How good will the 2010-11 MBB team be?

[umdukie]

I know that Irving and Mason can't compare with Lawson or Hansbrough but I think we're SINGNIFICANTLY better at spots 2,3 and 4 with Smith, Singler and Hairston/R. kelly.

Thoughts?

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

Wow as I was going to sleep, and couldn't because I was so excited Singler was staying, I thought the same thing. But no I don't think we are as good, because that teams starting 5 with to the final four one year and ALL came back to win it all. That's a lot of experience they had, when really we have a lot of new guys on our team.

[Duvall]

I know that Irving and Mason can't compare with Lawson or Hansbrough but I think we're SINGNIFICANTLY better at spots 2,3 and 4 with Smith, Singler and Hairston/R. kelly.

Thoughts?

I think that's an odd question to ask about a team that doesn't exist yet.

[-jk]

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves - we get Kyle for one more year, but we're losing a lot of experience and leadership. There'll be some bumps in the road while we get readjusted.

-jk

[Big Pappa]

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves - we get Kyle for one more year, but we're losing a lot of experience and leadership. There'll be some bumps in the road while we get readjusted.

I agree with jk. Also, I know that Lawson was obviously a more polished player but I honestly think that Kyrie has the talent to end up being a better player. Especially if he sticks around like Lawson did.

[Vincetaylor]

I think the rest of the country was better in 2008-2009 than it will be next year. Next year will be a very, very weak year talent wise in college basketball. I'm not sure if Duke will be as good as that UNC team, but I certainly think the gap between Duke and the rest of the country can be as great as the gap that UNC team had.

[-bdbd]

Don't really CARE much about the 08-09 NC@CH team. Irrelevant.

This will be a very good Duke team and certainly one that will contend for another NC. That's all that matters.

[TheRob8801]

I...with Smith, Singler and Hairston/R. kelly.

Pre-scandal R.Kelly or post? I feel like that experience will mean a lot when we go up against younger players.

[Big Pappa]

Pre-scandal R.Kelly or post? I feel like that experience will mean a lot when we go up against younger players.

Almost hate to admit it but that made me laugh.

[cptnflash]

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves - we get Kyle for one more year, but we're losing a lot of experience and leadership. There'll be some bumps in the road while we get readjusted.

-jk

Full on agreement. We have sure things at two positions, but elsewhere we still have question marks (can KI run the point as a freshman, can the Plumlees defend without fouling, can Curry score against quality competition, etc.). The only question mark for the 08/09 Heels was whether they would take a night off defensively in the tournament against a team good enough to make them pay for it. And they were smart enough not to.

[COYS]

I know that Irving and Mason can't compare with Lawson or Hansbrough but I think we're SINGNIFICANTLY better at spots 2,3 and 4 with Smith, Singler and Hairston/R. kelly.

Thoughts?

Personally, I take Duke 2009-2010 over UNC the previous year. Duke takes care of the ball and prevents fast break opportunities. Scheyer takes Ellington out of the game . . . again. Our depth down low matches UNC on the boards and we have enough defenders to make Thompson a non-factor. Lawson and Hansbrough get theirs, but UNC's offense bogs down in the half-court against our defense as the game wears on. With Green and Ellington unable to get open looks from three against the best three point defense in the country and UNC with no one to match up with Singler, Duke's big three become too much for UNC's two and we pull away late and win by five.

[Greg_Newton]

It's important to keep in mind that this team will only have 3 upperclassmen on it and will start a freshman PG. Given that, I don't think it's very comparable to a team like UNC '09.

However, this is the most firepower we've had on a roster since the 99-02 redonkulousness. I mean, look at the NBA talent we'll have:

4 NBA locks: Singler, Irving, Mason and Nolan. All would be drafted if they were in this year's draft, with only Nolan slipping to the 2nd round.

2 more probable (50%+) NBAers: Curry and Miles. Curry is probably closer to a lock, but I'll reserve judgment until he plays. Miles needs work, but at a solid 6'10 with a 45" vertical, he'd have to have a disastrous 2 years to not get a shot.

4 more very possible NBA players: Dawkins, Hairston, Felix, Kelly. Dawkins and Hairston are on the right track, but are too young to predict anything about. Felix certainly fits the bill physically/athletically, but is still a total unknown. And I would actually bet on Kelly making the league if I had to choose... he's got a lot more under the hood than we saw this year. 6'10" with his skillset is a unique prospect.

I mean, that's nuts. We'll be young, but that is some serious, serious talent. This is going to be fun to watch.

[RockLobster]

I know that Irving...can't compare with Lawson

Um, what?

Irving is an elite-level point guard. From early reports, he has a skill set similar to Lawson's.

We won't know anything until the season starts, but I expect great things from Irving.

[soccerstud2210]

Personally, I take Duke 2009-2010 over UNC the previous year. Duke takes care of the ball and prevents fast break opportunities. Scheyer takes Ellington out of the game . . . again. Our depth down low matches UNC on the boards and we have enough defenders to make Thompson a non-factor. Lawson and Hansbrough get theirs, but UNC's offense bogs down in the half-court against our defense as the game wears on. With Green and Ellington unable to get open looks from three against the best three point defense in the country and UNC with no one to match up with Singler, Duke's big three become too much for UNC's two and we pull away late and win by five.

i think the talent is there. don't forget we are losing 3 starters. our main big man and rebounder. our ball hawk versatile defender. and our leader ball handler.

thats a lot to lose.

do i think irving is the hype? oh ya. after watching that kid in the jordan game, the kid gives me chills. do i think mason and miles can continue to progress into zoubs blocking and rebounding? ya i think with some work this summer. but who takes over our ball hawk versatile defender? not sure yet.

we will be young. i like that. but too young always shows itself in the tourney. just ask wall and cousins.

not saying we won't be good next year, because i think we will. we have a change to be REALLY good. but there is a lot missing from this yrs NC team when we step on the court for our first game next season!

as always,

GO DUKE!

