I have to admit, I was a little worried.

I saw recruits that Coach K and Johnny Dawkins used to field calls from not even schedule visits. I saw shooters going to Georgetown and Villanova. I saw athletic wings not even consider Duke. And I got bitter, real bitter.

I wondered if it were time for a strong regime change. I daydreamed of Johnny Dawkins taking over for Coach K and bringing the type of recruit to Duke that we haven’t seen since Brand or Maggette.

It would be different. Would kids like Harrison Barnes think twice before draping themselves in that hideous shade of blue? Does Nolan Smith – Michael Beasley become a package deal? Do Johnny Dawkins’ Washington, DC roots make Prince Georges County, MD Duke’s back yard in the same way Chicago became in the late ’90′s?

You wonder.

Then Dawkins leaves. Then I curse the program. I look at the new troupe of assistants and bury my head in shame. No offense, guys–I’m just being honest.

Then I look up, and wait, we are playing pretty well. We’re defending well. We can score. And we are getting pretty good bench production. We’re deep and our bench is peaking at the right time. And I exhale and go, “We’re alright. Why am I worried?”

That’s the question. That one, right there.

There is a reason why I am worried and it is completely legitimate. I have seen this before. A top 10 team with marginal talent that’s well coached, but it rarely beats teams that are more talented than them, but they have enough talent to dominate their conference on a down year. In it’s previous form it was diagnosed as Purdue.

Yes, Purdue. During the tail end of the Gene Keady years, Purdue was good once every 4 years and returned to its middle-of-the-pack status for 3 years looking to reload by landing that big name recruit that would vault Purdue back into the top 10. Earlier in his career, however, Keady would have 2-3 of those players to choose from and his recruiting style was nonchalant. He, rightfully, thought it was a privilege for a kid to be recruited  by the Boilermakers. As the years went by though, Purdue lost a lot of those recruits to Illinois, Wisconsin, and the rest of the Big Ten’s budding basketball programs. Not Keady’s fault, just the evolution of college basketball.

Now back to Duke. I see a lot of similarities in the two situations. Roy Williams has made it impossible for Duke to effectively recruit against him. Steve Robinson leaves no stone unturned and I hate to admit it, but he kind of runs circles around Wojo and Chris Collins. So recruiting is not what it was in the 90′s. We get the classic “Duke” kids and they stay a while and develop, but they are usually not as talented as the blue-chippers who are one-and-done and go to Memphis or Kentucky. So our talent is marginal more often than not. Thus, I have to ask if Duke is built for the long haul or can we contend for a title every year.

I think Kyrie Irving is a step in the right direction of bringing a player in that other kids may want to follow to Duke. Also, I think the Plumlee brothers are a huge land for the program. Nolan Smith is improving every game he plays, which is a relief. But I still have issue with whether Andre Dawkins can deal with the mechanical way Coach K breaks down your game then builds it up. I am afraid he’ll transfer if he feels that he can’t catch on to the offense. I am also afraid of Duke being able to recruit ‘bigs’ at a rate that is congruent to how quickly they leave for the NBA. It’s a legitimate concern that Mason Plumlee will leave for the NBA based on potential and athleticism. Can Duke fill that void with an incoming freshman? Maybe.

Duke has to find a path that works for the program in 2-year cycles. Coach K should anticipate that every kid they bring in will leave in 2 years. We don’t have time to teach basketball anymore. I know it’s sad, but it’s the truth. We can’t build for the long haul the way Coach K and Johnny D did in the 90′s. Adjusting takes some time, but I think those moves are being made. Irving, Seth Curry, et al. should be a good way to load this team up so it is better next year. The way we find out that the ‘Purdue Syndrome’ has avoided its fatality state, is by checking the scheduled visits in 2011.

Keep your fingers crossed.