Certain college basketball coaches are accustomed to rebuilding their roster every season.
Kentucky’s John Calipari and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski are shining examples. Each year, they recruit a handful of blue-chip prospects with full knowledge that, after a single season, those prospects will pursue their professional dreams in the NBA. Since 2013, Calipari has had 13 players who were ranked in the top 30 of their recruiting class selected in the first round of the NBA Draft after their freshman season. Krzyzewski has had nine such players, all of who were ranked in the top 15 of their recruiting class. No other coach has had more than four such players.
As a result, Calipari and Krzyzewski are prepared for these departures when they land prospects of this caliber, which is why they are always on the recruiting trail seeking the next batch of elite players to replace their one-and-dones for the following season. They know that this is the deal, and they expect that their players will leave for the NBA Draft early when they recruit them.
Michigan’s John Beilein, on the other hand, has rarely expected that his players will leave for the NBA Draft early when he recruits them. But given his recent track record, that should change.
