Nessley: Negative conditioning
Martin Nessley was a heavy 7’2″, 280 lb. mountain out of Whitehall-Yearling High School in Columbus, Ohio. Along with his size, he brought impressive credentials as a McDonald’s All-American and a Parade All-American. can’t like it Coach K pursued him and he committed to Duke in 1984. The coach probably believed he could get Martin to do some weight training and conditioning and speed the guy up, give him a vertical jump of at least several inches.
Nessley was put on a strict diet. Alarie remembers that the guy barely ate anything besides maybe a salad at the practice table. However, he couldn’t even lose a pound. Marty didn’t play much his first year, too slow. Then knee surgery limited him as a sophomore.
Sumner describes one night between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. Amaker, Nessley’s roommate, woke up to a knock on his door and then muffled conversation. As Amaker tried to fall asleep, he heard movement coming from the other side of the room. He turned on a lamp and found Nessley swallowing a large pizza under his blanket. Surely Nessley had to know that the Duke coaches would have satisfied that hunger with plenty of protein drinks and protein-packed lean meats. But maybe his drive to stand out wasn’t powerful enough.
Finally, as a senior, Nessley played in every game, started four and blocked 24 shots, not bad. The best game of his career was at Harvard with 25 points and 8 rebounds. But that was the extreme exception. It seems as if that 7-foot-2 frame of his could have accomplished so much more. He played little ball in the NBA for a year.
Randolph: bad breaks or bad attitude?
Shavlik Randolph became an instant star at Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. His record of 56 points in a game broke Pete Maravich’s record at the same school. With that kind of play, it should come as no surprise that he was a McDonald’s All-American, a two-time Associated Press North Carolina Player of the Year and a two-time Parade All-American.
The kid got off to a great start at Duke with 23 points and a team-high 7 rebounds in the first game against Army. Two days later he had a double-double against Davidson. Then suddenly Shavlik is almost out of sight. He scored in double figures just five more games that season and struggled somewhat with injuries. Over the summer he had to rehab after successful hip surgery. As a sophomore, he played in all 37 games for Duke, averaging 7.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He then seemed to come alive for the NCAA tournament, playing very well against Alabama State and UConn.
During his junior year, his averages were slightly lower than his sophomore stats, but he missed four games recovering from mono. Still, he averaged nearly 20 minutes of playing time per game. Then, inexplicably, after his lackluster junior year, Randolph decided to opt out his senior year and declare himself a draft candidate. Over the years, he has gone back and forth between brief stints with NBA teams followed by playing in European leagues.
Price: a fantastic year
Ricky Price played three years of high school basketball at St. Anthony’s and his senior year at Serra High School in Gardena, California. One thing that became apparent during Price’s high school career and later at Nike camps is that he was fully capable of taking charge of games and carrying a team on his back. A McDonalds All-American Slam Dunk Champion, he was unanimously named one of the top 5 players in the nation by USA Today/AP/Parade.
Price started 14 games as a rookie during that nightmare season without Coach K. He then had a breakout sophomore season with 29 starts in 31 games. He acted as the go-to man in close games and won several in the dying seconds. Against Virginia he went wild with 28 points. Everything was going well for Price until just before spring training his junior year when he broke a finger and started having trouble with his outside shot. He only started 11 games that year. Definitely a disappointment.
Then, as he entered his fourth year, this should have been his golden opportunity to surpass his stellar sophomore stats and make NBA scouts salivate. However, he was caught plagiarizing and declared academically ineligible after his junior year. He had to sit out the fall semester as a senior. In December, when he was able to resume play, Coach K apparently wasn’t very impressed because he only got one senior day start against UNC. Price ended up playing professionally abroad.
pure talent is not enough
Nessley, Randolph and Price all came to Duke with accolades and awards that rival some of the greatest recruits of all time. Veteran scouts raved about them and they were voted high school All-Americans. His raw potential seemed almost limitless. Some may blame injuries, but many Duke players have battled injuries and still had a great career at Duke. When the guys show up at Duke, success isn’t even close to inevitable. They have to stretch for excellence, fight for minutes, be slaves to strength, speed and conditioning. They have to play for the team, learn from the coaches and outplay their opponents. Nothing is guaranteed in sports. That’s why it’s a fierce competition all the way.
