It wasn't exactly a season to remember.
This season marked many forgettable moments for the men's basketball team--finishing last in the Atlantic Coast Conference and being noticeably absent from the NCAA tournament for the first time in a dozen years.
The two seniors on the 1994-95 team are looking to brighter and better things, however. While most of the talk of the upcoming NBA draft has been of which underclassman will be the No. 1 pick, Cherokee Parks and Erik Meek hope to receive some attention from NBA teams during the draft on June 28.
What teams will select these Blue Devils is still somewhat up in the air. Parks, the team's leader in a host of categories--including points per game (19.0), rebounds per game (9.3) and blocks (55), is expected to be a top-10 pick.
"Cherokee is projected anywhere from six to 10," assistant coach Tommy Amaker said. "I think the sixth pick would be Vancouver and they've expressed a lot of interest. They've done a lot of background research on Cherokee and I'm sure on the other guys in that range, too. They are definitely interested."
Former assistant Pete Gaudet had the opportunity to work closely with Parks and Meek over the last four years as the "big-men" coach for the Blue Devils.
"Both Cherokee and Erik are well-groomed for the NBA as far as competition is concerned," Gaudet said. "Cherokee's as good an outside shooter as any big man that played college basketball last year. They both had a disposition to improve and the desire to get better. That's the kind of thing that the people in the NBA want to hear."
Meek, due to his performance in pre-draft tryout camps, is projected to be a second-round pick. In April, Meek was named MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational NBA tryout camp, leading his team to the championship of that invitational.
NBA director of scouting Marty Blake was even impressed with Meek's performance in Portsmouth.
"He was the MVP there, and deservedly so," Blake said in April of Meek at the invitational. "Erik played very well. He had a broken nose and a sore shoulder.
"He should be able to get drafted. I think he has a chance to play in the league."
Meek averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for Duke this season, but considerably raised his NBA chances with his performances in the tryout camps.
"Erik has done very well in the post-season, pre-draft camps," Amaker said. "He averaged a double-double [at the Portsmouth tournament]. From there he was invited to camps in Phoenix and Chicago. Of course, as you go along the competition gets better, but he really fared okay."
Gaudet highlighted Meek's work ethic as one of his main strengths, noting television commentators who said that nobody in the country works harder than Meek.
"With Erik, he has done nothing but increase his stock," Gaudet said. "Erik was a battler and a terrific player to work with. He was willing to improve."
While Parks has had individual interest from Vancouver, no specific team has actively pursued Meek.
"Everyone is intrigued with him and especially with his work effort," Amaker said. "But no one team in particular has jumped out and shown a lot of interest in him."
Even though these two Blue Devils had a rather disappointing senior year as far as their team was concerned, Gaudet feels that their individual characteristics are enough to invoke the attention of NBA teams.
"I think [NBA teams] are mainly interested in the potential--what [Parks and Meek] could do for them. Certainly they both played like winners; they both played to win."
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