The Spire

Aiden Konold ’26

Let the Kids Play

He walks into the Duke University locker room after a regular season basketball game for perhaps the six hundredth time in his collegiate basketball career. No, seriously, the six hundredth time. Or at least pretty darn close to it. 

I know what you’re all thinking, this old crank is just up here on his soap box to complain about the current state of collegiate athletics. Partly true. But I’m not exaggerating when I say that. 

Clarice James, a five star recruit in high school, never envisioned his college career would go quite like this. He always dreamed of playing at Duke, but never for this long. The plan was always to be a one and done, and then take his talents to an NBA team in exchange for a multi-million dollar contract. 

As a kid, Clarice sat in his family’s living room and watched in awe as Mike Krzyzewski coached his Duke teams to championship after championship. When Clarice turned 10 years old, he started playing AAU basketball. He hit a growth spurt the summer before he entered the eighth grade, growing from 5’5 to 6’1. 

He started lifting weights with his dad when he turned 15, and his upper body strength impressed his coaches. He worked on increasing his vertical with the personal trainer his parents paid for during the summers. The same summer that Clarice experienced his growth spurt, he dunked for the first time. 

During Clarice’s freshman season at Durham Academy, a mere 5 minute drive from Duke University’s campus, college recruits started attending his games. Duke was always Clarice’s dream school, but they weren’t the first to express interest. The first school to extend an offer to Clarice was Clemson, who reached out 10 games into Clarice’s high school career. 

The offers then came pouring in from all over the country. UConn, Houston, Texas, Florida, LSU, Cal, UCLA, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Maryland, Kansas, Villanova, Rutgers. Each week, Clarice updated his 15.1 thousand instagram followers of the most recent schools to extend offers. 

The goal remained Duke, though. Clarice wanted to go somewhere where he could get a great education, while also having the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level. And being less than 15 minutes from home was certainly a bonus. 

Clarice stood at the top of his high school class with a perfect 5.0 weighted GPA. He took every AP class that his high school offered, and he was selected most likely to succeed by his 199 peers. 

On the court, he averaged 25 points per game, 7 rebounds per game, and 6 assists per game. He was in the top 5 in scoring in the state of North Carolina. But still, through his sophomore season, Duke had yet to call. Clarice sent email after email to the Duke coaching staff with clips of his high school highlights and his transcript attached. 

But even as other schools, some of the best blue blood basketball programs in the country, phoned Clarice, Duke never did. Even after dropping 30+ points routinely, Clarice returned home and stormed up the steps. He walked into his room, slammed the door shut, nearly knocking it off its hinges, and cried himself to sleep. 

His parents walked in to try to console him, but to no avail. 

“Duke doesn’t want me!” Clarice screamed as tears streamed down his face. “They’re making a mistake! If they extend me an offer, I will remain fully committed to them, and I will never, ever even consider entering the transfer portal!”

Clarice went through his nightly routine of crying himself to sleep through his entire sophomore season and half of his junior season before Coach K, Clarice’s childhood idol, finally made the phone call that changed Clarice’s life. At first, he couldn’t believe it. 

“The Coach K?” Clarice asked into his iPhone’s speaker. “Like this isn’t some big joke?” 

“This is Mike Krzyzewski, yes,” Coach K said with authority. “The head coach of the Duke University men’s basketball team. And I would like to offer you a full scholarship to come here to continue your basketball career.” 

“Yes! I’d love that!” Clarice screamed into the receiver. “Thank you so much, Coach! You will never regret this decision!” 

“Of course, young man!” Coach K responded. “We’ve been coming to your games since the end of your freshman season, and we really like how you’ve improved. You’ve been able to handle the adversity of being on a losing team with class, and that’s exactly the kind of student-athlete that we’re looking for.” 

In Clarice’s first two and a half seasons at Durham Academy, his team went an abysmal 20-30, even as Clarice shone. But Clarice was always the first to console his teammates and show them how to improve when they made mistakes. That’s what Coach K admired most. 

Clarice told his parents about the call, and they were ecstatic. They had always known that this was their son’s dream, and they were also happy to know that all of the time they spent driving their son to and from tournaments and the money they spent on trainers was worth it. Their own hard work as well as their son’s was paying off dividends. 

