All Things Duke

Duke was in the running for Greg Monroe, 2008's top-ranked recruit, and a big-man to boot, but has lost him to Georgtown. This is disconcerting, as Georgtown was already pretty solid down low, and pulled three other decent big men from the class of 2008, so they're pretty much set for the next couple of seasons.

Duke, however, has sophomores Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas as their only two big men. Brian, enormous and white, may not be ready to be the go-to guy down low. Lance Thomas, a banger, is sized more as a 3 or a 4, and won't stand up all season to say nothing of the tournament in that role (or rather, he shouldn't, but the kid's got heart, so who knows).

Of the three recruits for this coming season, none fit the traditional five slot. However, there is some indication that hopes of Kyle Singler potentially spending some time at center might be realized. Lance Thomas himself, perhaps a bit optimistically for his own sake, praised Singler's inside ability.

Also noted in this article is Coach K referring to Nolan Smith as the best on-ball defender on the team; as a freshman. This fact, coupled with his solid passing, and lights-out shooting skills, and we may see Greg Paulus leading in different ways than as a full-time point guard this year; particularly in the late minutes of tight games, when Paulus' suspect defense becomes more of a problem.

All in all, Duke is setting up for yet another very strong perimeter team with an unkown (at best) interior game. Should Zoubek surprise us this year, Duke may have a shot at going deep into the tournament. However, without the strong interior, Duke is going to struggle against any team that plays great man to man, on-ball defense, and contests three-pointers throughout the game.

Come on Brian!

Go Duke.