Plumlee

[NYC Duke Fan]

I like his hustle and the way he runs the floor , but I notice that he has trouble putting the ball in the basket on what seems to be easy shots right near the basket. Anyone else notice that ?

[Newton_14]

I would attribute that to pressing. It appears he is trying really hard to prove he belongs out there and gain more PT. He simply needs to relax, stay composed and just simply use the talents he has. I think he will be just fine. I am hoping he settles down and becomes a solid contributor before the year is out. But I am convinced he will be a very solid player for Duke in the coming years. I feel basically the same way about Eliot as well.

With Miles, it is a slightly different scenario. At the beginning of the year he was the starting center and likely felt in his mind he would be the entire year. It had to be hard for him once Zoubs got healthy and started playing better, and the competition stiffened. Miles went from a starter to not knowing if he would get into a game or not. That's tough to swallow. But I thought he did well against Georgetown which was a high intense game, so that is progress.
And he played solid defense in the scrimmage against the twerps, so it has to help his confidence. I hope we continue to see him grow and mature. He brings a different skillset than both Zoubs and Lance, so it would be nice if he could be counted on for solid minutes in both halves of each game down the stretch. It would only make this team better!

[RainingThrees]

I would attribute that to pressing. It appears he is trying really hard to prove he belongs out there and gain more PT. He simply needs to relax, stay composed and just simply use the talents he has. I think he will be just fine. I am hoping he settles down and becomes a solid contributor before the year is out. But I am convinced he will be a very solid player for Duke in the coming years. I feel basically the same way about Eliot as well.

With Miles, it is a slightly different scenario. At the beginning of the year he was the starting center and likely felt in his mind he would be the entire year. It had to be hard for him once Zoubs got healthy and started playing better, and the competition stiffened. Miles went from a starter to not knowing if he would get into a game or not. That's tough to swallow. But I thought he did well against Georgetown which was a high intense game, so that is progress.
And he played solid defense in the scrimmage against the twerps, so it has to help his confidence. I hope we continue to see him grow and mature. He brings a different skillset than both Zoubs and Lance, so it would be nice if he could be counted on for solid minutes in both halves of each game down the stretch. It would only make this team better!

Its very rough going from Starting to sitting the bench, I know from personal experience. I believe he will eventually find his place. How long it takes depends on him.

[Dukefan4Life]

with Miles it just seems like he has a bad case of "Jitters" at times he looks lost and scared out there. I notice inside at times he seems tenitive to mix it up on the boards. On the other hand i see lots upside! he has a knack for blocking shots and hustling.. when he settles down he will be a good player for us.. we just have to give him some time to come around

[jimmymax]

He looked quite fluid early on (Blue-White, exhibition games) but I agree he does look tentative recently. With more opps for extended minutes (like MD) I am sure he will come around.

[beltwayBD]

Yeah, I was bummed to see that he wasn't as strong against MD as he was against Gtown. Ball handling seemed to be a major issue -- if he put it on the floor, he got into trouble.

It can't be fun to get clean-up duty. But I think he's got more potential yet to realize. I'd love to see him give solid relief minutes to Zoub and Kyle. But we may not need to go that deep if Lance and David play well.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Plum will be fine. He was first going to a rebuilding Stanford team where he was supposed to be the man down low. All of a sudden, he finds himself on a loaded Duke team where he has to prove himself worhty of PT everyday. It's probably a little bit of a shock to him and it's taking him some time. When his bro is in town next year and Zoubs and LT graduate, he'll find his rhythm.

[norduck]

Who knows, he might be the reason for Z's improvement. Z has never had a biggie to compete against in practice.

[jipops]

He's a freshman, it's that simple. I see nothing to worry about with this kid. People repeatedly forget that a vast majority of college players go through a maturation process before becoming significant contributors. Just look at Gerald Henderson. Miles obviously has some ability to work with, just give it time.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

He's a freshman, it's that simple. I see nothing to worry about with this kid. People repeatedly forget that a vast majority of college players go through a maturation process before becoming significant contributors. Just look at Gerald Henderson. Miles obviously has some ability to work with, just give it time.
Big men have more of an adjustment to make in order to play college ball than do their team mates. In addition, the competition he's playing against now is getting tougher and tougher game by game. He's in a great situation.... time to learn and mature while players with more experience are ahead of him.

[revmel53]

I see nothing but the positive side of Plumlee. I was amazed at how he impacted the game on the defensive end in the second half on Saturday. He's a freshman... on the number one team in the country, and doing some good things.

[dukelifer]

I like his hustle and the way he runs the floor , but I notice that he has trouble putting the ball in the basket on what seems to be easy shots right near the basket. Anyone else notice that ?
Plumlee moves very well on the court. There was one sequence where he brought the ball up and looked like a guard. Right now, he has not adjusted to the speed of the game. He has a nice touch around the hoop when he takes his time. He really is very close to getting it. He just needs to relax when out on the big stage.

[SMO]

I would attribute that to pressing.

I agree. It seems he rushes or gets too excited when trying to finish in close. He looks good on weak side D though coming across to make blocks. I think we'll see some great rejections in the coming years.

[jv001]

I agree. It seems he rushes or gets too excited when trying to finish in close. He looks good on weak side D though coming across to make blocks. I think we'll see some great rejections in the coming years.

Believe you are a mind reader. I was thinking the same thing as I read the posts and got to yours. Miles just seems to rush his shot. Looks like he's pressing and wants to make the shot so much he misses. He does not get many shots blocked he just misses. After saying all that I look for Miles to settle down and really help as we get deeper in ACC play. Go Duke!

[greybeard]

Plumlee moves very well on the court. There was one sequence where he brought the ball up and looked like a guard. Right now, he has not adjusted to the speed of the game. He has a nice touch around the hoop when he takes his time. He really is very close to getting it. He just needs to relax when out on the big stage.

Like very much the way this is put.

Would only add, what John Wooden always says, "Be quick but never rush." Perhaps if Plumlee commits to playing quick and simple, ie, he catches in a good spot for him, he commits to being quick to the shot and sees what happens, or commits to some other course, go quick for a little jump hook, he might find it useful. But, Grey, I thought you said that you liked what dukelifer said, that the kid needs "to relax." Relax and "be quick," Grey, both, really? Yeap, that's me, a puzzlement, no? Don't overthink it, is my advice, you know that I didn't. Cheers.

[Jumbo]

Like very much the way this is put.

Would only add, what John Wooden always says, "Be quick but never rush." Perhaps if Plumlee commits to playing quick and simple, ie, he catches in a good spot for him, he commits to being quick to the shot and sees what happens, or commits to some other course, go quick for a little jump hook, he might find it useful. But, Grey, I thought you said that you liked what dukelifer said, that the kid needs "to relax." Relax and "be quick," Grey, both, really? Yeap, that's me, a puzzlement, no? Don't overthink it, is my advice, you know that I didn't. Cheers.

Interestingly, I used the same phrase to describe Williams' predicament right now. Guess being in a hurry and not understand pacing is just part of being a freshman.

[roywhite]

Just a quick observation on Miles P.

He seems to have short arms...both literally for a guy his size, and also in that he doesn't extend his arms when shooting. Like to see him dunk the ball whenever possible.

As Bill Walton says, "Throw it down, big fellow, throw it down".

[SMO]

Believe you are a mind reader. I was thinking the same thing as I read the posts and got to yours. Miles just seems to rush his shot. Looks like he's pressing and wants to make the shot so much he misses. He does not get many shots blocked he just misses. After saying all that I look for Miles to settle down and really help as we get deeper in ACC play. Go Duke!

Our agreement just means we're good fans with a mind for the game, of course!:D