[COYS]

i think the talent is there. don't forget we are losing 3 starters. our main big man and rebounder. our ball hawk versatile defender. and our leader ball handler.

thats a lot to lose.

do i think irving is the hype? oh ya. after watching that kid in the jordan game, the kid gives me chills. do i think mason and miles can continue to progress into zoubs blocking and rebounding? ya i think with some work this summer. but who takes over our ball hawk versatile defender? not sure yet.

we will be young. i like that. but too young always shows itself in the tourney. just ask wall and cousins.

not saying we won't be good next year, because i think we will. we have a change to be REALLY good. but there is a lot missing from this yrs NC team when we step on the court for our first game next season!

as always,

GO DUKE!

Sorry to be confusing, but I meant that I would take this year's championship team in a game against UNC's most recent championship team. Next year's team has to win the title to be in the discussion.

[soccerstud2210]

Sorry to be confusing, but I meant that I would take this year's championship team in a game against UNC's most recent championship team. Next year's team has to win the title to be in the discussion.

Sorry COYS, i didn't mean to quote excerpt your post! oops. i meant to quote -jk's post about not getting ahead of ourselves. sorry for the confusion. wasn't disagreeing with you or calling you out

[hedevil]

Obviously you can't accomplish anything more than this NC team did. NC, ACC champs, undefeated at home, NIT preseason tourny, sweeping Carolina, and regular season ACC champs. I love what they did, and who they did it with, when no one gave them much of a chance. All that being said, I think this next team has more than a fine chance of being even better. Mainly due to depth.

With an extra year at the collegiate level, I would expect all of the following to take an extra step forward: Kyle, Nolan, Andre, Kelly, Miles, and Mason. I believe these guys will all improve (in some capacity) from the previous year. While we are losing three solid players, we are also gaining six better than before players. Add to that the #3 player in the incoming class (true point guard). Two talented freshman, a Juco player with one year of collegiate experience, and the guy I really can't wait to see in Seth Curry. Seth was the highest scoring freshman in the nation during his freshman year, averaged 25 points versus two ACC teams, and did so on a team where I'm sure he was the focus of opposing defenses. Guess what? It didn't matter. The guy should only get better on a team with much more talent, where he will be able to get better opportunities due to the various weapons that defenses will have to respect.

For me, when it comes to Seth, instead of him proving to me that he has game, I will wait for someone (opposing teams) to prove otherwise. He has the endorsements of his teammates, K, brother Stephen and father Dale, all of whom I think are better qualified than I to question the boy's skills.

[LSanders]

we will be young. i like that. but too young always shows itself in the tourney. just ask wall and cousins.

I basically agree with a lot of your points ... One notable exception, however, is that Wall, Cousins, et al only had Cal to lean on in crunch time. Our boys have K. So, yes, we will be young, but I can guarantee you, we will be MUCH better prepared for what comes down the track than KY.

[MChambers]

It's important to keep in mind that this team will only have 3 upperclassmen on it and will start a freshman PG. Given that, I don't think it's very comparable to a team like UNC '09.

However, this is the most firepower we've had on a roster since the 99-02 redonkulousness. I mean, look at the NBA talent we'll have:

4 NBA locks: Singler, Irving, Mason and Nolan. All would be drafted if they were in this year's draft, with only Nolan slipping to the 2nd round.

2 more probable (50%+) NBAers: Curry and Miles. Curry is probably closer to a lock, but I'll reserve judgment until he plays. Miles needs work, but at a solid 6'10 with a 45" vertical, he'd have to have a disastrous 2 years to not get a shot.

4 more very possible NBA players: Dawkins, Hairston, Felix, Kelly. Dawkins and Hairston are on the right track, but are too young to predict anything about. Felix certainly fits the bill physically/athletically, but is still a total unknown. And I would actually bet on Kelly making the league if I had to choose... he's got a lot more under the hood than we saw this year. 6'10" with his skillset is a unique prospect.

I mean, that's nuts. We'll be young, but that is some serious, serious talent. This is going to be fun to watch.

We'll have two senior starters and one junior starter returning. After that, Duke will be a little young, but not all that young.

[oldnavy]

We'll have two senior starters and one junior starter returning. After that, Duke will be a little young, but not all that young.

To add a little to that, our two seniors are not exactly wall flowers either (not that anyone said they were). BOTH have demonstrated an impressive desire to succeed and true leadership skills. Yes LT and Jon were the leaders of this years team, but does anybody really see a drop off in leadership with Kyle and Nolan as seniors?? To me the question mark is going to be how much the Plumlee's improve, much like my question at the beginning of last year was with Nolan. If we get a bump from MP1 and MP2 like we did from Nolan last year (clearly a better player), well... let's just say that we have the potential to be a very special team next year. I am highly optimistic with what we have coming back. In fact I would by a season ticket to the practices if such a thing existed. Can you imagine the intensity that will be on display in the scrimmages?? WOW!