Lance gets a workout with the Nets

[NovaScotian]

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archiv...groups_of_six/

I remember coach mike saying that lance was an nba caliber player earlier this season, but seriously, the nets must be taking lance's 'king of nj' tattoo a little seriously. but really, good for lance.

[Osiagledknarf]

Call me crazy, but I think he has a chance to be signed as an undrafted free agent and possibly make a team. He has the skills defensively and has the ability to guard 3's and smaller 4's.. He can rebound and defend, something that he could possibly make the roster as a 11th/12th man or D-League guy.

I think it isn't as far fetched that he could signed and possibly make a team, I really don't.

[Verga3]

With Lance's character, leadership abilities and work ethic, any NBA team would be extremely fortunate to have him on their roster. He is a champion.

[cspan37421]

This kind of reminds me of the stuff about Jon, his "t-rex" arms, etc. Yeah, he can never play in the NBA, because all he does is WIN, score, dish, WIN, protect the ball, rebound, WIN. Nobody wants that, right?

It's so crazy, they come up with some measurement that proves that not only is winning not everything, apparently, it's not anything!

[gumbomoop]

During his first 3 seasons, LT seemed to me afflicted with undisciplined, chaotic energy. Maybe he began to turn that around in 2d half of his junior year. Anyhow, I thought I saw - and it took me awhile, and probably other posters persuaded me of this - a much more disciplined player early his senior year.

I thought he ran more smoothly, played [usually] with controlled rather than wild fierceness. Now I'm talking strictly physical skills, not leadership, about which no one had any doubts.

But skills-wise, his D clearly improved, became much smarter. So I can see why K asserted that LT might make some NBA team [remember he said that?].

But I sure hope LT pulls out some heretofore hidden consistency re basic O skills: handle, footwork, stationary screening. Maybe his pretty fair elbow jumper will be found a plus, but I'd have to think he'd need to show he can do something on O other than set screens. Not a whole lot, but something else.

I sure hope this happens. I wouldn't have given it much chance 12 months ago, but it's no longer inconceivable. For all I know, several NBA teams may be looking for a 10 mpg situation-stopper on D. Now I think about it, all NBA teams need such a player. Is LT that player?

[ChicagoCrazy84]

LT would not be the first undersized PF ever to make an NBA squad without an offensive skill set...or wait, would he be? Its certainly not impossible, but even with his play for us his senior year, he has a long way to go. I was always hard on Lance mosly because he was maybe a tad overhyped out of high school, but I sure hope he gets picked up because he improved a bunch throughout his career with us. I know it took everyone, and I mean everyone to make 2010 a NC year, but we would not have won without LT. Here's to a small miracle for Lance!

[basket1544]

Lance has the rebounding skills and defensive skills necessary to be a pro. However, he's got to take a lot more shots than he did for Duke this year. At times his offense was a hinderance for the rest of the team. It became 4 on 5 since the defender knew they could drift off of Lance and guard Kyle (or whoever was hot) instead.

[AZLA]

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archiv...groups_of_six/

I remember coach mike saying that lance was an nba caliber player earlier this season, but seriously, the nets must be taking lance's 'king of nj' tattoo a little seriously. but really, good for lance.

Good for Lance. If you look at his height and build, and then, couple it with his great character and leadership (and tattoos) on a championship team, he's definitely worth taking a look at.

Now if Jon would just go ahead and get a few good tats himself -- he might go first round .

Any suggestions?

[Dukefan4Life]

Lance has the rebounding skills and defensive skills necessary to be a pro. However, he's got to take a lot more shots than he did for Duke this year. At times his offense was a hinderance for the rest of the team. It became 4 on 5 since the defender knew they could drift off of Lance and guard Kyle (or whoever was hot) instead.

I don"t think lance has to take more shots in the NBA. His game his Energy hussle and being a glue guy. I think putting all those together he will be fine at the next level

[SilkyJ]

Lance has the rebounding skills and defensive skills necessary to be a pro. However, he's got to take a lot more shots than he did for Duke this year. At times his offense was a hinderance for the rest of the team. It became 4 on 5 since the defender knew they could drift off of Lance and guard Kyle (or whoever was hot) instead.

Lance took and made quite a few mid-range jumpers this year. Early in the season it was one of the pleasant surprises b/c in previous years your post would have been 100% right. This past year though, when defenders drifted off him he shot the mid-range J with confidence.

I think there are some people out there that keep those kind of stats (i.e. types of shots taken- layups versus jumpers, etc.), though I'm not exactly sure who they are.

EDIT: Found it! I know this guys posts here, but I couldn't find his handle to PM him so I found his website and sure enough they kept "Type of shots" stats the last 2 seasons.

Lance jumpshots Jr year: 5-20
Lance jumpshots Sr year: 23-65

IIRC he was hitting those jumpers earlier in the season, then slumped a little later. He hit 2 in the championship game tho!

