I don't remember the exact words of the text message. John Wall to Kentucky, Duke loses another big recruit, he said-or something like that.
I was sitting in the dimly lit hallway of an office building at my summer job when the buzz of my phone interrupted my work. Wall-the 6-foot-4 can't-miss point guard with the presumed ability to bring a team to the next level-had turned downed Cameron Indoor for Rupp Arena. Just hours later, reports confirmed that Gerald Henderson had officially declared for the pros after hiring an agent. Hopes for a dominant run to a national title seemed to evaporate before my eyes.
A few of my friends sometimes call me a "sports optimist." It's the part of me that fills in Duke for the national title game in my bracket every year. It isn't that I'm oblivious to the team's limitations, but instead knowing that if everything comes together perfectly-and with a bit of luck-a championship is within reach.
But that morning, I didn't know what to say. How do you defend your team in a 160-character message?
I wanted to believe that Wall had woken up that Tuesday morning ready to become a part of Duke's program, convinced that Coach K would run a free, fast-breaking system that-when going small-would have a lineup as athletic as any team in the country: Wall, Henderson (if he withdrew from the draft), Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas.
I hoped Wall could become Duke's Carmelo Anthony or Derrick Rose-a one-and-done freshman superstar who dominated the NCAA before turning his talents into an NBA contract.
I had thought that maybe Wall would wake up that morning with a smile at the breakfast table, and announce to his mother that he had made up his mind to stay close to home so that he could play near her, especially after her recent illness. Wall promised his father-who died when he was ten-that he would go to college.
If Wall committed to be a Blue Devil, and somehow-though in retrospect it seems to have been highly unlikely-convinced Henderson to withdraw from the draft for a chance to chase after a national title, Duke fans would have reason to book hotel rooms early in Indianapolis for the Final Four.
It could have happened, and I even convinced myself that, yes, it was gong to happen. And then it didn't.
"What if?" I kept asking myself. To realize that what could have been isn't going to be is perhaps the most torturing part of following sports, and it's hardly the first time this has happened in recent memory. What if Shaun Livingston and Luol Deng decided to team up with juniors J.J. Redick and Sheldon Williams and forgo the NBA Draft for just one year? What if Jason Williams had made that free throw against Indiana in 2002? What if Kobe Bryant had decided to go to college and attended Duke, like he often admits he would have?
If Coach K had responded publicly to losing out on Wall-and I understand why he wouldn't-he would certainly downplay the moment's importance. It isn't as if the Blue Devils don't already return a strong team, for Henderson is the only defect from a team that won 30 games and adds freshmen forwards Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly.
Krzyzewski would be right to minimize missing out on Wall. K-Ville will still fill with tents this winter, Duke will still compete for the ACC title with potential to make a run in March and Cameron will still literally shake when North Carolina visits. But I just can't forget being left there alone, leaning back in that office chair for a minute and just thinking over and over to myself, "What if?"
I never responded to that text message. I still don't have an answer.
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