Zoubek talks freshman, off season surgery and more

[watzone]

Here is an interview where I talked with Brian Zoubek - http://bluedevilnation.net/?p=1183

Needless to say, he will be a vital piece of the puzzle in the coming season. He had some good things to say about Miles Plumlee.

[1Devil]

I really hope he does well this season and is healthy. The good news is that Plumlee gives us a completely different look. Zoubek can (I hope) bring the power game and bang with the best of them. Let's face it, there aren't many 280lb guys out there. Plumlee can be the guy to defend the quicker 5's, those who would draw our center out from the basket.

It should surprise no one that his game is rusty. Hopefully he gets in the groove quickly.

I'd really like to see him adopt the power jam around the basket. No need for him to get off the floor much for that. The soft layups aren't going to cut it.

[2535Miles]

Thanks watzone! What did you think of Brian's size? Looks like he's beefed up his arms quite a bit.

[watzone]

Thanks watzone! What did you think of Brian's size? Looks like he's beefed up his arms quite a bit.

He's growing into his body as he matures. All of the players are bigger with the exception of Smith. Perhaps, I should have said heavier. They worked hard in the weight room in the off season.

[ACCBBallFan]

Thanks for sharing that Mark.

From the GoDuke.com roster stats which can vary from site to site and interivew to interview,

21 Miles Plumlee F 6-10 230 Fr.
12 Kyle Singler F 6-8 235 So.
13 Olek Czyz F 6-7 240 Fr.
55 Brian Zoubek C 7-1 280 Jr.

It appears as article indicated Miles is best competition in practice from a height perspective.

Is Olek really 240 and 6'7"?

If so that one less inch of height than Kyle would be offset by Czyz's superior leaping ability, and Olek in addition to Miles who is now allegedly 240 also, could be an extra guy to bump on Zoubek to get him used to contact and presumably strong guys trying to knock the ball out of his hands, not to mention defending dunks.

That would save wear and tear on (Kyle and Lance) other than when Z needs to practice against Duke's smartest big defenders (Kyle and Dave), unless the two new coaches assume that role.

[watzone]

Thanks for sharing that Mark.

From the GoDuke.com roster stats which can vary from site to site and interivew to interview,

21 Miles Plumlee F 6-10 230 Fr.
12 Kyle Singler F 6-8 235 So.
13 Olek Czyz F 6-7 240 Fr.
55 Brian Zoubek C 7-1 280 Jr.

It appears as article indicated Miles is best competition in practice from a height perspective.

Is Olek really 240 and 6'7"?

If so that one less inch of height than Kyle would be offset by Czyz's superior leaping ability, and Olek in addition to Miles who is now allegedly 240 also, could be an extra guy to bump on Zoubek to get him used to contact and presumably strong guys trying to knock the ball out of his hands, not to mention defending dunks.

That would save wear and tear on (Kyle and Lance) other than when Z needs to practice against Duke's smartest big defenders (Kyle and Dave), unless the two new coaches assume that role.

I had my doubts that a freshman Plumee might weigh 240. After seeing him, he certainly looks 225 to 230 for sure.

Olek has thick legs and is at least 230 to 235 as well.

All of the players weights will drop a bit as the season grinds on.

The addition of Miles helps Zoubs immensely in practice. Olek floats out a lot.

[ACCBBallFan]

I had my doubts that a freshman Plumee might weigh 240. After seeing him, he certainly looks 225 to 230 for sure.

Olek has thick legs and is at least 230 to 235 as well.

All of the players weights will drop a bit as the season grinds on.

The addition of Miles helps Zoubs immensely in practice. Olek floats out a lot.

Thanks, Mark.

Actually Olek floating out a lot will also help Z learn how the cover a center who can shoot but Singler already has that in spades when they pair off, hopefully not very frequently with Miles available to bang with Z.

[ncexnyc]

you can't teach size and Brian's got that in spades.

