Are We Overlooking Quinn Cook?

[licc85]

I understand that the biggest question for 2012 is Kyrie's decision to go pro or stay at Duke. Assuming he goes pro, which I think is the most likely scenario, we would have a hole in our lineup at the point guard position. Lets take a look at our options for that spot:

Seth Curry - Decent but not great ball handler, not the quickest or fastest guy, great shooter, does not have great size, good ball pressure on D, VERY intelligent on both ends, needs to work on his ability to slash and make plays.

Seth is just more naturally fit to play the 2 guard role. He plays great off the ball running around screens to get open for threes. He can also occasionally get his man in the air or make a nice move o get into the lane to make a play, but his game is spotting up for open jumpers.

Tyler Thornton - Excellent defender, plays all out all the time, not the best athlete, surprisingly good court vision, decent shooter, but not reliable from long range, makes some poor decisions with the ball sometimes, decent ball handler

Tyler is an excellent defender off the bench, he makes plays with his energy and hustle, but just isn't quite ready to start yet.

Quinn Cook (my observations from high school and all start games such as elite 24, etc.) - Actually more athletic than advertised, still not a world class athlete or have great size, but a VERY good college athlete, very quick, very fast with the ball, pass first mentality, streaky shooter who sometimes takes ill-advised shots, has great handles, good court vision, gets teammates involved constantly, excellent on the ball defender.

well . . I may have played Quinn up a bit more than intended, but it seems like a no brainer to me to have quinn come off the bench to start the year, but to groom him so that he can come in and start sometime during the ACC schedule.

Are we so worried about Kyrie's decision that we fail to see what a good point guard we have coming in? Quinn comes to Duke with relatively no hype compared to his future teammate Austin Rivers, but is one of the smartest, craftiest players at his position. He obviously doesnt have the physical tools of a guy like Marquis Teague or the God-given talent of a guy like Kyrie, but I think he's just as good if not better than a similar player such as Kendall Marshall. Isn't that just fine for what we need at that position next year? Our leading scorers will be Austin, Seth, and Ryan in some order, and I'm confident that quinn can get those guys the ball in right spots. I think our holes in the frontcourt are a much bigger issue, as well as our overall team defense.

[ncexnyc]

I understand that the biggest question for 2012 is Kyrie's decision to go pro or stay at Duke. Assuming he goes pro, which I think is the most likely scenario, we would have a hole in our lineup at the point guard position. Lets take a look at our options for that spot:

Seth Curry - Decent but not great ball handler, not the quickest or fastest guy, great shooter, does not have great size, good ball pressure on D, VERY intelligent on both ends, needs to work on his ability to slash and make plays.

Seth is just more naturally fit to play the 2 guard role. He plays great off the ball running around screens to get open for threes. He can also occasionally get his man in the air or make a nice move o get into the lane to make a play, but his game is spotting up for open jumpers.

Tyler Thornton - Excellent defender, plays all out all the time, not the best athlete, surprisingly good court vision, decent shooter, but not reliable from long range, makes some poor decisions with the ball sometimes, decent ball handler

Tyler is an excellent defender off the bench, he makes plays with his energy and hustle, but just isn't quite ready to start yet.

Quinn Cook (my observations from high school and all start games such as elite 24, etc.) - Actually more athletic than advertised, still not a world class athlete or have great size, but a VERY good college athlete, very quick, very fast with the ball, pass first mentality, streaky shooter who sometimes takes ill-advised shots, has great handles, good court vision, gets teammates involved constantly, excellent on the ball defender.

well . . I may have played Quinn up a bit more than intended, but it seems like a no brainer to me to have quinn come off the bench to start the year, but to groom him so that he can come in and start sometime during the ACC schedule.

Are we so worried about Kyrie's decision that we fail to see what a good point guard we have coming in? Quinn comes to Duke with relatively no hype compared to his future teammate Austin Rivers, but is one of the smartest, craftiest players at his position. He obviously doesnt have the physical tools of a guy like Marquis Teague or the God-given talent of a guy like Kyrie, but I think he's just as good if not better than a similar player such as Kendall Marshall. Isn't that just fine for what we need at that position next year? Our leading scorers will be Austin, Seth, and Ryan in some order, and I'm confident that quinn can get those guys the ball in right spots. I think our holes in the frontcourt are a much bigger issue, as well as our overall team defense.

I think you're selling TT short. The kid did get a couple of starts and the negatives you listed for him will only improve with more reps. I believe he's got a leg up on Cook and possibly even Curry for the starting PG spot. A lot will depend on how the battle for the 3 shakes out.

