Appreciation for Zoubek

[Starter]

I apologize if this is something that fits into one of the other threads -- I don't start many threads because I'm never quite sure of the protocol. If this is extraneous, please lock it or move it. But I thought that Brian Zoubek deserved his own, separate props for the brilliant career he's put together.

Have we seen a player in recent memory that improved as much in his senior year as Zoubek? I've been following Duke closely since I was admitted in 1996, and I would suggest that we haven't. Chris Carrawell went from a solid player to an excellent player. DeMarcus Nelson improved from a decent player to a very good player. Casey Sanders went from a below-average player to a viable player -- Nick Collison notwithstanding.

But for Zoubek, who was plagued with foul trouble, injuries and subsequent lack of conditioning, this is an incredible turnaround for a player that even as recently as January was not even close to a factor. Then he went for 16 and 17 against Maryland, looking like a transformed player in the process. He kept it up for the following few games, while I think we all waited for the other shoe to drop. But it didn't, and this iteration of Zoubek constitutes the best Duke big man since Shelden Williams, easily.

As great as Singler, Smith and Scheyer are, and as brilliantly as they feed off each other, Zoubek is truly at the heart of the team's endeavors. (I wrote a post recently about this topic if anyone's interested) He perfectly fits into what this team does -- using surprising athleticism to harass both on the post and in the perimeter. He has a nice soft touch around the basket and uses the glass well. And after his offensive rebounds, he's incredibly adept at seeing the entire floor and finding the open man for a three-pointer, quite different from earlier in his career, when he would go up with it and often get stripped or blocked.

To me, Zoubek typifies the way this team has developed this year and over the past several years into the efficient model of consistency we see now. He would have fit in better in other systems, but he fell in love with Duke -- the way we all did -- and it's finally clicking for him. And when I think about this team down the road, win or lose, I think Zoubek will be the guy I'm the most proud of.