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Thread: Nolan Smith!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Close to the Gothic Playground!

    Nolan Smith!

    ok.

    So, I'll just come right out and say it, Nolan Smith is my favorite!

    He is just waiting for the breakout, the roll, the big tuna on national TV. I can feel it, he's just on the edge of the double/double bust out!

    His 17 points versus Michigan showed what he can do on offense, and some of his moves to get to the hoop were S-I-C-K; on defense, that game, he slowed that quick Michigan guard and prevented him from turning the corner play after play. I counted four separate possessions where that guard realized he couldn't get around Nolan and penetrate!

    Every time he gets in the game I get ready for him to go after it. Something about his athleticism gets me stoked, for sure!

    Some strengths with his game now:

    1) Athleticism; can levitate and dunk better than can I (ok, I admit it).
    2) Quick and also fast; explosive with the basketball.
    3) Very quick hands and feet on the defensive end.
    4) Has shown the ability to prevent quick(-er) guards from turning the corner (so that thereafter said guard can dish/dunk/make your life miserable).
    5) Currently averaging one assist per 8.8 minutes played (Paulus is one/7.3 minutes played).

    A humble admission of area for improvement, if I may be so bold as to even suggest it:

    1) He is thinking too much when he's on offense. Dude needs TO JUST GO.

    So what do you think about in terms of Nolan's game? Where do you see him advancing Duke most this year? Next year?

    Clearly, the guy is a stud and later this year, I think many of us are going to see him go waaaay off and we'll be throwing stuff around the room shouting 'you're a STAR!'.

    dth.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    There's no question that Nolan has a high ceiling and brings lots of good stuff to the table. But Duke fans need to be patient. Not everybody realizes that he did NOT play point guard much in high school and he's still learning that position and doing so in a pressure environment.

    The Duke coaches have something of a mantra with Nolan. Attack, attack, attack. When he attacks, e.g. Michigan, good things happen for Duke. When he's passive, e.g. Pitt, good things happen for the other team.

    I suspect his ability to apply high-level man-to-man defense will be his greatest contribution to this year's Duke team, with the rest of his game rounding into form. I do not expect him to start this season but do expect him to be a significant contributor.

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