His problem has always been a lack of practice/playing time due to the injuries he's had and hopefully this year he will be able to stay healthy and put a complete season together. I think a number of Duke fans will be pleasantly surprised if Brian can do that.

I guess I shouldn't be very surprised to hear that Brian and Jon are good friends off the court. There definitely seemed to be a solid bond between them last year in the final Clemson game, as they both worked very well together.

[Oriole Way]

you can't teach size and Brian's got that in spades.

His problem has always been a lack of practice/playing time due to the injuries he's had and hopefully this year he will be able to stay healthy and put a complete season together. I think a number of Duke fans will be pleasantly surprised if Brian can do that.

I guess I shouldn't be very surprised to hear that Brian and Jon are good friends off the court. There definitely seemed to be a solid bond between them last year in the final Clemson game, as they both worked very well together.

Very true... I've always thought that Jon seems to be the only guy on the team who plays a good two-man game with Zoubek, and the only guy who seems to be able to feed him the ball in good spots.

[greybeard]

I think that Zoubek's offensive contribution this year will depend mostly on the coaches. Here's why: Zoubek will be most effective if he gets the ball, is an active receiver, in the ways that come most naturally to him. If he gets the ball as an active receiver in those ways, and that is 100 percent up to the coaches, then the question is, How Does He Finish?

That question depends on a collaboration between Zoubs and the coaches. If he is the ballplayer that I think he is, he has in his life developed ways of finishing off of such catches. He has practiced them in his mind's eye as he has walked down the street, faking Shaq and Duncan et al, and scoring in ways that only he knows. Now, if that repetoire is to be improved on, the coaches need to understand Zoubs' style, his footwork preferences, his ability to change direction or speed with confidence, his ability to head fake and deliver, and build from there.

I have to say that nothing that I know of coaching tells me that the coaches at Duke or anywhere else as a group are particularly adept at doing what I suggest. Coaches, as a class, are adept at taking an athlete and fitting him almost cookie cutter style into what they know, what they see, as being their systems, their approaches, their models.

If they do that with Zoubs, they will have an injured athlete again, I fear, and one that also plays way below his potential.

Another thing, no one on the bench is going to stop going to Henderson or Singlar if they miss several times in a row on shots that they should make. If they allow the team on the floor to stop going to Zoubs if he flubs some shots or catches, they will get less from him than they might. This is a classic flaw, in my view, of many teams with a "big" who is viewed as being on the floor primarily because of his size. Either you treat a guy as a full member of the team on the floor when he is on the floor, which means allowing him to screw up just like everyone else, or you will get a diminished performer. Treating bigs like Zoubs differently, not allowing for several screw ups, presupposes incorrectly that receiving the ball and finishing in the pivot is not among the most demanding parts of the game.

In other words, give the guy a break, some room to have a shot on delivering what everyone says that they want from him. I'm outtahere.

[Zeb]

I have to say that nothing that I know of coaching tells me that the coaches at Duke or anywhere else as a group are particularly adept at doing what I suggest. Coaches, as a class, are adept at taking an athlete and fitting him almost cookie cutter style into what they know, what they see, as being their systems, their approaches, their models.

If they do that with Zoubs, they will have an injured athlete again, I fear, and one that also plays way below his potential.


Have you ever talked to a current Duke coach directly? Ever had them help you with your game? I have. They are by no means cookie cutter in their approach. They recognize that each player has individual preferences and strengths and they account for that in their instructions and their game plans.

That doesn't mean that they don't try to expand a player's repetoire or fix bad habits. They do. But I think your post does the coaching staff a big injustice in implying that they only know one way for Zoubek to play and that they keep trying to force his abilities to fit into their rigid concept of a post player.

It's almost not worth commenting on your idea that Duke's coaching is somehow responsible for his injuries--that is just ridiculous.

Look at our three most successful post players in the last decade--Elton, Shelden, and Boozer--do you think they all have the same game? Played the same way? Why is a Duke fan not giving one of the nation's best coaching staff's any more credit?

