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Chris Randolph
12-15-2011, 01:42 PM
Just for fun.......

If you could pick one player from the 2010 championship team or the 2011 sweet 16 team to be on this year's team, who would it be and why?

I would go with Jon Scheyer based more on intangibles/leadership than skill. Kyrie, Nolan and Kyle are more talented but..... This year's team is in need of a guy who can lead and backup his leadership with consistent play and Jon is that guy. Out of all the players over the last 2 years, Jon was the most vocal leader who backed it up with his play.

Wander
12-15-2011, 01:56 PM
Scheyer's skill set overlaps too much with Curry's. Although I think the smart money would be on Singler to provide us with some size and defense at the small forward position, I wouldn't be able to resist taking Irving, who would probably be the national player of the year favorite. Irving and Rivers would be the coolest starting backcourt of all time.

Nrrrrvous
12-15-2011, 02:33 PM
Scheyer's skill set overlaps too much with Curry's. Although I think the smart money would be on Singler to provide us with some size and defense at the small forward position, I wouldn't be able to resist taking Irving, who would probably be the national player of the year favorite. Irving and Rivers would be the coolest starting backcourt of all time.

Just thinking about those two in the same backcourt makes my ankles hurt.

Chris Randolph
12-15-2011, 02:39 PM
While I agree with Irving and Rivers being the best backcourt in the nation, I think this year's team is in need of a veteran who backs up his commanding of the team with his play. For instance, it has been said this year that Thornton is emerging as the leader but he isn't one of our better players. As much as people may want to believe that you can be a leader regardless of skill (which you can I know), your voice is heard more when you can ball on the court, thats just the way it is. Scheyer, Curry, Rivers would be the starting backcourt, with a revolving point guard door between the 3 of them and I have no problem with that

_Gary
12-15-2011, 02:47 PM
While I absolutely love all the upperclassmen we had in both 2010 and last year, the choice for me would be simple: Kyrie Irving.

The reason for that pick is also simple in my mind for two reasons:

1) I'm not sure but what Kyrie wasn't the best pure and most dynamic PG Duke has ever had. I know, I know. He was only here for half a year so how can I say that. Well, I'm not going to write a long dissertation and try to defend my opinion. All I'll say is I've followed Duke closely for about 30 years now and Kyrie gets my vote based on the most important and reliable test I personally can use - My Two Eyes Test! :cool:

2) I still believe the most important position on any team, but especially a Coach K team, is the point. And this year we are lacking in that spot so I'd take Kyrie in a heartbeat.

Having said all that, I love the team we are fielding and believe that with some gelling we can be extremely good come March.

Go Duke!!!

phaedrus
12-15-2011, 03:00 PM
I guess no one on this board cares about having an awesome, manly beard anymore. Sad.

Zoubek.

UrinalCake
12-15-2011, 03:29 PM
Loved Jon but I agree that his skills overlap too much with Seth. We need both a penetrating guard and a defensive stopper, so I'd have to go with Kyrie. Nolan would give us a vocal leader and elite defender, but I'd still opt for Kyrie's offense. With him and Rivers on the court combined with our versatile big men we'd be unstoppable on offense.

UrinalCake
12-15-2011, 03:32 PM
I guess no one on this board cares about having an awesome, manly beard anymore. Sad.

Zoubek.

The problem with bringing back big Z is that you have to take either Mason or Ryan off of the floor. I guess we could go back to our dual tandems with Ryan taking the place of Lance. So Zoubek and Ryan would start and then the Plumlees would sub in for them. But I don't think that improves our team as much as adding Kyrie, Nolan, or Kyle would.

dukerev
12-15-2011, 03:34 PM
"Kyle plays winner."
- Coach K

MChambers
12-15-2011, 03:40 PM
"Kyle plays winner."
- Coach K

And he can play the 3 or 4, plus he'd improve the defense significantly.

1 24 90
12-15-2011, 03:54 PM
I pick Kyrie because I would love to see him play a full year.

loldevilz
12-15-2011, 04:24 PM
Wow tough question. The obvious choice is Kyle Singler simply because we don't have a small forward. But I think that I might go with Zoubek. Zoubek + Mason in the front court would be a heck of a duo. With Ryan and Miles on the bench you would be extremely deep. Curry would also benefit by playing at Zoubek's pace.

weezie
12-15-2011, 04:36 PM
"Kyle plays winner."
- Coach K


2010 Final Four MVP Kyle Singler. Always in the right place at the right time.

DukieInBrasil
12-15-2011, 06:27 PM
Singler would be my pick, cuz he can play various speeds, and b/c he's a bada**.
This team needs a SF more than it needs more guards, as awesome as Kyrie is.
Honestly, putting any one of Scheyer, Singler, Smith or Kyrie on this team would make it a NC favorite.
Basically we would be using one of those guys rather than Thornton as a starter. Adding either Singler or Smith would make our perimeter D much, much better.
Zoubek would make our interior brutal, but we're not having many problems in the post. As much as LT was a crucial part of the 2010 Champs, i don't think he brings what this particular team is lacking.

