Mike Dunleavy has decided to take the NBA millions and leave Duke, thus
making Magic Johnson a prophet (Johnson was one of the few people who predicted
that Mike Dunleavy would be an NBA player when he was still a skinny high
schooler).
Never having had the chance to turn down millions of dollars, we're not really
in a position to criticize Dunleavy, and aside from that basic reality, he's
been able to use the leverage of coming back to drive his bargaining position
home. It's been very well handled, and it looks as if he got everything he
wanted, with the exception of his senior year.
Our hope for Dunleavy is that he will end up with anyone but Golden State.
According to ESPN, Chris Mullin will take over. That could be really good news, but it's still a rebuilding job, to say the least.
As Duke fans, of course, it's a sad day. When you look back over the history
of Duke basketball, Dunleavy may perhaps be the best basketball player Duke has
produced. We say basketball player as opposed to athlete, just to be
clear. A lot of great players have come out of Duke, but players who
understand the game on Dunleavy's level are really, really rare. At Duke,
maybe Jeff Mullins, Jack Marin, and Bobby Hurley. Not many more.
That's not to knock Hill, Laettner, Spanarkel Williams or Banks, or anyone else,
but Dunleavy's understanding is on a different level.
For guys like Shavlik Randolph, this is good news, as he'll get a chance to
play early. For Duke, it's not the end of the world, but it is sad.
Nonetheless, we will watch draft day and look forward to seeing Jason, Mike, and
Carlos enjoy their big day. Those guys have done a huge amount for Duke, and
they have conducted themselves beautifully. We'll miss them all, but they
have been beautiful to have around, and we'll follow their careers from here
with great interest.