[greybeard]

Have you ever talked to a current Duke coach directly? Ever had them help you with your game? I have. They are by no means cookie cutter in their approach. They recognize that each player has individual preferences and strengths and they account for that in their instructions and their game plans.

That doesn't mean that they don't try to expand a player's repetoire or fix bad habits. They do. But I think your post does the coaching staff a big injustice in implying that they only know one way for Zoubek to play and that they keep trying to force his abilities to fit into their rigid concept of a post player.

It's almost not worth commenting on your idea that Duke's coaching is somehow responsible for his injuries--that is just ridiculous.

Look at our three most successful post players in the last decade--Elton, Shelden, and Boozer--do you think they all have the same game? Played the same way? Why is a Duke fan not giving one of the nation's best coaching staff's any more credit?

You will note that I did not single Duke coaches out; I see them no different than I see other coaches in the profession. On the other hand, I have watched how the team played with Zoubek on the floor and found the TEAM wanting in terms of involving him in a way that, and this is just intuition speaking, would seem to have suited him. Mostly, it was not giving him a chance to make catches on his terms--either waiting for the defender to catch up so Zoubs could post him (Zoubs invariably would get pushed off balance) or throwing a lead pass that maybe a Boozer or Brand would have caught up with but Zoubs was nowhere in the vacinity. That said to me that the coaches were not committed to having the rest of the players on the floor treat Zoubs as a coequal. It simply does not compute any other way.

As for injury, I did not say that the coaches were the cause of his injuries. What I said was, if he plays the style that everyone here seems to envision, dunking and banging in the low post, he is likely to be injured again. Since that seemed to also be the style that his teammates were expecting from him (why else hold it until he "posted" his man, instead of giving him a chance to make a catch when he began making his move to the ball) it had to be that that is what the coaches expected of everyone. Right?

Now, I hope I am wrong about Zoubek's ability to play the ruff and tumble style without injury if that is what is asked of him. Me, I wouldn't ask that of him. I do not know if he has another style which can lead him to score the ball on the interior with regularity, but believe that he probably does. That game might not fit with the terrific style of play that we saw on display from Duke last year. I am a terrific fan of that style, and have said that I hope to see more of it this year only better, more effective. I think that K's ability to adapt to that style and lead a team, an entire team, to play in that manner was one of the greatest coaching achievements I have ever witnessed.

If playing to Zoubek's strengths is not in the cards for the good of the team, I am not hatin on K or any of the other coaches. I just am not going to blame Zoubek for failing to deliver. We'll see.

For the record, call me Pollyanna, I think Zoubek is far more clever in his body then people give him credit for. I hope he gets a chance to prove it.

[greybeard]

Let us suppose that the problems with Zoub's foot had something to do with how he holds himself, and what parts of him cooperate or do not in the movements that he makes while playing ball. I'd try to say that in English, but that would not be me.

If we took everyone on the team and lined them up and had them slide from side to side, and had one of those machines that showed their skeletons all lite up, we would see radically different levels and types of involvement of people's pelvises, of the movement of the top of the femur in the pelvic socket (I know that there is a different term for it), of the softness, pliency, and movement of their ribs, of the bending of their spines up through their necks, of the involvement of their eyes, etc.

We would also see on the outside that some seemed to glide and were symetrical and pleasing and others, well, it was much more painful to look at them.

My training and experience tells me that rehab work, especially of someone who has chronically injured a particular body part, should involve an examination of how the person conceives of, organizes his body, to participate in the types of movements required of him in his sport. In other words, the person being rehabbed should be given the structure in which he can improve on his organization by learning for himself both how he currently goes about doing the movements and how those movements might be done more easily, more effectively, less stressfully.

I read real carefully what Zoub's had to say about his workouts. It does not seem that they involve that type of individualized work. They should.

