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Newton_14
06-30-2012, 09:52 PM
Hood will be a Blue Devil! Per Dave Telep and Nolan tweets.

Chris Randolph
06-30-2012, 09:53 PM
Great to see this thread started! Good choice Rodney!

bluedevil007
06-30-2012, 09:55 PM
Welcome aboard! It's amazing how two "gets" in a row help take the sting out of some of our recent misses.

ricks68
06-30-2012, 09:58 PM
When I hear it from him, Duke, Mark or Jim I will welcome him. Otherwise, I will just go on with positive thoughts.

ricks

1 24 90
06-30-2012, 09:58 PM
Does this mean that Duke will win the national title since there is a transfer sitting out on next year's team? It worked with Dahntay & Seth.

dukedoc
06-30-2012, 09:59 PM
Welcome to Duke, Rodney!

Newton_14
06-30-2012, 09:59 PM
When I hear it from him, Duke, Mark or Jim I will welcome him. Otherwise, I will just go on with positive thoughts.

ricks

Wow, really? Thanks for the vote of confidence.

JasonEvans
06-30-2012, 10:00 PM
Rodney Hood is a big-time talent and will be a major help to the Blue Devils... not just in 2 years but next season as he forces our regulars to play extra hard in practice. His size and athleticism combined with guard skills make him a special player. We are oh so fortunate to be getting him...

...and he is fortunate to have picked the best coach in America to help take him to the next level.

-Jason "all the folks who talked about how K did not have it any more in recruiting, please stand up and take your medicine now!" Evans

watzone
06-30-2012, 10:00 PM
Duke stays hot securing Rodney. Good to be a Blue Devil!

LOL And FTR, Hood is a transfer, not a recruit.

OZZIE4DUKE
06-30-2012, 10:06 PM
Welcome Rodney! :cool:

FireOgilvie
06-30-2012, 10:12 PM
Woohoo! He's going to be a good one.

From an earlier ESPN article:


Former Mississippi State center Arnett Moultrie said his one-time teammate Rodney Hood will be a one-and-done player when he plays in 2013-14.

“His skill level is really nice,’’ said Moultrie. “He’s athletic and gets inside when he needs to. He’ll be one-and-done wherever he goes.’’ Moultrie said he talks to Hood multiple times a week and expected him to make up his mind shortly.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/60002/3-point-shot-timing-is-right-for-purdue

ricks68
06-30-2012, 10:13 PM
Wow, really? Thanks for the vote of confidence.

It was not my intent to be critical of anything you have contributed to this board, I just wanted to point out the fact that you said it came from Nolan and Dave Telep. If you had said it came from some sort of official source or from others on the board that only post these kind of things from official sources, I would have reacted differently. We have been burned before when relying on unofficial sources, and I tend to now be much more guarded in that regard. Kudos to you now for being the first to break it on DBR.:D

ricks

BlueDevilBrowns
06-30-2012, 10:14 PM
Duke stays hot securing Rodney. Good to be a Blue Devil!

WELCOME TO DUKE MR. HOOD!!!!

Thanks, Watzone, for staying on top of things and telling us to "chill" earlier today. You called an announcement this weekend and were right on the money! I, for one, truly appreciate what you and other "insiders" provide to keep us fans up to date.

Now, when's Parker going to announce?...;)

ricks68
06-30-2012, 10:16 PM
Welcome to Duke, Rodney! :D

ricks

BattierD12
06-30-2012, 10:16 PM
Does this mean that Duke will win the national title since there is a transfer sitting out on next year's team? It worked with Dahntay & Seth.

2009: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to villanova. Gerald declares. Elliot Williams transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Seth transfers to Duke in the summer. Natty in 2010.

2012: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to Lehigh. Austin declares. Gbinije transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Rodney transfers to Duke in the summer. ________

Hmmmmm

watzone
06-30-2012, 10:25 PM
WELCOME TO DUKE MR. HOOD!!!!

Thanks, Watzone, for staying on top of things and telling us to "chill" earlier today. You called an announcement this weekend and were right on the money! I, for one, truly appreciate what you and other "insiders" provide to keep us fans up to date.

Now, when's Parker going to announce?...;)

Dave Telep was the first to break the news and all that counts is that he is a Blue Devil. What people need to understand is that this was a transfer and not a recruit, so there were not as many ways it could leak. He will be a heckuva fit at Duke and they haven't had a player with his skill set in a while. He is a smooth and sleek talent with a good outside game for a 6-7 or 6-8 guy.

BlueDevilBrowns
06-30-2012, 10:28 PM
2009: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to villanova. Gerald declares. Elliot Williams transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Seth transfers to Duke in the summer. Natty in 2010.

2012: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to Lehigh. Austin declares. Gbinije transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Rodney transfers to Duke in the summer. ________

Hmmmmm

It all means that UNC will reach the finals of the NIT next year for the 2nd time in the last 4 years; congrats to Ol Roy!

moonpie23
06-30-2012, 10:31 PM
welcome to duke rodney........can't wait to have you involved!!!!

big high five to the staff!!!

Jim3k
06-30-2012, 10:58 PM
terrific decision Rodney! you will not regret it!

and welcome.

Furniture
06-30-2012, 11:28 PM
http://www.cdispatch.com/msusports/article.asp?aid=17651

dukedoc
06-30-2012, 11:55 PM
Anyone have any links to any substantial video of Rodney? The standard youtube search doesn't really turn up much. Thank you!

em0526
07-01-2012, 12:49 AM
If the rumors are true, welcome to Duke!
The "sophomore" class of 2013-2014 will be extremely long and athletic - Hood, Sulaimon, Murphy, Plumlee3 and Jefferon!

fayfan20
07-01-2012, 01:45 AM
Here's a link from Fayetteville addressing the impact he can make when he arrives

http://tinyurl.com/6ok8gjy

Greg_Newton
07-01-2012, 02:11 AM
Huge get, awesome news; basically like landing a top 5-10 2013 recruit, except he'll have two years of college experience. Only landing Parker or Randle would have been more exciting to me, and Hood's a close second. Big-time bounceback from April so far by the staff.

