Based on his defensive intensity I would say he stands a good chance to make an impact next year, regardless of how well his offensive playmaking abilities translate to the next level. Even with Austin gone, this team is pretty dangerous offensively, but is in immediate need of someone who can guard a quick 1-2. Sheed's combo of acceleration, length, and apparent desire to play D gives him an advantage over anyone in our current backcourt IMO. K has shown repeatedly in the past that as long as you can play good D (and play it within our system) that you will get minutes, in spite of your offensive deficiencies (Tyler, Lance, McClure being some of the more recent examples).
However, Sheed has way more offensive potential than a lot of our players that have historically fit that role. I think him and Alex will make significant impacts next year as new guys, with Sheeds main contribution being his defense.
This is from a Scout chat today on their new top 100:
Brad : ]
Rasheed Sulaimon- is he a big impact player out of the gate? Who would you compare his game to and what are his weaknesses (aside from strength given his frame)? Thanks
Wednesday April 18, 2012 1:41 Brad
1:42
Brian Snow: With Austin Rivers moving on and Gbinije transferring, I think Sulaimon gets real minutes from day one. He is a big time shooter and an elite defender. That combination will get him on the court very early at Duke.
Singler is IRON
I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013
Rasheed Sulaimon named second team ESPNHS All-America. http://espn.go.com/high-school/boys-...-all-americans Weirdly this link says it was originally published in May of last year, but it is this year's team and I think it is new today.
Duke targets Tony Parker (3rd team) and Amile Jefferson (4th team) also on the list.
Not sure if this has been posted, but here is a great video of Rasheed's ability to penetrate. He is definitely more than a shooter.
A very impressive video! There is little doubt in my mind he will be a key element in Duke's rotation early on, and he looks vastly quicker and more explosive than most of the current guards. If his D is near what is spoken of and as he catches on to Duke's system, wouldn't at all surprise me if he is a starter rather sooner than later. And if Cook is also up to speed with lateral quickness and has improved his D, we could be looking at a very dynamic guard duo.
Several promising newcomers, 4 to be exact. We think/almost know that Alex will start and Marshall will back up his brother at the 5. We know Alex won't play 35 mpg, so there are 15 or so mpg at wing/SF. If Amile, a 4-who-looks-like-a-3, can play wing/SF D, that eliminates much worry about having to go with a 3-guard lineup for very long.
But if Amile comes along a little more slowly, and if - as some combo of guru-talk, eye-test, EK poster-enthusiasm, and sheer rumor seem to imply - Rasheed is an immediate contributor, we might see more 3-guard than last season's concerns might make us prefer.
We know that Rasheed begins as Seth's backup, say, 10 mpg. Is Amile the main backup for Alex? Or is that Rasheed, too? Or do Amile and Rasheed share time as Alex's backup at the wing/SF?
TBD, maybe 7-8 months from now. We'll all be mad at each other by then. But we'll still love our guys, new, returning, redshirts, NBA, Europe, even some transfers.
I mentioned this is another thread a few months ago, but I agree. If a healthy Quinn Cook makes the
type of improvements we all are looking for, particularly defensively, then pairing him with a dynamic 2-way guard like Sulaimon, if he's as good and as ready as many seem to anticipate, I think that would be a very solid backcourt. Adding Sulaimon's size and defense, as opposed to Curry's strengths, would help in a number of areas.
Seth brings a lot, but I think having him off the bench as an instant offense scorer, still playing plenty of minutes, but without the responsibilities and pressure of being the starting 2-guard, would strengthen the team. I know many have said "no way. He's a senior starter no matter what." So I probably won't get to see what I'm envisioning here, but I do think the team might be better with that Cook-Sulaimon starting backcourt.
Maybe it is me - but he certainly does not look 6'4" on the court or he is playing against some really big players. At 15 seconds he gets announced and comes up to a teammate. If he is 6'4" then that kid must be 6'10 or taller- but they have no one on his team listed at over 6'6". Don't get me wrong- this kid is going to be great- but he is only adding size because he is taller than Seth, Quinn and Tyler which is really not saying too much.