The major ticket holders in the Patrick Patterson lottery are still Duke, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, and Wake Forest. Though there has been much speculation that Patrick would narrow his choices down to three by now, there has been no further official update.
Interesting occurrences of late: Florida won the title, and will likely lose much, if not all, of their starting five. Does Florida rebuild or reload? Patterson is a big key to the answer. Kentucky has lost their coach and Patterson has definitively stated that Minnesota, to whom Tubby Smith went, is not recruiting him. However, Patterson apparently has a place in his heart for Kentucky, and if Billy Donovan leaves his Gators for the Wildcats, Patterson could figure in huge to Donovan's attempt to get Kentucky to the Final Four.
As far as Duke is concerned, with McRoberts gone, they need Patterson even more. Even though Patterson stands only 6'8" in his socks, he has a wingspan of 7'1" and can jump out of the building. He has his share of weaknesses but he is definitely strong where Duke needs strength: defense, rebounding, and athleticism.
Here's hoping.
Go Duke.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Patrick Patterson still considering Duke.
Many believed PF recruit Patrick Patterson was going to narrow his list of prospective schools from six down to three shortly after the McDonald's All-American Game. However, he's taking a bit more time to talk with his family and consider his options before he makes his decision. In an interview on Thursday, Patterson indicated that Kentucky was still an option because of their history and their academics, and that he will not necessarily eliminate them just because Tubby Smith went to Minnesota.
And, thankfully, Duke continues to be in the mix.
Go Duke.
And, thankfully, Duke continues to be in the mix.
Go Duke.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Love to UCLA. Thank God.
No, I don't mean I'm sending love out to the Final Four participant UCLA bruins, although much luck to them against Florida and the Screaming Banchee. Rather, I am praising the Lord in Heaven that the national player of the year, Kevin Love, is going to UCLA and not Duke. I didn't think it would be possible for a young man to earn the name "jackass" from me as quickly as he did, but it only took half of this article for him to manage it.
I don't know why, but for some reason, Love brings Ryan Leaf to mind. Would that he have the same career in college as Leaf did as a pro.
I don't know why, but for some reason, Love brings Ryan Leaf to mind. Would that he have the same career in college as Leaf did as a pro.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
McRoberts Moves On
It's official. Josh McRoberts is leaving for the NBA. As a sophomore, McRoberts was the only player in the nation to average at least 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.5 assists. He is expected to be an early to middle first round draft pick.
You'd figure that any team that loses a first-round NBA draft pick would need to worry about filling his shoes, and to be sure, Duke will need someone to step up and fill his starting PF/C role. The questions is: will it be that difficult?
Many prognosticators are predicting that Duke is going to suffer again next year, with nobody to play the four or five except for Zoubek the Traveling Wilbury.
Granted, Duke is not sitting pretty when it comes to effective big men, but there are four big reasons why things are not that bad, either
ONE - Taylor King - He's a 6 foot 7 inch, 215 lb, possibly still growing SF/PF whose strength is his mid-range game and could stand to work on his low post scoring, but does have the potential to develop that part of his game, and has the coaching staff to help him do just that.
TWO - Lance Thomas - Contrary to popular speculation, Lance Thomas says he has no intention of transferring to Seton Hall, Kentucky, or any other school so many seem to think he's going to. The 6 foot 9 inch, 200 lb PF needs to work on his defensive presence, but he loves the game and can step it up, here.
THREE - Patrick Patterson - Duke is still in the running for signing Patrick Patterson, a 6 foot 8 inch, 228 lb power forward, who is definitely the current strongest option to play the four or the five for Duke, but is unfortunately no guarantee to come to Duke. He is planning to make his announcement sometime in early April.
FOUR - Kyle Singler - One of the top recruits in the nation, Singler's height misleads one to believe he may be a natural low post player. However, his strengths, like King's, are found closer to the perimeter. He is, nevertheless, called by many "the most complete player in the class," and is not beyond hope of developing into a threat in the paint. If not, he becomes a fourth ridiculously capable long-range shooter to play with Paulus, Scheyer, and King.
Duke doesn't have an iron-clad five. But between these four guys and a hopefully improved Brian Zoubek, Duke should be in better position to make the Sweet 16 next year, especially with a coach who is about the best in the country at designing a system that highlights his team's strengths and hides their weaknesses.
Go Duke
You'd figure that any team that loses a first-round NBA draft pick would need to worry about filling his shoes, and to be sure, Duke will need someone to step up and fill his starting PF/C role. The questions is: will it be that difficult?
Many prognosticators are predicting that Duke is going to suffer again next year, with nobody to play the four or five except for Zoubek the Traveling Wilbury.
Granted, Duke is not sitting pretty when it comes to effective big men, but there are four big reasons why things are not that bad, either
ONE - Taylor King - He's a 6 foot 7 inch, 215 lb, possibly still growing SF/PF whose strength is his mid-range game and could stand to work on his low post scoring, but does have the potential to develop that part of his game, and has the coaching staff to help him do just that.
