Why is nobody talking about Mason Plumlee?

[darjum]

What? Both Plumlees were great rebounders last year. For Mason, I think rebounding is the one area of his game that does NOT need improvement. And Miles was kind of overlooked but really came on strong towards the end of the season and was playing great D, including rebounding. Not sure where your assessment is coming from.

At this stage I feel Miles might be what Miles is, a serviceable big man who can play 15-20 minutes, who comes in with hustle, crashes the boards (maybe commits a few 'effort' fouls), gives unexpected offense from time to time and at other times looks a bit lost! Happy to eat my words if he breaks though, please feel free to prove me wrong eldest Plumlee

But MP2 is a whole different breed of Plumlee all together. He has the talent and should break through to be All-ACC this year. One thing I would like him to develop, which I felt Kyle Singler was the King of, is rebounding out of your area. I would watch a shot go up and regardless of if it was supposed to be his rebound or not, Kyle would find a way of getting it, or contesting it. MP2 is more athletically gifted for rebounding than Kyle and if can muster that same dog willed determinism that made Kyle special, I agree he could be one of the top rebounders in the country.

As for MP3, I hope he's got a good set of tweezers to pull the splinters from his butt with all the watching he'll be going next year from the bench But it will serve him well when he becomes..."The Last of the Plumlee's".

[jimsumner]

At this stage I feel Miles might be what Miles is, a serviceable big man who can play 15-20 minutes, who comes in with hustle, crashes the boards (maybe commits a few 'effort' fouls), gives unexpected offense from time to time and at other times looks a bit lost! Happy to eat my words if he breaks though, please feel free to prove me wrong eldest Plumlee

But MP2 is a whole different breed of Plumlee all together. He has the talent and should break through to be All-ACC this year. One thing I would like him to develop, which I felt Kyle Singler was the King of, is rebounding out of your area. I would watch a shot go up and regardless of if it was supposed to be his rebound or not, Kyle would find a way of getting it, or contesting it. MP2 is more athletically gifted for rebounding than Kyle and if can muster that same dog willed determinism that made Kyle special, I agree he could be one of the top rebounders in the country.

As for MP3, I hope he's got a good set of tweezers to pull the splinters from his butt with all the watching he'll be going next year from the bench But it will serve him well when he becomes..."The Last of the Plumlee's".

Miles is an interesting case. He can absolutely dominate games in brief spans and my understanding is that he does dominate in practices. He can be overly critical of himself. He has the tools to break out and Duke has had players make a big jump as seniors--Alaa Abdelnaby, Tony Lang, Eric Meek, Chris Collins, Roshown McLeod, Chris Carrawell, Dahntay Jones, Jon Scheyer, et. al. Miles will get every opportunity to put a stranglehold on a starting job. If he can seize the day, Duke will be very, very good next season.

Mason does have a higher ceiling than his brothers. He sometimes over-relies on his length and athleticism and neglects some of the fundamentals, e.g. boxing out, moving his feet on D, spacing. But he made major strides last season and came back with the intention of continuing that progression. If he develops confidence and a reliable low-post move or two, than I can easily see first-team All-ACC on the horizon. He has a chance to be really, really good next season.

And don't forget Ryan Kelly, who can play either the 4 or the 5, either start or come off the bench, and ably play alongside either Plumlee. He's a valuable resource and I can easily see him starting at the 5 as a senior, should Mason elect to go pro after next season. No need to force-feed Marshall.

And Hairston could factor in next season.

Some questions have to be answered and lots of sweat equity has to be invested. But I feel pretty good about Duke's bigs next season.

[CDu]

Miles is an interesting case. He can absolutely dominate games in brief spans and my understanding is that he does dominate in practices. He can be overly critical of himself. He has the tools to break out and Duke has had players make a big jump as seniors--Alaa Abdelnaby, Tony Lang, Eric Meek, Chris Collins, Roshown McLeod, Chris Carrawell, Dahntay Jones, Jon Scheyer, et. al. Miles will get every opportunity to put a stranglehold on a starting job. If he can seize the day, Duke will be very, very good next season.

Mason does have a higher ceiling than his brothers. He sometimes over-relies on his length and athleticism and neglects some of the fundamentals, e.g. boxing out, moving his feet on D, spacing. But he made major strides last season and came back with the intention of continuing that progression. If he develops confidence and a reliable low-post move or two, than I can easily see first-team All-ACC on the horizon. He has a chance to be really, really good next season.