The next year and a half flew by in a flash. Even as Clarice’s Durham Academy team lost more and more games, his focus remained on playing for Duke. He just wanted to graduate so that he could get to work, and learn from Coach K, the greatest mind in college basketball. 

Graduation came and went. Clarice had a few short weeks to spend with his family after graduation, until it came time to move into Duke early for summer workouts. At least, unlike most players on Duke’s roster, Clarice could go for a quick morning run and arrive at his home. His house was just a stone’s throw from Duke’s campus. 

Clarice arrived at Duke just as NIL was starting to take over collegiate athletics. And every local company wanted to get in on the Clarice hype. Impact Pharmaceutical Services signed Clarice, as did the United Therapeutics Corporation. Big time national brands like Nike, Raising Cane’s, and Delta Airlines all signed Clarice, and by Duke’s first game, Clarice was already making well into the six figures from off-the-court opportunities. Without even having to play a game. 

The Duke starting lineup featured players Clarice thought he was much better than. Ever heard of Zion Williamson? How about RJ Barrett? Maybe Cam Reddish? Yeah, bet you haven’t heard of them. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Clarice James, though. 

Still, Coach K thought those other scrubs were better than Clarice, so he decided to redshirt. At least he could still profit well into the six figures, while learning from the best coach in the game. All while not having to put himself through the same physical toll day in and day out as his teammates. 

Which is why, 20 years after Clarice first walked onto Duke’s campus, he considers using another year of eligibility to return. He’s only a redshirt senior after all. He sat out the first 17 seasons he was at Duke. Each year, the money he earned from NIL deals increased, rising into the seven figures by his fifth season. 

He always planned on going straight to the NBA after his first season at Duke, but the roster was stacked, and he never had the opportunity to prove himself on the national stage, so he instead redshirted while cashing in on this new, bizarre age of collegiate athletics. 

Making millions while riding the bench? Sign me up! And Clarice sure cashed in on the academic side as well. The only reason he’s up in the air as to whether he’ll return for year 21? He has already earned all the degrees that Duke offers. 

He started off his undergraduate career as a Political Science and English double major. He graduated with his dual degree four years later. He then enrolled in Duke’s law school, and earned his JD degree in three years. After seven years at Duke, still a redshirt, Clarice decided it couldn’t hurt to earn an MBA. Never know when it might come in handy to have some business acumen, especially when negotiating his new NIL deals. Three years later, Clarice graduated from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. 10 years down, a master’s and PhD to go. 

Clarice, who always had an interest in journalism, decided to earn his master’s degree in the field. 12 years in, he went after a PhD. He earned his PhD in English, a lifelong passion of his. He always loved reading great works of literature, his favorite work being F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. And when basketball fell through, at least Clarice could now become a professor. 

He graduated with his PhD three years early, and was immediately hired by Duke’s English department to serve as a professor. All this, while still being a member of Duke’s basketball program. Most days during the season, he’d have to cancel class and schedule office hours over Zoom. A little bit difficult to teach a class full time while earning your main degree in hoops, but still, Clarice made due. 

He earned a six figure salary from teaching, made millions mostly riding the Duke bench. Sometimes his number was called, and Clarice would rise to the occasion. But otherwise, he was a happy camper raking in the cash on his name, image, and likeness without ever having to leave college. 

Clarice, now in his late 30s, continued playing college basketball with players nearly half his age, but it kept him in shape. Who could blame him for spending this much time in college? Making bank, earning tons of marketable degrees, and playing at his dream school. Doesn’t get much better than that. 

But now, at age 38, Clarice considers forgoing his eligibility at Duke. He’s made enough money to support himself for the rest of his life, and he wants to start a family. I guess, at age 38, it might be time to hang up the sneakers. 

“But hey,” Clarice thinks to himself. “I still have one more year left. Let’s run it back.” 

Clarice decides to play one more year for a 21st season. 

“Let the kids play!” Clarice says at his press conference announcing his decision to return for one more season at Duke. 

It’s safe to say, though, that Clarice is no longer a kid. Those days passed him almost 20 years ago. Still, he plays on. 

Featured image courtesy of NPR