Nolan Smith: Impending Breakout [Archive]

elvis14

09-01-2009, 01:53 PM

That's a good interview and it really shows the kinds of kid we have in Nolan. I've felt ever since he got here that he's on the verge of being great. Happened last year for G! let's hope that this year Nolan can take his game to the next level. IMHO, he's most effective when he's aggressive. If he can learn to dish as well as finish, look out!

I agree that he's the key. If he really steps up, we can be really good.

Greg_Newton

09-01-2009, 03:02 PM

Loved these two quotes... sounds to me like he fully understand the role he needs to fill this year and is ready to step up big.

The main thing, though, that I’m looking to do this year, is to be the most talkative guard in the country. One thing that really caught my eye this summer was the Kobe Doin’ Work video. Watching how much he talks on the court; he’s a leader; you know, he’s not a point guard, he does it off the ball. Whether I have the ball or if I’m off the ball, I feel that I can vocalize and lead this team along with Jon and Kyle [Singler].

For me, as a point-guard, shooting-guard, combo-guard, what ever you want to call it, I’m going to look to go out in every game this year, and punch the opposing team’s point guard in the mouth… [chuckles] not literally, though.

airowe

09-01-2009, 03:13 PM

Loved these two quotes... sounds to me like he fully understand the role he needs to fill this year and is ready to step up big.

Here's the Kobe Doin' Work Video he referenced:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7nxYC7FdtU

jv001

09-01-2009, 03:29 PM

That Nolan is the key to a great year instead of just a good one. No doubt Nolan will be asked to guard the opposing pt. guard. If he get's into foul trouble we lose a valuable player that may not be able to be replaced. Jon and Andre(maybe) can do an acceptable job of guarding the #2 and #3, but who can effectively guard the pg? Remember the Villanova game? I look for some zone this year, but not alot of it. So that can help out if use it. Should be an interesting year. Go Duke!

Duke of Nashville

09-01-2009, 05:59 PM

Nolan's athleticism brought alot of energy to the court last year, and he deserved the starting role from the beginning. Nolan will not have to score 16 ppg in order for us to be successful. I look for him to definitely play a larger role in keeping our offense moving by generating steals, assists, and a floor general’s role of backing the play out and starting back up the offense.

I have faith in Nolan, that he will show his experience, and truly show other teams that he "is a problem."

:cool:

ACCBBallFan

09-01-2009, 05:59 PM

Another thing that would also make Duke an improved team is some incremental (not quantum, just incremental) improvement from Lance and Zoubek.

PT ought to be real interesting this year among the bigs. You never hear Kyle or Jon or Nolan the three leaders reference their fellow upperclassmen and always hear them speak positively about the three frosh.

Some of that may just be upper classmen encouragement for the benefit of their new teammates, but kind of disappointing to not hear anything about the other two seniors improving any at all, other than Zoubek going through an injury free summer.

Have not heard a lot about Miles either, other than he bulked up, So it may just be veterans drawing contrast with last year by talking about who is new.

Particularly with the exodus of so many good guards from last year's ACC, I do expect Nolan to have a break out season without having Lawson-Ellington, Rice, Teague, Douglas, McClinton, and Clinch, plus ripple effect of Vassallo, Rivers, and Fells.

The Scheyer-Smith tandem and Vasquez-Hayes duo will be best in ACC with Ish-LD Williams and Landesberg-Baker(Zeglinski) not far behind. Still a couple of good guards who need a partner like Delaney, Shumpert and Ginyard, but Nolan has excellent chance of shining, with Jon and Kyle drawing most of the enemy fire.

airowe

09-01-2009, 06:10 PM

Have not heard a lot about Miles either, other than he bulked up, So it may just be veterans drawing contrast with last year by talking about who is new.

LW: So you expect top-10 by the end of the season?