If you're looking for video of Hood, here's the only place to find it (outside of that HS local news thing): http://www.hailstate.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=16800&SPID=10994&SPSID=90865

1) Scroll to media player in bottom-right corner
2) Select "game highlights" at the bottom of the media player
3) Click specific games to see highlights from the games. Rodney Hood is number 4.

It's a pain, but there's enough in there to get a feel for his game.

Greg_Newton
07-01-2012, 02:12 AM
Getting ahead of things, but I wonder what his timetable will be as far as moving to Durham and getting acclimated. Would be awesome to get to see him at the Pro-Am this summer.

DukieTiger
07-01-2012, 02:32 AM
Getting ahead of things, but I wonder what his timetable will be as far as moving to Durham and getting acclimated. Would be awesome to get to see him at the Pro-Am this summer.

I know Sheed arrived today, so presumably Amile will be arriving soon too. It'd be great for Rodney to be able to get to campus for the second half of the summer and integrate with the team to some extent. I'd also love to see him at the Pro-Am. Presumably we'll also get to see him in the B/W game during Countdown this year as well- at least that's how it worked with Seth. Regardless, you have to love it. Seems like whenever K gets a transfer, it's like a shot in the arm to the program. Rodney will be a huge part of Duke's success for the next couple of years- yes, counting this year.

Biscuitboy
07-01-2012, 02:43 AM
Here's a link from Fayetteville addressing the impact he can make when he arrives

http://tinyurl.com/6ok8gjy

Recruiting is a tricky thing. Calipari seems to have it locked down right now. Somehow, UCLA made lemonade out of lemons. Ben Howland delivered a great class right when his program was up in smoke. Roy Williams is consistent and superior in recruiting. K has been very strong, and going into next year, Duke has a formidable arsenal of weapons.
I just watched the Duke Michigan game circa 1992 that was linked here. What fun! What I took away from that game was having athletic 6-6 to 6-8 guys like Thomas Hill, Antonio Lang, and especially Grant Hill won that game. Grant Hill owned that game. Everybody else contributed mightily from Bobby Hurley to Cherokee Parks.
Our team going into 2012-2013 will be defined by leadership. Who will the leaders be?
I hope it's Quinn Cook, Mason Plumlee, and Ryan Kelly. Those three players have the most to prove and the most to give. Duke hasn't had a definitive point guard for some time. Quinn can be that guy. K needs that presence, that guidance and brain. Ryan Kelly can be a formidable compliment to Quinn. His IQ and low post presence can link our attack. And I want this team to attack. To claim and demand how teams answer to our definition of what each game will be. Mason is there to use his physical advantages and savvy to dominate the low post. He has to be an automatic finisher. I don't think Duke has had a player quite like Mason. Powerful, aggressive, athletically gifted and fluid. I think it's the point guard's job to make Mason shine. He should have a year where he's solid like Tyler Zeller and fluid like KG.
Suddenly, Duke has an embarassment of riches. We have long players, with the exception of our point guards. With Rasheed, Alex, Amile and Josh we have those tweener players that can do so many different things. Mason, Ryan and Marshall are our low post threats. Ryan needs to be a grinder down low. He can't be twenty feet from the basket. Having someone that long down low with the vision and court savvy to distribute and locate is amazing.
The Duke Michigan game is a template for how this team might succeed. Mason isn't Christian Laettner, and Quinn isn't Bobby Hurley. And we don't have a Grant Hill. But we do have the legnth that we had with that team. And we have Mason, who should be unstoppable. And we have young hungry studs joining our program who will find their place. Be Hungry Duke and earn your place in history. I can't wait for this upcomming season.

DevilWearsPrada
07-01-2012, 07:15 AM
2009: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to villanova. Gerald declares. Elliot Williams transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Seth transfers to Duke in the summer. Natty in 2010.

2012: Pretty crappy loss in tourney to Lehigh. Austin declares. Gbinije transfers. Team doesn't look that great for next year. Rodney transfers to Duke in the summer. ________

Hmmmmm

2010 National Champions !!!

An easy road trip to Atlanta Georgia for the 2013 NCAA Mens Basketball Final 4 Tournament!!!! Let's Go Duke!!!

Welcome Rodney!

dukedoc
07-01-2012, 08:11 AM
Huge get, awesome news; basically like landing a top 5-10 2013 recruit, except he'll have two years of college experience. Only landing Parker or Randle would have been more exciting to me, and Hood's a close second. Big-time bounceback from April so far by the staff.

If you're looking for video of Hood, here's the only place to find it (outside of that HS local news thing): http://www.hailstate.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=16800&SPID=10994&SPSID=90865

1) Scroll to media player in bottom-right corner
2) Select "game highlights" at the bottom of the media player
3) Click specific games to see highlights from the games. Rodney Hood is number 4.

It's a pain, but there's enough in there to get a feel for his game.

Thank you, GN!

On a related note, what have people heard about his personality and character? I've heard good things about the latter, and about his family, but am not clear about whether he's a vocal type or more of a quiet stealth type. I realize he won't hit the court during games for quite a while, but he'll be in the locker room and practices soon enough. I hope and trust he'll be a great influence, particularly given he already has a year of experience.

dukeman28428
07-01-2012, 09:06 AM
Thanks for choosing Duke and we look forward to seeing you play in Cameron.

It is going to great and I am sure you made a wise choice for your future.

GO DUKE

OldPhiKap
07-01-2012, 09:11 AM
Welcome to the family!!!

