Hoosier Dane Fife declare, "You're not going to make a reputation on me." Fife backed up his words. Maggette wound up 10th by THE SPORTING NEWS' consensus of recruiting analysts.

We are conditioned to think Maggette would have flourished because of his outrageous talent and Mike Krzyzewski's gifts as coach, but just as Ricky Price foundered and Burgess languished, Maggette might have retreated from the challenge.

In a sense, Maggette will be congratulated for his decisions. But it might not cost Duke.

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