JS: Oh, without a doubt. I think the reason people don't know where to rank us is, they know the people we lost, but if they could see our pickup games this summer, they'd have us as high up as anybody. A lot of guys have really developed -- Miles Plumlee, for one, has been a monster this summer. And we're probably going to be bigger than any team we'll play the whole year.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/luke_winn/08/11/jon.scheyer/

miramar

09-02-2009, 02:07 PM

SupaDave

09-02-2009, 04:21 PM

Nolan had a really unusual season last year, but I have no doubt he can turn it around this year. Although not a natural point guard, he started out well and was averaging 12.3 PPG after 10 games. The next 10 games, his scoring dropped to 7.7 PPG, and then in the seven games before the injury, his scoring dropped further to 4.7 PPG. Part of the drop was caused by declining minutes, but that happened because his defense and ball handling also suffered, which was probably psychological since he could have made up for his scoring problems with better all-around play.

Fortunately, he scored in double figures in three of the six games after the injury, and he also looked much more comfortable out there. There is no question that he is capable of much more on both ends of the floor, so I really think that this will be his year. And since we know what to expect from most of the players, it may be that as Nolan and the Plumlees go, so goes Duke.

Nolan will easily be more prepared this year. I think you can almost pinpoint where he lost some of his confidence and I think it has a lot to do with that crushing defeat we took down south last year. ACC play is no joke and it is somewhat parallel to Nolan's fade.

And while he only mentions the concussion and the knee, he was also having back issues after a hard fall from a lay-up. I think those spasms affected him more than anyone let on.

He mentions being vocal like Kobe which could be huge b/c it will mean that he not only knows what's going on but what's supposed to happen.

I predict Nolan will make quite a splash this year.

MChambers

09-02-2009, 04:28 PM

I predict Nolan will make quite a splash this year.

Nolan's one of my favorite players on the current roster, and a key to this season, as others have observed. If he does make quite a splash, and a couple of bigs step up, Duke will be just fine.

SilkyJ

09-02-2009, 05:03 PM

Another thing that would also make Duke an improved team is some incremental (not quantum, just incremental) improvement from Lance and Zoubek.

Don't hold your breath. These guys have been doing the same thing for years now and are steady presences, but will never be 10ppg players. I think Lance will be a starter for us, but thats more b/c of his intangibles and versatility, and Zoubs should improve a little but that will be mostly due to being healthy and a little more mobile.

I think we'll see a LITTLE incremental improvement, but nothing major.

The Scheyer-Smith tandem and Vasquez-Hayes duo will be best in ACC with Ish-LD Williams and Landesberg-Baker(Zeglinski) not far behind. Still a couple of good guards who need a partner like Delaney, Shumpert and Ginyard, but Nolan has excellent chance of shining, with Jon and Kyle drawing most of the enemy fire.

Delaney has Jeff Allen, who is a pretty solid post player.

ChicagoCrazy84

09-02-2009, 05:40 PM

There is no reason why Nolan can not have an All-ACC type season. Im not saying he'll be 1st team all conference, but third team or an honorable mention at the least. He has the athleticism, the defensive presence, he'll ge the PT, as long as he stays confident throughout the season, something that I think he lacked.

With LT and Zoubek, they are who they are. I was expecting the last 3 years for Thomas to break out, but he never really did. With both Plumlees and Kelly around now, I don't forsee anything crazy. As long as he puts in his 6 PPG and 6 RPG, I am happy.

SilkyJ

09-02-2009, 05:54 PM

With LT and Zoubek, they are who they are. I was expecting the last 3 years for Thomas to break out, but he never really did. With both Plumlees and Kelly around now, I don't forsee anything crazy. As long as he puts in his 6 PPG and 6 RPG, I am happy.

I dont mean to rip on these guys, but 6 and 6 would actually be a bit if a surprise for me. Lance averaged more like 5ppg and 3.5 rpg last year, and has a career average of 4.5/3. With the clutter we have in the post, I dont think either of those guys will see enough run to put up 6 and 6.

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=519

Lance did shoot close to 63% from the field last year, but only took 115 shots or about 3 shots per game.

Tim1515

09-02-2009, 06:30 PM

I dont mean to rip on these guys, but 6 and 6 would actually be a bit if a surprise for me. Lance averaged more like 5ppg and 3.5 rpg last year, and has a career average of 4.5/3. With the clutter we have in the post, I dont think either of those guys will see enough run to put up 6 and 6.

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=519

Lance did shoot close to 63% from the field last year, but only took 115 shots or about 3 shots per game.

6 and 6 would be a surprise? Z averaged 4.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg in 11.4 mpg. That's really pretty good. People need to get past the perceptions of Zoubek. He's never going to look pretty on the court or make any sportscenter highlights...but when he's in he has put up decent numbers.