[licc85]

I think you're selling TT short. The kid did get a couple of starts and the negatives you listed for him will only improve with more reps. I believe he's got a leg up on Cook and possibly even Curry for the starting PG spot. A lot will depend on how the battle for the 3 shakes out.

you could be right. After watching freshman nolan smith become senior noaln smith, i've gotta believe that anything is possible, but Tyler just doesnt strike me as a floor general as of now. I want to see how Quinn does in the McD's AA game tonight. I think it will be a competitive game, and quinn will be looking to show off his skills.

[DukieinSoCal]

Nice post. I think and hope that you may be right on. We might be overlooking Quinn a bit because he hasn't generated much buzz this year, even being outplayed at times by other PGs like Scott(head to head) and Kabongo. Some of that is very likely due to a knee injury he suffered a few months back. Hopefully, he'll continue to regain his explosion and confidence and be ready for the fall.

Another good thing is that Quinn will probably be at Duke for at least 2 years. He doesn't seem like a one and done prospect. We sure could use some stability at the PG spot.

[LSanders]

IMO ... Kyrie is a game-changer. Compare the first 8 games to the rest. Kyrie's foot speed and ball speed enable him to penetrate better than anyone we've had since J Will. Forcing the defense to collapse on him - drawing defenders away from others (like Mason) - is why Frank Martin said we were unguardable. That type player doesn't come along very often.

QC should be pretty much everything you describe from what I've read. He should be a terrific pass-first point guard. But, he won't be a game changer. If Kyrie decides to stay one more year so he can wear a Duke uniform rather than work with a personal trainer for a year while he waits for the NBA to work out a new CBA, we will have one of the strongest backcourts ever. We will, again, be like the team K described: we will be able to go into any restaurant and order whatever we want without regard to price. Having only one senior won't matter as much. Our athleticism will overwhelm most opponents.

Without Kyrie, we'll have to be a little more price conscious. That takes nothing away from QC or any of the other players. In the 1990s, we had Hurley with his uncanny ability to see the court. In the 2000s, we had J Will with his Superman-like speed and upper body strength. The 2010s gave us Kyrie. Players like him don't come around that often.

But, K's taken his recruiting to a new level lately. We may not be the "jet" team, but we'll be very, very good for a long time to come.

[J4Kop99]

you could be right. After watching freshman nolan smith become senior noaln smith, i've gotta believe that anything is possible, but Tyler just doesnt strike me as a floor general as of now. I want to see how Quinn does in the McD's AA game tonight. I think it will be a competitive game, and quinn will be looking to show off his skills.

I believe the game is actually on Wednesday.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Curry- great shooter, does not turn the ball over, average height, lots of experience, and played great down the stretch this past year.

TT- Has been learning under Coach K for a year, has more college playing time than Cook, plays great D.

Coach values the guys whi have been there before which gives these two a big advantage over Cook. Cook is not a 1 or 2 year guy either, he is by most accounts a 3 or 4 year guy.

[deezl]

Sorry, but I think Quinn is better than Tyler already. We shall see...

[Greg_Newton]

In our defense, he's very short. It's easy to do.

I think the general feeling is that Quinn will be a great ringleader as an upperclassmen, but the jury is still out on his effect as a freshman. Has he knee fully healed? Is he quick enough to do what he does at the HS level at the college level? And most importantly, is he quick enough/big enough to GUARD top flight college PGs effectively?

I think he'll be a great asset to the program over his four years - and yes, I'd expect him to stay four years given his height and lack of Lawson-level-quickness - but I'm not counting on him to be a difference maker next year. If he is, it's just gravy.

[Kedsy]

I think most of the time we won't be playing with a traditional point guard. From what we've seen and read about him, Austin Rivers seems to require the ball in his hands an awful lot. With someone like that, we don't need a "pure" PG and Seth Curry will be a fine running mate. Assuming Kyrie leaves I expect Seth to start and play 30+ minutes.

The biggest jump is often freshman to sophomore, so I expect the Tyler Thornton we see next year will be a much better version of what we saw this year, and what we saw this year was surprisingly good. Still, I expect his most important attribute will be defense off the bench.

Quinn Cook is currently ranked 20th by RSCI. Obviously the ranking is not the be-all, end-all, but in general players with such a ranking don't start at Duke, and don't play starters minutes unless our upper classes are short of quality alternatives (like 2000. 2006, and 2007). I'm not overlooking him, but I don't expect a difference maker.