If you click on the link, you can see he shot quite well from the elbows, but from the foul line to the 3 point line, i.e. dead-on, he struggled.

God I love stats and links!

http://www.scacchoops.com/tt_player_...ayer=268&tab=3

[flyingdutchdevil]

IMO, Lance is a poor man's ex-UCLA-guy-on-the-Bucks-whose-name-I-can't-remember-or-spell. Lance can definitely make the NBA - but I really don't see him being much more than a really good practice player. There are players who are much more athletic and better defenders at his spot. Sure - Lance has leadership, but when was the last time a recruit out of college became a leader while also being a 9-12th man?

I really hope Lance makes it, but, IMO, both Z and Jon have much better chances.

[DukieInBrasil]

IMO, Lance is a poor man's ex-UCLA-guy-on-the-Bucks-whose-name-I-can't-remember-or-spell. Lance can definitely make the NBA - but I really don't see him being much more than a really good practice player. There are players who are much more athletic and better defenders at his spot. Sure - Lance has leadership, but when was the last time a recruit out of college became a leader while also being a 9-12th man?

I really hope Lance makes it, but, IMO, both Z and Jon have much better chances.

I agree with this take. The only way LT is going to make the league in any significant way would be if he can show that he can make that elbow jumper very consistently. He just doesn't have enough other offensive options and his rebounding is less than impressive for a player his size.

Could the player you're thinking of be Luc Richard Mbah a Moute?

[flyingdutchdevil]

Could the player you're thinking of be Luc Richard Mbah a Moute?

Yes! A rich man's Lance! That is a badass name, BTW. Almost as good at LaceDarius Dunn.

[ElSid]

This kind of reminds me of the stuff about Jon, his "t-rex" arms, etc. Yeah, he can never play in the NBA, because all he does is WIN, score, dish, WIN, protect the ball, rebound, WIN. Nobody wants that, right?

It's so crazy, they come up with some measurement that proves that not only is winning not everything, apparently, it's not anything!

Reminds me of the "all he does is catch touchdowns" quote from the NFL. Buddy Ryan about Cris Carter, I think.

Sounds awful, right?

[uh_no]

Lance has the rebounding skills and defensive skills necessary to be a pro.

You realize those two skills are the exact opposite of what is necessary to succeed in the NBA?

seriously...who in the NBA actually plays defense and rebounds?

best of luck to lance

[toooskies]

You realize those two skills are the exact opposite of what is necessary to succeed in the NBA?

seriously...who in the NBA actually plays defense and rebounds?

best of luck to lance

Every single game in this year's NBA playoffs has been determined by not only the stars on offense, but whether the other team has a guy that can play defense against the other team's stars. The Cavs couldn't guard Rondo. VC couldn't guard Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis couldn't guard Garnett. Perkins could guard Howard, despite not being an offensive juggernaut. No one can guard LA at every position.

The NBA stereotypes of "it's all one-on-one basketball" and "no one plays defense" are a little old. It's a meme of the 80's, 90's, and early 00's. I still like college basketball more-- it's better to watch a game where fans actually care what's going on-- but as basketball, they're playing at a much higher level.

[ncexnyc]

That so many are selling Lance short. Didn't we learn anything from the recent adventures of our very own Greg Paulus?

[Cockabeau]

We are NOT selling Lance short here. Gifted position defender and extremely limited on offense.

[DevilHorns]

Every single game in this year's NBA playoffs has been determined by not only the stars on offense, but whether the other team has a guy that can play defense against the other team's stars. The Cavs couldn't guard Rondo. VC couldn't guard Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis couldn't guard Garnett. Perkins could guard Howard, despite not being an offensive juggernaut. No one can guard LA at every position.

The NBA stereotypes of "it's all one-on-one basketball" and "no one plays defense" are a little old. It's a meme of the 80's, 90's, and early 00's. I still like college basketball more-- it's better to watch a game where fans actually care what's going on-- but as basketball, they're playing at a much higher level.

Thank you. If anyone thinks there is no defense in the NBA needs to look at this article on our very own Shane Battier http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/ma...Battier-t.html

The games are longer, the season is longer, and play-off series are not single-game elimination. You have to conserve energy to some extent. If you are beat on a play, it may not be in your best interest to expend all your effort, for example. For the casual viewer this is seen in stark contrast to the 100% commitment and effort we see every Duke game.

[Devilsfan]

Lance impressed me most in an area where I never before gave him credit. At the basketball banquet Lance's speech would have been voted best if there was a contest. He looked at the audience and spoke from his heart. No notes, no reading. A genuine heartfelt speech that surpassed all others including Dick Broadhead's trying to be cool and relate to Duke sports fans. Lance has a tremendous command of the English language and a teriffic manor of communicating his thoughts. Hats off to a young man everyone associated with Duke should be and will continue to be very proud of, imo.