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concrete
11-28-2008, 06:58 PM
who is the big man coach this year? I dunno but I've seen the best improvement/development of a big men in at least a decade. Zoubek is looking alot better and so is Lance Thomas. Just wondering if Nate James has been working with them.

AtlDuke72
11-28-2008, 07:04 PM
who is the big man coach this year? I dunno but I've seen the best improvement/development of a big men in at least a decade. Zoubek is looking alot better and so is Lance Thomas. Just wondering if Nate James has been working with them.

Wojo. Same guy who has been coaching them all along.

dukelifer
11-28-2008, 07:26 PM
who is the big man coach this year? I dunno but I've seen the best improvement/development of a big men in at least a decade. Zoubek is looking alot better and so is Lance Thomas. Just wondering if Nate James has been working with them.

Further proof that basketball players can actually improve from their Freshman year.

calltheobvious
11-28-2008, 07:42 PM
Further proof that basketball players can actually improve from their Freshman year.

And that you don't have to be a big to coach the bigs.

MChambers
11-28-2008, 08:26 PM
And that you don't have to be a big to coach the bigs.

Wojo is wearing lifts in his shoes this year, which has made him a better big man coach.;)

Jumbo
11-28-2008, 10:27 PM
Wojo. Same guy who has been coaching them all along.

Really? I was pretty sure Nate had assumed those responsibilities.

loran16
11-28-2008, 10:43 PM
Really? I was pretty sure Nate had assumed those responsibilities.

I thought so too. I thought Nate was big man coach and that Wojo had moved up to Head-Assistant Coach

jlear
11-28-2008, 10:46 PM
Really? I was pretty sure Nate had assumed those responsibilities.

Nope, Nate said in a radio interview that he mostly working with the freshmen to let them know what the program requires. I got the impression he is learning how to coach and he never mentioned anything about coaching bigs. Maybe he bangs on them a little in practice.

Regardless, what a great site to see all those points in the paint!

Devil in the Blue Dress
11-28-2008, 11:31 PM
I thought so too. I thought Nate was big man coach and that Wojo had moved up to Head-Assistant Coach

After Johnny left for his new job, Wojo and Chris were both promoted to Associate Head Coach, the same title Johnny had before he left. Based on the information on goduke.com, it doesn't appear duties have changed significantly for either guy.

speedevil
11-28-2008, 11:43 PM
Really? I was pretty sure Nate had assumed those responsibilities.

what makes you think nate james in more qualified than wojo to coach the bigs?

the biggest improvement from lance is that he is stronger, enabling him to finish with confidence.

Jumbo
11-28-2008, 11:48 PM
what makes you think nate james in more qualified than wojo to coach the bigs?

the biggest improvement from lance is that he is stronger, enabling him to finish with confidence.

Uh, where did I say Nate James was more "qualified" to coach the bigs? I said I thought I'd heard that he was coaching the bigs. Apparently he isn't.

OZZIE4DUKE
11-29-2008, 12:26 AM
Uh, where did I say Nate James was more "qualified" to coach the bigs? I said I thought I'd heard that he was coaching the bigs. Apparently he isn't.

I thought I'd heard the same thing. I'm surprised to learn here tonight that he isn't. But I've long thought Wojo was doing a nice job with the bigs (for a little man :) ).

greybeard
11-29-2008, 01:03 AM
The improvement in the bigs is mostly in the play of the littles. Very much mostly.

DukeDevilDeb
11-29-2008, 09:57 AM
The improvement in the bigs is mostly in the play of the littles. Very much mostly.

Heard definitively yesterday that Wojo has continued to work with the bigs. If Zoubek's progress is any evidence of how well Wojo coaches the bigs, I want him to keep working with them! :)

camion
11-29-2008, 10:25 AM
1. Lance and Zoubs are healthy this year; last year they weren't. Both had off-season surgery.

2. Lance and Zoubs are stronger/heavier this year.

3. Lance and Zoubs are a year older.

I would expect both to be better than last year. Zoubs hasn't surprised me with his improvement. Lance has surprised me with the amount he appears to have improved in virtually every area.