I argued all last year that when Duke actually gave Brian the ball in the post (his best asset) more often then not something good happened. He's has good touch and more importantly he's a good passer. The problem was Duke NEVER threw the ball in the post.

He's not a world beater...i would just like to see Duke throw the ball in the post a handful of times when Z is in the game.

SupaDave

09-02-2009, 06:37 PM

I dont mean to rip on these guys, but 6 and 6 would actually be a bit if a surprise for me. Lance averaged more like 5ppg and 3.5 rpg last year, and has a career average of 4.5/3. With the clutter we have in the post, I dont think either of those guys will see enough run to put up 6 and 6.

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=519

Lance did shoot close to 63% from the field last year, but only took 115 shots or about 3 shots per game.

Well you're ripping right along...

If you take a CLOSER look you will see that Lance left nearly 42 points on the floor from free throws. That's not including the shots he missed out on from not converting one and ones. Sooooooo, if Lance just gets his free throw percentage up to say 75% - then you have a totally different ball game my friend.

Also keep this in mind. Zoubs converted 24 of 29 fields goals last year in limited time. If he just can stay on the COURT for just five minutes longer per game then his impact will be much MORE than incremental.

Supa "I just love stats sometimes. Stay thirsty gentlemen." Dave...

Kedsy

09-02-2009, 06:47 PM

Also keep this in mind. Zoubs converted 24 of 29 fields goals last year in limited time. If he just can stay on the COURT for just five minutes longer per game then his impact will be much MORE than incremental.

Supa "I just love stats sometimes. Stay thirsty gentlemen." Dave...

Actually, the 24 of 29 was free throws, not field goals. He was 61 for 106 on field goals.

But the point should be that if Z can get up to 18 minutes per game, we can certainly expect 6 and 6, and IMO a little better. My guess on Lance is 6 and 4.

Greg_Newton

09-02-2009, 07:17 PM

Actually, the 24 of 29 was free throws, not field goals. He was 61 for 106 on field goals.

But the point should be that if Z can get up to 18 minutes per game, we can certainly expect 6 and 6, and IMO a little better. My guess on Lance is 6 and 4.

That's a big if, IMO. He'll be competing with a much-improved Miles, Mason Lance and Ryan for big man minutes this year instead of just Lance, Kyle and a freshman Miles who was never really part of the rotation. He should have an effective year, but if his average minutes are around 20mpg, we're probably in trouble because that means the Plumlees will be less of a factor than we hoped.

The Escalade will get all the PT he wants though.:D

Aditya

09-02-2009, 09:14 PM

Well Lance played out of position for three years. That probably doesn't help his average

jipops

09-02-2009, 10:15 PM

Nolan will easily be more prepared this year. I think you can almost pinpoint where he lost some of his confidence and I think it has a lot to do with that crushing defeat we took down south last year. ACC play is no joke and it is somewhat parallel to Nolan's fade.

And while he only mentions the concussion and the knee, he was also having back issues after a hard fall from a lay-up. I think those spasms affected him more than anyone let on.

He mentions being vocal like Kobe which could be huge b/c it will mean that he not only knows what's going on but what's supposed to happen.

I predict Nolan will make quite a splash this year.

The back thing got little to no pub last season (if he wore light blue it would have been repeated front page news) but the difficulties definitely coincided with his declining numbers throughout the season. Otherwise we most likely would not be talking about a breakout for Nolan b/c it already would have happened from a scoring standpoint. Though Nolan isn't a natural floor leader he does have great speed with the ball and he can score and defend. I would like to see Nolan's assist numbers go up a decent bit. He may be the only drive and dish / break down the defense type guy we have this season.

BD80

09-02-2009, 10:35 PM

Let's say I start a new thread entitled "I have an Airedale named Archer."

How many responses will there be before it devolves into yet another thread about Lance and Zoub? This is about the fifth or sixth thread where this has happened. I haven't checked, but I think posters are copying and pasting from those other threads. This isn't a contest to be won by repeating one's opinions the greatest number of times. Is it?

Nolan deserves his own thread. He is definitely one of those guys that could "break out". He has gone through an adjustment period, but has shown he has the skill set and athleticism to be a top level player, and had injury setbacks that tempered an otherwise promising season. I wouldn't put too much stock in early season results, remember the level of competition rises dramatically after about ten games. Nolan is one of several reasons this will be an exciting season. With Nolan and Kyle attacking from the wing, I think we will see Jon and Andre getting a lot of open looks from the perimeter, and our post guys getting some easy baskets.

The answer to the hypothetical question is about 14. The first four posts would compliment Archer and Airedales. The next five or six posters would claim their pet's breed or species is the best. After a couple of posts about Archer's show championship, someone would note that he never really matured into a Best of Show, or qualified for Westminster. Just like Lance and Zoubs were Big Macs but haven't made All-ACC ...

There are a lot of teams that would trade their post players for Lance and Zoubs. There aren't many I would trade for.

ACCBBallFan

09-02-2009, 11:40 PM

Delaney has Jeff Allen, who is a pretty solid post player. Silky,

I agree with you that VA Tech has the second best duo in ACC, pending what some frosh do.

However in context I was speaking of guard tandem Smith and Scheyer, not best two players Singler and Scheyer.

Particularly with the exodus of so many good guards from last year's ACC, I do expect Nolan to have a break out season without having Lawson-Ellington, Rice, Teague, Douglas, McClinton, and Clinch, plus ripple effect of Vassallo, Rivers, and Fells.

The Scheyer-Smith tandem and Vasquez-Hayes duo will be best in ACC with Ish-LD Williams and Landesberg-Baker(Zeglinski) not far behind. Still a couple of good guards who need a partner like Delaney, Shumpert and Ginyard, but Nolan has excellent chance of shining, with Jon and Kyle drawing most of the enemy fire.

trinity79

09-10-2009, 01:17 AM

I could see Archer getting serious minutes this year, but only if he plays "point" guard. ;) Sorry but just couldn't resist.

flyingdutchdevil

09-10-2009, 05:50 AM

Everyone knows what we're going to get out of Scheyer and Singler - consistency, hard work, and a combined average of over 30 points (possibly over 35 and, if we're really lucky, 40 points). Lance, Zoubs and MP1 are going to contribute and hopefully give a combined 50 min and 15 points a game. The freshman are freshman - can't expect too much, but hopefully they provide some solid minutes, rebounds, defense and a few points here and there.

Smith is the wildcard. I can't think of a player in recent times who is as much of a wildcard as Smith. He is like Ed Davis, Deon Thompson and Danny Green all put into one (in terms of wildcard-ness, not skill set. And yes, I just made up a word ;)). IMO, Smith is the difference between a 24-8 season and a 30-5 season - he's that important. I really think that Smith will do it this year. If he can avoid injury to his knees (last two years have been bad...), he will explode. With that athleticism and, through what I've read, a much improved mid-ranged jump shot, Smith will get it done.

dukestheheat

09-10-2009, 08:03 AM

It's that time again: As the (totally) Unofficial and (probably totally) Unrecognized President of the DBR Nolan Smith Fan Club, it's time to get behind Nolan! and propel him to victory! this year!

Yes, he's by far my fav playa on Duke again this year, and he's the man! Much rests on his shoulders this year, in terms of defense, staying OUT OF FOUL TROUBLE (I know you're reading this buddy!), staying ON THE FLOOR, and scoring.

All that said, we also need Dawkins to score about 15 points per game.

GO NOLAN! GO NOLAN!

dukestheheat.

Rudy

09-10-2009, 09:16 AM

I'm a big fan of Nolan's and have high hopes for his personal success as well as for the team's. What I liked about the interview is that he showed aspirations for himself but wasn't saying he was going to be the main man of this team. He quickly referenced Jon and Kyle as filling leadership roles too. Both he and Jon know the system and the players well enough to be interchangeable at point even when they're on the court at the same time. Whoever happens to bring it up can start the offense without having to realign at half court.

Kedsy

09-10-2009, 09:31 AM

All that said, we also need Dawkins to score about 15 points per game.

Can I have a cup of whatever it is you're drinking?

airowe

09-10-2009, 11:40 AM

Can I have a cup of whatever it is you're drinking?

I'll take one too.

