Yet again, as evident in the Sept. 4 editorial, it seems that the sanctuary of 301 Flowers has caused the Editorial Board to come down with a case of the hippie idealism. Yet again, I am called upon to inject a small but much needed dose of reality to this paper.
Everyone comes to Duke for a reason. Every year, Duke pays A.B. Dukes not to go to Harvard. Why? So we can have 20 of the best scholars and so their success will bring glory unto Duke. Why should our basketball recruiting be any different? With Jason Williams gone next year, the team needs a point guard. Sean Dockery is a damn good one. It doesn't matter that his academic credentials border on the comical. If he really is any good, he'll only be at Duke for a year or two at most anyway. The basketball team needs him if they are going to do well. And that is something Dukies are good at--doing what they need to do to be successful.
College basketball is a dirty business. Anyone who says it isn't is either a liar, a fool or employed by the Athletic Department. It is about money and drawing national attention to the school. Learning does not enter into the equation. Let us recognize this simple fact, acknowledge our double standard, and be proud that we can field a superb basketball team led by a legendary coach. The Chronicle said that a top-10 institution should never consider a player like Dockery. Without basketball, I would agree that his application should be subject to public ridicule. But, if we wanted basketball played by men whose SAT scores are consistent with the rest of those on campus, we could watch the Ivy League.
As it is the alumni that give the money to support Duke, I wish to end with what I want to see when I look at Duke. A campus full of five thousand intelligent, motivated students and 12 wicked awesome basketball players.
Dave Nigro
Trinity '01
The writer is a former columnist for The Chronicle.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.