6 Duke Basketball Players Have NBA Potential

[Carlos]

I have reason to believe but I think Singler,King and Henderson each will have their numbers in the rafters at the end of their careers.

Will they have to move Shav's retired jersey to make room for all of these new ones?

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

They can put it in the room with Beard, Burgess, and the rest.

[Franzez]

Will they have to move Shav's retired jersey to make room for all of these new ones?

lmfao.

You can doubt me on it but oh well.

I've been mostly right so far identifying who will be a great Dukie and who wont.

I knew Redick and Williams would be great from their freshman year.
I knew Randolph wasnt.

The only one I've been wrong on is Josh McRoberts

[Acymetric]

Would you mind not using italics at all times? It has it's uses, but in entire posts its kind of unpleasant to read.

I agree with several other posters, I don't know if any current Duke player will get retired (people seem to think this should happen more often than it does for some reason). I think its entirely shocking (not that I disagree) that we retired two players from the same year recently. How much time passed between Grant and J Will? The best player on the team doesn't always merit a retired jersey.

[jimsumner]

"Him improving his ball handling might get him drafted in the 2nd Round but there is no way any competitive NBA team would let him start."

So, you're saying he could start for the Knicks.


Franz, you have to expect some skepticism. Like all message boards, DBR has been hit with some drive-by trolls, who pretend to be what they are not, make outrageous posts, and then drop off the face of the earth.

So, if you are what you claim to be, welcome.

But, for the record, the Taylor King retirement-jersey scenario seems pretty far-fetched to me.

[Methodistman]

I love lamp.

Sorry - this one is out in leftfield.

[jipops]

When I think Jon Scheyer I think J.J. Redick

Scheyer does not have the physical tools,lateral quickness,or speed to play in the NBA against much more athletic SG's.

His only role would be to shoot 3's,and he isnt a Great 3-point shooter

When I think of Jon Scheyer, JJ Redick definitely does NOT come to mind. They are two COMPLETELY different players. They're both white and taller than 6-3, that's about where the similarities end.

Scheyer does in fact have the quickness and speed.

Why would a guy who has an excellent handle and very good defensive prowess only be around to shoot 3's?

[dball]

Yes Morrison's look was why he was compared to Bird.

Any 6ft7 or taller white male with floppy hair and the ability to shoot 3's with consistency will draw comparisons to Bird.

?? What's with the floppy hair? Maybe you're thinking of Pete Maravich.

[kydevil]

I am calling bullsheet here!

This is Patrick Yates in an attempt to be overly positive....

I laughed out loud when I read that!

[Saratoga2]

When I think of Jon Scheyer, JJ Redick definitely does NOT come to mind. They are two COMPLETELY different players. They're both white and taller than 6-3, that's about where the similarities end.

Scheyer does in fact have the quickness and speed.

Why would a guy who has an excellent handle and very good defensive prowess only be around to shoot 3's?

The three that I think have strong NBA potential are Smith, Singlar and Henderson.

If you look at the other three teams in the top four, it is hard to see anyone with more than three.

[Spret42]

All it takes in college basketball is two players who have legit first round skillsI would say only two have that right now. Singler and Henderson. Those two are enough though for a team to win a lot of games. They are as good a duo as there is in the country.

The rest are strong college basketball players who possess varying degrees of NBA potential.

Skills and potential are two very different things in my opinion.

[CDu]

Kyle Singler-1st Round
Gerald Henderson-1st Round
Taylor King-1st Round
Nolan Smith-1st Round-2nd Round
Demarcus Nelson-1st Round-2nd Round
Lance Thomas-2nd Round

This may be our most NBA talented team yet.

I have reason to believe but I think Singler,King and Henderson each will have their numbers in the rafters at the end of their careers.

I'd be surprised if Thomas is drafted. And the comparison to Iguodala is silly and not fair to Thomas. Thomas doesn't have the leaping ability, the quickness, the defensive ability, or the ballhandling ability of Iguodala. I'd say Thomas' potential is more that of Antonio Lang. If he gets to that point, he may get drafted. But he's a LONG way from that point right now. And Antonio Lang is never going to be confused with Iguodala. Either you're wildly overrated Thomas, or you're wildly underrating Iguodala.

