The college basketball world was whipped into a frenzy on Thursday afternoon when five-star center Marques Bolden (DeSoto High School, DeSoto, TX) announced his commitment to play for head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils next season.
Bolden now gives Duke four five-star recruits in its six-man 2016 class, according to Scout.com.
While it’s no doubt Krzyzewski will have plenty of talent to work with next season, many analysts have already been quick to proclaim the Blue Devils as favorites for next season’s national championship.
C.B. McGrath was not one of those people.
An assistant on head coach Roy Williams’ staff for 17 years–including the last 13 at UNC–McGrath took to Twitter to make his feelings on the situation loud and clear.
And while yes, Duke hasn’t won a regular season ACC championship since 2010, the Blue Devils did win national championships in 2010 and in 2015–which is two more than UNC has won during the same time period.
The 2015 Duke team won the title on the strength of another similarly skilled recruiting class–a group led by the likes of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, and Justise Winslow.
Next year’s Blue Devils will have a similar makeup, in terms of raw talent.
First off, two of the nation’s top five high-school players, 6-foot-10 forward Harry Giles (Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA) and 6-foot-8 wing Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep, St. Louis, MO), will each spend a year in Durham.
Point guard Derryck Thornton announced his decision to transfer last month after just one year at Duke, but he’ll be replaced by another five-star player in the explosive Frank Jackson (Lone Peak HS, Highland UT).
Krzyzewski also brings back a few major contributors from past seasons.
Junior Matt Jones, a 6-foot-5 wing player, is a solid defender and three-point shooter who has made 53 career starts.
Senior forward Amile Jefferson, who was granted a medical redshirt after breaking his foot a year ago, provides the young squad with some much-needed experience.
And then there’s Grayson Allen–a First Team All-ACC pick last who also tripped a couple people last season. He too, decided to skip the NBA Draft process and return to school.
Any objective observer of basketball would agree that the Blue Devils will be oozing with talent next season, regardless of whether they win a single game.
The 40-year-old McGrath, however, sat on his original thought for just over 15 minutes–before returning to Twitter for more thoughts on the ACC regular season championship disparity between UNC and Duke.
While his intentions were certainly pure–he’s standing up for a university and coach he loves dearly–it can be construed as a bit petty.
After all, the Tar Heels are expected to be pretty darn good themselves.
Every non-senior from last season’s Final Four squad is coming back. Three new recruits–Tony Bradley, Brandon Robinson, and Seventh Woods–will also make their way to Chapel Hill.
But hey, this is the type of stuff that makes the Duke-UNC rivalry so great isn’t it?
Related Stories
‹
![]()
Duke Erases 13-Point Second Half Deficit, Stuns UNC in ACC Tournament SemifinalsFor the first 25 minutes of Friday’s UNC-Duke showdown in Brooklyn as part of the ACC Tournament Semifinals, it appeared the top-seeded Tar Heels would pound the Blue Devils into the ground with their inside play. Then point guard Joel Berry went to the bench with his fourth foul and the entire game changed—as Duke […]
![]()
Berry, Hicks Combine to Carry No. 5 UNC Past No. 17 Duke on Senior NightWith Michael Jordan back in town to announce a partnership between his Jordan Brand and the UNC football team, the greatest basketball player of all time told fans gathered at the Dean Dome that, “The ceiling is the roof,” for Tar Heel sports moving forward. Although the statement technically didn’t mean anything, everyone in the […]
![]()
No. 18 Duke Shoots its Way Past No. 8 UNC Down the Stretch, Wins 86-78Cameron Indoor Stadium played host to the latest thriller in the UNC-Duke rivalry on Thursday night, which once again came down to who wanted it more in the final minutes. For the fifth time in the past six meetings, however, Duke found a way to pull out the victory—defeating the No. 8 Tar Heels 86-78 thanks […]

UNC Hammers Duke on Senior Night, 91-73A regular season full of ups and downs finished with the highest of highs on Saturday at the Smith Center, as UNC jumped all over Duke right from the opening tip on the way to a 91-73 victory over the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels sprinted out to a 20-point lead midway through […]

Caleb Love's Career Game Helps UNC Top Duke at Cameron Indoor StadiumIt may have been the first time since 1960 that both UNC and Duke were unranked, but the game Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium stayed true to the rivalry by going right down to the wire. Freshman point guard Caleb Love’s career-high 25 points ultimately proved to be enough for UNC to […]

Roy Williams Teams With Coach K, Kevin Keatts in Coronavirus PSANorth Carolina Governor Roy Cooper sent out a tweet on Monday night with a public service announcement for the coronavirus pandemic featuring all three of the Triangle’s prominent men’s basketball coaches — UNC’s Roy Williams, NC State’s Kevin Keatts and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. In a state where college basketball functions as somewhat of a secondary […]

No. 12 Duke Snaps UNC's Three-Game Winning Streak, Completes Season Sweep of Tar HeelsWhat has been a turbulent regular season for the UNC men’s basketball team finally came to an end on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Tar Heels had their three-game winning streak snapped with an 89-76 loss to the rival Duke Blue Devils. This marks the first time since 2015 that Duke (25-6, […]

UNC Loses in Stunning Fashion at the Buzzer to No. 7 Duke in OvertimeA season littered with struggles and heartbreak wrote perhaps its most tragic chapter on Saturday night at the Dean Dome, as UNC watched what looked to be a magical upset over the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils turn into a crushing 98-96 loss in overtime. Ahead by 13 points with just over four minutes remaining—and […]

Zion Williamson, No. 4 Duke Hold Off No. 3 UNC at the Buzzer in ACC Tournament SemifinalsIn a game that can only be described as an instant classic the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils held off the third-ranked Tar Heels 74-73 at the buzzer Friday night in Charlotte—knocking UNC out in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. With many Duke fans proclaiming that the Tar Heels’ first two victories in the season series […]

No. 3 UNC Completes Season Sweep Over No. 4 Duke, Clinches Share of ACC Regular Season TitleIt doesn’t get too much sweeter for UNC fans than what they were treated to on Saturday night at the Dean Smith Center, as the third-ranked Tar Heels held off a late charge by the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils to win 79-70—completing the season sweep over their most hated rival on Senior Day. The […]
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines