Page 3 of 50 FirstFirst 1234513 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 982
  1. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New York
    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    Does Ricky Price not count as recent?
    Thanks. Forgot about Price. In any event, Duke senior seasons are usually pretty positive affairs from the standpoint of personal development. It really sticks out when something else happens.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northern VA

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    If he returns, Mason will be in the top 3 returning ACC players in the following stats: rebounds per game, defensive rebound %, offensive rebound %, FG%, eFG%, free throw rate, and top five in blocks. Plus assuming his FT% continues to improve he should score 14 or 15 ppg even if we don't go to him more than we did this year. He's likely to average a double-double against one of the top schedules in the country. Sounds like the top (or maybe one of the top 2 or 3) bigs in the ACC and an All-American candidate to me.
    Actually agree with you Kedsy (surprise!!).



    This is a big part of why I've been saying I've come around to the view, recently, that he is more than likely to stay. Obviously the double-major announcement helps the comfort level in that prediction too, as well as the "unfinished business" feeling from this season. Even if there weren't the draw of playing with MP3, which I actually think will be a big pull, there's no doubt in my mind that Mason greatly enhances his probable draft position by staying another year. (That is partially due to who's going into this year's draft among bigs nationally, and partially on the opportunity to develop certain NBA-critical skills next year, plus enhanced visibility of being a probable pre-season All-ACC pick...) I hope that (draft enhancement) statement appears in some form or fashion in his exit interview (along with the specific "draftable" skills the staff plans to work on with him over the next 12 months.

    I'll be surprised, but not shocked, if MP2 leaves. With Austin, I am much less certain, especially since I strongly suspect that he and his dad still don't know either.

    For all of those pointing to the criticality of this recruit or that recruit to next year's success, the reality is that almost all years the decision as to whether certain current players return is almost always a bigger determinant of success the following year. Experience pays dividends.

    Last edited by -bdbd; 03-18-2012 at 12:29 AM.

  3. #43
    I think two of Austin's problems are: 1) he can't or won't finish with his left hand when he drives left. Right hand finishes from the left side will be blocked in the NBA; 2) He doesn't seem to ever drive baseline; even when there is no other defender once he beats his man. The few times he has, he has gotten easy layups. 99% of the time he drives down the lane and teams are ready for him.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by DrGonzo View Post
    Mason isn't going to go anywhere. He's a four year guy just like his brother...
    I don't think Miles Plumlee would have been drafted if he had left after last season.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by Gthoma2a View Post
    I hope we keep Mason. Mason is a necessity for next year IMO.
    I thought the same thing about Elliot Williams. After Friday night's game, I don't see any one player as being necessary, except maybe Ryan.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Clifton, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Dukehky View Post
    I was about to say the same thing sage. I was warned by the moderators for stating my feelings on Paulus' basketball abilities so I will utter nothing more than I hope that Thornton plays better than Greg did his junior year and takes about 25% the shots he did.

    And if Austin leaves now, his short lived legacy, despite hitting the UNC shot, will be one of disappointment after last night's game and I have a hard time seeing the Duke community as a whole being tremendously supportive of him in the future, unlike they are with Kyrie.
    Thornton played some very good basketball for Duke this season and was an important leader. He'll work hard on his shot, and I suspect will make signficant improvement in that area.

    I disagree about Austin. The Duke Community will be tremendously supportive of him no matter his decision.

  7. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by DrGonzo View Post
    Mason isn't going to go anywhere. He's a four year guy just like his brother...at least I hope/assume so. Hopefully Austin's daddy Doc with be in his ear telling him he is not ready for the league because he isn't. Is he a great scorer? Yes. Does he need to work on MANY other aspects of his game? The smart decision for Rivers would be to stay at least one more year. It's not like he needs to go pro to put food on his family's table. I am personally interested to see how Cook and Plumlee #3 will develop in the offseason.
    Mason's degree will be important to him and a lot will depend on how close he is to finishing (perhaps the answer is buried in this thread). As for Austib, he will be drafted. The NBA drafts potential. His game translates to the next level. Will be be great next year if he goes pro- probably not- but in two years he will be a very good. His only reasons for staying is that he likes the environment and wants a chance to play in the FF- which is possible with this team should Mason return and the summer is spent fixing some of the pieces. But his Dad may be the decider- he may want him to continue to be with his peer group for a while- he knows what lies ahead for a young man at the next level.