UrinalCake
12-15-2011, 11:33 PM
After thinking about this some more, I'm changing my vote to Kyle. The main reason is that I'm not so sure Kyrie and Austin could coexist in the backcourt. On paper it sounds awesome, but both guys need to have the ball in their hands. It would seem the most natural to let Kyrie initiate the offense, but I don't know how well Austin could play off the ball. And the two of them plus Seth would occupy nearly all of the minutes at the two guard spots, so Tyler and Quinn would almost never see the floor.

Meanwhile, as others have said, we don't have a true small forward on this team, and we definitely don't have anyone to guard the athletic 6'7-6'8 swingmen. Unfortunately having Kyle would eat up a lot of Andre's minutes and he'd likely regress to being a spot-up shooter.

zack2014
12-16-2011, 12:41 AM
I have to go with Kyle. The kid is a winner, and as my coach always said, "You can't coach heart."

throatybeard
12-16-2011, 01:12 AM
I would live in the present.

CLT Devil
12-16-2011, 07:34 AM
Lance Thomas

I think we could benefit from his interior defense and rebounding and his leadership. How many times did we see him firing up his team mates in the huddle when we really needed a spark? I would love to have Kyrie, of course, but our back court is pretty well loaded - and I recognize that Kyrie could get the ball to Seth and Austin in positions for them to score. Kyle is one of my favorites of all time, no need to elaborate on why, but I think Ryan Kelly can do a lot of what he does. I think a high-energy, defensive minded player who can guard the 3 and 4 would really help us out. In 2002 I think the main thing we were missing was Shane's tenacity and interior D, and Lance had a similar game in some respects on the defensive end.

Anyway, fun question. Sure, live in the present but there's nothing wrong with this question...but there are way too many what-ifs in sports in my mind already. I still think if Michael Thompson didn't transfer we would have beat UCONN in 2004...now you know how delusional I really am

moonpie23
12-16-2011, 07:37 AM
nolan

OldPhiKap
12-16-2011, 07:47 AM
Kyrie. I wish we had more chances to see him in Duke blue.

{sigh}

Jderf
12-16-2011, 07:55 AM
Lance Thomas

I think we could benefit from his interior defense and rebounding and his leadership. How many times did we see him firing up his team mates in the huddle when we really needed a spark? I would love to have Kyrie, of course, but our back court is pretty well loaded - and I recognize that Kyrie could get the ball to Seth and Austin in positions for them to score. Kyle is one of my favorites of all time, no need to elaborate on why, but I think Ryan Kelly can do a lot of what he does. I think a high-energy, defensive minded player who can guard the 3 and 4 would really help us out. In 2002 I think the main thing we were missing was Shane's tenacity and interior D, and Lance had a similar game in some respects on the defensive end.

Anyway, fun question. Sure, live in the present but there's nothing wrong with this question...but there are way too many what-ifs in sports in my mind already. I still think if Michael Thompson didn't transfer we would have beat UCONN in 2004...now you know how delusional I really am

Hmm. Interesting that you would choose Lance over Kyle because of Lance's ability to guard the 3 and 4, because it always seemed to me that Kyle was, at the very least, just as good those positions. Maybe even better. Add in Kyle's offensive prowess, overall savvy, and iron will -- I think it's a no brainer. And Kyle definitely brought A LOT to the table that Ryan Kelly just hasn't shown yet. Offensively, defensively, and even mentally. I guess I just don't see how you could pass up Kyle for Lance. I could understand doing it for Kyrie, Nolan, Scheyer, or maybe Zoubek, because what they bring to the team is so different from Kyle. But Lance? As much as I loved his tenacious defense, I just think that Kyle equals or surpasses him in almost every category.

DU82
12-16-2011, 08:08 AM
Zoubek. Our post defense still isn't very good. After three+ and two+ years, the Plumlees still don't guard the baseline very well. A better post defender could stop some of these drives and not go for so many fakes/dishes.

