Jim On Duke’s Most Important All-Time Recruits (Part II)

Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images BOSTON - APRIL 23: The Celtics’ Larry Bird looks to pass around the Bulls’ Gene Banks as the Boston Celtics play the Chicago Bulls at Boston Garden on April 23, 1987.THREE

JOHNNY DAWKINS

Let’s take a trip in the wayback machine, back to March 5, 1982. Mike Krzyzewski’s second Duke season had just ended with an 88-53 loss to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The loss was Duke’s 17th of the season, a school record. Duke’s best player was Vince Taylor, a senior.

The vultures were circling. Krzyzewski desperately needed a transformative recruiting class.

He wasn’t getting it. He had three commitments by this time--no…