Mason Plumlee Returning to Duke for Senior Season

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Originally Posted by DukeGirl4ever

I'm not sure, but the other account claims to be twitter verified, and I'm pretty sure that one's not Austin (the one with AustinRivers0).
That account had a lot of tweeting, and I mean A LOT, between February and March when the team decided to give up Twitter.

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Yeah, the one you're referring to isn't real (as you suspect). "Twitter Verified" is a blue badge on the profile; that profile just typed "TWITTER VERIFIED!!!!!" in the description field.

Strange that Mason is on the "good" list in the stock-watch. What has he done since mid-season to warrant any sort of boost? He's been a solid all-around player for us, but he was our best player in December, had reliable post moves, and was going toe-to-toe with guys like Robinson and Sullinger. Not so much in February/March.

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Originally Posted by DukeGirl4ever

Can you explain what that means that Austin wasn't mentioned?

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I guess Ford didn't find that his draft stock was helped or hurt by his performance in the NCAA tournament.

From Austin

"There are going to be those people in your life who say you can't do something.. Use them as motivation, and make them look stupid!"

Well, maybe there are those who told Austin that he can not lead a college team to a NCAA Championship.

Of course, it more likely that there are those who told Austin he is not ready for the NBA.

Make of it what you may.

SoCal

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Originally Posted by Billy Dat

I guess Ford didn't find that his draft stock was helped or hurt by his performance in the NCAA tournament.

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Gotcha!
I didn't take a look at his stuff and I don't really follow him, so I didn't know if he was looking at all season or looking at possible draft entries.

That does make sense.

I agree with Greg that I'm surprised Mason is on there even if it's in the honorable mention category.


FWIW, I just got this weird vibe today that we get Austin back and not Mason (contrary to what everyone's been thinking). However, the most I've ever won in this lifetime is $100, so I wouldn't put much stock in that.

This year's draft is going to be overly saturated with talent due to so many prospects deciding to remain in college one extra year( henson,zeller, barnes, sullinger, jones III, and terrence jones come to mind)... All of those players will go ahead of Mason IMO; this might be enough to make waiting around one more year the best option financially and developmentally.

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Originally Posted by subzero02

This year's draft is going to be overly saturated with talent due to so many prospects deciding to remain in college one extra year( henson,zeller, barnes, sullinger, jones III, and terrence jones come to mind)... All of those players will go ahead of Mason IMO; this might be enough to make waiting around one more year the best option financially and developmentally.

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what makes you think henson and barnes are going?

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Originally Posted by moonpie23

what makes you think henson and barnes are going?

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Aren't they are winning a national championship- now that Marshall is 12 hrs past surgery and already practicing with the team ;)

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Originally Posted by DukeGirl4ever

I'm not sure, but the other account claims to be twitter verified, and I'm pretty sure that one's not Austin (the one with AustinRivers0).
That account had a lot of tweeting, and I mean A LOT, between February and March when the team decided to give up Twitter.

If you do a twitter search, there are actually a ton of Austin Rivers pages, but a lot of them say they are fan pages and not the real account. I wonder how they get deleted.

Austin's latest tweet is a bit interesting.



Can you explain what that means that Austin wasn't mentioned?

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From his tweets alone, I gather that Chad Ford is not a fan of Austin's at all. He even quoted Coach K saying that McCollum was the best player on the court and followed it with an uncalled for suggestion that "somewhere Austin Rivers is crying" because of that statement. It'll take a lot to get him on the "good" list but his not-so-great and not-so-bad 19 pt performance didn't warrant a place on the "bad" list either.

Will Avery?

Or am I the only Duke b-ball fan who still laments the assinineness of Will Avery's going pro early?

(Hey, my first post here--be kind ;-) Great to find, at long last, this site where real Blue Devil fans dwell and remember and predict!)

Cheers,
Chaz

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Originally Posted by chazz101s

Will Avery?

Or am I the only Duke b-ball fan who still laments the assinineness of Will Avery's going pro early?

