Taylor King

[Jumbo]

I'll continue to say what I was saying before the season on this issue. Duke doesn't "need" a major contribution from Taylor King to be successful this season, but he still can make himself into an asset. Right now, he is a luxury. What do I mean? There's no question that TK's greatest attribute (when he's in rhythm) is his shooting. But Duke has lots of shooters, and scoring isn't a major problem. Duke also has a terrific player ahead of him (Kyle Singler) who is going to play heavy minutes. Considering that Lance brings a lot to the team on defense and that the small lineup of Paulus-Scheyer-Nelson-Henderson-Singler has been quite effective, that leaves a finite amount of playing time for frontcourt reserves anyway.

Duke has three quality backups up front in King, Zoubek and McClure. What's cool is that they're three very different players, and each matches up better against specific opponents. As long as Duke gets a solid game out of one of those three (save for major foul trouble), we're fine. Against St. John's, it was Zoubek. Against Georgia Tech, it was McClure. Against State, it was King. That's three different guys and three wins, and K deserves a lot of credit for being really flexibile with his rotation and allowing each of those guys to earn minutes based on how he is playing on a given day.

If Duke's shooting turns sour in a postseason game, it would be great to see Taylor King come off the bench to lift the team, and I wouldn't put it past him. But it's also great that Duke hasn't really needed him to do that, meaning there isn't much pressure on him. Taylor just needs to go out and play to the best of his abilities (as he did against State) and if that continues, good things will come. For Duke to win, its best players simply must play well and King isn't part of that group yet. But it's nice to have King as an additional option.

[throatybeard]

What Jumbo said.

Also, The board obsession with TK is the backup quarterback theorem in action. In basketball, the backup QB is the bench player who fans most obsess over "needing" more PT for his own good or the team's success.

The backup QB par excellence is Marty. But he's gone for the season. That promoted Zoubek to backup QB. But Z has been hurt much of the season. He's back now and has a little backup QB pixie dust on him, but with both Marty and Z hurt much of the season, this promoted King to backup QB.

If King were hurt, doubtless we'd have reams of threads dedicated to why McClure wasn't getting enough PT.

[kinghoops]

im not one to shout for more playing time for tk, but i do think he can be a difference maker at some point and time, hey yesterday he didnt play that badly, he does hustle, and although he is not fleet of foot, his defense wasnt terrible

[MChambers]

What Jumbo said.

Also, The board obsession with TK is the backup quarterback theorem in action. In basketball, the backup QB is the bench player who fans most obsess over "needing" more PT for his own good or the team's success.

The backup QB par excellence is Marty. But he's gone for the season. That promoted Zoubek to backup QB. But Z has been hurt much of the season. He's back now and has a little backup QB pixie dust on him, but with both Marty and Z hurt much of the season, this promoted King to backup QB.

If King were hurt, doubtless we'd have reams of threads dedicated to why McClure wasn't getting enough PT.

I think we need to play Jurgensen more. Kilmer's a bum.

[Cameron]

[Seinlanguage] So we're definitely done with the King Taylor?

[Jumbo]

[Seinlanguage] So we're definitely done with the King Taylor?

Yup. But I hope you're getting your avatar/sig ready!

[Cameron]

LOL. I was just waiting for you to bring that to the table on this thread For about the last month now, lol.

You mean I am going to have to part ways with Don?

BTW, I LOVE Taylor to death but you can officially color me insane for predicting an 85 TK three-point field goal season. Officially.

[Jumbo]

LOL. I was just waiting for you to bring that to the table on this thread For about the last month now, lol.

You mean I am going to have to part ways with Don?

Yup. It's almost time to say Ahhhhhh... SEE YA to the I-Man. (He's getting really creepy anyway.)

[Cameron]

(He's getting really creepy anyway.)

The more I look at him, the more I can't believe I haven't recieved more comments. I agree, the picture is a little not right. Lol.