10 reasons why Duke will be better this year

[houstondukie]

1. Experience - 3 upperclassmen last year (Nelson, Paulus, McClure). 7 upperclassman this year (Paulus, McClure, Pocius, Henderson, Scheyer, Thomas, Zoubek)
2. Nolan Smith - breakout season
3. Marty Pocius - X-factor
4. Lance Thomas - should be better now playing natural PF position
5. Brian Zoubek , healthy for now, and Miles Plumnee should hold down the C position
6. Gerald Henderson - superstar season coming
7. Kyle Singler - year of experience under his belt, added muscle, should not have to play much C at all this year
8. Elliot Williams - athleticism and defense
9. Tough SOS w/ potential games against North Carolina x2, UCLA, Purdue, Georgetown, Xavier, Davidson, Miami, Wake Forest x2 will make us tested come March
10. 2-3 deep at each position:

PG: Paulus/Smith
SG: Scheyer/Williams
SF: Henderson/Pocius/McClure
PF: Singler/Thomas/Czyz
C: Zoubek/Plumnee

[heyman25]

I agree with your analysis.
Glad we have Plumlee. I know this is Zoubek's 2nd day on the court since surgery, but he needs to get his reflexes and his coordination upgraded by November.This 7'1 260 player needs to rebound and keep shots contested in the paint. It would be nice if he could make a few putbacks each game. I hope Thomas, Plumlee, and Zoubek give us some good minutes this year.

Scheyer Singler and Henderson I have no worries.

Nolan will be much better. I hope both Elliot and Marty not miss a beat if we need to rest Jon or Gerald.

[Truth]

So by "next year" it sounds like you mean "this year" - correct?

I think most on this board, and probably most bball fans in the nation, would agree that the 2008-09 MBB season has a higher ceiling than the 2007-08 one.

[arnie]

I agree with your analysis.
Glad we have Plumlee. I know this is Zoubek's 2nd day on the court since surgery, but he needs to get his reflexes and his coordination upgraded by November.This 7'1 260 player needs to rebound and keep shots contested in the paint. It would be nice if he could make a few putbacks each game. I hope Thomas, Plumlee, and Zoubek give us some good minutes this year.

Scheyer Singler and Henderson I have no worries.

Nolan will be much better. I hope both Elliot and Marty not miss a beat if we need to rest Jon or Gerald.

Of course, this was Plumlee's 2nd day on the court since high school and he looked like he belonged! I don't see Zoubek's career finishing any better than Sanders or Domzalski (after all he is a junior now). I think Plumlee will be the starter and play more minutes, which should turn into a great year for Duke.

[MChambers]

Of course, this was Plumlee's 2nd day on the court since high school and he looked like he belonged! I don't see Zoubek's career finishing any better than Sanders or Domzalski (after all he is a junior now). I think Plumlee will be the starter and play more minutes, which should turn into a great year for Duke.

First of all, Plumlee's been on the court more than that since high school. Maybe you meant with a team in an organized league?

Second, it is way too early to judge Zoubs. He was out for months, after missing large chunks of the last two years. (Greybeard, can't you weigh in on playing on a new foot?)

I'm very optimistic about Miles, but let's not write the rest of the post players off.

[Edouble]

Of course, this was Plumlee's 2nd day on the court since high school and he looked like he belonged! I don't see Zoubek's career finishing any better than Sanders or Domzalski (after all he is a junior now). I think Plumlee will be the starter and play more minutes, which should turn into a great year for Duke.

I don't remember Tamon getting any meaningful minutes after his freshman season. He was basically playing the minutes of a walk-on by the time he was a senior. I doubt Z's career at Duke is headed in this direction. It's clear that Plumlee will be putting in time at the five spot for us this season. Unless a miracle occurs with Olek, or LT has really improved his abilities to protect the paint, Z will be a significant part of the frontcourt this season. If that's the case, he's already way ahead of Domzalski as far as carving out a nice career at Duke.

[BlueintheFace]

#11- Old dog learns new tricks- Coach K takes his experience at "the world's greatest coaching clinic" in Beijing and incorporates some new principles into Duke's offensive schemes. I think this element will receive a lot more attention as the year goes on and we see some new things...

[ACCBBallFan]

HoustonDukie's top 10 are right on.

Another way to do it is to list 10 of the returning lettermen with a notation that he has an extra year of ACC experience under his belt, with any contribution from the three frosh particularly Elliott Williams and Miles Plumlee very significantly supplementing those 10 extra man years of expereince.