(Hey, my first post here--be kind ;-) Great to find, at long last, this site where real Blue Devil fans dwell and remember and predict!)

Cheers,
Chaz

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That's not a good comparison really. I think Austin is a combo guard who has a lot more size and athleticism than Avery. Austin will make it in the league for a long while because he can play the 1 and the 2, he has improved drastically as a defender (and I expect more improvement), he's learning when to score and when to pass. He's got more passion and fire to both improve as a player and crush his opponents than 99% of players we see. Avery was a point guard who had a nice touch, but was not explosive enough to make it in the league. Austin's first step is elite.

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Originally Posted by superdave

That's not a good comparison really.

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Um, my point (perhaps I was being too oblique?) is that any player has a very hard improving his skills if he is sitting on the bench in the NBA.

(Plus, I will admit, I really liked Will Avery's game a LOT more than I do young Rivers' game. . . .)

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Originally Posted by Billy Dat

But, it's important to remember that his life has been all about the NBA...he's been around the NBA game, not the college game, his whole life. In that way, being at Duke was kind of an outlier - by headed to the NBA, he'd really be "going back home". I hope he'd stay to absorb K's teachings, and to get reps as "the man". Getting "the man" reps, I think, really helps a guy take his game to the next level because it fuels that confidence.

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Let me preface my post by saying I have no idea how Austin thinks or how he looks at the NBA. But my impressions from this season is he is a basketball guy, not an NBA guy per se. He is on the record as wanting to come to Duke because it would push him and be the best place to learn and grow. I don't know that he necessarily wants to just go to the NBA. I get the vibe that he wants to do what is best for his long-term development, as I think he believes he can be a star and wants to become a star.

Now, I don't know that this means that college is the right place to pursue this. It might just as well be that the NBA is the right move. But I never thought Austin was in college just waiting to "go back home" so to speak.

Personally, his actions and the way his character has come off (at least in my view) seem to suggest that a mid-first round pick where he would likely sit on the bench for a year or two in the NBA is not Austin's preference. But again, I could be way off. Time will tell. I think it makes a lot of sense to play one more year.

- Chillin

My perspective on Austin, which is probably buried in some other thread somewhere from three weeks ago, is that in order to become a top 10 pick by staying another year, he would have to be Duke's starting point guard. He would have to show pro scouts he can play point in order to become valuable enough, showing enough upside, to elevate himself in the draft considerably beyond the 15-20 range where he would likely go this June.

Because of Duke's roster - Quinn, Tyler, Seth - Austin will not play point at Duke next season. So his draft status probably would not change considerably if he stayed another year.

I understand that's not all that goes into this decision. But from a straight, dispassionate analysis, his draft stock is set in the 15-20 range and I would go pro if I were him. If he loves college that much, or really wants to go to a Final Four, then that's an emotional aspect to the decision that I'm not really qualified to comment on since I've never met then kid.

No point to worrying about this.
Its impact to next years team, recruiting, team chemistry all that jazz. Its out of our control.

I trust these guys to do whats best for them. If that means going; fine... Good Luck and God bless.
Do both have things to work on?, yes.
Can they make someones roster anyway?, most likely.
Will they be an "impact" addition to someones franchise?, not likely at this time.

I've become somewhat jaded.
I'll pull for the guys who suit up next year regardless of who they are and not worry about it till that time...

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Originally Posted by chazz101s

Or am I the only Duke b-ball fan who still laments the assinineness of Will Avery's going pro early?

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I've lamented all of them with the exception of McBob. Unfortunately, lamenting wears you out after a while. I'll be saddened if AR or Mason leave but as wilko says,

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Originally Posted by wilko

.
I've become somewhat jaded.
I'll pull for the guys who suit up next year regardless of who they are

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Originally Posted by wilko

No point to worrying about this.
Its impact to next years team, recruiting, team chemistry all that jazz. Its out of our control.

I trust these guys to do whats best for them. If that means going; fine... Good Luck and God bless.
Do both have things to work on?, yes.
Can they make someones roster anyway?, most likely.
Will they be an "impact" addition to someones franchise?, not likely at this time.

