With so many talented players passing through the halls at Duke University, it is hard for too many players to stand out. During any given season, there are almost always a few future NBA players on the squad. It takes a lot to stand out from the crowd, but to this day, a lot of players talk about physically gifted players showing up for their first season ready to play at the highest level. Corey Maggette is still considered one of the best of the best prepared for the rigors of the next level.

A typical 18-year-old showing up to school as a freshman seems like they have a lot of growing to do. Athletes might have a lot of promising skill, but it takes a grown man’s body to compete against the best players in the country. It usually takes at least a year of eating right and working out like a college athlete to look the part. Maggette showed up to the first day of practice looking like an upperclassman with his build.

Many scouting reports coming out of high school light Maggette‘s blend of size, speed, and power. He was a 6‘6“ forward coming out of high school, and he was trying to crack a rotation that included five future NBA draft picks. Practices were a battle from day one, and up to that point, very few freshman came into Duke and earned significant playing time right away.

Duke was coming off of an Elite Eight appearance the year before, and only losing one of the top six scorers. Simply put, there were not many minutes left for anyone, but Maggette found a way to shake into the rotation and have some moments where he even closed games out.

What happened to Corey Maggette?

In today’s world, Duke is bringing in freshman every year capable of starting. The difference is, there are very few upperclassmen challenging for those same positions. Duke has relied on the one-and-done rule a lot in the last few years, but Maggette was forced to do things the old-fashioned way.

Maggette was talented enough coming out of high school that he could have gone anywhere in the country and been an immediate star. The appeal of Duke and joining something a little different stuck out to him, and it is a decision that he has talked about favorably over the years as well. Even though he spent only a short amount of time there, he glowingly talks about the program and supports players coming through all the time. Many refer to this as part of the Duke Brotherhood, and that mentality resonates with the new generation of players also.

There are, of course, the highlights and memorable plays against teams during that one year that people can find online if they want. His athleticism led to some of the most outstanding dunks of that era, and he became one of the most exciting players in college basketball despite only playing bench minutes most of the year. Many argue to this day that he was the most gifted player on that roster that year, which is pretty impressive considering four other first-round picks, including #1 overall Elton Brand, played for that team.

Maybe the lasting impact on the program is the fact that Maggette paved the way for so many of these one-and-done players to experience Duke during that season. With a blend of basketball talent and academics, it is hard to find a better place to learn the game for one year before attempting a pro career. It has worked very well for players like Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson, and countless others. Before it became a pretty common occurrence, Maggette did things his way. Recently a news story came out that Kobe Bryant swam with the sharks and tried to get Maggette to join him. Since the two of them came into the NBA at a similar time and finished their careers in Los Angeles we see a lot of comparisons drawn between the two basketball stars. 

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