Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 38

Thread: Zoubek

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham

    Zoubek

    Zoubek was discussed on a previous post, but I wanted to get the general perception of him from all you guys out there? How do you see his career progressing the next 3 years after this one?

    Personally, I think Zoubek has a bright future. I know he makes mistakes, but I'd like to see him play even a bit more. He does travel a lot, but similar to Greg Oden, I think that is due to lack of upper body strength; if you're getting pushed around up top, your feet are bound to move, or at least slide a tad. Defensively, I think he's almost as mobile as seven footers get. It's very unusual to see K go out and get seven-footers, because he likes his teams to run the floor. But I think Zoubek can thrive in this system. I've noticed him run the floor quite well off rebounds on a few occasions this year. As much as I believe Josh is not at all ready for the league, him leaving would be the best thing for Brian individually. I hope for and fully expect Zoubek to be a beast by his senior year. What I don't want to see, is an Eric Boateng situation, where the kid doesn't improve because he doesn't play. With increased time and a summer to develop his game and strength, this kid should be a good one. Thoughts?

  2. #2

    Zoubek

    All I think we can say is that he will be a better player next year. He is adjusting to the speed of the college game. Once he has time to work on his footwork over the summer and get stronger- he will be an important player on the team- not the focus but important. He will need to work very hard, though. So far it looks like he is willing to put in that effort.

  3. #3
    I definately think some of the issue now is that he's just not bulky enough. I'm sure it's hard to get bulky as a guy that tall. However, I've seen glimpses of him defensively and it's nice. I think he's very mobile for a big man and I think it will be nice to see a true center at Duke.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA
    I honestly do not see Zoubek ever playing sigificant minutes at Duke. I just don't think he is athletic enough to play the up-tempo style that I hope we will run next year. Don't get me wrong I am not slamming Big Z but I just don't see how he fits in to our system.

  5. #5

    Disagree

    Quote Originally Posted by DukeDevilsBB View Post
    I honestly do not see Zoubek ever playing sigificant minutes at Duke. I just don't think he is athletic enough to play the up-tempo style that I hope we will run next year. Don't get me wrong I am not slamming Big Z but I just don't see how he fits in to our system.
    Well he sure played well in the Blue and White game in which both teams were playing "our system." He had McBob completely frustrated. I don't know why he has picked up this traveling bug, but I think he has a bright future once he matures some more.
    Last edited by Devilnole; 02-28-2007 at 01:15 PM. Reason: grammar

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilnole View Post
    Well he sure played well in the Blue and White game in which both teams were playing "our system." He had McBob completely frustrated. I don't know why he has picked up this traveling bug, but I think he has a bright future once he matures some more.

    Many players have played great in the Blue White game and never done anything else. I wish nothing but the best for Zoubek but I just don't see it.

  7. #7
    For a big man like Z, I think traveling is probably due to over-thinking. He's not completely sure what he wants to do with the ball when he gets it. As he adjusts to the speed of the game, his movements will become more natural.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by tux View Post
    For a big man like Z, I think traveling is probably due to over-thinking. He's not completely sure what he wants to do with the ball when he gets it. As he adjusts to the speed of the game, his movements will become more natural.
    As I recall, it took Alaa Abdelnaby 3 1/2 years to figure out how to "catch, face, and shoot!", and when he did, he led us to a somewhat improbable final four.

    -jk

  9. #9

    Z

    I think Z will improve mostly through strong legs, he needs to be able to establish lower on the block. He runs the floor well, although not the quickest big man laterally he has at least shown hustle by getting down the court quickly. I think that his So. year will be somewhat of an improvement over this year and due to that and the plethora of post guys we'll have, i think K might actually utilize a double big man lineup at times, using Z as a true center and McBobs/Singler/LT/Patterson(???) as the other. I'm not saying that Z'll get huge minutes that way or that K will design an entire offense just for that scheme, but i think we'll see it much more than we have this year. I think he'll probably average around 7 ppg and 5.5 rebs next year and probably max out at about 12-14 ppg his Sr year.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    It takes awhile for most big men to learn the game. Zoubek seems to be improving, and, assuming he sticks around and remains injury-free, I predict that he will be a solid contributer beginning his junior year

  11. #11

    Future star

    I am much more optimistic about Zoubek's future. I also saw this year's Blue and White game in which he really dominated McRobert's. I have seen other Blue-White games in which guys have looked like stars and are never heard of again. Those guys were not dominating the best player on the team which is what Greg did. It just takes big guys longer to develop. Kyle Visser is a good example. He was really bad as a freshman and has developed into a very good player. Zoubek is mobile and talented. He also appears to have a good attitude and busts his gut when he is in the game. I think he will develop into a major player for the Devils in a couple of years.

  12. Zoubek Scares Me (and other thoughts)

    Zoubek is such a liability on the court, both on the offensive and defensive end. Excluding the earlier games in the season, I don't think I can recall a time when he actually did something positive with the ball. If he ever actually catches a pass down low, he either travels, double dribbles, or turns the ball over. And if he ever gets lucky enough to attempt a shot, he usually gets mugged by three guys and proceeds to tumble to the floor like a rag doll without ever coming close to a score. And if he earns a trip to the line, he usually bombs out. On defense, he isn't any better.