And don't forget Ryan Kelly, who can play either the 4 or the 5, either start or come off the bench, and ably play alongside either Plumlee. He's a valuable resource and I can easily see him starting at the 5 as a senior, should Mason elect to go pro after next season. No need to force-feed Marshall.

And Hairston could factor in next season.

Some questions have to be answered and lots of sweat equity has to be invested. But I feel pretty good about Duke's bigs next season.

I think this is well said. There is a lot that can be great - if things go right (along with the requisite offseason work). There are a lot of questions, but there's reason for hope.

Mason was a much better player last year than as a freshman. So was Kelly. Hopefully both of those players continue to improve. Miles didn't really make a jump last year from his sophomore year. Confidence and court awareness would go a long way for him. Maybe he has a "light-switch" moment as a senior.

[darjum]

Miles is an interesting case. He can absolutely dominate games in brief spans and my understanding is that he does dominate in practices. He can be overly critical of himself. He has the tools to break out and Duke has had players make a big jump as seniors--Alaa Abdelnaby, Tony Lang, Eric Meek, Chris Collins, Roshown McLeod, Chris Carrawell, Dahntay Jones, Jon Scheyer, et. al. Miles will get every opportunity to put a stranglehold on a starting job. If he can seize the day, Duke will be very, very good next season.

Mason does have a higher ceiling than his brothers. He sometimes over-relies on his length and athleticism and neglects some of the fundamentals, e.g. boxing out, moving his feet on D, spacing. But he made major strides last season and came back with the intention of continuing that progression. If he develops confidence and a reliable low-post move or two, than I can easily see first-team All-ACC on the horizon. He has a chance to be really, really good next season.

And don't forget Ryan Kelly, who can play either the 4 or the 5, either start or come off the bench, and ably play alongside either Plumlee. He's a valuable resource and I can easily see him starting at the 5 as a senior, should Mason elect to go pro after next season. No need to force-feed Marshall.

And Hairston could factor in next season.

Some questions have to be answered and lots of sweat equity has to be invested. But I feel pretty good about Duke's bigs next season.

I actually believe that Kelly will be Duke's 2nd or 3rd leading scorer next year, I feel he will be vitally important to Duke's success. Do you feel he's a starter or better served coming off the bench. I personally believe on talent alone he should start over Miles. But as you alluded to above, Miles needs confidence so he doesn't doubt himself and start a nasty spiral to begin the year. Therefore maybe starting next to his brother and allowing Kelly (who showed at the end of last year he's willing to do it) to come off the bench would give MP1 the confidence boost he needs. Duke needs MP2, MP1 and RK all working cohesively to ensure the interior defense and easy low post scoring is accounted for. Hope Josh finds a role in that rotation, I believe he could be a sneaky low post scorer and adequate rebounder.

But yes: "Some questions have to be answered and lots of sweat equity has to be invested. But I feel pretty good about Duke's bigs next season."...me too.

[gep]

I actually believe that Kelly will be Duke's 2nd or 3rd leading scorer next year, I feel he will be vitally important to Duke's success. Do you feel he's a starter or better served coming off the bench. I personally believe on talent alone he should start over Miles. But as you alluded to above, Miles needs confidence so he doesn't doubt himself and start a nasty spiral to begin the year. Therefore maybe starting next to his brother and allowing Kelly (who showed at the end of last year he's willing to do it) to come off the bench would give MP1 the confidence boost he needs. Duke needs MP2, MP1 and RK all working cohesively to ensure the interior defense and easy low post scoring is accounted for. Hope Josh finds a role in that rotation, I believe he could be a sneaky low post scorer and adequate rebounder.

But yes: "Some questions have to be answered and lots of sweat equity has to be invested. But I feel pretty good about Duke's bigs next season."...me too.

Well... since Ryan even "looks" like Kevin McHale, I say he comes off the bench as the best 6th man next year ... And when he channels Kevin's up-and-under... watch out.

[darjum]

Well... since Ryan even "looks" like Kevin McHale, I say he comes off the bench as the best 6th man next year ... And when he channels Kevin's up-and-under... watch out.

Maybe you're on to something...maybe? Ha, ha!

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