TWO - Lance Thomas - Contrary to popular speculation, Lance Thomas says he has no intention of transferring to Seton Hall, Kentucky, or any other school so many seem to think he's going to. The 6 foot 9 inch, 200 lb PF needs to work on his defensive presence, but he loves the game and can step it up, here.
THREE - Patrick Patterson - Duke is still in the running for signing Patrick Patterson, a 6 foot 8 inch, 228 lb power forward, who is definitely the current strongest option to play the four or the five for Duke, but is unfortunately no guarantee to come to Duke. He is planning to make his announcement sometime in early April.
FOUR - Kyle Singler - One of the top recruits in the nation, Singler's height misleads one to believe he may be a natural low post player. However, his strengths, like King's, are found closer to the perimeter. He is, nevertheless, called by many "the most complete player in the class," and is not beyond hope of developing into a threat in the paint. If not, he becomes a fourth ridiculously capable long-range shooter to play with Paulus, Scheyer, and King.
Duke doesn't have an iron-clad five. But between these four guys and a hopefully improved Brian Zoubek, Duke should be in better position to make the Sweet 16 next year, especially with a coach who is about the best in the country at designing a system that highlights his team's strengths and hides their weaknesses.
Go Duke
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Season is Dead. Long live the Season.
I have been an emotional wreck since Duke's season-ending loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament. It was a fairly even matchup and VCU was not a bad team, so it's not that big of an upset this year, even though historically, it is significant.
Actually, I was only an emotional wreck for the first day. Since then, I have been trying to compile some stats for a blog post that I hope will be upcoming in the near future.
What has brought me out of my funk is the future. We will be keeping our eye on Josh McRoberts and his possible move to the NBA, but even without him, next year should be fun year.
Of the returning players, I am most excited about Greg Paulus. Granted, turnovers are still a major issue, but he is becoming a go-to scorer. He finished the year extremely accurate from behind the arc which is a nice addition to the on-again off-again heat of Jon Scheyer from deep. And now that he's broken through his sophomore slump, expect Paulus to come out strong his Junior season.
Gerald Henderson is also going to be a huge returning player. His athletic ability is at the elite level, and he's only going to become more refined with coaching. He's already a shut-down defender, and can be an all-around scorer if he gets aggressive, which is something he began doing down the stretch.
If Pocius gets some defensive coaching, he could be HUGE coming off the bench. He's already shown himself to be a consistent scorer from deep. Unfortunately, he's also a defensive liability.
DeMarcus Nelson will be the lone senior for the squad next year, and he looks to be good for 14 points a game. However, something's going to need to change for him to be the leader of the team. He's consistent, but not as aggressive as a gifted veteran should be. He's also woefully deficient at the free-throw line, which is unfortunate, because he can drive and get sent to the lane often.
Brian Zoubek. We love you Brian, but please put some extra time in the gym with the coaches this summer and figure out how to move with the ball at the college level. The number of travels this year had to be approaching a national record, and you only averaged 7.3 minutes per game.
David McClure, one of my favorite guys on the team for his hustle will still be valuable for his fire and rebounding ability. He was third on the team in rebounds, second in blocks, and tied for second in steals, while averaging fifth in minutes per game, well behind fourth. However, he was good for at least four fouls in 20 minutes of game play as well, so there's a weakness to work on.
Lance Thomas is someone who stayed quiet for most of the season. He had some moments, but overall, remained a non-standout, consistent contributor. A starter on many squads, with the new extreme talent coming in next year for the Blue Devils, Thomas may continue to be a roll player for Duke.
And speaking of the new talent, get ready to hear a lot about Kyle Singler, Taylor King, and Nolan Smith in coming posts. With Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, Nelson and possibly McRoberts next year, these three give Duke the potential to be a top ten team once again, allowing those of us who love them through thick and thin, to once more be on the thick side.
Go Duke
Actually, I was only an emotional wreck for the first day. Since then, I have been trying to compile some stats for a blog post that I hope will be upcoming in the near future.
What has brought me out of my funk is the future. We will be keeping our eye on Josh McRoberts and his possible move to the NBA, but even without him, next year should be fun year.
Of the returning players, I am most excited about Greg Paulus. Granted, turnovers are still a major issue, but he is becoming a go-to scorer. He finished the year extremely accurate from behind the arc which is a nice addition to the on-again off-again heat of Jon Scheyer from deep. And now that he's broken through his sophomore slump, expect Paulus to come out strong his Junior season.
Gerald Henderson is also going to be a huge returning player. His athletic ability is at the elite level, and he's only going to become more refined with coaching. He's already a shut-down defender, and can be an all-around scorer if he gets aggressive, which is something he began doing down the stretch.
If Pocius gets some defensive coaching, he could be HUGE coming off the bench. He's already shown himself to be a consistent scorer from deep. Unfortunately, he's also a defensive liability.