    Late in the second half when Duke was coming back, McRoberts passed the ball into Zoubek; watching the pass felt like slow motion. I knew instantly it was a mistake! And what happened? Zoubs attempts to pass it back out and turns it over!

    And McRoberts is away from the paint so much that we really have no true, consist play in the paint, which is rare in recent years. We've always had a Shelden or a Boozer or a Brand to anchor our team - this year we have no legitimate threat down low. The places added stress on our guards, which is a problem itself because most of our guards lack explosion.

    And regarding defense - If anyone watches any tape of the teams that have beaten Duke this year, they will realize that as long as they blast up the court on offense, Duke's defense has a much less chance of being effective. Maryland was the epitome of that truth last night.

    Some positives: Henderson is becoming an X-factor and will someday be "the man".

    Paulus isn't afraid to take big shots like he was earlier in the year.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hotlanta

    Stupid Post of the Week**

    Self explanatory.

  14. More Self-Explanation

    Still hung over from the loss? Suck it up, big guy.

  15. #15
    On the pass, Zoubek was slapped on the arm. Granted he should've been stronger with the ball, but Z will be fine. His defense has actually come along way from the beginning of the season and has surpassed his offense, which is pretty decent.

    Vitale quoted K from earlier in the season stating that Z's problem is his lower body strength as he gets pushed off of the block too easily. Once he has taken care of this, you will see a dominant force offensively.

    My concern from the game is Duke's transition defense.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Yeah, I can see where Z need improvement but you are being way to harsh on the kid. I thought he had a pretty decent game last night. He neutralized UMd's center and played pretty good D. By the time he graduates he'll be a force. He's a freshman...ease up Francis! With the game Josh had last night (couldn't hit the broad side of a barn), you waste our time criticizing Zoubek?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL

    Poor transition defense and finishing in close

    Quote Originally Posted by riverside6 View Post

    My concern from the game is Duke's transition defense.
    I'm with riverside on the awful transition defense. Our halfcourt defense had some trouble with the flex, but defended it fairly well over the course of the enitre game. Maryland must have scored 15-20 points on layups off of long, quick outlet passes. Most of these weren't off our turnovers, but off of missed shots which makes the poor transition defense even more appalling.

    I feel this and the inability to finish (or at least get to the foul line) in close, especially in the first half, was the difference in the game. I can think of an instance (multiple instances for most) for almost everyone on the team (Lance, Paulus, Scheyer, McClure, Nelson, Josh) where we had a layup or a 3-footer, went up soft and missed. Granted, Maryland is a good shot-blocking team but the proportion of shots they blocked or altered was really high.

    Also, the best way to take it to a shot blocker is to take the ball right to his body and not let him extend his arms. It seemed like we were afraid of contact and made the degree of difficulty so high on the layups that we missed or they were rejected. I think this helped Maryland's confidence and led to us playing tenatively. In the second half, I think everyone played tenatively on the offensive end with the exception of Gerald and Greg.

    My two cents

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Dickie V actually made an excellent point on Zoubek several weeks ago (I know, right?)

    Something to the effect of in high school he probably had time to catch the ball, think about what he was going to do, then use post moves to score the basket. In college, he's still collecting himself when he gets the ball and he just doesn't have that amount of time - so he is better defended because he allows the defense to get position on him before he makes his move. Once he learns to move as soon as he catches the ball, you are going to see a lot more of what happened in the Blue/White game. I think, given time, he can be a lot like Aaron Gray at Pittsburgh, or perhaps even as good as Chris Mihm was at Texas. Not superstars by any means but significant contributors.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham
    Besides that turnover when he should have gone up with it instead of passing it, I thought Zoubek actually played pretty well yesterday. If I'm not mistaken, he didn't have any travels, which is always a plus. He made the only shot he took, and was able to grab three rebounds in limited minutes. It's certainly an improvement at the very least.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hoover, AL

    Give Z a break

    On the play in the 2nd half where McRoberts passed into Zoubek and he turned it over, was a team error. Once he got the ball down low nobody moved at all to try and give him a target. The Duke broadcast mentioned K got on the team about not bailing Z out on the play during the next TO. Seems to me more of a team breakdown than an individual breakdown. I thought Z had a reasonably good game last night and gave us good minutes.

Similar Threads

  1. Could Zoubek be the Final Piece to this team?
    By dukelion in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 83
    Last Post: 02-29-2008, 11:04 PM
  2. Zoubek breaks foot--again
    By jimsumner in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 114
    Last Post: 01-14-2008, 09:19 AM
  3. How's Zoubek doing?
    By Zeke in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 136
    Last Post: 10-05-2007, 05:43 PM
  4. Duke will be fine with Zoubek and Thomas
    By dukelion in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 62
    Last Post: 05-17-2007, 09:07 PM
  5. Why hasn't Thomas, Zoubek and Nelson Progressed ?
    By NYC Duke Fan in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 55
    Last Post: 03-16-2007, 12:34 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •