A Good Question

[PSurprise]

Pardon me if this has been discussed on the board, but if you could choose only one option, would you rather have G return for his senior year or Wall come on board? Which do you think would give us a better chance at a NC next year?
Personally, I would be leaning towards G staying for his last season, graduating, and hopefully watching his jersey hang in the rafters.
What do y'all think?

[Mr Blue Devil]

Easy one, G returns!!!!!

[moonpie23]

i'll take G...

[Icarus09]

Easy one, G returns!!!!!

Definitely. I have a felling that Wall isn't nearly as disciplined as G is. And, Wall apparently feels more comfortable coming to Duke if G is here and I think would be dependent on G to draw the defense's focus. G, on the other hand, is much more developed than Wall could be (considering Wall's only staying a year wherever he goes). G has experience playing against elite competition in the ACC. Plus, G would draw a lot of double teams next year and free up shooting room for Smith, Singler, and Scheyer. Also, not getting Wall is not the worse thing that could happen. I think a lot of people on dbr would be okay with signing Bledose or somebody else.

[BlueinBlo]

I think that is an impossible question to answer. I think they go hand in hand. If Wall comes, G stays b/c he knows he has a great chance to win the title. If Wall doesn't come, G leaves. He knows Duke will be good but not good enough to win it all.

[geraldsneighbor]

Wall is a big unknown as far as what he would do right away. I'll take the Senior who I know what I am getting with rather than an unproven freshmen. That being said, I don't doubt for a second Wall will be a stud, and I would love to have him!

[Icarus09]

I think that is an impossible question to answer. I think they go hand in hand. If Wall comes, G stays b/c he knows he has a great chance to win the title. If Wall doesn't come, G leaves. He knows Duke will be good but not good enough to win it all.

I have a hard time believing that G's decision is dependent upon what Wall is doing. Personally, I think he's gone. But, aside from that, I'm not sure if Wall and G give us a great chance to win the title. Maybe a better chance than we could have imagined, but I think we'll only be able to tell if this statement is accurate when we see how our forwards are playing next season (and how much Kelly and MP2 can contribute in general).

[InSpades]

You really think G would base his decision on the decision of a senior in high school? I really doubt that would be the case (I could see Wall basing his decision on G's decision though).

From a fan perspective you have to want G back over Wall. Just from the point of view that we've gotten to know G for 3 years and know what a great kid he is and want to see him succeed. Wall could be just as good of a kid and just as likeable but we really don't know (we also won't get to see him as much as we've already seen G).

As far as which would help us more next year? From a talent perspective you have to think G is more developed but Wall fills a role that Duke just can't currently fill. Elliot could take G's spot, they have a lot of the same skills and talents (or even Nolan, though he's a bit of a different type of player). Wall would add a new dimension. I think we'd have a better shot to win a NC if G left and Wall came (instead of vice versa). I think next year's team w/ G would just be a slightly improved version of this year's team. Which is a great team, but is it a NC team? Definitely have a shot at it. If Wall came in and did his best Derrick Rose impersonation? Then you'd have to say Duke is the favorite.

Personally I'm holding out for both .

1 last point to consider... if Wall doesn't come to Duke then he's going somewhere else. If G doesn't come to Duke then he's in the NBA. So choosing the Wall option is sort of addition by subtraction (subtraction from some other team who might've had Wall if he didn't come to Duke).

[Hancock 4 Duke]

I think that is an impossible question to answer. I think they go hand in hand. If Wall comes, G stays b/c he knows he has a great chance to win the title. If Wall doesn't come, G leaves. He knows Duke will be good but not good enough to win it all.

I think that same thing, except vice versa. Wall would think if G comes back, they could possibly win the title. I don't think that one person could make a big differece, unlike schools like UNC and Davidson, who depends on one dominant person. Duke can go pretty deep and still have a pretty good line up.

[jv001]

Who's going to replace G's 16.5 pts per game next year? Not to mention his rebounding and defense. He came off the ball to make many outstanding blocks. I know we have Nolan (8pts) and Elliot (4pts). But can they pick it up to where we need it to be? Jon averaged around 15 pts a game and he could get that up to 17 or 18 pts a game. I just don't know if Wall can make that much of a difference. If Ryan, Mason and Miles play well, John could make them even better. So if I had a pick I would pick Gerald and if no Wall, then maybe Bledsoe. Go Duke!

[Icarus09]

From a talent perspective you have to think G is more developed but Wall fills a role that Duke just can't currently fill. Elliot could take G's spot, they have a lot of the same skills and talents (or even Nolan, though he's a bit of a different type of player).

I agree with some of your post (like Wall adding a new dimension), but I hesitate to think that Elliot will be able to make up for G's departure. Yes, there both athletic and around the same height. G is more physical, more assertive, and has a mid-range game. The only advantage of Elliot is that he is good defensively, though he has an annoying tendency to foul about 30 feet from the basket.

[TriGuy]

Pardon me if this has been discussed on the board, but if you could choose only one option, would you rather have G return for his senior year or Wall come on board? Which do you think would give us a better chance at a NC next year?
Personally, I would be leaning towards G staying for his last season, graduating, and hopefully watching his jersey hang in the rafters.
What do y'all think?

That's an easy bird-in-the-hand question. While Wall is certainly going to be a star, G is already a proven asset.

However, unless he cranks up his game beyond anything he's shown he can, G's number will not be in the rafters.

(But then, I'm a hold-out from the past . . . I still am of the belief that no one's number should be retired until they make up for the unconscionable oversight of not retiring Jim Spanarkel's jersey.)

[ice-9]

I'll take G, hands down, but Wall has a better chance of getting us to the Final Four (or out in the first round).

[CameronCrazy'11]

My heart wants G, but my head says Wall would help us out more. Fortunately, I don't think the two are connected.

[heyman25]

Wall not that it matters. UNC was great because of Lawson. Duke does not have a Lawson next season unless John Wall enrolls. He will make everyone better. Gerald Henderson is a great talent, but he is not a playmaker. Too much one on one and can make some very poor decisions when the ball is in his hands. He needs a better handle. He will get there, but probably in the NBA and not at Duke.John Wall can change the dynamic of Duke basketball. Henderson would be a 1st team All American, but I don't think Duke would go all the way without a playmaker point guard.

[weezie]

This question makes me sad

[Scorp4me]

G's got no baggage, no issues, he's already given us two great years as opposed to having a foot out the door before he already steps on campus. I'd take G in a heartbeat!

I'll go further than that. You give me a good year with G or a great year with Wall and I'd still take G. Luckily I see alot more than just a good year with G.

[rotogod00]

if you're talking one year of henderson vs. one year of wall (b/c he'll then go pro), then henderson.

but if there was any chance of wall staying 2 years (yes, i know it ain't happening), then you go with wall

[Greg_Newton]

My heart says G, because he's been one of my favorite Duke players of recent years. But in terms of what I honestly think would fit the needs of our team come March 2010 and make us most dangerous, I would rank the possibly scenarios accordingly:

1. G and Wall
2. G and Bledsoe
3. Just Wall
4. Just G
5. Just Bledsoe
6. No G, no Wall, no Bledsoe

Especially since scenario 3 would likely include us snatching the #1 recruit from UNC and UK and G being a lottery pick.

[Edouble]

I'd take Wall. I think he's the engine to connect all of the pieces. G is a piece, maybe the best piece, but I'd say the drop off from G to Elliott is much less than the drop off from Wall to Nolan at the point. Wall would enable us to compete at a higher level as a team. I don't think G adds that dynamic, and I'm not sure that with an extra summer that Elliott couldn't be as effective as G was this year.