NYC Duke Fan
03-10-2009, 03:47 AM
In the last few years it seems that the evaluation of talent by the Duke Coaches has been less than top notch.
I do understand that recruiting is not an exact science by any means.
With the exception of Henderson, Singler and Scheyer who all either met or exceeding expectations the other recruits seem not to have met the intial expectations.
The jury is still out on Williams and to some extent Smith. I am not sure that either Plumlee or Cxyz will ever be more than bench players
Greg Paulus is my favorite player on this year's squad and ranks behind Grant Hill, JJ Reddick, and Thomas Hill as my all time favorite. He was considered the top point guard in his year or at least one of the top. That said, while he has been a nice player for Duke, some thought that he was the second coming of Bobby Hurley, he really has not performed up to the expectations of being so highly rated in high school. He has weaknesses and I am surprised that they were not thought through initially.
I remember that Lance Thomas committed to Duke very late and there was great hoopla on this Board when he announced. While Lance has been a nice player at times, he has in my opinion not warranted the intial hoopla that was exhibited when he committed.He has not been an impact player and probably never will be.
I certainly understand that you recruit a 7 footer, but as mentioned in other posts, Brian Zoubek just has not improved to where most of us thought that he would be by now. I know that he has had injuries but was that poor talent evaluation ?
I remember that Josh McRoberts was considered a top recruit, but if my memory serves correct not many of the players were that sad when he left early. Something was amiss there and obviously not addressed.
Year in and year out Duke always had that one or two players that you could count on when the game was on the line...the player who would do whatever was necessary to win...players like Laetner, Hurley, Battier, Hill, Reddick, Langdon, Boozer, Brand . Coach K doesn't seem to be able to get those type of players any more..I am not sure that Singler, Henderrson or Scheyer fit that mold yet..I wonder what has happened. Is it poor talent evaluation ?
It also seems that Coach K doesn't have a valid back up plan when he recruits a player heavily. No back up plan for Boynton....noone really for Patterson and noone really for Monroe.
I do understand that recruiting is not an exact science by any means.
With the exception of Henderson, Singler and Scheyer who all either met or exceeding expectations the other recruits seem not to have met the intial expectations.
The jury is still out on Williams and to some extent Smith. I am not sure that either Plumlee or Cxyz will ever be more than bench players
Greg Paulus is my favorite player on this year's squad and ranks behind Grant Hill, JJ Reddick, and Thomas Hill as my all time favorite. He was considered the top point guard in his year or at least one of the top. That said, while he has been a nice player for Duke, some thought that he was the second coming of Bobby Hurley, he really has not performed up to the expectations of being so highly rated in high school. He has weaknesses and I am surprised that they were not thought through initially.
I remember that Lance Thomas committed to Duke very late and there was great hoopla on this Board when he announced. While Lance has been a nice player at times, he has in my opinion not warranted the intial hoopla that was exhibited when he committed.He has not been an impact player and probably never will be.
I certainly understand that you recruit a 7 footer, but as mentioned in other posts, Brian Zoubek just has not improved to where most of us thought that he would be by now. I know that he has had injuries but was that poor talent evaluation ?
I remember that Josh McRoberts was considered a top recruit, but if my memory serves correct not many of the players were that sad when he left early. Something was amiss there and obviously not addressed.
Year in and year out Duke always had that one or two players that you could count on when the game was on the line...the player who would do whatever was necessary to win...players like Laetner, Hurley, Battier, Hill, Reddick, Langdon, Boozer, Brand . Coach K doesn't seem to be able to get those type of players any more..I am not sure that Singler, Henderrson or Scheyer fit that mold yet..I wonder what has happened. Is it poor talent evaluation ?
It also seems that Coach K doesn't have a valid back up plan when he recruits a player heavily. No back up plan for Boynton....noone really for Patterson and noone really for Monroe.