Devilsfan
11-29-2008, 11:21 AM
I thought the same thing as well as several of my friends. In fact it was the topic of much conversation recently. Wojo is by title the big man's coach. And by the looks of things on the court he is probably coaching Plumlee who has the farthest to go. But its obvious to most that something other than health is involved in Duke's coaching of the bigs. Either James or Carawell or both MUST be helping out in practice regardless of what comes out of the Duke Sports Information department, IMO. What ever it is, give those boys a raise and don't change anything IT'S WORKING!!! Go Devils!!!

hughgs
11-29-2008, 04:51 PM
But its obvious to most that something other than health is involved in Duke's coaching of the bigs. Either James or Carawell or both MUST be helping out in practice regardless of what comes out of the Duke Sports Information department, IMO.

I love this logic. Since the bigs have made progress then it can't be Wojo, there must be someone else helping out.

Nice ability to make the data fit your preconceived notion of Wojo's coaching ability. It's always nice to establish the rules of a debate. Just make the data fit your ideas and your done.

FatMaddensTurkey
11-29-2008, 05:54 PM
I have no idea, I don't even care if Brendan Haywood is doing it - OK, I would care - but God Bless Lance Thomas and Zoubek, if they keep up their efforts like last game, this whole season will change.

The last 2 years Lance has looked like a high school player trying to play at the college level. He finally looks like a college basketball player to me.

Devil in the Blue Dress
11-29-2008, 09:58 PM
I have no idea, I don't even care if Brendan Haywood is doing it - OK, I would care - but God Bless Lance Thomas and Zoubek, if they keep up their efforts like last game, this whole season will change.

The last 2 years Lance has looked like a high school player trying to play at the college level. He finally looks like a college basketball player to me.

Amen to that!

greybeard
11-30-2008, 12:28 AM
Heard definitively yesterday that Wojo has continued to work with the bigs. If Zoubek's progress is any evidence of how well Wojo coaches the bigs, I want him to keep working with them! :)

When I started posting here I said that Larry Brown was probably the best big man coach in the game. I think that littles make great big men coaches. Several reasons:

1. finishing at the basket is finishing at the basket, whether it is off an attack begun at the top of the key or 5 feet from the rim.

2. Finishing well for guys who play way below the rim like Larry and Wojo requires considerable ingenuity and a real understanding of being in a different place, playing the ball off the board at different trajectories and different angles, changing speeds and steps on the finish, finishing off the wrong foot, finishing off the first step with a quick catch, diversity in ways of bringing the ball up, etc. Exposing someone to "the possible" and providing a model for them to explore copying (there you go sage, your style exactly), along with information about the "fell of it" can be invaluable.

3. Littles like Larry and Wojo understand the inside game from the outside. If you want to be a world class receiver of the ball, you need to understand what it takes to see the possibilities in a timely fashion from the outside and read minds of good playmakers.

4. Good passers allow bigs to dictate the routes, to see the lanes and the finish, and can read their receivers in that fashion. They follow. Bigs who understand that they can call the shots as often as the "1s" have a much improved chance of success. The game becomes much easier.

On the other hand, none of this matters if littles are insistent in dictating the play on the interior. If they do, the ability of any big, especially ones like Z and L who have styles that favor catching it on the move, is greatly, greatly diminished. That is what has changed dramaticly this year. Littles are allowing Z and L to join in the play more and more.

It doesn't hurt that both are much stronger, healthier, and more experienced. ;)

davekay1971
11-30-2008, 09:26 AM
Wojo started doing his hair like Kim Jong Il which has improved his big-man coaching.

"Fletch is 6'4", 6'9" with the afro."

Scorp4me
12-03-2008, 07:39 AM
Wojo has invested alot of time in learning how to better coach the big men. To then change it now would be starting all over. I must agree with hughgh, some people just won't give a guy credit.

That same logic has already started with Duke. Before last night's game they said Purdue will expose Duke for the overrated team they are. Every year it's the same thing. Game after game I hear that and when Duke finally loses as inevitably almost every team will what do I hear...told ya so. Some people just can't be happy and can't give anyone the credit they deserve.

Proud of Lance and Zoubek, proud of Wojo, and proud of Duke.

jv001
12-03-2008, 10:39 AM
When Duncan was at Wake Forest the big man coach was Dave Odom. Now Dave was not much taller than Wo-Jo and probably 10lbs lighter. Does that mean Duncan would have been better with a 6-10 guy coaching him? Don't think so. Health has a lot to do with players improvement and this year Zoubs and Lance are healthy. Go Duke!