The Pain and the Paulus

We all know that Duke struggled last year in the low post, with only Josh McRoberts as their main, go-to guy. This year, assuming Taylor King does not get transformed into more of a physical player over the summer, the Blue Devils are going to be relying on our boy David McClure and Brian "The Walker" Zoubek.

Unfortunately, both of them are experiencing
injury difficulties. While Brian will hopefully be cleared for full-contact drills before practice officially begins, David is a bit further behind in his recovery. I think we'll get an idea of how truly genius the Duke coaching staff is if Brian Zoubek manages to move his feet AND dribble the ball at the same time this year, a task that proved nearly impossible for the Great White Giant last year.

I'm also including a link to a story about Greg Paulus and his brother and his coaches and his roommate, and well, lots and lots and lots of other stuff. This has got to be one of the longest stories I've ever read about a single player, and yet it says virtually nothing after the first three or four paragraphs. Amusing, anyway.

Go Duke.

Duke lands first commitment

Coach K landed his first 08-09 commitment from Reno power forward Olek Czyz. Czyz is a 6'7" power forward with tenacious defensive tendencies and the potential for strong, physical low post offensive play. Duke is still in the running for two top 20 recruits for the 08-09 season, to go with Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, and Taylor King coming in for the upcoming season.

Keeping up with Josh (9/29)

Circumstances being what they are, I am a bit behind the times when it comes to breaking news. So, a person, could understand how shocked and dismayed I was to hear of Greg Oden's season-ending surgery, albeit 5 weeks after it was announced.

I like Greg, and I hope for him, personally, that this isn't a career-impacter in a negative way. What frustrates me the most, though, is the impact this will have on Josh McRoberts in Portland. Josh was a great fit, as long as there was a dominant big man for him to play with. Now, it's up in the air as to whether he'll find a groove that will allow him to stay with Portland until Oden returns.

Here's hoping.

Keeping up with Josh

The NBA summer league schedule has come and gone, and Portland finished 2-3. Josh McRoberts played a little over 19 minutes a game and had relatively unspectacular statistical success, averaging 4.2 points, 1.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game over the five game stretch. While his points were not spectacular, his assist average and rebound average were good enough for 2nd and 5th on the team respectively, and this with playing fewer minutes than many of the guys out producing him. He also had three blocks in the five games, good for third on the team.

Also of note is Josh's work with Seeds of Peace, a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. There are some photos of Josh working with Seeds of Peace at their NBA day, here.

Reblogging is so unhip...

...but whatever. It's easy sometimes. Here's a nice writeup of the incoming freshmen.

Of note, toward the bottom, Nolan Smith, who may play point or shooting guard next year, lost his father in 1996. His father, Derek Smith, was only 34.

Injury Madness?

What the heck is going on? It seems like every player on the Blue Devils roster is getting injured. Just the other day, Brian Zoubek had surgery on an ankle injured during a pick up game, and now DeMarcus Nelson has sustained a wrist injury in PanAm Game tryouts. Oh, yeah, and Marty Pocius had surgery recently as well.

Granted, Marty and Brian are expected to be fine by the start of practice in the fall, but still.

We'll be waiting to hear about Nelson

Go Duke.

BlazerMadness?

Granted, this is supposed to be a blog about Duke, but seeing Josh go to a Portland team that we once loved so much only to see them become the JailBlazer TrailGangsters but is now on the rebound, is a thrill.

I don't think Josh could have done better in the draft. He may have wanted to go earlier, but if Josh is going to excel, he's going to do it in a place where he doesn't have to be the number one guy in the middle. After Portland took Greg Oden, the Blazers became a perfect fit for Josh's game, and the fact that Greg and Josh are old friends is a bonus, too. In fact, Greg Oden has been keeping a blog and mentions Josh a few times.

Just don't expect perfect grammar - he only went to one year of college.