Someone is Going to Transfer....But Who?

[dukelion]

With a projected starting five of

Paulus
Hendo
Scheyer
Singler
Zoubek

and a bench consisting of

Smith
Pocious
Williams
King
Thomas
McClure
Czyz

That's 12 deep...possibly K's deepest team ever.

You have to think a transfer is just around the corner.

The guys on the bench have to take a look and realize that Paulus, Hendo, Scheyer, and Singler will all average close to 30 mins a game next year.

Not much PT for Smith, Williams and Pocious but at least there is an oppurtunity for each to play 10 mins a game.

The real concern is that PT for Thomas, King, McClure and Czyz will be extremely limited or absent altogether.

If Zoubek (or Thomas but hopefully Zoubs) starts next year at the 5 spot you's hope that they would get at least 20 mins a game. The main back up (Thomas in this case) would probably get at least 10 mins a game thus leaving the remaining 10 mins at the 5 spot for King, Czyz, and McClure.

McClure has accepted being a role player and would be fine with 2 mins a game. King and Czyz are a different story though.

King was (and still is) a major prospect and the thought of him being relegated to the bench for a second straight year has to concern him. Looking even further to his junior year not much would change other than the deaprture of McClure however the arrival of Plumlee would certainly factor into his descision to transfer. Much like Boykin he could go back to the west cost and play for any PAC 10 team and probably start once he's done sitting out.

Thomas too may choose to transfer for similar reasons. He knows he'll never play the 3 at Duke and has said in the past that he envisions himself as an NBA 3. If he did transfer (to Rutgers probably) he could use the year off to get even stronger and work at his game at the three spot. Thomas' dream is to play in the NBA and transfering may be his best bet for that to come true.

And finally there is Marty Pocious who also is a great talent fighting to find minutes. He may well find himself behind Elliot Williams come summer and realize that he will never get significant minutes at Duke. He too may choose to transfer.

Solutions to these looming issues? Redshirt Czyz? Not likely as we need all the big men we can get and besides it still wouldn't free up enough minutes to placate the players mentioned above.

I'm not great at predictions but I'd be surprised if soemone doesn't decide to transfer in the next few months.

[Indoor66]

With a projected starting five of

Paulus
Hendo
Scheyer
Singler
Zoubek

and a bench consisting of

Smith
Pocious
Williams
King
Thomas
McClure
Czyz

That's 12 deep...possibly K's deepest team ever.

You have to think a transfer is just around the corner.

The guys on the bench have to take a look and realize that Paulus, Hendo, Scheyer, and Singler will all average close to 30 mins a game next year.

Not much PT for Smith, Williams and Pocious but at least there is an oppurtunity for each to play 10 mins a game.

The real concern is that PT for Thomas, King, McClure and Czyz will be extremely limited or absent altogether.

If Zoubek (or Thomas but hopefully Zoubs) starts next year at the 5 spot you's hope that they would get at least 20 mins a game. The main back up (Thomas in this case) would probably get at least 10 mins a game thus leaving the remaining 10 mins at the 5 spot for King, Czyz, and McClure.

McClure has accepted being a role player and would be fine with 2 mins a game. King and Czyz are a different story though.

King was (and still is) a major prospect and the thought of him being relegated to the bench for a second straight year has to concern him. Looking even further to his junior year not much would change other than the deaprture of McClure however the arrival of Plumlee would certainly factor into his descision to transfer. Much like Boykin he could go back to the west cost and play for any PAC 10 team and probably start once he's done sitting out.

Thomas too may choose to transfer for similar reasons. He knows he'll never play the 3 at Duke and has said in the past that he envisions himself as an NBA 3. If he did transfer (to Rutgers probably) he could use the year off to get even stronger and work at his game at the three spot. Thomas' dream is to play in the NBA and transfering may be his best bet for that to come true.

And finally there is Marty Pocious who also is a great talent fighting to find minutes. He may well find himself behind Elliot Williams come summer and realize that he will never get significant minutes at Duke. He too may choose to transfer.

Solutions to these looming issues? Redshirt Czyz? Not likely as we need all the big men we can get and besides it still wouldn't free up enough minutes to placate the players mentioned above.

I'm not great at predictions but I'd be surprised if soemone doesn't decide to transfer in the next few months.

Please give us the basis for your speculation about playing time and the basis for your speculation about someone transferring or is this just an attempt to stir the pot?

[TwoDukeTattoos]

Actually, I have thought all year long that we may have a potential transfer on our team simply because we're so deep and many guys can be asked to play the same types of roles, so it makes the competition for playing time a little tighter.

