Can I add to this?
E) Cook gets 100% healthy.
F) Everyone commits to work on passing and man-on-man defense for the off-season
G) We get Zeigler. I really like his game. He is big, plays great D, and can score.
H) McAdoo goes pro. Oriakhi doesn't commit to UNC. UNC gets two more wing recruits and is forced to play a 5-guard line-up.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
The list thus far with my additions:
A) Mason returns and with a fierce attitude to improve for next years draft.
B) Shabazz Muhammad commits to Duke (Starting lineup of Cook, Seth, Bazz, Kelly, and Mason. Tyler, Alex and Andre off the bench)
C) Amile Jefferson commits to NC State
D) Tony Parker goes to Gtown
E) Cook gets 100% healthy.
F) Everyone commits to work on passing and man-on-man defense for the off-season
G) We get Zeigler. I really like his game. He is big, plays great D, and can score.
H) McAdoo goes pro. Oriakhi doesn't commit to UNC. UNC gets two more wing recruits and is forced to play a 5-guard line-up.
(I) Gbinije and Murphy really work on their games this offseason and are ready to contribute next year
(J) Marshall gets stronger and is ready to at least somewhat offset the loss of Miles[/QUOTE]
(K) Nerlens doesn't go to UK
(L) A leader really steps up, whether it be TT again or one of the seniors.
Well, if you are going to talk about cheering guys on, I don't think you can leave out Josh. I'm not sure about on the court, but from the bench he is a great cheerleader--he seems to be the one who sends players out when they introduce starting lineups, and you always see him whooping and cheering for great plays on the sideline. (Note: these observations based on what I have seen on televised games, so if you are watching from inside Cameron, you may have a more complete picture.)
The same things are being said about Cook this year that were said bout him last year. Needs to start, won't go far without it, only elite pg we have, etc., etc., and he didn't deliver. So count me as one who wants to see Tyler improve because he did.
A starting lineup of Tyler, Seth (or Dre but not both), Kelly, Mason and someone else at SF and we're in business. Unfortunately that "someone else at SF" is the same problem we had last year.
I think that "someone else" is going to be Murphy from day 1. I think he starts at the 3 alongside Ryan and Mason, and will be backed up by Gbinije. The only thing that would change that is Shabazz saying yes to Coach K this Sunday, which is a possibility. Should Shabazz go elsewhere, Duke really needs Murphy and Gbinije to be able to play the bulk of the minutes at the 3 to be an elite team. Will also be helpful if one or both of those guys can also play some effective minutes at the 4 spot as well. Would bring a lot of versatility for K. Playing both of those guys together, he could go small at times with a frontline of Murphy/Gbinije/Mason, or Murphy/Gbinije/Ryan, or go big with Murphy/Gbinije/Ryan/Mason and one of the PG's.
Both guys have work to do, but I really like both players. It is not out of the realm of possibility that both develop and improve enough in the off season to be regular rotation players next season.
Hopefully we get some updates on 2013 recruiting in the next few weeks. It's hard to feel very good at all about any of the most important four decisions for next year (Bazz, Mason, Parker, Oriakhi), except for maybe Mason, but him being forced into a fourth year by lack of NBA interest (which is what it would it would be, if he came back) may not be the best thing for an already problematic perception. Throw in the fact that one of those four is looking more and more like he may fill a huge need for our friends down the road, and I'm preparing myself for some disappointment in the coming days.
I'll be happy when all this chaos has settled down and we can just get back to the usual summertime business of building up unrealistic expectations for the players we actually have.
Ha. I resemble that remark! I too, will be really glad when we know for sure what the final roster for next year will be. I do hope Murph and Gbinije will develop enough to be solid rotation guys next year, but I do recognize it may be the following season before that happens. I just see talent and bright futures at Duke in both players. For me it just comes down to how quickly they develop.
Definitely agree with you on that front; I'm more excited about them than any of these recruits we're talking about, honestly. If we can just somehow escape the next couple weeks with a large, basketball playing man not named Josh or Ryan and keep Oriakhi away from UNC, I'll be very happy.
My guess is that we get no more recruits and Mason stays.
I also think we will be very good next year. Looking forward to seeing Marshall, Alex, and Rasheed,
I am also expecting quantum jumps from Mike and Quinn.
SoCal
Not sure if they both count as recruits, but I'd be shocked if we don't end up with either Bazz or Zeigler. Probably Zeigler, but ya know...
To me, the big question is whether we get one of the three space-eaters (including Mason). Amile would be nice to have, but not a necessity by any means.
Im sorry but what? Cook was a freshmen coming off a serious knee injury and lost a lot of potential playing time because of it. To say he did not deliver is not very fair at all. Kind of like saying Nolan did not deliver at Duke because his first two years were not very good.
How do we have the same problem at SF as last year? Last year we had nobody who was ready and this year we got 2 of them who should be ready especially Murphy who coach K has been super high on and has said things like "He has the potential to be a four year All ACC player".