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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Mount Kisco, NY

    Nolan Smith - I like this kid

    Check out the final quote from Featherston's GoDuke column

    "“Last year, it wasn’t a down season, but it wasn’t the best season they’ve had here,” he (Smith) said. “I just want to get us back to the ACC championship this year, beat Carolina two times and go far in the tournament.”"

    THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN BOUT NOLAN! Just like inimitable Leon Black says on CYE..."Bring the rukus!" If you don't know Leon Black...get to know him
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81qsC4wRZtY

    I didn't realize he and Ty Lawson were teammates - that will definitely help us because Paulus isn't staying in front of Lawson.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Dat View Post
    THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN BOUT NOLAN! Just like inimitable Leon Black says on CYE..."Bring the rukus!" If you don't know Leon Black...get to know him
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81qsC4wRZtY
    Nolan needs to open it up, step inside, and just wreck it, eat a snickers bar, throw the wrapper on the ground, crumple up some newspaper, graffiti "NOLAN WAS HERE" and "WASH ME," and when he steps out? Don't close it. Leave it open. You want him to know you were there.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham
    I think everybody here knows how I feel about this kid. He's the real deal and will leave Duke fans more than satisfied. Singler's the gem of this recruiting class, but Nolan's gonna be diaper dandy as well...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    He reminds me a lot of Daniel Ewing from what I've read probably a better athlete but less of shooter.

  5. #5

    Expectations for Smith

    I saw Smith play in one game (USA vs. Foreign all star team, I believe). I think the comparison with Ewing might be apt and that he could be terrific off the bench as a freshman substituting for Paulus. However, I get the impression that many on this board would not be satisfied with that. What sort of performance would satisfy those pushing Smith and slamming Paulus? Would 25-30 mpg, 10-12 ppg, 6apg, a/to of 3, good shooting % from field and line, and lockdown defense on opposition point guards be OK and should we expect this kind of performance from the get go or later in the year.

    gw67

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    I love Nolan's attitude. As for playing expectations, I think he'll fall into the Will Avery level. Solid contributor off the bench as a freshmen, but a guy who blows up and asserts himself as a sophmore.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by VaDukie View Post
    I love Nolan's attitude. As for playing expectations, I think he'll fall into the Will Avery level. Solid contributor off the bench as a freshmen, but a guy who blows up and asserts himself as a sophmore.
    I like VaDukie's assessment. William Avery played 19.3 mpg and averaged 8.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.7 turnovers, as a Freshman in 1998. I'm optimistic that Nolan Smith can contribute similar numbers.
    Bob Green

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    people may disagree with the great PGs Duke has had but I think when it comes to pure talent alone Will Avery is the most TALENTED PG in Duke history. Not the best but the most talented.

  9. #9
    Personally, I would click my heels if Smith has a freshman year like Avery's. The big question regarding Smith, IMO, will be his passing and playmaking ability. Can he protect the ball and get the team into it's offense? He doesn't have a lot of experience being a playmaking guard and I think that it is presumptuous to assume that he will step in right away as a point guard in the ACC. If he does, I will be very impressed. Of course, a lot of folks on this board proclaimed that Henderson and Thomas were going to be stars as freshmen. We'll just have to wait and see.

    gw67

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by lavell12 View Post
    people may disagree with the great PGs Duke has had but I think when it comes to pure talent alone Will Avery is the most TALENTED PG in Duke history. Not the best but the most talented.
    Loved Will while he played at Duke. Especially Freshman year when it was all a surprise how good he was (at least to me). But J Will would have eaten him for lunch.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by gw67 View Post
    Personally, I would click my heels if Smith has a freshman year like Avery's. The big question regarding Smith, IMO, will be his passing and playmaking ability. Can he protect the ball and get the team into it's offense? He doesn't have a lot of experience being a playmaking guard and I think that it is presumptuous to assume that he will step in right away as a point guard in the ACC. If he does, I will be very impressed. Of course, a lot of folks on this board proclaimed that Henderson and Thomas were going to be stars as freshmen. We'll just have to wait and see.

    gw67
    For the reasons you cite, I suspect when Nolan is in the game whether as the nominal PG or nominal SG, he will probably be paired with one of Paulus-Scheyer as second PG.

    Though that lineup of Smith-Nelson-Henderson paired with Singer and Lance/McClure would appear to be very formiddable on defense, not sure G is any better a defender than Scheyer, who does a great job despite being frail of fighting his way through screeners to lock down or at least contain perimeter guys.

    Paulus and Henderson are both offensive threats, just have different ways of getting the same end result, with Henderson being the highlight reel guy.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    About 150 feet in front of the Duke Chapel doors.
    Quote Originally Posted by lavell12 View Post
    people may disagree with the great PGs Duke has had but I think when it comes to pure talent alone Will Avery is the most TALENTED PG in Duke history. Not the best but the most talented.
    Quote Originally Posted by monkey View Post
    Loved Will while he played at Duke. Especially Freshman year when it was all a surprise how good he was (at least to me). But J Will would have eaten him for lunch.
    Monkey, I agree with you 100%. And Lavell, you can add Johnny Dawkins to the list. Both JWill and JD were scoring/lead guards in the mode of Will, and both were better, even in their sophomore years. Obviously, we'll never know what Will could have done if he had stayed, but he hadn't risen to that level yet.

    I will say this. I don't know that I've seen a better shooting exhibition than Will put on in that one game against Florida.

    Furthermore, in response to such an outlandish statement, I'd say that Duke has had several more talented PGs than Will if you don't limit yourself to just lead/scoring PGs. Certainly Hurley, and possibly Amaker would be on that list. Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was, but they were better at running the team.
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Close to the Gothic Playground!
    Nolan Smith,

    Dude is a bullet and we S-O-R-E-L-Y need that type of player on Duke and especially at PG. He's got the fast going on.