As for the idea that this might be the most NBA talented Duke team ever, I'm going to say no to that as well. The 1992, 1999, and 2001 teams had more NBA talent, in my opinion.

1992: G. Hill, Laettner, Hurley, Parks, Lang, T. Hill
1999: Brand, Battier, Maggette, Avery, Langdon, Carrawell
2001: Battier, Williams, Boozer, Dunleavy, Duhon

The 1992 team had 4 lottery picks, a #29 pick (Lang) and a #39 pick (Hill). The 1999 team had 5 guys taken in the top 14 and a guy taken in the second round (Carrawell). The 2001 team had 3 lottery picks, a 2nd rounder who became an All-Star (Boozer), and a 2nd rounder who is an NBA regular and frequent starter (Duhon).

This team is very deep and pretty darn good. But I'll be very surprised if we match any of those teams in terms of lottery picks or NBA impact.

All that said, it's WAY too early to be making predictions like this. I REALLY doubt three players get their jerseys retired. That's all-time great status there. It'd be nice if they did, as it'd likely mean a couple of championships. But I'd be very surprised if this team wins a couple of championships.

[Billy Dat]

That's the question...he's a few inches shorter and hasn't shown the same shooting touch. Dunleavy was a first team AA as a junior. I see a long career overseas, but I think the NBA will be a challenge for him.

[ugadevil]

I'd be surprised if Thomas is drafted. And the comparison to Iguodala is silly and not fair to Thomas. Thomas doesn't have the leaping ability, the quickness, the defensive ability, or the ballhandling ability of Iguodala. I'd say Thomas' potential is more that of Antonio Lang. If he gets to that point, he may get drafted. But he's a LONG way from that point right now. And Antonio Lang is never going to be confused with Iguodala. Either you're wildly overrated Thomas, or you're wildly underrating Iguodala.

Andre Iguodala is to Lance Thomas as Bobby Boucher (from The Waterboy) is to Joe Montana.

[CDu]

That's the question...he's a few inches shorter and hasn't shown the same shooting touch. Dunleavy was a first team AA as a junior. I see a long career overseas, but I think the NBA will be a challenge for him.

I'd say their games and skill sets are very similar. Both are gifted ballhandlers, can shoot well, drive well, pass well, and could score off the dribble. Both are not noted for great explosiveness, but have a smoothness and savvy to their games that make them effective.

That said, Dunleavy was 6'9", and Scheyer is 6'5". A 6'9" player with guard's skills is a commodity in the NBA, as Dunleavy can comfortably play two positions. Scheyer has his work cut out for him a bit more, but can still make it I think. He'll need some seasoning and to develop his game more to compensate for that lack of explosiveness at his size.

[Tommac]

I can't believe this thread has received this many posts in such a short time.

[Jumbo]

When I think Jon Scheyer I think J.J. Redick

Scheyer does not have the physical tools,lateral quickness,or speed to play in the NBA against much more athletic SG's.

His only role would be to shoot 3's,and he isnt a Great 3-point shooter

Scheyer has one thing in common with J.J. Redick: skin color. Otherwise, they are completely different players. Everyone else has heard this already, but since you're new hear, I'll repeat it: Scouts have told me that Scheyer is a lock to play in the NBA. Meanwhile, there are a couple of guys on your list who are EXTREME longshots to make the league.

[gw67]

For comparison, some pretty good duos:

Hansbrough/Ellington
Hansbrough/Lawson
Beasley/Walker
Augustin/James
Bayless/Budinger
Love/Collison
Mayo/Jefferson
Foster/Ogilvy
Gordon/White
Rose/Douglas-Roberts

Singler and Henderson are both fine players but I wouldn’t rank them as superior to any of the above duos. The strength of Duke this year is the depth of quality players.

gw67

[Jumbo]

The three that I think have strong NBA potential are Smith, Singlar and Henderson.

If you look at the other three teams in the top four, it is hard to see anyone with more than three.

Saratoga, I'm begging you to call him Singler, not Singlar. And you guys are killing me with the lack of Scheyer respect. I don't know how to make it any clearer, other than to get some NBA scouts to actually let me quote them on a Duke fan message board. (Hell, maybe I'll try asking.) He's going to play in the league, and play a lot.

[ugadevil]

Foster/Ogilvy

I didn't recognize those names. Are they from Vandy?