SI writer ranks Duke Backcourt #1 in the Nation

[jimsumner]

I took my hyperbole pill. "loads of" should have been removed.

Hyperbole is the greatest word ever.

[Billy Dat]

Luke Winn is a big Rivers believer - he fell in love with Rivers in the summer of 2010 at the FIBA U18 World's
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...1705/index.htm

I remember the article because I think Winn is pretty fair and isn't a Duke bandwagon guy (who is, these days). He got me very excited about Rivers at Duke. Looks like he's going to stay high until proven otherwise, which is cool because I am sensing a little Rivers backlash with the emergence of other guys in his class (e.g. Davis, etc.)

[uh_no]

Hyperbole is the greatest word ever.

Hm. I was thinking "superlative" held that title.

[COYS]

Agreed. Curry and Dawkins were both fantastically efficient last year. But that efficiency was in large part a function of being asked to do very little other than what they were very good at (i.e., shoot). With Smith, Singler, and briefly Irving, those guys didn't have to do much in terms of creating offense for themselves or others. This year, either they'll be asked to do a lot more of that or Rivers/Cook/Thornton will be asked to take on a LOT of responsibility for creating offense (or a bit of both).

As you said, every player in the backcourt (aside from Thornton, whose role may likely be similar to last year) is either a freshman or taking on substantially more responsibility in creating offense for themselves and/or others. There's a lot of talent, but it still remains to be seen how well/quickly it'll translate to these new roles.

I agree with you about Dawkins, and even mentioned that in my original post. However, I think Seth handled the ball in pressure situations enough to show his potential as a floor general. He struggled off the bounce early in the season, but improved more and more as the season went on. More importantly, he consistently made smart decisions with the ball. After Friday night's performance in the B/W game, I'm excited to see what he can accomplish this season.

[CDu]

I agree with you about Dawkins, and even mentioned that in my original post. However, I think Seth handled the ball in pressure situations enough to show his potential as a floor general. He struggled off the bounce early in the season, but improved more and more as the season went on. More importantly, he consistently made smart decisions with the ball. After Friday night's performance in the B/W game, I'm excited to see what he can accomplish this season.

I don't agree that Curry handled any floor general duties to any significant degree last year. But I'm optimistic he can do it this year.

With Curry, Rivers, Cook, and Thornton on the team, Dawkins thankfully won't be asked to fill that role (because he's really not suited for it).

[Billy Dat]

Winn also ranked Rivers as the #1 freshman in the country:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mul...ontent.16.html

[uh_no]

Winn also ranked Rivers as the #1 freshman in the country:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mul...ontent.16.html

I think these two rankings are highly correlated, obviously. But I do, unfortunately, think that he may be overestimating rivers. I hope i'm wrong, but I'm probably underestimating him. After all the hype, I'm a little down on his play so far. This could obviously change as he fits into the team better...gets some K under his belt, but right now i'm so wary of of harrison barnes part 2, that I'm very cautious about all the praise that he's being heaped.

We shall see. These are by far the worst 2 weeks of the year, as we have to hear about predictions and potential based on nothing but hype.

[CDu]

I think these two rankings are highly correlated, obviously. But I do, unfortunately, think that he may be overestimating rivers. I hope i'm wrong, but I'm probably underestimating him. After all the hype, I'm a little down on his play so far. This could obviously change as he fits into the team better...gets some K under his belt, but right now i'm so wary of of harrison barnes part 2, that I'm very cautious about all the praise that he's being heaped.

We shall see. These are by far the worst 2 weeks of the year, as we have to hear about predictions and potential based on nothing but hype.

I think he seems to be fairly capable of getting whatever shot he wants. What remains uncertain is with what regularity he will make such shots, and how much he can play within a system rather than being the uber-focus of the offense. And it remains to be seen how committed he'll be on the defensive end and how much he'll avoid the "I didn't get a call so I'll complain rather than get back on defense."

Obviously, Coach K will keep an eye on these things and work to prevent them from occurring, but the way to get it across may be time off the court next to Coach K (which will work somewhat against him being the #1 freshman).

Hopefully he figures the college game out and works himself into the system pretty quickly, because I think the talent is there.

[ACCBBallFan]

I think he seems to be fairly capable of getting whatever shot he wants. What remains uncertain is with what regularity he will make such shots, and how much he can play within a system rather than being the uber-focus of the offense. And it remains to be seen how committed he'll be on the defensive end and how much he'll avoid the "I didn't get a call so I'll complain rather than get back on defense."

Obviously, Coach K will keep an eye on these things and work to prevent them from occurring, but the way to get it across may be time off the court next to Coach K (which will work somewhat against him being the #1 freshman).

Hopefully he figures the college game out and works himself into the system pretty quickly, because I think the talent is there.

When I rewatched the scrimmage I was pleasantly surprised by how well Austin played defense against Dre and Alex. Her got beat a couple of times when he had to switch over to guard Seth, but overall a very solid defensive performance with 5 rebounds as well.

It's his 6 TO's that are still a concern until he slows down and learns to switch speeds. Even though he missed the shot at end, positive sign that he is willing to take it. Would have been quite a story line if it had not rimmed out.