Originally Posted by
jimsumner
Just playing better. I'd love for TT to be the guy. But I think the more likely scenario is for Cook to stay healthy and go the woodshed over the summer. He's the guy who can push in transition and get some easy baskets for his teammates. He's the guy who can break his defender down and get the ball to the open man. He's the guy who can find the teammate curling off a screen and get him the ball. at the right time, in the right place.
That was just missing from last year's team. If the 3 wasn't falling, Duke just had to work too hard to score. Duke needs a true playmaker at the point in order to generate more easy baskets.
Improved D would also help, the kind of D that traps a ball-handler and forces him to make a contested pass, one that's picked off and leads to a fast break the other way. Think about it. How often did we see that last season compared to other seasons? Duke has long used a suffocating and confrontational defense to not only stop the other team but also to generate easy points. And Cook has to be able to do that, also. Dawkins could be a very good defender if he wanted to be. Murphy? Sulaimon?
Duke needs Cook to earn--not be given--the starting PG spot and use that to play solid D and average 4.5-5.0 assists per game. He has to be able to shoot well enough to keep the defense honest but I don't think he needs to be a primary scorer. Think Tommy Amaker, c. 1984-1986. Even Quinn Snyder, 1988-89. He QB'd Duke to two FFs.
That's the kind of upgrade I'm talking about. A point guard who makes his teammates better. Duke almost always has that but didn't last season. Need to find that on the 2012-13 roster. It's not like K can troll the waiver wire or make a trade. Cook is the best bet, IMO. An absolute key for next season.