Notes from Duke men's hoops press conference

[jimsumner]

First, the injury report.

Nelson is fine. 100%
Zoubek is cleared for all activities but has a ways to go before regaining
pre-injury conditioning.
McClure hasn't practiced but might start light work this weekend. He's
ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Now, here's the shocker. Henderson does not and never has had exercise-
induced asthma. Underwent all kinds of tests this summer. Apparently
a combination of conditioning and anxiety.

K excited about this season. Duke will use more depth, run more, pick up
defense further out. If you've heard this before, don't shoot the
messenger. He seems sincere. K did discuss how youth affects
stamina; young players are too up and down and expend too much
energy un productively, so this year's more experienced team might]
be able to run more on that basis.

Talked about Singler in the same way he talked about Deng four years ago.
Calls him the best-rounded player on the team and says there's no
point in hiding it because it's so obvious/

Really seems to like Nolan Smith. Cites his tenure at Oak Hill as making him
more prepared than most freshman. Praised his athleticsm and on-the-
ball defense.

Taylor King. In high school got as many shots as he needed to find his
stroke. Won't have that luxury at Duke. Needs to prove he can do
other things.

K said if the season started now, Duke would start one or two freshmen.
Clearly Singler is the one, Smith is the or. Duke is looking for separation,
i.e. somebody or somebodies to step up and be the man or the men.

K decided that Duke would have one captain. He thinks that having multiple
captains diluted the honor a bit. K wants to elevate the job. So nobody
was demoted. The players voted and K likes the decision. He thinks that
the captaincy will make DeMarcus a better player. "The best way to lead
is to show that you're doing it."

Paulus-wants everybody to be good but needs to distinguish between helping
and leading. K went into a comparison of the difference between a hotel
concierge helping a guest get a ticket or a restaurant reservation and
someone saying we're doing this and this but not this, because we don't
have the time or the money. Greg needs to be more of the latter.
Interesting analogy.

K has no problem with the new rules regarding decorum. The people making
those decisions have every right to do so and it's up to the coaches to
abide by those decisions.

Zoubek was running really well before his injury. He may well start this season.

Scheyer needs to work on getting shot away quicker.

K doesn't feel that last season negatively impacted Duke's mystique. Thinks
his tenure at Duke has led to a "culture of continuity" that helps breed
success. But needs to be recharged.

K and Duke working to get the student section filled every game. Meetings
with students coming up. "Krzyzewskville shouldn't be a barrier." Wants
better communication and a way to let people fill seats aren't filled
30 minutes before game time.

Nelson seems to be embracing the captaincy. He says the team has a chip on its shoulder, is angry about last season, realizes that many people want Duke to lose, Duke needs to get back to Duke-caliber season. "Lots of dirt thrown on Duke last year" and over the summer. Get back at the people who
were/are negative. Seems to be a defintite we'll-show-them-vibe-on this team.

Henderson thinks he learned a lot over the summer. Seems to really like
Kobe. The discussion turned to Gene Banks. Made me feel really old. Like
I don't already have kids for that. K says GH needs to be the athlete.
Has the tools, just has to harness them.

K-"I would not be here if I didn't think we could win championships."

I'll close on that.

[Chard]

Thank you for the post. We'll see a much more mature team this year.

[lavell12]

I am looking forward to this season.

I knew many Duke fans thought he was soft but I think we will miss the athelesism and having McRoberts in the middle.

Very atheletic team otherwise only true concern is the inside play.

I think it will be a break out season for Gerald why I think Scheyer may not turn out to be the star some thought.

[jimsumner]

Meant to add that Jordan Davidson and Steve Johnson are on scholarship this year.

[Clipsfan]

Thanks for the update Jim, it's always interesting for those of us who live far away to get a better feel for things.

[RelativeWays]

Definitely gets you excited. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the Barton College exhibition. I haven't been to Cameron since 92.

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks, Jim. Excellent report, and I'm as fired up as I have been in years.

LET'S GO DUKE!!!!!

[micah75]

Thanks, that was quite a thorough, jam-packed update on the team's overall status at this juncture. Interesting about Henderson and the conditioning/anxiety. Made me wonder if by "anxiety" he is or was having panic attacks or something of that nature. Not uncommon these days. Pure speculation on my part, of course. I've had family members come down with similar symptoms only to find out after extensive testing that it was some type of anxiety problem and not anything physical. Anyway, getting the correct diagnosis is a major step forward and for me, good news. (As opposed to having asthma.)

I noted that Lance wasn't mentioned. Hope he's progressing nicely.

It sounds like Nolan will give Greg some stiff competition at the PG slot. Good point about his tenure at Oak Hill probably making him better prepared than most incoming freshmen.

[lavell12]

I don't see Lance as a great low post player when I watched him on tv in high school he seemed athletic and more of an athletic big who plays outside then a post player.

[captmojo]

Coach seems relaxed, poised, confident and happy. I'm ready. Sounds like players are eager to go. 9F X a million.

