Sure, the Blue Devils lost Jay Williams and Carlos Boozer, but they will have five incoming freshmen who should all get immediate playing time. They join a rotation that already includes Chris Duhon, Dahntay Jones, and Daniel Ewing. Duke will not have the nation's most talented starting five like they did last year, but the overall rotation will be much deeper. It was a lack of depth that was the kiss of death against Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.

At the start of the 2001-02 season, Dunleavy referred to the Blue Devils as "Jason's team." Next season, Dunleavy will be able to claim the all important leadership role that Jay Williams had last year and he'll be better prepared for it. He'll be a senior.

As great as Williams, Boozer, and Dunleavy were last season, there was something missing. The senior leadership that Shane Battier and Nate James provided in 2001 just couldn't be replaced by three juniors, even though they happened to be three of the best players in the country. If he stays, Dunleavy will become the big time leader Duke was missing in 2002.

Sure, opponents will be concentrating on Dunleavy, but his versatility makes him the toughest matchup college basketball has seen in quite a while. Plus, he'll have an excellent supporting cast led by Duhon. He'll also have the opportunity to get stronger and polish up his game even more under the direction of arguably the best coach in all of basketball, Mike Krzyzewski.

Then again, Dunleavy could get taken as high as first in this year's NBA Draft. He is practically a lock to be picked in the top five. There's no guarantee his stock will be that high again next year. National Player of the Year, the Final Four, and all the wonderful things I mentioned before won't come easy. Dunleavy will have to work just as hard at Duke as he will for the multi-million dollars he'll make achieving his NBA dream.

Look at his buddy Williams, who could have left after his sophomore year on top of the college basketball world and be the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. Instead, he came back and put his heart and soul into another year at Duke that ended on a sour note that was the ultimate antithesis of his brilliant college career. On top of that, Williams' status as the first pick in the draft is not as sure of a thing this year as it was last year. It is very likely Williams will go second behind Yao Ming.

How much higher could Dunleavy be picked next year, anyway, with high school phenom Lebron James hitting the scene as the likely top draft choice? Not much higher. Dunleavy is as close to having the entire basketball world at his feet as he can get. Let's face it, his stock is so high right now that there is not much room to ascend.

You can make a strong argument either way. Dunleavy, who is not in a financial hardship situation like so many other players who contemplate leaving early, is in for a big payday either in a couple of weeks or in 13 months. The main reason he should stay at Duke is that another year of the college game could make him a truly special player.

When I say special, I mean as special as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and some of the greats. His game is similar to Bird except that he is more agile and possesses more guard skills than Larry Legend. Dunleavy is a shooting guard trapped in a 6'10" body much like Magic Johnson was a point guard trapped in a 6'9" frame.

Dunleavy also has a high basketball I.Q., thanks mostly to his father Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Mike Dunleavy, Jr. will ultimately do what is right for him. He can't go wrong either way. But I think another year at Duke can mean the difference between him being great or him being truly special.

I am not one to put labels on players, but for years, basketball fans have been looking for the next Larry Bird. Chris Mullin, Danny Manning, Danny Ferry, Toni Kukoc, Keith Van Horn, and others have all come up way short, though one could make a case for Mullin coming close for a brief period in the early '90s.

Dunleavy will be the next great young player to draw that comparison and, as bold as this may sound, he might be even better than Larry Legend when it's all said and done.

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