If Coach K's optimistic about Duke then so am I. I don't think he would say he thought we had the best team in 4 years unless he really meant it, and he's in a position to know.
This was posted on 6/17/2008:
http://chroniclesports.wordpress.com...z-and-plumlee/
If Coach K's optimistic about Duke then so am I. I don't think he would say he thought we had the best team in 4 years unless he really meant it, and he's in a position to know.
I think a number of posters have made the point that when returning a core of Paulus, Singler, Scheyer and Henderson, plus the returning vets, plus the three new guys, it is easy to see a better team than we have had for some time.
Will this finally be the season that puts an end to all the "death of a dynasty" talk at ESPN?
It's good to see Coach K's comments on our three new guys. If we move forward, I think we're going to NEED them.
Williams ... Coach thinks he's the most ready to contribute ... bodes well for the full court game.
Czyz ... He may be raw, but I look at the athletic and toughness parts. He's somewhere between 6'6" - 6'8", so I hope his dynamic play will help us build more strength in the frontcourt.
Plumlee ... If he runs the court well, that could mean some easy baskets in our up-tempo game. Maybe Brian and Miles can challenge and "beat on" each other in practice. The tougher they come out, the better for us.
I hope Lance can get stronger and more consistent at the rim, on both ends. If the above four frontcourt players can give us 15 & 10 (even by committee) this DUKE team will be much harder to defend.
I like what Coach K had to say about the upcoming season and how good he thought we could be. Staying heathy is the key for us. If we stay heathy we can compete with anyone including unc. I think that Brian, Nolan, Henderson and Singler will be improved. The three freshman should help our depth, defense and rebounding. As I said let's pray we stay healthy.
K usually doesn't BS with how good or bad he thinks his team is. I remember JJ's junior year we got the #1 ranking pretty early and he said he was proud, but that we were not the #1 team in the nation. And we proved him right in the sweet 16 with MSU. I believe if he believes...
As per the Item from Jim S on the homepage...
"Krzyzewski briefly discussed his incoming freshmen. He says that Czyz is “still learning the game. He‘s a tremendous athlete who reminds me a lot of Danny Meagher.”
Plumlee is “6’11”, 230. He can run, he can be a really good player.” Williams is “versatile, mature, and can defend. He will be a very good player.” The quality of Williams’ high school should make his transition to Duke easier."
Meagher is one of my All-Time Faves. So that welcome news to my ears.
Wouldnt mind see a little Brickey mixed in there too for good measure.
I hope Miles turn out to be a 7ft Jon.
Not meaning to ignore Williams... just we need Bigmen more right now.
I think it all comes down to "if Zoubek and Thomas can contribute" anything at all -- then we will be OK. There is a lot of unrealized potential in those two guys, and injuries and lack of conditioning and desire (my opinion) has limited their effectiveness. If this is their year, then the two new big guys are just luxuries. I would love to see it.
We worked hard to get Thomas -- there has to be something there. If he wants to play in the league, he needs to do some demonstrably useful stuff. Zoubek has the size plus the ability to run the floor. If he stays healty, surely we can make something of this.
The new guys -- Czyz and Plumlee are all potential -- we are waiting to be pleasantly surprised. Williams, well we all expect great things from him.
Overall, with a base of four great players returning, I think we are in very great shape for this year.
["Krzyzewski briefly discussed his incoming freshmen. He says that Czyz is “still learning the game. He‘s a tremendous athlete who reminds me a lot of Danny Meagher.”
Meagher is one of my All-Time Faves. So that welcome news to my ears.
Wouldnt mind see a little Brickey mixed in there too for good measure.
Are those good reminders? I wonder how well he spits...
During Coach K's press conference, he said that, "There was erosion there," referring to Kyle Singler and the fact that Zoubek's absence caused him to wear down by the end of the season.
Nevertheless, it's pretty amazing to consider that a freshman forward was usually on the floor with four guards (Paulus, Nelson, Henderson, and Scheyer). That would have been a tall order even for a veteran, much less a guy right out of high school. Fortunately, Zoubek and Thomas will be joined by Plumlee and Czyz, so Singler should have a lot more help next year.
In the Lenox Rawlings article that is a DBR feature, there is a quote from Coach K (during the news conference?):
"Health," Krzyzewski said. "The last two years, at the end of the year, we've had at least three major operations on kids. Greg didn't get operated on this spring, but he was out over 2½ months rehabilitating his knee, so we had four guys...
Somehow I missed news about Paulus having a knee problem. Does anyone have details and an update?
we dont need coach k to tell us that "there was erosion there." thats so obvious. singler should not be playing the 5 spot on defensive, i dont care if he's a piece of iron, the wear n tear by guarding biggers guys is gonna have its effects on him. his 3 point shot was awful during the tournament.
Some more information about Duke's health and injuries, including updates on Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson, over at The Chronicle's Sports Blog, at www.dukechroniclesports.com.
Amen to Speedevil's comments on Kyle ... If we can somehow set him free of defending the "5" , I think we'll have a much more productive player in Feb-Mar.
I am hoping the best for Brian Zoubek between now and the start of practice. At the very least, a ready Zoubek can bump with (and toughen up) Plumlee, maybe Czyz too, in practice and help them get prepared for NCAA play in November. Anything we can do to develop a "true 5" (defense & boards, even by committee) will give us a dimension we were missing last year. Can't Wait ...
"To compensate, Henderson has been doing everything with only his left hand, Krzyzewski said."
Really, yall can do all that speculating but this is all I needed to see. This guy could become incredible...