Instead, he decided on "joining the brotherhood of Duke University," giving head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils a group of freshmen unlike anything we've seen before.

Yet, it's hard to argue that Kentucky's 2013 class is better than what Duke has on tap, since it only included one of the top four players and whiffed on the two "can't-miss talents" from that year: Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

And it's hardly unreasonable to assume Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Trevon Duval and Gary Trent Jr. will all declare for the 2018 NBA draft in June.

Considering O'Connell and Goldwire have averaged a combined total of 8.0 minutes in Duke's last six games decided by fewer than 16 points, that could be one heck of a way to squander this stockpile of frontcourt talent.

Speaking of Kentucky, the difficulty the Wildcats have had in living up to the potential of their collective talent this season may dissuade people from trusting that Duke's crop of freshmen will jell immediately and become the team to beat.