Kedsy
07-01-2012, 09:46 AM
The Duke Michigan game is a template for how this team might succeed. Mason isn't Christian Laettner, and Quinn isn't Bobby Hurley. And we don't have a Grant Hill.

I think we're going to have a very enjoyable and successful season in 2012-13, but your statements above disprove themselves. Without Laettner, Hurley, and G Hill, nobody would remember the 1992 team. Those three were the most important components of the 1992 national champions and we won't have a reasonable analog for any of them.

Also, the 2012-13 team won't really have so many players that meet your definition of success (having athletic 6-6 to 6-8 guys) -- we'll have three guys in that height range, but Josh has never struck me as particularly athletic, and since neither Alex nor Amile have played a game at Duke, I'm not sure we know how athletic either of them are, either. In high school, neither of them had the reputation of being freak athletes. And nobody else on the active roster will be in your height range.

The 2013-14 team will have a lot of long, (hopefully) athletic wings (thankfully including Mr. Hood), but absent further recruiting coups (or big-time development by Marshall and/or Amile) that team could be a bit short on strong, inside presence. Every year has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I'm not trying to be negative -- I think we're going to be really, really good in 2012-13 and probably again in 2013-14, but I'm content to let the future squads be themselves instead of trying to cram them into a past-season "template."

em0526
07-01-2012, 09:54 AM
Facing Andre and Rodney everyday practice will make the first team really have to work.
That could really accelerate the development of Seth, Rasheed, Amile and Alex.

mkline09
07-01-2012, 10:16 AM
Facing Andre and Rodney everyday practice will make the first team really have to work.
That could really accelerate the development of Seth, Rasheed, Amile and Alex.

That is if Andre practices. Didn't K say he wasn't sure if he'd practice with the team during his presser? Regardless Hood will push the team in practice and make them better.

Great to hear Rodney popped the Hood on Duke though.

Saratoga2
07-01-2012, 10:57 AM
Recruiting is a tricky thing. Calipari seems to have it locked down right now. Somehow, UCLA made lemonade out of lemons. Ben Howland delivered a great class right when his program was up in smoke. Roy Williams is consistent and superior in recruiting. K has been very strong, and going into next year, Duke has a formidable arsenal of weapons.
I just watched the Duke Michigan game circa 1992 that was linked here. What fun! What I took away from that game was having athletic 6-6 to 6-8 guys like Thomas Hill, Antonio Lang, and especially Grant Hill won that game. Grant Hill owned that game. Everybody else contributed mightily from Bobby Hurley to Cherokee Parks.
Our team going into 2012-2013 will be defined by leadership. Who will the leaders be?
I hope it's Quinn Cook, Mason Plumlee, and Ryan Kelly. Those three players have the most to prove and the most to give. Duke hasn't had a definitive point guard for some time. Quinn can be that guy. K needs that presence, that guidance and brain. Ryan Kelly can be a formidable compliment to Quinn. His IQ and low post presence can link our attack. And I want this team to attack. To claim and demand how teams answer to our definition of what each game will be. Mason is there to use his physical advantages and savvy to dominate the low post. He has to be an automatic finisher. I don't think Duke has had a player quite like Mason. Powerful, aggressive, athletically gifted and fluid. I think it's the point guard's job to make Mason shine. He should have a year where he's solid like Tyler Zeller and fluid like KG.
Suddenly, Duke has an embarassment of riches. We have long players, with the exception of our point guards. With Rasheed, Alex, Amile and Josh we have those tweener players that can do so many different things. Mason, Ryan and Marshall are our low post threats. Ryan needs to be a grinder down low. He can't be twenty feet from the basket. Having someone that long down low with the vision and court savvy to distribute and locate is amazing.
The Duke Michigan game is a template for how this team might succeed. Mason isn't Christian Laettner, and Quinn isn't Bobby Hurley. And we don't have a Grant Hill. But we do have the legnth that we had with that team. And we have Mason, who should be unstoppable. And we have young hungry studs joining our program who will find their place. Be Hungry Duke and earn your place in history. I can't wait for this upcomming season.

It seems that the coaching staff is adjusting the recruiting emphasis toward a longer and more athletic team after winding up with small guards and limited small forwards last year. Obviously, recruiting can be hit or miss and you can have a run of luck where the primary targets prefer to go elsewhere. You take the best ones that academically qualify and also want to be a part of something special here. Going forward we will still need some of those quick guards with excellent handling skills, but it appears our shooting guards and small forwards will be of competitive size and athleticism. At least for now, I don't see any true big men on our recruiting list, but coach K no doubt has a big man in mind as well.

chrishoke
07-01-2012, 11:29 AM
Welcome Mr. Hood.

By the way, Rodney is a very good student!

Azdukefan
07-01-2012, 11:48 AM
It seems that the coaching staff is adjusting the recruiting emphasis toward a longer and more athletic team after winding up with small guards and limited small forwards last year. Obviously, recruiting can be hit or miss and you can have a run of luck where the primary targets prefer to go elsewhere. You take the best ones that academically qualify and also want to be a part of something special here. Going forward we will still need some of those quick guards with excellent handling skills, but it appears our shooting guards and small forwards will be of competitive size and athleticism. At least for now, I don't see any true big men on our recruiting list, but coach K no doubt has a big man in mind as well.

Jahil Okafor comes to mind when you talk about true big men. We stand pretty good with this big guy from 2014. I do however agree that a back to the basket bruiser is very overrated in the collegiate game. I'm stoked to have Hood on board and maybe I'm being a spoiled brat but I want Parker and Randle as well. Go Duke!

JasonEvans
07-01-2012, 12:00 PM
By the way, Rodney was hurt late in the season and it impacted his play. He missed one game and his minutes/performance was clearly limited in several other games. If you take the 4 games he was hurt out of his season stats you get the following--


11.1 ppg
5.2 rpg
2.1 apg

Those are very good numbers for a freshman -- especially one playing on a somewhat disfunctional team like they had at MSU this past season.