BD80

09-10-2009, 12:31 PM

...
All that said, we also need Dawkins to score about 15 points per game.
...

Can I have a cup of whatever it is you're drinking?

I think that stuff has to be inhaled or taken intravenously.

It made Amy Winehouse say "No, no, no"

Will 'Dre score 15 in any game? I'll say yes.

[sniff]

SupaDave

12-02-2009, 11:39 AM

Nolan Smith, suspended for the first two contests for playing in unsanctioned summer league games, is averaging a team-leading 18.5 points. He scored 16 on Friday despite shooting 5 for 22.

CDu

12-02-2009, 11:51 AM

Nolan Smith, suspended for the first two contests for playing in unsanctioned summer league games, is averaging a team-leading 18.5 points. He scored 16 on Friday despite shooting 5 for 22.

He's had two really good games (the first two), one solid game (the third), and one not-so-good game (UConn). The 1.17 pps needs work (same can be said for Singler).

His numbers away from home (and against arguably better competition) are: 15ppg, 2 apg, 3.5 rpg, 30.6% fg%, 10% 3pt%, 7/8 ft (87.5%), 0.67:1 a:to, 0.83 pps. The shooting and turnover numbers were pretty bad, though it's only a very small sample size. Hopefully, his struggles in the last two games were due to playing at MSG rather than due to the level of competition. In any case, hopefully he bounces back to being more like the impact player he was against Radford and Charlotte.

If he can do so, it could be a really special year for him and for Duke.

BlueintheFace

12-02-2009, 11:54 AM

I wish I had taken that signature bet that Nolan would average 14.5ppg or more on the season... I think he's going to do it

CDu

12-02-2009, 12:39 PM

I wish I had taken that signature bet that Nolan would average 14.5ppg or more on the season... I think he's going to do it

Yeah, it's going to be hard for him not to do so. He's going to be getting 15+ shots per game.

SilkyJ

12-02-2009, 01:03 PM

I wish I had taken that signature bet that Nolan would average 14.5ppg or more on the season... I think he's going to do it

Its too early to tell at this point, but it looks like I would have been in bad shape on that bet. Here's to hoping I continue to look foolish!

NYDukie

12-02-2009, 01:21 PM

superdave

12-02-2009, 01:25 PM

With all due respect to Kyle and Jon but I cansee Nolan becoming our best player by year's end! Can you guys, too? I can see it and it's not the worse thing either considering what considerable game Nolan brings along with that of what both Kyle and Jon bring each night. You could possibly argue that if Nolan keeps this up that we have two players in him and Kyle that could make an All-American team...just saying!

I brought this up the other day - I think Duke is a better team with Nolan as our #1 offensive weapon.

Look at the comparison to UNC last year - they reached a new level when Lawson and Ellington became bigger offensive factors than Hansborough.

NSDukeFan

12-02-2009, 01:27 PM

With all due respect to Kyle and Jon but I cansee Nolan becoming our best player by year's end! Can you guys, too? I can see it and it's not the worse thing either considering what considerable game Nolan brings along with that of what both Kyle and Jon bring each night. You could possibly argue that if Nolan keeps this up that we have two players in him and Kyle that could make an All-American team...just saying!

If Nolan keeps playing as well as he has, I could easily see him being the third best player on our team by year's end. I think he is going to have a great year, but I just don't expect him to have a better year than Jon and Kyle.

CDu

12-02-2009, 01:36 PM

If Nolan keeps playing as well as he has, I could easily see him being the third best player on our team by year's end. I think he is going to have a great year, but I just don't expect him to have a better year than Jon and Kyle.

So you don't think he's already the third best player on the team?

It'll take a lot to end up better than Singler or Scheyer. But I could see Smith winding up as good and as productive (in different ways, obviously) as the other two.

InSpades

12-02-2009, 01:47 PM

I think it would be very difficult for anyone on the team to be better than Singler. Though I'm in the camp that thinks Singler had a much better year last year than Henderson. Singler just does so many things well (like rebounding) that Smith would have to either outscore Singler by a decent amount and/or start contributing more in other ways (lots of assists?).

I also think Nolan has amazing potential though so he certainly could do it. If he does then look out. If Nolan steps up and Mason is as good as advertised then we're ready to make a very deep run.