[Kedsy]

...On the other hand, I have watched how the team played with Zoubek on the floor and found the TEAM wanting in terms of involving him in a way that, and this is just intuition speaking, would seem to have suited him. Mostly, it was not giving him a chance to make catches on his terms--either waiting for the defender to catch up so Zoubs could post him (Zoubs invariably would get pushed off balance) or throwing a lead pass that maybe a Boozer or Brand would have caught up with but Zoubs was nowhere in the vacinity. That said to me that the coaches were not committed to having the rest of the players on the floor treat Zoubs as a coequal. It simply does not compute any other way.

As for injury, I did not say that the coaches were the cause of his injuries. What I said was, if he plays the style that everyone here seems to envision, dunking and banging in the low post, he is likely to be injured again. Since that seemed to also be the style that his teammates were expecting from him (why else hold it until he "posted" his man, instead of giving him a chance to make a catch when he began making his move to the ball) it had to be that that is what the coaches expected of everyone. Right?


I'm not sure I entirely understand what you're saying, but as I see it there are five ways for a big man to score inside. I may be oversimplifying, but he could (a) rebound a missed shot and put it back. But you're not talking about that, right? (b) lose his man and be wide open near the basket. I have rarely seen Zoubek accomplish this, but on the few occasions he has, nobody has waited for his man to catch up; they throw it to him quickly and hope he makes the layup; (c) receive the ball at the high post (or further outside) and drive to the basket. But nothing I've seen from Zoubek comes close to indicating that he's capable of this against the level of Duke's average competition; (d) move toward the basket and receive a lead pass (I would include give-and-go's and pick-and-roll's in this category, as well as fast break scoring). But your comments seem to say this isn't best for him; (e) post up his man and receive the ball with his back to the basket. This is probably the most common "true center" method of scoring, and would seem to be the best choice for a man who is 4 to 6 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier than most of his competition. But you apparently object to this.

I admit my comments may not be fair, because I don't understand what you mean by "giving him a chance to make a catch when he began making his move to the ball." But if you give a player the ball before he's in position to score in a situation where he is unlikely to be able to put the ball on the floor and drive past his opponent, it seems to me you're inviting a charge or travel or some other type of turnover. I suppose it's possible that he could receive the ball in that position and pass it to someone else, but even then wouldn't you want the big man to be at least a threat to score so he could draw a double team to pass out of?

Zoubek can help Duke's team, especially by rebounding and on defense if he can show better positioning than he has in the past. But on offense, we don't want him handling the ball or driving to the hoop. We have a lot of other players more suited to that than he is. If he's going to score, it will be either with a lead pass (a pick-and-roll, probably) or by him posting up. If he can appear dangerous enough in a post-up role, then he can also catch, draw the double team, and dish to a three-point shooter. Presumably these are the sorts of things that both the other players and the coaches (and probably he, himself) expect of him.

So to me it computes lots of different ways. I apologize if I've simply missed your point, but either way I don't understand your point.

[greybeard]

Kedsy I think that your understanding comports more with the modern style of pivot play, which is way dumbed down, than what makes the pivot potentially the most interesting position in the sport.

Let me try: I have seen Zoubs in the low post on the off side (away from the side where the ball is, let's say out front on the left, and he is low on the right). Z makes a little move toward the baseline by stepping with his right foot, the defender steps or leans back, and Z starts to step out with his left foot and then through and across with his right, leaving his man leaning at least in the other direction. wHEN HIS LEFT FOOT HITS THE GROUND THE BALL SHOULD BE IN THE AIR DIRECTED TO A PLACE (HEIGHT AND DISTANCE) AND, TO BORROW A SOCCER TERM, WITH A WEIGHT, SUCH THAT Z'S CAN MAKE AN ATHLETIC CATCH AND SHOOT.

If the ball comes at that moment to where Zoubs is going to be, the defender is in a very, very compromised position. From that spot, Zoubs should have four or five basic options at least (PERHAPS WITH VARIATIONS AS MANY AS 10), all of which he should be proficient at.