BobbyFan
12-16-2011, 08:40 AM
I would take Kyle by a hair over Kyrie.

DukeGirl4ever
12-16-2011, 09:04 AM
Seeing this thread brings a tear to my eye...what a magical run that was in 2010 - so unexpected yet so fulfilling.
I'd give anything to have that TEAM back. They epitomized TEAM basketball.

I'm not sure pulling one guy from that group would make this year's team a national champion. They figured out how to work together, use their strengths to help the team, and they recognized individual weaknesses and helped to overcome those weaknesses as a unit.

Great idea for this thread, though...I'd love to see Kyle or Jon back in Duke blue. Those two guys were winners in every sense of the word. And Nolan...who can forget his personality. Of course Z's emergence was a MAJOR factor in that title...

SEE, I can't pick! :D

stillcrazie
12-16-2011, 09:35 AM
Definitely Nolan! This guy carried us last year after Irving went down. This team lacks leadership and Nolan would fill that void and help the younger guys with ball handling and defense, not to mention vocal leadership on the floor. With Nolan, everyone plays better.

Dev11
12-16-2011, 10:20 AM
Hmm. Interesting that you would choose Lance over Kyle because of Lance's ability to guard the 3 and 4, because it always seemed to me that Kyle was, at the very least, just as good those positions. Maybe even better.

I would also like Kyle back, but give Lance his defensive due. As far as I remember (which, admittedly, isn't very long), Lance is the only other guy to spearhead box-and-Battier zone defense, in which he was constantly switching to the ball while the others remained in 'box.' He was certainly lacking in low-post defense and all offense, but his defense was outstanding, even relative to Kyle, who played very good defense in his own right.

I'll take Battier.

Faison1
12-16-2011, 10:22 AM
After thinking about this some more, I'm changing my vote to Kyle. The main reason is that I'm not so sure Kyrie and Austin could coexist in the backcourt. On paper it sounds awesome, but both guys need to have the ball in their hands. It would seem the most natural to let Kyrie initiate the offense, but I don't know how well Austin could play off the ball. And the two of them plus Seth would occupy nearly all of the minutes at the two guard spots, so Tyler and Quinn would almost never see the floor.

Meanwhile, as others have said, we don't have a true small forward on this team, and we definitely don't have anyone to guard the athletic 6'7-6'8 swingmen. Unfortunately having Kyle would eat up a lot of Andre's minutes and he'd likely regress to being a spot-up shooter.

Didn't those guys play for and win a gold medal with the US National Team? I think they meshed pretty well. Both started. They came away with nothing but positive things to say about one another.

jv001
12-16-2011, 10:37 AM
Kyrie Irving= the complete point guard this team is needing.
Kyle Singler= the SF this team is missing. With Kyrie we get the leader, the scorer, the distributor and maybe most importantly, the on the guard defender we need. With Kyle we get the leader, the scorer, the sf defender & rebounder we need. Man this is a tough decision. Flip a coin! GoDuke!

superdave
12-16-2011, 10:49 AM
I would live in the present.

How do you know you even exist?

OldPhiKap
12-16-2011, 02:43 PM
How do you know you even exist?

I post, therefore I am

MChambers
12-16-2011, 03:07 PM
I post, therefore I am

As the old cartoon put it, on the Internet nobody knows you're a dog.

OldPhiKap
12-16-2011, 03:13 PM
As the old cartoon put it, on the Internet nobody knows you're a dog.

You'd have to admit, though, that I'm a pretty darn smart dog. YOU try typing with paws!

gwlaw99
12-16-2011, 03:58 PM
Definitely Nolan. Point Guard, lock down perimeter defender, leader -- plus all around great guy.

MChambers
12-16-2011, 04:01 PM
If you could pick any Duke player under Coach K to add to this team?

I'd have to go with Grant Hill. Lockdown defender who could initiate the offense.

elvis14
12-16-2011, 09:00 PM
My heart wants me to answer Kyle, Jon or Nolan (Knowlan Scmingler) but my head takes over and the answer is Kyrie and it's not even all that close.

sagegrouse
12-16-2011, 09:03 PM
Well, I guess not.