-Jason "when he is a junior at Duke... watch out!" Evans

Listen to Quants
07-01-2012, 12:05 PM
I think we're going to have a very enjoyable and successful season in 2012-13, but your statements above disprove themselves. Without Laettner, Hurley, and G Hill, nobody would remember the 1992 team. Those three were the most important components of the 1992 national champions and we won't have a reasonable analog for any of them.

<good stuff snipped out in order to leave only stuff with which I can be disagreeable :( >

I think his point/comparison is not totally lost. As we all know, nobody has senior Laettner, junior Hurley, sophmore Hill type players any more. They (almost) all go early entry. Duke 2013 will be longer and more athletic than Duke 2012, so it may *look* like 1992 by contrast. Will miss Miles.

Welcome Mr. Hood.

ChillinDuke
07-01-2012, 12:17 PM
Welcome to Duke, Rodney!

Very exciting news!

- Chillin

CDu
07-01-2012, 12:43 PM
Glad to have Hood on board. Very nice to see Coach K reloading. Adding a big would put us in VERY good shape next year.

Edouble
07-01-2012, 06:17 PM
Wow, really? Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Well, you were the one that said Tony Parker to Georgia. :p

(I think...)

OldPhiKap
07-01-2012, 06:44 PM
I loved reading that he was "a classic point-forward" since Grant Hill was the first person I remember being called that.

Yum.

jimsumner
07-01-2012, 07:08 PM
I loved reading that he was "a classic point-forward" since Grant Hill was the first person I remember being called that.

Yum.

Paul Pressey generally is considered the first "point forward."

FWIW.

Newton_14
07-01-2012, 07:23 PM
Well, you were the one that said Tony Parker to Georgia. :p

(I think...)

In fairness, I was at work doing a thousand things, and misinterpreted a one liner from a journalist. He was making fun of how comical and long the Parker presser was going on(I was not watching), and made some kind of satirical reference to Georgia that flew over my head. I posted 2 words in an open thread, logged off and went back to work thinking the kid had chosen Georgia. The minute I found out I was wrong, I logged back in and stated I had made a mistake in the thread.

Last night was a totally different deal. I would not start a thread welcoming a kid to Duke unless I was 100% certain he was coming. Dave Telep is as good of a source as there is in this business bar none, and I certainly don't think Nolan Smith would state that a kid is coming to Duke unless he was 100% certain as well.

MIKESJ73
07-01-2012, 08:26 PM
I know when Duke was looking at Zeigler, he was supposed to sit out a year. Pitt was granted a waiver and he is eligible next year to play. Is there any chance that Hood would be granted a waiver. You know that a large part of picking a school depends on the coaches. It just doesn't seem fair to the kids that a new unproven coach can be selected by the school, and the players have to sit out if they don't support the coach hired. Rodney was only there a year and really got a bad deal. Stansbury was a very good coach, I can't believe that an assistant at Clemson was the best they can do.

OZZIE4DUKE
07-01-2012, 08:54 PM
I loved reading that he was "a classic point-forward" since Grant Hill was the first person I remember being called that.

Yum.

Danny Ferry was either a point-center or a point-forward, depending on which week it was... :cool: I remember talking with one of the assistant coaches in the C.I. when he had a scheduled get together to talk about the upcoming season after a football game (that's the reason I was on campus that day). I actually asked the question "Besides Danny Ferry, who's going to bring the ball up court for us this year?" He laughed and said they'd figure it out once practice started. I think the answer turned out to be a significantly improved Quin Snyder.

Greg_Newton
07-02-2012, 12:21 AM
One interesting side effect of this is that we will be adding top-40 RSCI guys coming off of redshirt years in consecutive seasons. I haven't done any fact checking, but I would imagine that it's the first time we've done that in the modern era.

Can't really see it being any sort of sustainable trend, but it's certainly an interesting way to combat the talent vs. experience dilemma of today's recruiting; we're not just replacing departed players with talented but raw 18 year-olds, we're replacing them with talented players who have been through a year of practices and training and are rearing to go. I like.

Also kind of depressing that our basketball team may redshirt a higher percentage of its new players than will our football team over the span of two seasons... :p

Biscuitboy
07-02-2012, 12:58 AM
I think we're going to have a very enjoyable and successful season in 2012-13, but your statements above disprove themselves. Without Laettner, Hurley, and G Hill, nobody would remember the 1992 team. Those three were the most important components of the 1992 national champions and we won't have a reasonable analog for any of them.

Also, the 2012-13 team won't really have so many players that meet your definition of success (having athletic 6-6 to 6-8 guys) -- we'll have three guys in that height range, but Josh has never struck me as particularly athletic, and since neither Alex nor Amile have played a game at Duke, I'm not sure we know how athletic either of them are, either. In high school, neither of them had the reputation of being freak athletes. And nobody else on the active roster will be in your height range.

What I was referring to was the actual title game not the '92 season. The game was interesting in that Laettner struggled mightily in that first half. Hurley delivered some clutch moments and was a steady floor general, but I bet if you asked him if it was one of his better games, he'd say no. Grant Hill was dominant. Lang and Thomas Smith grabbed some impressive rebounds on the offensive glass, kept plays alive as well as finished on second chance points. And Cherokee Parks made some great plays.

I don't define success by having althletic 6-6 to 6-8 players. Thomas Hill played long for his size, especially in that title game. My point is that we have some players coming into the fold that play long and potentially can mirror the play of the Hills and Tony Lang as evidenced in the Michigan game. Last year we struggled on the offensive glass (with the exception of Miles). Our guards didn't crash the boards. Having atheletes like Amile, Alex and Rasheed to go to the glass on both ends of the court will make us more productive.

