DeMarcus best inside guard ever?

[tweeze]

Is DeMarcus Nelson the best guard in Duke history at playing inside? Rebounding, guarding bigger men, and scoring inside?

[pamtar]

Whats up my fellow Wilmingtonian. I must say yes but if Scheyer keeps hitting the boards like he has been recently he might surpass Demarcus!

[dw0827]

Is DeMarcus Nelson the best guard in Duke history at playing inside? Rebounding, guarding bigger men, and scoring inside?

It could depend on whether you considered Art Heyman a guard or a forward . . . at 6'5" he was sorta both . . .

[tweeze]

Scheyer is good rebounder to but he gets most all of his on the premiter chasing lose balls not really mixing it up in the post like Nelson just look at the difference in their builds.

[tweeze]

It could depend on whether you considered Art Heyman a guard or a forward . . . at 6'5" he was sorta both . . .

ya but he played in the 60s when being 6'5 is closer to being 6'8 now.

[jimsumner]

Heyman was never a guard at Duke.

6'1" Steve Vacendak started at the 3 in a 3-guard lineup in 1965 and averaged 6.6 rebounds per game.

Jim Spanarkel, Vince Taylor, Thomas Hill all come to mind.

No question Nelson is playing at a high level right now.

[MChambers]

Key player on our back to back teams. Could jump thru the ceiling.

[dukeisawesome]

Maybe Carrawell

[mgtr]

Nelson does some amazing things for his size -- but look at the length of his arms!

[Saratoga2]

Nelson does some amazing things for his size -- but look at the length of his arms!

He is a fine defender, a tough rebounder and does remarkable things scoring inside. That makes him very solid. He is ball handling and passing are not his strong points though and free throw shooting, which looked good tonight has generally been poor. Does that make him the greatest inside guard ever? Maybe. Scheyer on this years team is also a fine defender, a solid rebounder and handles the ball and passes much better than Demarcus. Scheyer is also really good from the line. We have had other great guards in the past so I guess one would have to define what constitutes greatness before bestowing accolades, such as being the best.

[Wander]

I don't know, but I've wondered if he's the best rebounding guard in the country this year. He's certainly the best in the ACC, right?

[devildeac]

Maybe Carrawell

C-well actually appeared to be a 1-2-3-4-5 type player...(IIRC, I think he played 'em all at Duke from bringing the ball upcourt/running the O to defending Duncan in the post a time or two)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

C-well actually appeared to be a 1-2-3-4-5 type player...(IIRC, I think he played 'em all at Duke from bringing the ball upcourt/running the O to defending Duncan in the post a time or two)

He defended against Duncan in high school, so he knew how to do it while in college. If memory serves me correctly, they went to the same HS so they faced each other in practice all the time.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

Nelson's production inside is mostly a result of this team's having so few inside bigs. If we had more strength at the 4 and 5 positions, we would not have to rely on a guard to play inside.

It's amazing to me that Nelson has been the best player on this year's team, although Singler may end the year as the top player. This team has yet to find a real "go to" guy. Nelson may be a good defender and rebounder for a guard, but his inconsistent shooting and ball handling continue to hurt the team.

[Bob Green]

Nelson may be a good defender and rebounder for a guard, but his inconsistent shooting and ball handling continue to hurt the team.

This is absolutely not true! Nelson leads the team in minutes played, points and rebounds. He is second in assists and third in assist/turnover ratio. He is shooting > 50% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the 3-point arc. His only weakness this season is free throws, but he went 6-7 against Temple.

Nelson is hands down our MVP to date! He is playing under control and leading this team to victory.

[speedevil]

one of the commentators in the temple game called nelson the best rebounder from someone under 6'7" 6'8".

i dont know if he's the best but he has to be up there, plus he leads the team in rebounding!

[BDevilU]

He defended against Duncan in high school, so he knew how to do it while in college. If memory serves me correctly, they went to the same HS so they faced each other in practice all the time.

Actually, CC was a high school teammate of Wake's other 7-footer (and Duncan's supposed heir)... Loren Woods. They both went to Cardinal Ritter in St. Louis. Interestingly enough, big man Jahidi White of Georgetown was also on that same high school team.

[Jim3k]

Nelson may be a good defender and rebounder for a guard, but his inconsistent shooting and ball handling continue to hurt the team.

I hope you're not serious, but I'm afraid you are. So far Nelson has been the rock of this team. Aside from stats, which Bob mentioned, he is the toughest dude out there. He never takes a play off. He leads by example and his leadership showed today. I think you should take a closer look.

BTW, if you are referring to the (three, I think) slips while trying to cut at the top the circle, those slips were due, I think, to the slick nature of the decal and had nothing to do with Markie's ball handling. That's one of his signature moves and if he loses his footing due to the floor being especially slick, it's only an error of effort, not skill. On another floor, he scores twice.

[Classof06]

Demarcus is one of the best rebounding guards I've ever seen. And it's not just about his vertical jump; his positioning is flawless as well. Demarcus has been a great rebounder since he got to Duke.

And I find it mind-boggling that people say we don't have a "go-to" guy and Demarcus continues to hurt the team. Are you even watching the games? Demarcus Nelson has been the heart and soul of this team, no questions asked. I'm so proud of the way he's stepped up this year and without him, I think we'd be very similar to last year.

While I agree that last year, he turned the ball over too much (notoriously at the top of the key), I think he's done a phenomenal job of cutting down on TOs this year and he's much more decisive with the ball in his hands. Though mostly in subtle areas, Demarcus has gotten MUCH better from his junior year to this year.

Like Bob said, he's undoubtedly our MVP thus far.

[sandinmyshoes]

While not nearly the offensive player, Billy King could play defense anywhere on the floor. C-Well was pretty good all over the court as well.