  8. #48

    Up in the air...

    We all know that Austin and Mason would benefit from another year at Duke. Austin is a tremendous talent but we all know his flaws and would like to see him stay and fulfill his potential at the college level before moving on. I see no reason to think that Mason's draft stock can be anything but helped by returning to Duke. His size and athletic ability are not an easy thing to find, combined with an intensity that any great team needs. He plays hard but just does not always get the results we hope for. I see him averaging 14 and 10 with 2 or 3 blocks a game if he comes back. Either way it is crucial they return. We have know idea about Shabazz or Parker. Maybe if Austin or Mason moves on, that will bring in a couple of the big time recruits that are still available. But I would rather have them both back with the addition of a couple of new pieces than not. I just hope Austin and Mason make their decisions sooner rather than later so we can figure out whaqt the next step is.

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Atlanta, GA/Durham, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by jamesfrommaiden View Post
    I just hope Austin and Mason make their decisions sooner rather than later so we can figure out whaqt the next step is.
    Yep, that's exactly what I would use as my basis for making a decision about the NBA... Geez.

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by dukelifer View Post
    Mason's degree will be important to him and a lot will depend on how close he is to finishing (perhaps the answer is buried in this thread). As for Austib, he will be drafted. The NBA drafts potential. His game translates to the next level. Will be be great next year if he goes pro- probably not- but in two years he will be a very good. His only reasons for staying is that he likes the environment and wants a chance to play in the FF- which is possible with this team should Mason return and the summer is spent fixing some of the pieces. But his Dad may be the decider- he may want him to continue to be with his peer group for a while- he knows what lies ahead for a young man at the next level.
    Yes, he will be drafted if he leaves this year. And one way or another he will have a chance to develop his skills over the next couple of years. But I'm not sure I agree with the bolded part of your post. Because he is financially secure and has the benefit of wise and extremely well-informed counsel not only from his coach but from his dad, he has the luxury of thinking through whether he would rather go out now, be drafted lower, and mostly sit on an NBA bench while he is developing those skills against a higher level of players in practice, or whether he would rather work on the skills at Duke, getting many more minutes of actual game play while not taking the level of pounding in practice he would in the league. Depending on exactly what he wants from his pro career and what he thinks he most needs to work on, either one of these might be a better long-range plan.

  11. #51
    If Mason (and our other Juniors) stay, that would mean that all of the players on our last National Champions would have exhausted their eligibility/not declared for the NBA draft, right? (Olek did leave halfway through the season) I wonder which National Champion before that can claim that?

  12. #52

    that is not what I said

    Quote Originally Posted by SupaDave View Post
    Yep, that's exactly what I would use as my basis for making a decision about the NBA... Geez.
    I am only trying to make the point that the sooner everyone knows what the decisions are the more options Duke has as far as attracting recruits.

  13. #53
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Toledo
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    Uh,... I get the several jokes in here if you meant them as jokes (cruelty ones at that): Paulus's poor junior year
    If poor is some sort of ghetto-slang synonym for really good, like ill is for tight or sweet then, yes, you are correct in your observation.

    Paulus averaged 11.4 points, nearly 4 assists and hit a career-high 83 three-pointers during his junior season for Duke. While a Chris Duhon-level defender he was not, Paulus played with unrivaled heart, momentous effort and was often times the most vitally-important offensive player on the team due to his unlimited range and ability to take a game over from the outside. Paulus was absolutely deadly from 25 feet and in that year, nailing four or more threes on eight different occasions. He was our best shooter and, many times, most reliable scorer in big-game moments.

    Without Paulus, we don't win in Chapel Hill in 2008 and suffer a spell of four years without a victory against the Heels. In that early February contest in the Dean Smith Center, he netted 18 points and dropped six threes in one of the more memorable shooting performances from any Blue Devil in the rivalry in recent years. It was a very coolheaded and J.J.-like display. Also, in the second round that March against West Virginia, it was the superior shooting of Paulus early that spurted Duke out to a double-digit lead in the first half. Things didn't end as we all would have liked, but Paulus was very much a positive factor in 2008 and, when I look back on his career in Durham, that junior season is a pretty fond memory.