What Zs teammates have historically done is to wait not only until Z's right foot hits the ground, but until he actually gets to where the ball ought to be, before they throw it. By this time, Z is having to fight for a spot that he owned, and gets shoved before, while, and after he catches it. THIS WILL NOT PRODUCE RESULTS UNLESS LIKE BRAND, BOOZER, AND SHELDEN, YOU ARE A FREAKIN IMMOVABLE OBJECT!

Who played the pivot the way I am talking about. The best at it in recent years was the big kid at Vermont, who took out Syracuse in the tournament his senior year. The big kid from Cornell against Duke last year is another example.

Giving the ball to Zoubs in that fashion will allow him to make plays off what I see is a finely honed ability to spot a passing lane before it develops, set his guy up, and move to the spot. If the guy with the ball is looking, he will have seen the same spot, and will have positioned himself and be ready to deliver it when Z makes his move.

If Z were a star, that is what the outside players would be doing.

You seem to think that Z would walk or dribble off his foot or miss a quick little bank shot, or not be able to head fake and take a dribble and flip in a little hook shot. If that is so, then he should not be playing. Period. I do not believe it to be so. I think that he is clever enough in his body to operate in the fashion that I suggest. More importantly, he seems to think so too, because since the time he set foot on the court at Cameron, he has been making spectularly clever moves for the ball, only to be disappointed (in his first year visably) when he did not receive it in a timely fashion.

If the job assigned to Z is to be a pack mule--go out and bang people and "fight" for space and rebounds--I am sure he will do it to the best of his ability. I do not think that that comes close to the best that he has to offer.

[Kedsy]

Giving the ball to Zoubs in that fashion will allow him to make plays off what I see is a finely honed ability to spot a passing lane before it develops, set his guy up, and move to the spot. If the guy with the ball is looking, he will have seen the same spot, and will have positioned himself and be ready to deliver it when Z makes his move.

Thank you, Greybeard. I now understand what you were trying to say. I appreciate you taking the time to explain your thinking. My guess is the coaches and other players understand this as well, but don't think that play has as high a probability of success as others in the current Duke repertoire.



If Z were a star, that is what the outside players would be doing.


Perhaps, but I think you've put your finger on the issue. One has to earn stardom. To use this play with any regularity would (IMO) require Duke to restructure its offense so that Zoubek is the focal point (or at least one of the main focal points), and with all the proven, effective offensive weapons we have, this is not likely to happen anytime soon. If Zoubek was more effective at basic post-ups and pick-and-rolls and other staples of "modern," "dumbed down," pivot play, then his teammates would look his way more and would probably hit him with a lot more of the clever passes you're calling for.



You seem to think that Z would walk or dribble off his foot or miss a quick little bank shot, or not be able to head fake and take a dribble and flip in a little hook shot. If that is so, then he should not be playing. Period. I do not believe it to be so. I think that he is clever enough in his body to operate in the fashion that I suggest. More importantly, he seems to think so too, because since the time he set foot on the court at Cameron, he has been making spectularly clever moves for the ball, only to be disappointed (in his first year visably) when he did not receive it in a timely fashion.


Well, I sort of do think that, but I admit that's just my opinion. To support your point, I have observed in the past that he likes to do that little slide move into the middle and is open for a fraction of a second and the guards rarely give him the ball at that moment. However, my feeling is he wouldn't score that much from there, because I don't think he's physical enough and if the man guarding him is the physical sort he'll either knock Z off balance or foul him and, Blue/White game notwithstanding, I don't think Zoubek at the free throw line is a recipe for success.

I also think he must do that move in practice and in scrimmages and in pickup, and so the guards and coaches must be familiar with it, and if they don't give him the ball there, they must have a reason.

[Bob Green]

...I don't think Zoubek at the free throw line is a recipe for success.