Who? King. He's is a 6'6 sharp shooter with a very quick release. That type of body/player is very hard to find and he would almost be guaranteed instant playing time on a team that doesn't focus quite as much on defense, or is in desperate need for quick offense.

Even the Fayetteville sports writer made mention of King being a possible transfer. He didn't base it on rumor, but just his thoughts.

[Cameron]

Marty will not be competing for much playing time. Elliot will play Elliot's minutes and then add on Marty's as well. With Paulus, Scheyer, Smith, and Henderson all garnering PT, and with Williams becoming a budding star, Marty will be on the bench. I hate to say that, but the five guards ahead of him are all better. Fact.

And Taylor will not see his minutes "absent." Please. With Kyle and Lance starting next season, IMO, that leaves Brian as a spot guy (just as he was this season) and Taylor coming in off the bench for Lance or Kyle when either needs a break. With Taylor's shooting, and his (hopefully) great summer improvement, I think he'll be a very valuable shooter and rebounder off the bench for us.

The real question is where Olek fits in. I think Taylor will slowly take Dave's minutes, with Dave coming in more as a glue guy in tough situations against physical teams (as his offense is just not going to help us out), but Olek could certainly fight for some of Brian and Taylor's minutes. In fact, I think Olek could be a key to our season. I really hope he turns out. However, I think Taylor will get a solid 12 to 14 minutes a night next year. No questions asked. And I expect Lance to have a solid junior year. A summer of lifting and condition could turn him into a wonderful player.

**I should note that I based my above projections off the belief that Taylor will get quicker, stronger, and grow into his awkward body more over the off season, which will increase his productivity on the defensive end, thus incorporating more PT for the three-ball trotter**

I'm not sure where ACCBballFan has been, but he's usually a pretty good one to talk to concerning playing minutes and ratios and all sorts of math mumbo jumbo Talk to him.

[trinity92]

Based on nothing but seeing his skills, his history as a serious HS stud, coach's use of him and how tasty he'd look to virtually any other team in the country, I really hope we can keep TK, but he's a logical transfer. I don't mean "of all Duke's current roster, who is most likely to go." I posted my fears about losing TK yesterday.

[Bluedawg]

I have not seen anyone who is showing signs of discontent. Is there a basis for this?

Taylor has identified and developed a plan on working on areas of improvement.

[OldSchool]

Who? King. He's is a 6'6 sharp shooter with a very quick release. That type of body/player is very hard to find and he would almost be guaranteed instant playing time on a team that doesn't focus quite as much on defense, or is in desperate need for quick offense.

Taylor may not get as much playing time as he would like next year, but if he stays around and makes reasonable progress on his game I foresee him starting at the 3 position his junior and season year. He needs to work especially on his conditioning, defensive footwork and free-throw shooting.

The advantage for Taylor to stick it out through next year is that I believe next year's team will have as good a chance as any team in the country to get to the FF. Lance and Brian as improved upperclassmen will be able to give enough support, especially defensively, up front so that our stars Gerald, Kyle and Jon will be able to fill up the basket. Nolan will get more PT and Greg less than was the case this year, so we will be better defensively and at penetration at the PG, although Greg as a senior will start and be our captain. So Taylor may not start and may not get as much PT as he would like next year, but he could be part of a team that really accomplishes something special.

If G has the kind of year I expect him to have next year, he is gone to the next level after that. That would open the way to Taylor starting at the 3 his junior year.

[Cameron]

Think we're lucky if we keep Taylor

Lucky? This would insinuate that he's all but gone. Please provide some solid evidence to back this, then I might look into it as a true possibility.

By your logic, Nolan should bolt, too. He only received roughly four minutes more a game than TK this past season and has to face the unenviable task of competing with guys like Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, and Williams next winter for court time.

Sometimes freshman do struggle to play well and earn minutes. This is not something new. With hard work, TK will be a fan favorite (not that he isn't already, obviously) and lighting up the three-point record books.

[JasonEvans]

Discussing which Duke players may transfer is the very definition of a destructively negative conversation. It should be our hope that all these kids stay at Duke and fight hard in practice for playing time.

Many folks think the likely candidate to leave is Taylor King. Lets say, on a lark, that he actually was considering it. If he or a friend or a family member were to visit the DBR (and you would be shocked if you knew how often that happened) then he could get wind of how many Duke fans think it would be a good idea if he transferred. That has to be seen as a bad thing, right?

Several mods wanted to delete this thread, but I am just locking it instead. I do this in the interest of transparency because I think it is useful to let everyone know why we make our decisions.

--Jason "it also does not help that the person who started it is a relative newbie to the boards who does not have a long posting history-- something this controversial would have a better chance of lasting if it had been brought up by a well-known poster... that is just the reality of how it works" Evans