    Therefore, today I hereby dub Nolan Smith 'Whiz Kid'.

    I hope that sticks.

    dukestheheat

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by JBDuke View Post
    Monkey, I agree with you 100%. And Lavell, you can add Johnny Dawkins to the list. Both JWill and JD were scoring/lead guards in the mode of Will, and both were better, even in their sophomore years. Obviously, we'll never know what Will could have done if he had stayed, but he hadn't risen to that level yet.

    I will say this. I don't know that I've seen a better shooting exhibition than Will put on in that one game against Florida.

    Furthermore, in response to such an outlandish statement, I'd say that Duke has had several more talented PGs than Will if you don't limit yourself to just lead/scoring PGs. Certainly Hurley, and possibly Amaker would be on that list. Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was, but they were better at running the team.

    I was refering to being the best PG but just god given talent I saw the most in Wil. In pure talent him and JayWill were the two most TALENTED. Dawkins, Hurley, Williams, Duhon, and others were better at Duke but not more talented. Just my opinion.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by JBDuke View Post
    Monkey, I agree with you 100%. And Lavell, you can add Johnny Dawkins to the list. Both JWill and JD were scoring/lead guards in the mode of Will, and both were better, even in their sophomore years. Obviously, we'll never know what Will could have done if he had stayed, but he hadn't risen to that level yet.

    I will say this. I don't know that I've seen a better shooting exhibition than Will put on in that one game against Florida.

    Furthermore, in response to such an outlandish statement, I'd say that Duke has had several more talented PGs than Will if you don't limit yourself to just lead/scoring PGs. Certainly Hurley, and possibly Amaker would be on that list. Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was, but they were better at running the team.
    I generally agree but would say that hurley was just as good of a shooter as Jwill. He shot 40-42% soph-senior year. not quite the scorer, although he could definitely light it up.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    About 150 feet in front of the Duke Chapel doors.
    Quote Originally Posted by lavell12 View Post
    I was refering to being the best PG but just god given talent I saw the most in Wil. In pure talent him and JayWill were the two most TALENTED. Dawkins, Hurley, Williams, Duhon, and others were better at Duke but not more talented. Just my opinion.
    Okay, so then what do you mean be "god given talent"? Best shooter? Nope. Best defender? Nope. Best floor leader? Nope. Best passer? Nope. Quickest? Nope. Highest jumper? Nope.

    I'm struggling to find IN ANY WAY how Avery was the most "talented" PG at Duke. Maybe he had the best singing voice?
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    About 150 feet in front of the Duke Chapel doors.
    Quote Originally Posted by SilkyJ View Post
    I generally agree but would say that hurley was just as good of a shooter as Jwill. He shot 40-42% soph-senior year. not quite the scorer, although he could definitely light it up.
    When I said "Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was" about Bobby and Tommy, I was comparing them to Will Avery, not to Jason Williams.

    I agree with the point I think you're trying to make, which is that Hurley was a good shooter. I do not agree that he was a scoring or shooting guard in the class of Will Avery. Will's sophomore year compares pretty favorably to Bobby's senior year in terms of shooting percentages and scoring. Imagine what he might have become if he'd stuck around two more years?
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  18. #18

    On topic and off

    Quote Originally Posted by JBDuke View Post
    When I said "Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was" about Bobby and Tommy, I was comparing them to Will Avery, not to Jason Williams.

    I agree with the point I think you're trying to make, which is that Hurley was a good shooter. I do not agree that he was a scoring or shooting guard in the class of Will Avery. Will's sophomore year compares pretty favorably to Bobby's senior year in terms of shooting percentages and scoring. Imagine what he might have become if he'd stuck around two more years?
    Had to chime in on Will Avery. I loved that kid, and shudder to think how good he would have been as a senior. As I've posted before, I think his departure and failure to make a career for himself in the NBA makes him just as sad a Duke PG story as Hurley or JWill.

    OTOH, Smith really impressed me in the B/W game. His ball pressure will earn him a lot of minutes, and I foresee very good things for that kid in Durham.

  19. #19

    More talent than Dawkins???? Please

    The comment above that suggested Will Avery was more talented than Dawkins is absurd. Even if you only compare Johnny's freshman and sophomore years to those of Avery, please consider this fact: Dawkins was THE MAN on both of those teams, and certainly had no upper class help to lean on. And this was while the ACC was loaded with 3 and mostly 4 year players. Opposing teams keyed on JD, yet he delivered. Avery was not the featured guy and did not have to carry the burden. He was surrounded by a mix of upper classmates in addition to Brand and Battier in his class.

    I loved Will's game, and wished he had stayed. In case you don't recall, the NBA figured out that Avery could not go to his left and he was ineffective. Same could not be said for JD.

    No contest.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Quote Originally Posted by JBDuke View Post
    When I said "Generally, they weren't the scorer/shooter that Will was" about Bobby and Tommy, I was comparing them to Will Avery, not to Jason Williams.

    I agree with the point I think you're trying to make, which is that Hurley was a good shooter. I do not agree that he was a scoring or shooting guard in the class of Will Avery. Will's sophomore year compares pretty favorably to Bobby's senior year in terms of shooting percentages and scoring. Imagine what he might have become if he'd stuck around two more years?
    Avery almost exists as a shadow for me at this point. I never thought he'd leave early and wasn't savoring his year as I was for Brand. Before you knew it, he was gone.

    If memory serves he was the top vote getter on 2nd-team All-ACC, missing 1st team by a very small margin. A backcourt with him and Jay would have been scary.

    Although if he stays 4, maybe we don't get Duhon. You just never know how things would have turned out.

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