Think about it. Ever since Kyrie made Duke into the Temple of Kobe Disciples, Duke has underachieved. Every year they get the top volume shooting wing, every year K rolls the ball out instead of coaching, and every year they go home way earlier than their talent warrants, all because K sold the program's soul to scrubby-ass gunners allergic to defense.

The sole exception is the 2015 national champions, which lacked the Kobe Disciple who has led to the program's underachievement in recent years. They're the exception that proves the rule.

But redemption might be here. Zion is everything Ba and Longo think Kyrie is: a generational superstar who should, as Longo has pointed out, should set Duke up in recruiting for the next 15 years. Better yet, Zion worships Lebron, not Kobe. Zion can pass, Zion can play defense, and Zion grinds.

It strikes me that Zion represents the possibility for a mild course correction. K can get dudes who care more about the team and less about getting theirs. He can get the freaks instead of the gunners. It doesn't solve the "K doesn't want to coach anymore" problem, but it's probably a better prototype to sell than Kyrie.

Troll title aside, none of this is Kyrie's fault. Kyrie probably was good enough that, with a full season, his Duke team could have made a serious run. It's more about the kids he has inspired to choose Duke and K's full-scale ceding of the program to them.

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bshelly

"You (Fisher) could get fired, Les Snead could get fired, Kevin Demoff could get fired, but I will always be Eric Dickerson.” (c) The God