By JOSH NEWMAN
NEW YORK – Elton Brand went to Duke, so you’ll have to excuse him for being a little biased, especially this week given the Blue Devils won their fifth national championship on Monday evening.
In the wake of the title, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones have decisions to make on their futures. Okafor is a projected top-2 pick in June’s NBA Draft and when the topic comes up, yes, Brand is a bit of a homer there, too.
“He’s definitely gonna be one of those top three picks for sure,” Brand told SNY.tv Wednesday evening after his Atlanta Hawks defeated the Nets, 114-111 at Barclays Center. “I follow it, I watch the other guys and I don’t want to go full nepotism, but I would take him No. 1.”
Brand knows better than most what’s coming for Okafor. A native of Peekskill, N.Y., Brand played two years at Duke, declared for the NBA Draft as a sophomore in 1999 and was selected No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bulls.
Since Okafor was a high-school phenom at Chicago Public League power Whitney Young, there has been little doubt he would be a one-and-done in Durham. Winslow, currently projected at No. 5 overall according to DraftExpress, has played his way to that point, while Jones has a real decision to make.
Currently slotted at No. 21 overall by DraftExpress, Jones may have to strike while the iron is hot. The Apple Valley, Minn. was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and was sensational against Wisconsin in the championship game, finishing with 23 points and five rebounds.
“They’ll follow Coach K’s lead, he won’t steer those guys wrong,” Brand said. “People say it’s a different era, but Coach K has definitely adapted. He understands that if you’re a top-3 pick, yeah, he wants you in his program for four years, but he understands.”
Krzyzewski has received wide praise for adapting to today’s one-and-done culture, but that wasn’t always the case. The 68-year-old Hall of Famer failed to find success with one-and-done freshmen Jabari Parker, Austin Rivers and Kyrie Irving in recent seasons. When Brand, freshmen Corey Maggette and sophomore William Avery all declared for the 1999 NBA Draft, they were the first three players to leave Duke early and not four years under Krzyzewski.
Duke’s 2001 national-title team featured senior Shane Battier and a host of standout underclassmen in Jay Williams, Chris Duhon and Mike Dunleavy Jr. The 2010 title winner was paced by experience in Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singer and New Jersey native Brian Zoubek, but this year’s team was the first in which Krzyzewski proved he could do it with mainly freshmen.
Aside from Okafor, Winslow and Jones, even classmate Grayson Allen got in on the act. After a mostly nondescript freshman season, the Jacksonville, Fla. native scored 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting against Wisconsin on his way to the Final Four all-tournament team.
“It was exciting,” Brand said. “That’s what Coach and the program are about, team and togetherness. All season it was all about Kentucky, Kentucky going undefeated, but Duke found a way to do it as a team. Guys stepped up and it’s great. It was just wonderful to watch. I know what it’s about because I was there.”