[licc85]

I think most of the time we won't be playing with a traditional point guard. From what we've seen and read about him, Austin Rivers seems to require the ball in his hands an awful lot. With someone like that, we don't need a "pure" PG and Seth Curry will be a fine running mate. Assuming Kyrie leaves I expect Seth to start and play 30+ minutes.

I was actually thinking about this too . . what happens if Kyrie DOES stay? Does Austin learn how to play off the ball after playing his entire high school career basically being the lead guard? They are good friends, but does that always translate to on-court chemistry?

[dukebluesincebirth]

I'm BIG on Quinn Cook. I've only seen him play a couple of times, but he looks to have this certain confidence on the court. His handles are solid, as he's very creative with the ball looking to assist more than score. He's quick on offense and defense. I have a strong feeling that Quinn Cook will be a very special player at Duke. I don't know if others are overlooking him as the thread suggests, but I'm not. No offense to Tyler Thornton, but I think Quinn takes his spot easily.

On the podcast from today with Jay Williams and Coach K, Jay asks Coach if it's fair to compare Cook/Rivers to Amaker/Dawkins, and Coach K seemed to accept that. Amaker is my favorite Duke player of all time, so I'm excited!

[magjayran]

I'm hoping that he makes an appearance or two at the NC Pro Am. I like what I've seen from him in videos and some game action but I'd like to see him in person as well. I know that it's not the absolute best way to analyze talent but I learned a lot of things about our players and some of the UNC/NCSU guys from the Pro Am last year.

[jv001]

Seth is more like Jon was in playing the point. He can take care of the ball and he does get in the lane where he can pass the ball. He is a good off the ball defender with very quick hands. So these attributes will get him starter minutes. The question will be who guards the opponents point guard in Coach K's man to man defense. Right now I have to say Tyler is the best one for that duty. Only time will tell. GoDuke!

[Kedsy]

I was actually thinking about this too . . what happens if Kyrie DOES stay? Does Austin learn how to play off the ball after playing his entire high school career basically being the lead guard? They are good friends, but does that always translate to on-court chemistry?

My hope is that if Kyrie comes back then his and Austin's respect for one another and K's coaching will get them through this. I expect it in October practices it would look a little stilted, like Kyrie and Nolan during the NCAAT (although obviously we won't see those practices, other than the Blue/White game), but by the time the real games start it would look more like it did the first 8 games of this season. I hope so, anyway.

[Devilsfan]

Jon was smarter than most all players I've seen. I think we'll be fine at the point (we always have great guards or develop players into great guards) but I hope someone works with the Plumlees in all categories or we may have another 30+ season and go out in the sweet sixteen again. This is not meant to knock the Plumlees but just to hope we develop them half as good as we do with our guards.

[airowe]

I'm hoping that he makes an appearance or two at the NC Pro Am. I like what I've seen from him in videos and some game action but I'd like to see him in person as well. I know that it's not the absolute best way to analyze talent but I learned a lot of things about our players and some of the UNC/NCSU guys from the Pro Am last year.

I wonder how much the youngsters will play in those games with the trip to China/Dubai occurring just after. I'm sure they'll play some, but maybe not as much as they did last year. Somewhat like how the UNC players only played in a coupe games as they were headed to the Bahamas(?)

[MulletMan]

you could be right. After watching freshman nolan smith become senior noaln smith, i've gotta believe that anything is possible, but Tyler just doesnt strike me as a floor general as of now. I want to see how Quinn does in the McD's AA game tonight. I think it will be a competitive game, and quinn will be looking to show off his skills.

Its funny because you say that Thornton doesn't strike you as a floor general after a year at the college level, but you're ready to make Cook the starting PG based on limited viewings of him in HS all-star games. Take a look at what TT did in high school. Kid is the consummate floor general and he knows how to win. Couple that with his "I'm gonna annoy the I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.ake out of you" defensive attitude and I think you might be looking at the next Duke PG.

To your original point, however, I do agree that Cook may be... may be... coming in a little underrated. But frankly, that would be nice in my opinion. He won't be coming in as an expected savior for anything and he won't be getting called the next this or that former great Duke player (usually based on height and race).

[Kedsy]

Sorry, but I think Quinn is better than Tyler already. We shall see...

How often have you seen Quinn play?

[Duvall]

How often have you seen Quinn play?

Let's be fair, though. When Cook and Thornton played in the same league, the people that did see them play thought Cook was the better player.