Originally Posted by
licc85
I see quite a bit of speculation that our top 6 guys in the rotation will be Seth, Mason, Ryan, Quinn, Alex, and Rasheed. That's all well and good, especially on offense, where Ryan is a real matchup problem for most teams, and I believe Alex will fit that profile as well, but wow, that's a really weak top 6 on defense. At this point, I think we know what Ryan and Seth are as defenders. While Ryan causes many problems for opponents on offense . . . he causes almost no problems for them on defense. His lateral agility will never be close to elite, and the same goes for Seth. Seth is an amazing shooter and will probably lead the team in scoring, but he can't guard anyone.
If Ryan and Seth are both in the game with Mason, the other two players need to be defensive minded players. I think a huge part of this season's success depends on Quinn Cook's defense. Last year, he was terrible. Conceding the fact that he was hurt, but he was terrible. Duke had it worst defensive season, I believe, ever under Coach K. If Quinn hasn't improved significantly on D, I don't see how we can play him, Ryan, and Seth in the same lineup and not expect to get torched on D. I honestly think Rasheed may be the starter by the end of the year at PG and share ball handling duties with Seth.
Call me crazy, but I think the best starting lineup by mid-season is : Mason, Ryan, Alex, Seth, Rasheed. Quinn is a great point guard, but he's tiny, and having 2 guys under 6'1" with sub-par athleticism on the perimeter is just a recipe for disaster for any defense. Quinn is just going to have to get his minutes while Seth or Ryan is on the bench.