Each season is unique and new. I'm looking forward to see what Coach does with this year's impressive collection of talent. Reeling in Amile and Rodney Hood late in the recruiting process is a total coup. My hat's off to the staff for digging deep.

Kedsy
07-02-2012, 01:28 AM
What I was referring to was the actual title game not the '92 season. The game was interesting in that Laettner struggled mightily in that first half. Hurley delivered some clutch moments and was a steady floor general, but I bet if you asked him if it was one of his better games, he'd say no. Grant Hill was dominant. Lang and Thomas Smith grabbed some impressive rebounds on the offensive glass, kept plays alive as well as finished on second chance points. And Cherokee Parks made some great plays.

I don't define success by having althletic 6-6 to 6-8 players. Thomas Hill played long for his size, especially in that title game. My point is that we have some players coming into the fold that play long and potentially can mirror the play of the Hills and Tony Lang as evidenced in the Michigan game. Last year we struggled on the offensive glass (with the exception of Miles). Our guards didn't crash the boards. Having atheletes like Amile, Alex and Rasheed to go to the glass on both ends of the court will make us more productive.

Each season is unique and new. I'm looking forward to see what Coach does with this year's impressive collection of talent. Reeling in Amile and Rodney Hood late in the recruiting process is a total coup. My hat's off to the staff for digging deep.

I appreciate the analogy you're attempting to draw, I just think it's a stretch. Tony Lang had 5 points and 4 rebounds (2 offensive rebounds) in 32 minutes in that game. Cherokee Parks had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes. Brian Davis was hurt and only played 10 minutes. We only played 7 guys (until the last few seconds), including Davis. And Laettner, Parks, and Hurley were not long wings. Grant Hill was amazing, but you've admitted we don't currently have an analog for him. So all that leaves is Thomas Hill, who I agree also played very well in that game.

Look, I think the 1992 team was amazing. I attended the championship game and it was wonderful. And I think next season we'll be really good. I just don't think Rasheed Sulaimon, Alex Murphy, and Amile Jefferson, all in their first year playing for Duke, will be the equivalent of Thomas Hill, Grant Hill, and Tony Lang in any meaningful way. Adding that we won't have players similar to Hurley and Laettner, I just don't see how we'd be able to play remotely similar to that team, in the championship game or otherwise.

moonpie23
07-02-2012, 09:23 AM
kedsy, you make me so envious from having attended the 92 game...... :)

question.. before his arrival at duke, would you have predicted Kyrie to be as spectacular as he actually was?

Ichabod Drain
07-02-2012, 09:23 AM
I know when Duke was looking at Zeigler, he was supposed to sit out a year. Pitt was granted a waiver and he is eligible next year to play. Is there any chance that Hood would be granted a waiver. You know that a large part of picking a school depends on the coaches. It just doesn't seem fair to the kids that a new unproven coach can be selected by the school, and the players have to sit out if they don't support the coach hired. Rodney was only there a year and really got a bad deal. Stansbury was a very good coach, I can't believe that an assistant at Clemson was the best they can do.

While I agree that a coach leaving should result in allowing players to transfer without penalty, it's not going to happen in the case of Hood. Zeigler was granted the waiver mainly on the grounds that his dad was the coach and was fired. That creates a decidedly different atmosphere for Zeigler than any other player who loses their coach. But as I said before, I agree with you that players should be able to, but it's not going to happen with Hood.

UrinalCake
07-02-2012, 09:33 AM
Great news! We're definitely getting bigger and more athletic, and look to be in great shape for the next couple years. What does everyone think about the assertion made by Arnett Moultrie that Hood might end up only playing one year at Duke? He thinks Hood has one-and-done type talent. It would be awesome if he turned out to be that good, but at the same time I wonder why he didn't just stick it out at his old school if he really that much potential, since losing the transfer year would really hurt him.

At any rate, this is a huge get and definitely as valuable if not more so than a top pick from the 2013 class.

watzone
07-02-2012, 10:09 AM
I tweeted a minute ago that Rodney Hood will arrive on campus this Wednesday. That's a pretty quick turnaround;) Food for thought.

Class of '94
07-02-2012, 10:37 AM
I tweeted a minute ago that Rodney Hood will arrive on campus this Wednesday. That's a pretty quick turnaround;) Food for thought.

Sounds like he is very excited about coming to Duke and wants to get started immediately in immersing himself into the Duke system as well as getting acclimated to campus life. I think this is a wonderul sign that Rodney is gong to be a very focused and committed player for Duke.

MIKESJ73
07-02-2012, 10:47 AM
Is he enrolled in summer sessions? I thought I had heard of someone transferring and using the summer and fall semesters as their "sit-out" academic year to be eligible for the Spring semester?

watzone
07-02-2012, 10:51 AM
Is he enrolled in summer sessions? I thought I had heard of someone transferring and using the summer and fall semesters as their "sit-out" academic year to be eligible for the Spring semester?

There is no confirmation he is enrolled yet and more than likely he's not. That is the reason we have yet to see official word from GoDuke as to his transfer.

ChillinDuke
07-02-2012, 11:21 AM
What does everyone think about the assertion made by Arnett Moultrie that Hood might end up only playing one year at Duke? He thinks Hood has one-and-done type talent. It would be awesome if he turned out to be that good, but at the same time I wonder why he didn't just stick it out at his old school if he really that much potential, since losing the transfer year would really hurt him.

I was discussing this at length yesterday with my dad, and I think you touched on the heart of the matter.

The way I see it, if this kid was a true "one-and-done" talent, he would have been one and done. I don't know if he would have gotten or did get any sniffs from this past draft, but when you [Moultrie] say[s] "one and done", it's not really the case. This kid is clearly now going to be 2+ and done by the time his next shot at the draft rolls around. I don't consider that to be comparable to "one-and-done" as we know it with true freshmen jumping early. 3 years of power-conference college basketball is a significant amount of college-level development.