  14. #54
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Quote Originally Posted by jamesfrommaiden View Post
    I am only trying to make the point that the sooner everyone knows what the decisions are the more options Duke has as far as attracting recruits.

    I agree, nothing like waiting a month to see where we will be at. The good thing is that even if Austin leaves, we will be fine with the shooting guard position. I can't wait for Rasheed, I think the kid will be special. Anyways, I fully expect Mason to come back, I think Mason has enjoyed his time here and wants to finish the right way (and play with Marshall!) I actually think marshall will help keep him there With Austin, yeah he can definitely improve his stock. Everyone has talked about his strength and ability to finish...one other thing I haven't heard talked about is his shooting ability! The kid has no mid-range game and his 3pt shot is very inconsistent. What did he shoot 32% on the year?

  15. #55
    Quote Originally Posted by ChicagoCrazy84 View Post
    What did he shoot 32% on the year?
    For the season, Austin shot 37% (which is pretty good) from three (44% overall). This is not so difficult to look up.

  16. #56
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Nashville
    Does anyone know when the withdrawal deadline is? It says April 29th on NBA.com, but I thought I'd read that it was somewhere around April 10-12 this year, which would not allow prospects to test the waters. Did the ACC/NCAA pass something along those lines, or did I make that up?

    You know, I kind of forget that Mason Plumlee is already 22. I had kind of been assuming he'd come back to improve his stock Zeller-style, but that's a little worrying. Hopefully he keeps the faith...

  17. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by Edouble View Post
    I don't think Miles Plumlee would have been drafted if he had left after last season.
    Well if the goal is to get drafted then I guess he should leave. But he is nowhere near ready for the league. Shelden Williams was a BEAST of a center for Duke, he got drafted and I don't even know if he is in the league anymore. I just meant I think Mason never came to Duke with the intention of leaving early to get drafted. He came to get an education and play for Coach K. And honestly I don't think he would want to leave after getting put out in the first round either. I could be wrong about all of this, I guess time will tell.

  18. #58

    Want Mason to go

    From adding value to our basketball program, I believe Mason should go if he is a first round pick in the draft. There's already this bad impression among youngsters that big men do not develop at Duke and they don't do anything other than setting screens and rebounding. With Mason getting drafted, we will have a positive development to sell for recruiting big men.
    We are already known for developing good guards. So, Austin's entering the draft makes much less of a difference in terms of value.
    The value I am talking about is not quantifiable. It's an impression of our program.

  19. #59
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by IBleedBlue View Post
    From adding value to our basketball program, I believe Mason should go if he is a first round pick in the draft. There's already this bad impression among youngsters that big men do not develop at Duke and they don't do anything other than setting screens and rebounding. With Mason getting drafted, we will have a positive development to sell for recruiting big men.
    We are already known for developing good guards. So, Austin's entering the draft makes much less of a difference in terms of value.
    The value I am talking about is not quantifiable. It's an impression of our program.
    I think that perception changed this year, with the emergence of mason and ryan. Now, it was absolutely overshadowed by UNC's success this year, but if UNC had a slightly worse team, mason would have been getting all sorts of accolades...imagine if he had kyrie or jon feeding him the ball again...
    1200. DDMF.

  20. #60
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Cali

    Mason should test the water

    Mason should enter his name in the draft without an agent and see were he stands in regards to the other players entering the draft. There is no reason not to do that.

    Personally, I think Mason will be drafted in the 1st round and can be a serviceable backup big man in the NBA sometime in the future, but there is no way he will be an impact player as a rookie next season.

    Instead in can compare his standing against the other players, then comeback to Duke and have a big impact for this Duke team as a Senior leader.

Similar Threads

  1. Miles' Plumlee Senior Profile
    By bluedevilfan1998 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-30-2012, 10:50 PM
  2. Mason Plumlee Interview -- Duke Blue Planet
    By airowe in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-22-2009, 05:39 PM
  3. VO returning to Duke for one more season
    By Mike Corey in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-23-2008, 09:59 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •