Tom Suiter: McRoberts Never Lived Up to the Hype

Thursday, Duke’s Josh McRoberts, whose sophomore season ended in defeat in the NCAA tournament, said he would be declaring for the NBA draft. He would be leaving Duke two years early. I can’t say that I’m surprised by this. It was out there that this would probably happen.

Will he be a good pro? From what I saw at Duke, I wouldn’t think so.

In the spring of 2005, 6-10 Josh McRoberts of Carmel, Ind., was thought by many to be the top high school prospect in the country. There were some who thought that McRoberts was good enough to go right from high school to the NBA. He was regarded that highly.

Through his two years at Duke, I kept waiting to see this Josh McRoberts play. There were flashes to be sure. He could break the press with the dribble. He was a good passing big man. But I never saw the McRoberts who was supposed to be a superstar.

He was a big man who had no post game but who couldn’t shoot the three. Duke, which was so young this season, needed him to score, and he managed just 13 a game. To go with that 13 pts, he averaged 7.9 rebounds per game, 2.5 blocks per game had 114 assists. Not bad, a good all-around game but more was expected from someone who came to Duke with so much hype.

Duke needed McRoberts to be The Man this season, and he couldn’t be what they needed. I don’t think that it was in him to be Duke’s go-to guy. He was good but not great, and I’m not sure if he’d stayed two more years he would have ever lived up to his high school buildup. Maybe no one could have reached those expectations.

McRoberts says it has always been his goal to play in the NBA and that deciding to leave Duke wasn’t an easy choice to make.

“This was a difficult decision, but I feel it is the best one for me and my family at this point in time.”

McRoberts never seemed to be Mike Krzyzewski tough, but he is tougher now than when he arrived. He improved as a defender, and the coach says he’s solidly behind the big guy’s decision.

“Josh has been a terrific player for us for the past two years and he will be even better in the future as a professional,” said Coach K in a prepared statement. “Based on our information, it is time to move on to the next level, and we are ready to help him in any and every way during this process.”

McRoberts is one of those players who may have improved had he stayed in college. But two years and out seemed to be his time frame. If you look at his game right now, he’s not ready for the next level.

But NBA teams do like big guys who can handle the ball, pass and run the floor a little, and McRoberts can do that. They draft on potential, and early draft projections have him going somewhere in the first round. And that’s a nice pay day.

So Josh McRoberts’ Duke career is over. Two and done.