NYDukie

12-02-2009, 02:31 PM

Spurring some debate here within the hierarchy of the Big 3. I think Kyle as been considered the best maybe because of his NBA prospects. However, I would say in the end you can pin the 1a, 1b and 1c label on each at the college level. Depending on game situations, hot hand, etc. each will have their own time to shine and carry the team. It is a nice problem to have and one in which I can't see anyone of them feeling slighted when one reaps the rewards of being the man in one game, on a game to game basis. If ever one is deemed better than the other two, it will only be by the slightest degree.

NSDukeFan

12-02-2009, 02:41 PM

So you don't think he's already the third best player on the team?

It'll take a lot to end up better than Singler or Scheyer. But I could see Smith winding up as good and as productive (in different ways, obviously) as the other two.

Oh I definitely think Nolan is the third best player on the team and think there is a big gap between third and fourth best. But, I just don't think that he will be as good as I expect Jon and Kyle to be this year. I hope they all have great years for a fantastic team.

flyingdutchdevil

12-02-2009, 02:53 PM

The best part about this Big 3 is that, even though they all play the perimeter, each brings a unique set of skills that makes the team so much better. In a nutshell:
Smith: Penetration, fast break, stellar on-the-ball D
Scheyer: Leadership, low turnovers for a PG, solid shooting
Singler: Versatility, rebounding from the wing, solid shooting in every location minus New York City, good D.

This a unique set of skills with little overlap. It's why I love this backcourt (with a little more love for Nolan. Sorry. I am a little biased) :)

InSpades

12-02-2009, 03:06 PM

Spurring some debate here within the hierarchy of the Big 3. I think Kyle as been considered the best maybe because of his NBA prospects.

I don't really think that is true at all. Kyle is rightfully the only one who was getting all-american pub in the pre-season. Do you think that was because of his NBA prospects too? The way they have played so far this season I wouldn't say Kyle is better than Smith or Scheyer but I fully expect (and I think most of us do) to see Kyle play much better than we've seen. At the same time if Scheyer keeps playing as well as he has been (8:1? really?) then I will be amazed.

NYDukie

12-02-2009, 04:06 PM

I don't really think that is true at all. Kyle is rightfully the only one who was getting all-american pub in the pre-season. Do you think that was because of his NBA prospects too? The way they have played so far this season I wouldn't say Kyle is better than Smith or Scheyer but I fully expect (and I think most of us do) to see Kyle play much better than we've seen. At the same time if Scheyer keeps playing as well as he has been (8:1? really?) then I will be amazed.

Let me correct myself. I think Kyle was tabbed Duke's best player and All-American not only because of his NBA potential (i.e. NBA prospects based on scout's reviews) but because of having a better skill set and that of his production being better than either Jon or Nolan the past 2 years. He probably has the most upside of the three though I can see Nolan catching up in that regard. However, that said, it is not out of realm of possibility that Nolan may put up better numbers, specifically points, assists and steals. Even Jon may do so. It is quite possible. I personally think Kyle is the team's best player but I don't think the difference is that great. At the end of the year we may look at all the numbers of each and say based on that Nolan had the best season but that Kyle is the better player. Who knows? Sometimes the numbers don't tell the whole truth. The only truth I do know, is that each of these three guys are a tremendous asset to the team and that their importance on a individual level is nearly equal. I will give Kyle the slight edge when forced to choose one but keep an eye out for Nolan as the year goes on because as his confidence soars, so may his game. I still like to think of them as 1a, 1b and 1c as I think very highly of each.

NYDukie

12-02-2009, 10:08 PM

My bad, Kyle is the man after this first half against the Badgers!

PhillyDuke

12-03-2009, 12:59 AM

SupaDave

12-03-2009, 03:45 PM

Nolan must have a "break-out" year, so he can go to NBA. There are reasons that coaches and reporters are fawning over Seth Curry. If conventional wisdom is that coach will hand over the PG spot to Irving, then know that Seth Curry is going to take one of those other starting positions in the backcourt--even if it forces us to run a 3 guard offense. Curry is not going to sit the bench next season!

I don't know why you would think that Nolan would go to the bench and there's very little chance that Nolan is going pro this year. Next year our bench will be phenomenal no matter how things shake out.