To me, it's obviously Kyle Singler, cuz we don't have one of those this year. And I don't think you can underestimate the effect on a team of a guy that plays so hard every single play.

sage

Duke76
12-16-2011, 09:06 PM
Kyrie to play for both our beloved Devils and the Cavs.

do the Deion Sanders shuttle act,,,he is putting on a show in
his first pre-season game....14 points first half, driving, passing, shooting.

gonna be interesting to see the top guards try to keep up with him...
lock for rookie of the yr

think i try to watch as many Cavs games as possible just to see him

johnb
12-16-2011, 11:38 PM
I'm happy to watch this team develop; it's as good as the 2010 team that happened to gel at the right time.

But, if we're talking about adding 1 player, I'm not sure how anyone can go against Kyrie. First, unlike Kyle, Nolan, Jon, Zoubs, etc, we only got to see him play briefly. More importantly to this thread, he's simply a much better basketball player. The other guys hope to eventually get an NBA paycheck. Kyrie became a starter day 1 of training camp. And if the consensus is we lack a top-notch PG, the choice gets even clearer. With Kyrie, we're a top 4 team and maybe #1. Not sure that's true with the other guys.

mo.st.dukie
12-16-2011, 11:48 PM
Nolan Smith. Nobody would have a chance of stopping a backcourt of Smith and Rivers with Dre and Curry filling it up from deep. Plus, Nolan is a tremendous perimeter defender with long arms, good lateral quickness, strength and excellent leaping ability. It would impact the team on both ends of the floor plus bring excellent leadership. It would fill the need of having a PG (Nolan averaged over 5 assists per game last year) and having a lockdown defender on the perimeter. Next would be Kyle for his toughness, rebouding, and defending on the wing. Not having a good, tough rebounder at the 3 has hurt somewhat.

UrinalCake
12-17-2011, 12:05 AM
Adding Nolan seems to me like we're just taking last year's team and replacing Kyrie with Austin, except we're losing Kyle. We still don't have a true point guard - Nolan did a fantastic job filling that role but it's not his natural position. Everyone else is a year older, which is significant, but I still don't think that's a title team.

ArkieDukie
12-17-2011, 06:42 AM
Wow tough question. The obvious choice is Kyle Singler simply because we don't have a small forward. But I think that I might go with Zoubek. Zoubek + Mason in the front court would be a heck of a duo. With Ryan and Miles on the bench you would be extremely deep. Curry would also benefit by playing at Zoubek's pace.
Seriously? You'd put RK on the bench and replace him with Zoubs? I love Zoubs, but there's no way Zoubs is a better all-around player than RK. RK is just a solid player and has the best intuitive knack for the game since Shane Battier or maybe Kyrie Irving. (Irving was amazing, but we really didn't get to see him play enough for me to put him in the Battier camp for being mentally a few steps ahead of the action. All signs pointed in that direction, though.)

As several other people have said, I'd argue that we're extremely solid in the interior spots and at guard. My vote is for Kyle Singler - we need another person in the "winner" spot. With that being said, I've often speculated on what might have been if Kyrie had decided to stay.

DUKIE V(A)
12-17-2011, 07:10 AM
No question that adding Jon, Zoubs, Kyle, Nolan, or Kyrie makes this team substantially better. All due respect to Jon and Zoubs...but this one comes down to Kyle, Nolan, and Kyrie. I like the arguments I have heard in favor of Kyle and Nolan, but to me Kyrie is the best player and a natural point guard so I'd have to go with him.

Jderf
12-17-2011, 08:41 AM
Adding Nolan seems to me like we're just taking last year's team and replacing Kyrie with Austin, except we're losing Kyle. We still don't have a true point guard - Nolan did a fantastic job filling that role but it's not his natural position. Everyone else is a year older, which is significant, but I still don't think that's a title team.

It's not quite the exact same team though. I think you'd have to take into account the enormous improvement of Mason, as well as the significant strides made by Andre, Seth, and Ryan. And if I remember correctly, Nolan was 2nd in the ACC for assists last year (behind one of the best freshman passers I've ever seen), so I don't think we'd have a problem at the point. I would argue that adding Nolan (or Kyle or Jon or Kyrie, to be honest) would almost certainly make this time a title contender, especially since this year's field is incredibly sparse.

Saratoga2
12-17-2011, 09:56 AM
This kind of thread brings up the question of who you would sit if you could get one player back. Would it be any of the starters? Yes it would of course. I don't like the implication and think it is better to just go with who brung us. Even coming up with an all time Duke team would leave off some truly great players, so I prefer to let that kind of speculation go. I have enough trouble trying to decide if Quinn should start over Tyler or Seth or if Andre should sit, etc. The truth is, we have a wonderful group of young players who will do the University proud and I hope each can contribute according to his strengths as the season unfolds.