As a result, even when these players turn out to be average to good players, they are often considered “great recruits” by the national media, winning accolades such as McD’s all-americans. This feedback loop ensures that Duke is often touted as having great recruiting classes coming in, even though it was the players’ interest in Duke (and not their actual talents) that made them highly regarded in the first place!

Because Duke is perceived to have “excellent recruits” coming in to a new season, this often leads to high pre-season and early rankings. Duke is usually able to ride this reputation all the way to the post-season, where they start to stumble as they face tougher, more underrated teams.

It strikes me as ironic that the same fawning press that hypes Duke as one of basketball’s great programs created this paradox. We can only hope that Dick Vitale’s continued adulation will keep Duke circling the drain for years to come.