Beyond making that distinction, the question becomes much more blurry in the sense of "Is he thinking one year playing at Duke and done?" The consensus from the few stories I've read on Rodney seem to indicate that he is very talented and is quite athletic, but he needs to get stronger. A redshirt year will undoubtedly help in this regard. And we'll be able to see to what extent it could help Rodney by watching both Alex and Marshall in this upcoming season.

Continuing down my (and to be fair, my dad's) stream of consciousness, the question then becomes if Rodney becomes noticeably stronger in his redshirt year, and at least maintains his athleticism with the increased bulk (no reason to assume otherwise), and at least maintains his skill set (no reason to assume otherwise), would he be NBA draft-worthy?

Tough to answer with so many moving parts (and many others unlisted), but I would venture to say yes. To what degree is he draftable remains unclear at this point, but I would imagine he would have a decent shot at being drafted considering his body type, skills, potential, and 3 years of power conference college ball.

Which brings us to the very same two questions that we collectively try to hash out every year with these types of players:

(1) Is it in Rodney's best interest to leave now?
(2) Does Rodney want to leave now?

As a general rule, I try to stay as far away from (1) as possible. The main reason for this is because I don't know what the heck the kid is looking for/what he values/what his life needs may be. And regardless, (2) is the most interesting part of this (which you touched on, UC).

If Rodney was solely interested in the NBA, it would seem the obvious choice to stick it out another year. Improve, get stronger, be the man on a depleted Miss St team, and try the draft next year. A "wasted" year - that's how I would assume someone would look at a transfer if the League was his sole ambition.

My curiosity arises out of a seemingly uncommon transfer for a talent level such as Rodney's. To me, it suggests he is looking for more than just an NBA future. I'm not trying to overblow this decision and make him out to be the second coming of Aristotle [Battier]. But I'm certainly hopeful that this kid may be around longer than "2+ and done".

Unfortunately, we have to wait two years to find out.



At any rate, this is a huge get and definitely as valuable if not more so than a top pick from the 2013 class.

Agreed! Huge!

- Chillin

Kedsy
07-02-2012, 11:44 AM
kedsy, you make me so envious from having attended the 92 game...... :)

question.. before his arrival at duke, would you have predicted Kyrie to be as spectacular as he actually was?

Well, he was the #2 recruit in the country in the final RSCI. Combining that with Coach K's over-the-top pre-season comments and various reports over that summer, I would say yes I pretty much did. I didn't necessarily expect him to be as good a scorer as he was, but I expected that he would be very difficult to guard. When we were discussing that team pre-season, I posted how all three of Kyle, Nolan, and Kyrie would require double-teams and that was not only impossible but would leave both big men wide open most of the time.

ThePublisher
07-02-2012, 11:57 AM
So with Hood coming to campus on the 4th, I hope I he joins the guys at the Pro-Am next week, as that's when I plan to go.

flyingdutchdevil
07-02-2012, 12:02 PM
Dear YouTube,

There are highlight reels for NBA scrubs, international players with names that I cannot pronounce, and even middle schoolers. Can you please make a highlight reel for Rodney Hood? I know that highlight reels aren't at all indicative of how a player will perform, but it provides you with an better understanding of athleticism, size, and potential.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

FlyingDutchDevil

ncexnyc
07-02-2012, 05:19 PM
Very nice to have Mr. Hood on board. I'm glad the staff stuck with their pursuit of this kid who one board member termed, "second tier" and "unnecessary."

CDu
07-02-2012, 05:28 PM
Very nice to have Mr. Hood on board. I'm glad the staff stuck with their pursuit of this kid who one board member termed, "second tier" and "unnecessary."

I suspect that this post was a reference to one of my comments (could be wrong?). If so, I'd like to clarify the context. At the time, we had two similarly-rated guys at the same spot in Murphy and Gbinije, we were looking at another similarly-rated transfer in Zeigler, we were looking at the #2 recruit in the country at the same position in Parker, and we had a higher-rated recruit coming in at SG in Sulaimon and another similarly rated recruit in Matt Jones. The "second-tier" comment had to do with the fact that he wasn't a top-20 recruit, whereas Sulaimon was and Parker definitely is. As such, considering we had so many other highly-recruited SG/SF in house and more on the way, he was "unnecessary."

Obviously, with Zeigler going elsewhere, Gbinije transferring, the possibility that Sulaimon could play some PG, and the uncertainty around Parker, the equation has changed. It'll still be a very crowded perimeter (with or without Parker), but there's a lot more room/need for him now.

-bdbd
07-02-2012, 06:11 PM
Welcome to Duke Rodney Hood!

I can't wait to see RH in a Duke uni! He sounds an awful lot, skill-wise, like a young Grant Hill. And I sure hope we get to see him on the court for more than just one year, but will be happy with whatever he gives us. The 2013-14 squad is going to have some incredible versatility -- boy, when the staff decides they have to address a perceived need they sure to go after addressing it with a vengeance. Love the flexibility/multi-positional play and high BB I.Q. of that 2013-14 team already,

Will be interesting to see if/how this transfer affects the current list of targets and offers, esp in the 2/3 positions. Personally, I'm more concerned now about the 5/4 area in 2013 and beyond.

Any way you slice it, though, Rodney Hood is a dynamite addition. Welcome RH!!! :D

OldPhiKap
07-02-2012, 08:23 PM
I suspect that this post was a reference to one of my comments (could be wrong?). If so, I'd like to clarify the context. At the time, we had two similarly-rated guys at the same spot in Murphy and Gbinije, we were looking at another similarly-rated transfer in Zeigler, we were looking at the #2 recruit in the country at the same position in Parker, and we had a higher-rated recruit coming in at SG in Sulaimon and another similarly rated recruit in Matt Jones. The "second-tier" comment had to do with the fact that he wasn't a top-20 recruit, whereas Sulaimon was and Parker definitely is. As such, considering we had so many other highly-recruited SG/SF in house and more on the way, he was "unnecessary."