I've become somewhat jaded.
I'll pull for the guys who suit up next year regardless of who they are and not worry about it till that time...

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This seems like the key point for both Mason and Austin. Either could improve his draft status a little or hurt it a little (barring injury, God forbid), by staying, but significant changes aren't likely. Both will almost certainly learn and improve over the course of the next year whether they stay or go. So the decision may come down to whether they would rather do that learning while getting lots of PT and also going to college or while mostly sitting on the bench but practicing against NBA-level players instead of college-level, and of course getting a big paycheck. There are things to be said for both choices. The answers may turn on personal factors more than professional ones.

And I agree--the best to them either way; the team next year will be who they are, and either way they will no doubt take us fans on an interesting journey.

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Originally Posted by MCFinARL

This seems like the key point for both Mason and Austin. Either could improve his draft status a little or hurt it a little (barring injury, God forbid), by staying, but significant changes aren't likely. Both will almost certainly learn and improve over the course of the next year whether they stay or go. So the decision may come down to whether they would rather do that learning while getting lots of PT and also going to college or while mostly sitting on the bench but practicing against NBA-level players instead of college-level, and of course getting a big paycheck. There are things to be said for both choices. The answers may turn on personal factors more than professional ones.

And I agree--the best to them either way; the team next year will be who they are, and either way they will no doubt take us fans on an interesting journey.

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I tend to agree with you about Mason's stock probably not likely to rise too significantly even with a great senior season, however I completely disagree about Austin. Austin has an NBA handle, NBA range on his jump shot and NBA quickness. What he lacks are NBA elite hops, NBA court vision, and an NBA midrange game. If he dramatically improves two of those three it will render his lack of elite NBA hops completely irrelevant. Also, I disagree with those who say he needs to play as a point guard at Duke to prove his NBA worthiness. He'll have the ball in his hands enough that if he gets better at creating for others as a two-guard, the NBA will take notice.

Now, all that being said I'm not necessarily saying Austin should come back to Duke for another season. I think there is no doubt he would benefit from coming back and I'd love to see him suit up in a Duke uni again. He had a special freshman season that has, unfortunately, been overshadowed a bit by the relative disappointment of the team's performance and certain parts of the media who assume that because Austin wasn't in the NPOY conversation he failed to live up to expectations. All that being said, people who go to the NBA before they're ready to be big stars get the opportunity to work on basketball full time and get paid for their efforts. Austin is a total gym rat. If he goes to the NBA he'll have even MORE time to work on his game. My guess is that the Austin Rivers we see a year and a half from now will be a much improved version of the player he is right now whether he put in his work at Duke or for an NBA team.

Rivers was the best 2 guard in the country and I think his game is more ready for the NBA than college. Now If he can learn to see the floor better and jump his assist average to around 6 a game like JWill and carry Duke to a final four, he could easily jump to the to 5. This is why I think he could benefit learning the game 1 more year under K.

I see the comparisons of Jayson Williams Coach K talked about and and Rivers has better size and that makes him NBA ready. Rivers is a special player that can make his teammates better if he learns to see the floor. Duke would be unstoppable if AR avg 6 or 7 assist a game.

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Originally Posted by chazz101s

Um, my point (perhaps I was being too oblique?) is that any player has a very hard improving his skills if he is sitting on the bench in the NBA.

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Sorry, but I don't think that's true at all. Practicing every day against the best players in the world is, for many, an outstanding way to improve their game. Every player is different, of course, but the notion that players don't improve once they reach the NBA is disproved by the large number of players who have improved their games while in the NBA.

Avery has been cited as a guy who "left too early", but it's equally plausible that he just wasn't an NBA talent, and that he left at exactly the right time i.e. when he was in a position to parlay a terrific sophomore season into a lottery pick.

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Originally Posted by dukeballboy88

Rivers was the best 2 guard in the country and I think his game is more ready for the NBA than college.

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This is an example of Duke goggles!