DeMarcus Nelson will be the lone senior for the squad next year, and he looks to be good for 14 points a game. However, something's going to need to change for him to be the leader of the team. He's consistent, but not as aggressive as a gifted veteran should be. He's also woefully deficient at the free-throw line, which is unfortunate, because he can drive and get sent to the lane often.
Brian Zoubek. We love you Brian, but please put some extra time in the gym with the coaches this summer and figure out how to move with the ball at the college level. The number of travels this year had to be approaching a national record, and you only averaged 7.3 minutes per game.
David McClure, one of my favorite guys on the team for his hustle will still be valuable for his fire and rebounding ability. He was third on the team in rebounds, second in blocks, and tied for second in steals, while averaging fifth in minutes per game, well behind fourth. However, he was good for at least four fouls in 20 minutes of game play as well, so there's a weakness to work on.
Lance Thomas is someone who stayed quiet for most of the season. He had some moments, but overall, remained a non-standout, consistent contributor. A starter on many squads, with the new extreme talent coming in next year for the Blue Devils, Thomas may continue to be a roll player for Duke.
And speaking of the new talent, get ready to hear a lot about Kyle Singler, Taylor King, and Nolan Smith in coming posts. With Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, Nelson and possibly McRoberts next year, these three give Duke the potential to be a top ten team once again, allowing those of us who love them through thick and thin, to once more be on the thick side.
Go Duke
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
March Madness 2007
I meant to try to get my Duke seed prediction up before they came out on Sunday, but I was too late. If I had not been, I was going to say Duke would end up anywhere from 7 to 9, but that since their schedule was so difficult and the pollsters are biased toward Duke (if "biased" is what you call recognizing the most consistent team in the last 12 years and their possibly-best-of-all-time coach for what they are) they would most likely get the 7 seed.
Turns out they were 6th.
Great.
Up first is Viginia Commonwealth. VCU looks to have a strong guard and a tenacious pressure defense which causes a lot of turnovers. These are two of Duke's weaknesses. Duke doesn't defend prolific guards effectively (even when they are communicatin on defense) and Paulus and McRoberts have suffered from multiple turnovers
However, Duke has had a bit of time to rest up and get a few things figured out, so I anticipate limited turnovers and a decent amount of points off of a burned, over-pursuing defense. 72-64 Duke.
Go Duke
Turns out they were 6th.
Great.
Up first is Viginia Commonwealth. VCU looks to have a strong guard and a tenacious pressure defense which causes a lot of turnovers. These are two of Duke's weaknesses. Duke doesn't defend prolific guards effectively (even when they are communicatin on defense) and Paulus and McRoberts have suffered from multiple turnovers
However, Duke has had a bit of time to rest up and get a few things figured out, so I anticipate limited turnovers and a decent amount of points off of a burned, over-pursuing defense. 72-64 Duke.
Go Duke
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Scoring Consistent, Defense Not
Duke's last three losses have seen them give up 85.3 points per game to their opponents. Compare this with an points against average under 60 for most of the season and it is not a surprise that Duke hasn't come out on top. So what's the difference?
According to Coach K, it comes down to communication. "You have to talk on defense. In the last two weeks we’re not communicating on defense. So guys are playing individually, instead of collectively. The most important for team man-to-man defense is communication, coordinated with effort. Effort is coordinated as a result of having talked. If you don’t talk very well you’re looking around. You’re not concentrating on what you’re doing."
Which indicates something that does not bode well for the Blue Devils: the pressure has gotten to them. Duke has always played as a tight team. Supportive, intense, communicative. What has kept them in games, in which they routinely score in the upper-60s and lower-70s is their defense, which is built on communication. If the communication isn't there, there is something wrong with the team dynamics.
Coach K might be up against one of his toughtest challenges yet, trying to play psychologist for a team that is beating themselves. I sure hope this is not the case, that there is division in the ranks, but it wouldn't be the first time it's happened in college basketball. Just the first time at Duke.
Go Duke
According to Coach K, it comes down to communication. "You have to talk on defense. In the last two weeks we’re not communicating on defense. So guys are playing individually, instead of collectively. The most important for team man-to-man defense is communication, coordinated with effort. Effort is coordinated as a result of having talked. If you don’t talk very well you’re looking around. You’re not concentrating on what you’re doing."
Which indicates something that does not bode well for the Blue Devils: the pressure has gotten to them. Duke has always played as a tight team. Supportive, intense, communicative. What has kept them in games, in which they routinely score in the upper-60s and lower-70s is their defense, which is built on communication. If the communication isn't there, there is something wrong with the team dynamics.
Coach K might be up against one of his toughtest challenges yet, trying to play psychologist for a team that is beating themselves. I sure hope this is not the case, that there is division in the ranks, but it wouldn't be the first time it's happened in college basketball. Just the first time at Duke.
Go Duke
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