Obviously, with Zeigler going elsewhere, Gbinije transferring, the possibility that Sulaimon could play some PG, and the uncertainty around Parker, the equation has changed. It'll still be a very crowded perimeter (with or without Parker), but there's a lot more room/need for him now.

No offense to {g} -- I think most will agree that I was a supporter -- but if Rodney was at Duke last year, I suspect he would have gotten some serious floor burn time.

Recruiting is an art, not a science. I don't follow where kids are ranked -- not sure who was higher, don't really care -- Rodney showed that he has real game game. I'm excited.

Kedsy
07-02-2012, 08:26 PM
No offense to {g} -- I think most will agree that I was a supporter -- but if Rodney was at Duke last year, I suspect he would have gotten some serious floor burn time.

Recruiting is an art, not a science. I don't follow where kids are ranked -- not sure who was higher, don't really care -- Rodney showed that he has real game game. I'm excited.

According to the RSCI, Michael was 28th and Rodney was 27th.

BlueDevilBrowns
07-02-2012, 09:06 PM
With Hood coming to Duke, I'm wondering if this can help us with recruiting in the Deep South area. Since 2000, I think Duhon(Slidell, LA) and Elliot Williams(Memphis, Tenn.) are the only players to come from the Deep South. I know we did have Tyler Adams commit but then back out but, to my knowledge, those are the only players we've had from the region. Having Hood on the team can perhaps serve as a model for other SEC-type players to consider Duke in future.

To be clear, this isn't to knock Duke's recruiting in the past, it's just perhaps an opportunity to expand our recruiting zone in the ever-more competitive recruiting world.

Newton_14
07-02-2012, 09:18 PM
According to the RSCI, Michael was 28th and Rodney was 27th.

Which we now know was not quite accurate for either kid. Rodney played more like a Top 15 guy, and Michael like a top 40 guy. That is why you can't put 100% stock in any kid ranked outside the Top 5 (but you know that, so preaching to the choir).

The thing I love about the Hood recruitment, is seeing how he fared against BCS level competition, I know much better what to expect from him from Day 1. Even though he played in a different system, he performed well against BCS competition as a freshman. Going through two summers at Duke, and one full season of practice, by the time he suits up for real, he will be far beyond where he is now.

I just love wings and forwards in that 6'6 to 6'9 range, that are athletic, lengthy, have the ability to guard the 2 thru the 4, can score from the perimeter, attack the basket, and are good rebounder's. Guys like that keep constant pressure on the opposing team on both ends of the court.

Hoping to see Rodney at the Pro-Am soon. I have not seen it confirmed yet, but I assume he will hop on a team out there and hoop it up with some of his new teammates.

BriantheBlogger
07-03-2012, 05:35 PM
Hightlights were hard to find and I'm no video expert but here is about a minute and a half of Rodney in various games, you dont want to know how hard this was to piece together.

http://dukeblogger.com/2012/07/a-little-more-on-rodney-hood-and-finally-some-highlights/


Dear YouTube,

There are highlight reels for NBA scrubs, international players with names that I cannot pronounce, and even middle schoolers. Can you please make a highlight reel for Rodney Hood? I know that highlight reels aren't at all indicative of how a player will perform, but it provides you with an better understanding of athleticism, size, and potential.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

FlyingDutchDevil

OldPhiKap
07-03-2012, 06:05 PM
Hightlights were hard to find and I'm no video expert but here is about a minute and a half of Rodney in various games, you dont want to know how hard this was to piece together.

http://dukeblogger.com/2012/07/a-little-more-on-rodney-hood-and-finally-some-highlights/

Kudos for the video, double kudos if you put it together!!!!!!!

BriantheBlogger
07-03-2012, 06:07 PM
Kudos for the video, double kudos if you put it together!!!!!!!

Thanks I did, I appreciate the compliment, its not my forte, but somebody had to do it, there isn't a lot out there of Rodney.

mr. synellinden
07-03-2012, 06:16 PM
Take this for what it's worth, but nbadraft.net projects Hood as the #9 pick in the 2014 NBA draft. (http://nbadraft.net/2014mock_draft)

roywhite
07-03-2012, 06:21 PM
I just love wings and forwards in that 6'6 to 6'9 range, that are athletic, lengthy, have the ability to guard the 2 thru the 4, can score from the perimeter, attack the basket, and are good rebounder's. Guys like that keep constant pressure on the opposing team on both ends of the court.



Hey, bet you would have really liked a couple of guys we had a little while back:
One was named Shane Battier and there was a guy even before him, some dude named Grant Hill. ;)

Look forward to your reports on Mr. Hood from the summer circuit.
I'm also curious as to whether Amile has that versatility, perhaps is headed that way, or possibly is more of an inside player.

No doubt K is looking for talent in that size range.

Jim3k
07-03-2012, 07:24 PM
Hightlights were hard to find and I'm no video expert but here is about a minute and a half of Rodney in various games, you dont want to know how hard this was to piece together.

http://dukeblogger.com/2012/07/a-little-more-on-rodney-hood-and-finally-some-highlights/

Well done.

Greg_Newton
07-04-2012, 03:43 AM
I might not have done it if I'd known Brian was putting together some highlights anyway, but I figured I'd put in my fair share of community service tonight and post an exhaustive video of Hood's entire freshman year at MSU. It does give a you a pretty good sense of who he is as a player if you're interested, and is front-loaded with the fun, flashy stuff for those with short attention spans. :p


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH2RJt3ZqOs

lotusland
07-04-2012, 05:08 AM
I might not have done it if I'd known Brian was putting together some highlights anyway, but I figured I'd put in my fair share of community service tonight and post an exhaustive video of Hood's entire freshman year at MSU. It does give a you a pretty good sense of who he is as a player if you're interested, and is front-loaded with the fun, flashy stuff for those with short attention spans. :p


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH2RJt3ZqOs

Thanks didn't realize Hood is a lefty.

devildeac
07-04-2012, 06:46 AM
Thanks didn't realize Hood is a lefty.