Zoubek definitely needs to improve at the FT line in order to capitalize on scoring opportunities. As a freshman, he was 32 - 48 (.667), but his performance declined last season to 13 - 29 (.448). I have to believe his foot injury was a contributing factor. If Zoubek can consistently knock down the free ones, it will go a long way toward him improving his scoring productivity. He has shown flashes of brillance at the line, the 4 - 4 BW game performance that you mentioned and 10 - 10 against Columbia the first game of his freshman season for example.

[ACCBBallFan]

Admittedly these are very limited observations since both have been injured a lot the last two years, but IMO Marty Pocius seems to look to the post at the proper timing and weight as Greybeard phrased it, more and better than many of Duke's other perimeter guys. Too early to tell on Elliott.

In the limited minutes these two do play it might be good to pair Zoubek-Pocius together with Singler, Henderson and either Greg/Nolan. Marty could also run the pick and roll with Kyle, with G always a threat on the alley oop or back door on opposite side from Z.

Obviously K is Duke's biggest opportunity to set a huge screen for any of them.

[greybeard]

Feeding the pivot is a lost art. Vitale says it all the time. Only thing he says that I actually think has any vitality. ;) So, no, I do not think that the other players either see the option or are particularly good at executing on it. They, those who were around, did an atrocious job of getting the ball to McRob inside, who, unlike Zoub, did not have the ability, perhaps because of his back but I think because of how he sees the game, to play the receiver in the pivot as well as Zoub.

I don't think that great teams win by playing to stars. I also think that while, the inside out play created by wing penetration, aka the Suns, is an alternative to conventional inside-out play through the pivot, and an exciting one at that, you must be able to score the ball in the paint with a big (even the Suns did that before they got Shaq). So, if this team wants to be great, one of the three bigs, I include here Lance, must be able to hurt people off of catches inside.

I do not think that the hurt will be inflicted off of classic post-ups. Lance showed a gift for catching it on the slide, and Singlar was good, at times great, at getting him the ball when he was doing that (think the first UNC game). Perhaps if no broken hand, he would have finished some of the interior plays he had during the latter parts of the season.

Zoubek's ability to finish when he catches on the move is an unknown because this team has shown no interest in getting him the ball in that circumstance. Until it does, I will not give the players or the coaches the benefit of the doubt. They have not earned it, and I am a huge K fan.

I really like the kids on this team and do not think that they are selfish. I just think that they think that when Z is in, it often means Singlar is not, and they feel more responsible for "getting it done." They also might have been cautious in getting him the ball because he was green and then injured. But, if he is in there and comes clear with clever play and does not get it when he should, this team is HURTING ITSELF.

You can win some or even most of the time playing four and five on offense, but not enough to win when winning really counts. Unless Zman is a stiff, I'd invest mightily in getting him involved and doing it on terms that he can be effective. If not him, then Lance and the freshman.

By the way, if the ball comes in when it should, the first option is a catch and shoot. If you can make that shot, pivoting off either foot, you are unguardable. The trailing defender will have to come at you with his momentum going up. He is then dead meat. There is no bodying up in those circumstances. That, by the way, is why Hannsborough is so effective in the post. Many of his catches occur with that kind of little advantage; if a defender has to come at you inside while raising his arms to defend against a little shot from 5-7 feet, no way he can stop you from taking it to the basket. You shoot a little hook shot off of one dribble (see Hibbert or any Princeton center in the last 30 years) and it is tough to foul hard enough to louse up that shot. This ain't such a tough game when the ball is shared as it should be, and Z should have lots of space.

These outside players, with the exception of Singlar, have shown me little with regard to their ability to get the ball inside, to see the game with fluid receptions in the interior. Until they do, I ain't presuming that they have those skills.

I have, on the other hand, seen Zman display the vision and footwork necessary to be an apt receiver. That usually means that he knows how to do something with it if he receives in a timely fashion. The latter really ain't that tough to do. Just ask them guys who played for Carrill.

