You are allowing yourself to be deceived by the fact that Z and his game lack the aesthetically pleasing elements that most people expect in high level basketball players.
As I detailed in an earlier thread (
http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/...5&postcount=54), Z's per minute production was outstanding last year and is off the chart this year. In fact, if you look at the stats, most of the usual complaints about him turn out to be fiction:
* The guy was one of the top rebounders per minute in the ACC last year and this year averages almost 22 rebounds per 40 minutes. So, notwithstanding your slight against his boxing out skills, and while he may "fumble" a few rebounds away, he's still pulling in more boards than anybody else on the Duke team (and most other teams as well).
* His turnovers per 40 are only OK, but his numbers both this year and last are similar to Ed Davis's and better than Nolan Smith's, so it's not like the ball gets slapped out of his hands a disproportional amount. It's just perhaps when it happens to Z it's more readily noticed.
* While you didn't list this among Z's perceived inadequacies, I have often heard people say he can't dunk and misses a lot of close-in shots. But since his shooting percentage was close to 60% the past two years and is 65% so far this year, these criticisms are -- again -- misplaced due to a lack of style points.
* His plus/minus numbers were outstanding last year and even better this year, so whether you think so or not, the team is better off when he's on the floor.
Having said all that, Z's foul numbers need a lot of improvement (over 9 per 40 minutes). And it's possible that his per minute numbers are so good because K picks his spots with Z and only deploys him in advantageous situations. But it's also possible his per minute production and plus/minus figures would remain at a high level no matter who we play. We may find out over the course of the year or we may not. But either way the derogatory tone you use to describe Z and his game are, IMO, completely uncalled for.
Oh, and I do watch the games, by the way. I also happen to be capable of evaluating statistics and seeing the bigger picture. Perhaps you ought to try doing the same before denigrating one of our players.