[ACCBBallFan]

Thanks, that was quite a thorough, jam-packed update on the team's overall status at this juncture. Interesting about Henderson and the conditioning/anxiety. Made me wonder if by "anxiety" he is or was having panic attacks or something of that nature. Not uncommon these days. Pure speculation on my part, of course. I've had family members come down with similar symptoms only to find out after extensive testing that it was some type of anxiety problem and not anything physical. Anyway, getting the correct diagnosis is a major step forward and for me, good news. (As opposed to having asthma.)

I noted that Lance wasn't mentioned. Hope he's progressing nicely.

It sounds like Nolan will give Greg some stiff competition at the PG slot. Good point about his tenure at Oak Hill probably making him better prepared than most incoming freshmen.

Singler was obviously the one of the one or two freshman may start, and presumably since Jim also said K really likes Nolan he was the "or two" though K also really likes guys who are 3 point threats so Taylor King could also be the "or two".

Assuming it was Nolan though, not sure you can automatically assume it is Greg rather than Jon whose starter role may be threatened.

Greg Paulus
Nolan Smith/Jon Scheyer depending on the "or two freshmen"
Demarcus Nelson
Kyle Singler
Brian Zoubek

with Scheyer/Marty subbing in for Nolan/Greg,
Gerald/Dave in for Kyle/Demarcus and
[Lance or King] in for Zoubek depending on whether need du jour is quick defender or offensive threat who can guard an immobile big.

Very interesting to hear Gerald does not have exercised induced asthma.

I am OK with K rolling the dice on Greg Monroe and taking his chances with Zoubek/Lance who were highly prized recruits a couple years ago and will have two full years of experience by the time Monroe would have arrived. Same with Elliot Williams, good player absolutely, but so is Marty and Nolan.

Though having only Olek is not ideal from a down the road leadership perspective, the time to panic is if 2009 is not a big and top class, not 2008 since after 2009 Greg, Marty, Dave are certainly gone and possibly Gerald/Kyle (Nelson gone after this year). But with 10 returnees next year, Duke can still be a very good team, though even better, particularly long term, if they also get Elliot Williams.

[Cameron]

Seems to be a defintite we'll-show-them-vibe-on this team.

I like that. It's the same feeling I have every time I walk into a sports bar in March wearing a hat with a 'D' on it, lol. In all seriousness, though, this could be a great way to approach things for our club. We already know that most of the nation hates us, so let's go out and bust their a**es

BTW, once again, there is no way Jon doesn't start. He's the next in line to have his jersey retired to the rafters. Singler may be our most athletic and promising player but Jon is probably our most fundementally sound. He knows the game like a coach, where to be on the floor at all times, both offensively and defensively, how to direct traffic when lending time at the point slot, good shooter, etc. He certainly needs to get a quicker release on him, but Jon's going to be a great one for us. I just don't see him being demoted to the bench. That is unless he drastically fell off in a year's time.

[gotham devil]

Singler was obviously the one of the one or two freshman may start, and presumably since Jim also said K really likes Nolan he was the "or two" though K also really likes guys who are 3 point threats so Taylor King could also be the "or two".

Assuming it was Nolan though, not sure you can automatically assume it is Greg rather than Jon whose starter role may be threatened.
...

Same with Elliot Williams, good player absolutely, but so is Marty and Nolan.

Please don't compare Marty Pocious with Elliot Williams or Nolan Smith.
To be generous, he has enormous difficulty guarding anyone at the ACC level and thus cannot get on the floor.

With a major defensive liability like Paulus, it makes it difficult enough to play Scheyer in the backcourt at the same time in the ACC, let alone in the NCAA tournament. Fortunately, Nolan Smith is capable of coming in and immediately providing legitimate two-way at either guard position. Although to make best use of the rest of the roster, it would be ideal if he could usurp
the slow footed Paulus at the 1.

[gw67]

Like most Duke fans I hope that Smith is capable of contributing major minutes in the backcourt for the Devils this year but he needs to demonstrate that he can play at an ACC level. I will be surprised if he takes the place of either Paulus or Scheyer but who knows. While neither Scheyer nor Paulus is a defensive stopper, there aren't many of that type in the college game which emphasizes team defense over individual defense. Perhaps we should wish for Eric Maynor of VCU at the point. Oh, didn't he get burned by the "slow footed" Paulus for 25 points.

All three of the Duke freshmen are older than most and have played AAU and high school ball at a high level for the past few years. I expect that all three will compete for playing time from the get-go.

gw67

[ACCBBallFan]

Please don't compare Marty Pocious with Elliot Williams or Nolan Smith.
To be generous, he has enormous difficulty guarding anyone at the ACC level and thus cannot get on the floor.

With a major defensive liability like Paulus, it makes it difficult enough to play Scheyer in the backcourt at the same time in the ACC, let alone in the NCAA tournament. Fortunately, Nolan Smith is capable of coming in and immediately providing legitimate two-way at either guard position. Although to make best use of the rest of the roster, it would be ideal if he could usurp
the slow footed Paulus at the 1.

While I do not expect Marty to steal PT from any of the other 5, I also do not think it is fair to label him as a defensive liability forever, just because he was one his freshman year.

His problems are that the other 5 are that good, not that Marty is so bad at either end of the court.

[FreezingDevil]

Marty doesn't foul