[buddy]

Zoubs has to play to his strength, which is size, and not athleticism. Watching at Blue/White, and over the years, he has difficulty with the athletic play. Too often he gets a pass at knee or ankle level (not his fault, but that of his teammates). This is definitely something his teammates need to work on. There is no way Zoubs (or any big man) can convert that play. Also, he has a tendency to put the ball on the floor before shooting. He needs to catch and shoot to take advantage of his size. He does not appear to be able to do anything offensively from other than a stationary position, and so should not be expected to. Once the ball goes to the floor he becomes a small forward and he can't compete with small forwards. The trick with Zoubs is to put him into positions where his size can make the difference, but don't expect athleticism. Unfortunately, he is on a team with many fantastic athletes. I think he is more of a half court player on a full court team. When put in winning positions, he plays well. JMOO.

[greybeard]

Zoubs has to play to his strength, which is size, and not athleticism. Watching at Blue/White, and over the years, he has difficulty with the athletic play. Too often he gets a pass at knee or ankle level (not his fault, but that of his teammates). This is definitely something his teammates need to work on. There is no way Zoubs (or any big man) can convert that play. Also, he has a tendency to put the ball on the floor before shooting. He needs to catch and shoot to take advantage of his size. He does not appear to be able to do anything offensively from other than a stationary position, and so should not be expected to. Once the ball goes to the floor he becomes a small forward and he can't compete with small forwards. The trick with Zoubs is to put him into positions where his size can make the difference, but don't expect athleticism. Unfortunately, he is on a team with many fantastic athletes. I think he is more of a half court player on a full court team. When put in winning positions, he plays well. JMOO.

I disagree with this. Everything depends on WHEN the ball arrives. A big must be able to catch low, and I am sure that Z can--he was a freakin goalie. The real issue is how one then brings the ball up to shoulder height, and then down to dribble position, if that is what one decides to do.

Now, it is one thing for Z to have had difficulty with the things you mention, I do not doubt the accuracy of your observations just your extrapolations from them, when the ball is delivered to him too late, and another to say that he can't do those things in the right circumstance. It is the right circumstance that I believe Z can create but it takes two to tango and I haven't seen his teammates dancing.

If the only option this team can generate is to wait a moment or two after the defense has arrived to throw it to Z when he has already completed his route to the middle of the lane, I agree that he is likely to have trouble capitalizing on that reception, or even making it.

However, no one would say that Henderson can shoot his jump shot off the dribble, but only if he slows down sufficiently to allow whatever space his bounce created to evaporate and then have to shoot over a taller defender who is optimally positioned and good off his feet. Now, Gerald, bless his heart, can make that play, and that is why I think he is really, really special. But, no one on this team is going to insist that that is the only time he can shoot.

If they continue to wait before they throw the ball inside, that is what Z's teammates are foisting upon him. I think that that is subpar play on their part not his.

[BD80]

Brian is TWENTY years old and is 7' 1" tall. He is the same age as Kyle Singler (1 month apart) and is the same age as the FRESHMAN Miles that uCon just expelled for groping a woman.

Brian has had foot issues since high school (2 surgeries within a year) and until this year, has never had anyone within 5 inches of his height or 40 pounds of his weight to practice against.

Even though he has just recently been pronounced "healthy," Brian admits that he does not have his conditioning or his leg strength back yet due to his recuperation from surgery this summer.

YET, we are critiquing this young man as a finished product? It is absolutely absurd to judge Brian based upon his performance in the Blue-White game, and nearly as absurd to judge his future based upon his injury-riddled past.

As Brian gets back into shape and finally gets to practice with the team at full speed and against a legitimate post defender, he will get much better. He is also growing into a huge body that will be a huge asset for the devils in many games this year.

Next year Brian will be a force. Brian will also be drafted by the NBA and will stick on some team's bench.

How much will Brian help this year? Who knows? It is a mystery. One that will be fun to watch. Why don't we band together to cheer for the young man rather than (unfairly) pick his game apart?

[mgtr]

My first hope is that Zoubs remains healthy this year so that he gets a fair shot. My second hope is that he makes a real contribution, and I am optimistic that he can do so.