Originally Posted by
Patrick Yates
The above post was dead-on. DeMarcus was our best defender, but was by no means a lock-down defender. It is not like he shut down Lawson or anything, so lets not go nuts about him on D. He is a very good defender, and the best such on our team next year.
But our offense last year was awful. Awful. Being the offensive leader on last year's team is like being the best looking girl at an ugly girl convention. Tis the epitome of darning with faint praise.
DN has huge holes in his Offensive game. Even the apologists on this board have to begrudge that. His outside shot is inconsistent, some of his drives are extremely ill-concieved, and his ball handling is mediocre.
That said, he made huge strides with his body last summer, and if his skills make a similiar jump this year, he can be All-ACC somewhere. He certainly has the raw ability, it just needs to be molded.
Regarding the All-ACC teams this year, we could be looking at a 99 type scenario. UNC is clearly the class of the conference next year. If they stay healthy, and the returning players improve (not a lot, just a modicum), UNC could be dominant. They might not lose a single conference game. At most, I see them losing only 1-3 (extreme outside, barring catastrophic injury) games this year.
If they do go undefeated, or lose only 1 game, then they should dominate the All-ACC teams. I can easily see them with 3 members of the 1st team, with TL, TH, and WE. Singletary could swoop up another spot, with the fifth slot open to whoever surprises this year. Probably someone from the next team in conference, us or Clemson.
We may not like it, but UNC has a bunch of talented players, and next year is a down year for virtually everyone else. The only team in conference stronger than usual is Clemson, and they are not world beaters. (I say that Duke is worse than usual, if better than last year, while NCSU could be approximately where they were in better Sendek years)
Which brings me to a question for the board.
Next year does not look like a NC type of year. It is not outside the realm of possibility for Duke to be a NC contender, but we are not even a darkhorse favorite at this time, nor should we be.
Next year however, we could be a team loaded with talent and experience. Most of the best players on the team are Soph or Fr. Only 3 players are older, DN, GP, and MP with the latter two almost certainly returning. Might this year not be a good one to focus on the future? I love DN, and I want him to play, a lot, but not 30+ mpg. It will not translate into significantly more wins this year, nor will a heavy dose of DN help when he is gone.
Does any one else want to see a focus on Duke building for the next NC title run, next year? Even if it may mean a few, if any, less wins this year?
All I am saying is that it wouldn't hurt for KS and GH to get used to having the reigns in their hands this year.
Patrick Yates