Best Case: Gerald and Kyle BOTH return. In such a scenario, Duke is a top2-3 team. Off the top of my head, I don't really know who the other top teams are. A couple fo teams are "rebuilding" and depending on how that goes this year/who returns, I am not sure who the top squads are. UCLA might look good, Tenn has potential, WFU might be good. It is not inconcievable that UNC is Fantastic, but that assumes they only lose their seniors, but who here thinks that will happen?Quote:
Originally Posted by bludvlman
In such a scenario, Duke is fantastic. We have three definitely great perimeter players, and one potentially great perimeter players. We are unstoppable. A couple of very good forwards would barely play. Wall would join an already very crowded perimeter rotation, which could really jam up chemistry.
I think this is unlikely, for a couple of reasons. I think Hendo may soon be regarded as the second best player in the ACC. Pro Scouts will regard him as the best prospect in the ACC, and one of the best in the nation. At 6-4, 205+ lbs, with freakish athleticism, he will look great. There are some ball handling issues, and some outside shooting issues, but those aren't huge concerns. It is not that he is bad at those things. He is not great at those things. At worst, he is adequate at those things, and his athleticism, and defensive prowess' will more than compensate for two areas where he will continue to steadily improve. I view Hendo as likely to leave. This year's draft is a wasteland. Hendo will shine like a beacon in the dark. He is a late lottery selection if the draft were held today. With a great year he could be top 5, and that won't improve with another year in school.
Singler could leave. I view him as likely to stay. But he could leave. His draft positives are IQ and skills. His negatives, or questions, are size and athleticism. He is too small for PF (NBA) and too slow(?) for SF. Unless that has changed this summer. He put on weight and got stronger. If he has a great year, and showcases improved strength and NBA quickness in an NBA body, something could happen.
I say this because of the Kelly pursuit. He plays a similiar game to Singler. K asked Kelly to wait until after the olympics. After Beijing, K comes back to Duke, spent a couple of days doing whatevs, and suddenly puts the full court press on Kelly, even though next years team would have featured both Plums, Singler, Thomas and Zoubs. Why put the press on for a kid in Kelly who duplicates what we currently or will have? I think K got back and saw what Singler had achieved, and realized that Singler could have the type of year where a NBA jump is a possibility.
If we lose both Hendo and Singler I would be OK. Duke would have to make a FF run and be dominant during the ACC, losing only a couple of games and really making a race of it with UNC. Fine. Duke has a great year, we lose kids early. That is the reality of College ball.
Should we keep both, Wall is superfluous. He helps probablly, but it creates a logjam at the guard. John has indicated he is waiting tills spring to see who needs him/best situation. If we keep both, John looks elsewhere. Where would he fit in? Do you think he supplants a Jr in Nolan Smith? Smith will play a lot at PG this year, and will have another summer, maybe on a national team somewhere, to hone his skills. He would already know the system, his teammates, and his league opponents. He would be darn hard to beat out. Heck, it might be hard to get quality minutes away from him. Scheyer would play, TONS, and Williams would get quality mins at both slots. With Hendo and Singler, and the other Fs down low, Scheyer would not play at SF for any meaningful time. Wall has a tough time cracking that rotation.
Should Worst Case (losing both Hendo and Singler) occur Duke becomes attractive. We would have tons of potential weapons. He would play a lot, maybe, and help a team make another run in march. UNLESS, he waits and sees Smith become a legitimate star guard. In which case, he looks elsewhere cause Duke doesn't need his services.
His decision will be based on the best situation for him. He would help, but is not a need situation. If Duke makes a run, which more and more unbiased media observers are predicition, we might need him. Should that happen, I think he would show up and do some damage. This recruitment will take a while so just sit back and enjoy.
