So how do you explain away his being quoted on calling his mid-season benching "BS" ?
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Big difference between the two situations...If he felt like it was "bs" then oh well...I think its understandable to be pissed about being benched if you feel like you could be contributing and helping the team...these are 19-20 year old kids not robots, he's going to feel some type of way about it....now should he have went to twitter to tell the world...nah
Fair enough. As someone who has closely followed this team, I can say that the general perception in CT was that he wasn't happy having to share time. Some of his other quotes in relation to his benching were like "2 year starter and this is how i'm rewarded"...If you want to explain those away, that's fine. Just as someone who follows both duke and uconn closely, I can't imagine that he has the kind of attitude that one would expect of a duke basketball player.
If Mason goes pro, Oriakhi (immediately eligible) and Parker come to Duke, here's some breakdown of the minutes. (I just loooove breaking down distribution of minutes):
5 - Ryan 30 minutes, Oriakhi 10, Marshall 0
4 - Parker 20, Josh 15, Alex 5 (plus some minutes at the 3).
I dont see how Oriakhi or Parker signs up for that. I think I'd rather just get one of these two if Mason goes, so we the bench is not too long. Plus it would be better to develop Marshall than not.
Can't find the link right now, but I'm pretty sure this guy isn't considering Duke. Unc-ch is on the short list though.
I agree that there's no chance we get both Parker and Oriakhi. I'd say that we will have at most one of Mason, Oriakhi, and Parker. That may even expand to mean one of Mason, Oriakhi, Parker, and Jefferson. All of these guys are presumably going to expect an opportunity to play major minutes right away. In Mason's and Oriakhi's cases it's completely understandable; they are seniors who have played major minutes during their careers already. In Parker's and Jefferson's cases it may or may not be an unfounded expectation, but it's probably still an expectation that will drive their decisions.
I think that was kind of superdave's point. It isn't going to happen. Doesn't really matter how the minutes would be distributed.
That said, I agree that the more accurate minutes distribution in that scenario would be different. Perhaps more like:
C - Oriakhi (20), Parker/Marshall (20)
PF - Kelly (30), Oriakhi, (5), Murphy (5, with more minutes at SF)
But even then, I don't see Parker signing up for a backup role next year and I don't see Oriakhi going anywhere where he isn't a sure starter. And I agree that if Marshall were to see very minor minutes next year, it would be understandable to ponder a future elsewhere.
So are you ok pushing Ryan Kelly to the 4 and Alex to the 3 which would really kill minutes for Andre Dawkins and Michael Gbinije?
Be careful for what you wish for.
Ryan splitting minutes at the 5 with Marshall makes us a lot more athletic at the 3 and 4, which is what everyone complained we were not this season. Ryan at the 4 means we're going bigger and our wings are getting pinched on minutes.
Well, you're really not making ANY sense here, dave. "Pushing" Kelly to the spot he has played all along and is best suited for doesn't seem too shocking. He's an outside shooter with very limited strength, and few post moves.
Parker is a hulk with inside moves and ability (and perhaps desire) to defend inside.
As far as minutes and Dawkins are concerned, that doesn't have a whole lot to do with Kelly. It has everything to do with Dawkins and how he plays. If he plays with confidence and intensity, he plays regardless of where Kelly is.
So if Kelly plays the 4 for 30 minutes a game, which is a slight increase over this season, then Josh will play 10 minutes at the 4 while Marshall and some combination of Tony Parker/Alex Oriakhi/Mason Plumlee split the minutes at 5. Is that what you imagine?
Under that scenario, we will split 40 minutes between Alex Murphy, Andre Dawkins and Michael Gbinije at the 3. Do you think those three will be happy?
The 3 is most definitely affected by our depth at the 4 and 5, which is the point I was making. You claim otherwise, but do not provide any explanation to back up that assertion.
If Parker wants a guarantee that he is not going to have a backup role, then he is not coming to Duke. Same for Oriakhi or any other recruit for that matter. Coach K would never guarantee anything with respect to playing time. See, Humphries, Kris.
If Mason does leave, I suspect Oriakhi would start for Duke along with Kelly and one of Hairston/Gbinijie/Murphy/Sulaimon. And then Curry and Cook/Thronton in the backcourt.
If Parker came too, he would be competing with MPIII for backup time. If only Parker came, I suspect he would be competing with MPIII for a starting position. I can't see Kelly starting as our "center". Although we've had guys like Brickey, John Smith and even Chris Carrawell start at the "5".
Perhaps I wasn't clear.
Oriakhi is absolutely not going anywhere to compete for minutes at the C spot. He's going to go somewhere where he'll be the unquestioned starter. If Mason or Parker is at Duke, then Oriakhi will not be.
Parker is most likely looking for a place where he'll have a real shot at major minutes early. If Mason or Oriakhi is there, that goes out the window and Parker probably doesn't come to Duke. If neither of the senior options are there, Duke is very much on the table as he'd have an opportunity to win the starting job (competing with Marshall). Even then, I'd say there's no guarantee he'd choose that over a team with a more clear opening.