It would be even better if he is amphibious;).

OldPhiKap
07-04-2012, 08:21 AM
It would be even better if he is amphibious;).

If you can't go to college, go to State.

Back to Rodney, kid can seriously ball.

COYS
07-04-2012, 09:56 AM
@Greg and @Brian,

Great work and many thanks! In many ways, these are more useful highlight videos for fans like me who don't really have a good sense of Rodney's game outside of what we've read on these boards compared to high school highlight videos that have a lot of breakaway dunks and wide open three pointers. That being said, it seems that all the talk about Hood being a versatile player has been spot on. His handle is actually pretty good from what I can tell, and I agree with those who think he could easily slide between the 2 and 3 spots and even move to the 4 in end of game situations where his ball handling would be useful (would be good to see him improve on his FT%). Anyway, he looks to be an exciting player!

Dr. Rosenrosen
07-04-2012, 11:17 AM
Hightlights were hard to find and I'm no video expert but here is about a minute and a half of Rodney in various games, you dont want to know how hard this was to piece together.

http://dukeblogger.com/2012/07/a-little-more-on-rodney-hood-and-finally-some-highlights/
Awesome! Really nice jump shot he has. Wow! Even more excited to see him in Duke blue.
Thanks for putting this together.

Troublemaker
07-04-2012, 12:19 PM
Love Hood. A 6-8 guard that can shoot, dribble, pass and has IQ. Should play the two and can probably even play the one in a pinch.

I wouldn't say that Hood is "long" though, at least not how I understand the word to be used in basketball circles. To me, a "long" basketball player is one who has a wingspan that exceeds his height by a significant margin. A "long" 6-8 player would be a player who is 6ft-8" tall with a 7-ft wingspan, for example. Hood is 6-8 with a 6-8 wingspan. He has great size for the 2-guard position and he has unusal skills for his height, but he is not "long." Otherwise every player 6-8 and above is long. In which case "long" is just a synonym for "tall."

Tall, long, whatever the case, Happy 4th everyone.

Kedsy
07-04-2012, 12:55 PM
@Greg and @Brian,

Great work and many thanks!

My thanks as well. From these highlights, I have a strong feeling the Duke faithful are going to very much enjoy having Rodney Hood on the squad.

Greg_Newton
07-04-2012, 06:06 PM
No problem, and thanks - it was interesting to learn about him as a player. A few random thoughts that stood out to me:

-His form doesn't change whether it's a 5' floater or a 24' three. Seems to have great touch from all ranges. Plus, that high/quick release is pretty much impossible to alter if he decides he's going to shoot.

-He IQ really jumped out at me. He played very much within himself, almost like a veteran NBA role player; he never barreled into the lane and exposed himself to help defense, and when he did attack, his dribble moves were almost exclusively geared towards getting himself a good jump shot that he knew he could make. He also never hesitated to kick the ball back out if the defense wasn't giving him anything, and seemed to be a deceptively smart passer with a very good sense of where the ball should be. Plus, he never let himself get sped up, ever, which is a mature quality for a FR.

-He had great fakes which he used confidently. He's also good at "taking his space", despite his stature. Bobby Knight will like him.

-I don't think there was a single play that he finished going right; he almost looked scared to get in a position where a right-handed finish would be warranted. Many times, he'd stop, pivot around backwards, and shoot a curling jump shot rather than continue to the rim with his right. You could tell that was the scouting report on him, too, as a few lefty jab steps sent defenders flying a little further than they should have. Something to work on during his off-year.

-He actually did man the 4-spot in at least one instance, and MSU wasn't exactly light on talented big men. I had thought he was a pretty pure 3/2, but I suppose he could also spend some time at the stretch 4 for us with a year's added strength.

Very exciting to have him on board.

roywhite
07-04-2012, 06:33 PM
No problem, and thanks - it was interesting to learn about him as a player. A few random thoughts that stood out to me:

-His form doesn't change whether it's a 5' floater or a 24' three. Seems to have great touch from all ranges. Plus, that high/quick release is pretty much impossible to alter if he decides he's going to shoot.

-He IQ really jumped out at me. He played very much within himself, almost like a veteran NBA role player; he never barreled into the lane and exposed himself to help defense, and when he did attack, his dribble moves were almost exclusively geared towards getting himself a good jump shot that he knew he could make. He also never hesitated to kick the ball back out if the defense wasn't giving him anything, and seemed to be a deceptively smart passer with a very good sense of where the ball should be. Plus, he never let himself get sped up, ever, which is a mature quality for a FR.

-He had great fakes which he used confidently. He's also good at "taking his space", despite his stature. Bobby Knight will like him.

-I don't think there was a single play that he finished going right; he almost looked scared to get in a position where a right-handed finish would be warranted. Many times, he'd stop, pivot around backwards, and shoot a curling jump shot rather than continue to the rim with his right. You could tell that was the scouting report on him, too, as a few lefty jab steps sent defenders flying a little further than they should have. Something to work on during his off-year.

-He actually did man the 4-spot in at least one instance, and MSU wasn't exactly light on talented big men. I had thought he was a pretty pure 3/2, but I suppose he could also spend some time at the stretch 4 for us with a year's added strength.

Very exciting to have him on board.

Thanks very much for the video and the observations.

As I saw the highlights and then saw your comments, couldn't help but think of a Harrison Barnes comparison. Didn't score like Barnes did, but maybe better shot selection and better in some areas like ball handling and passing?

With improvement in going right and a year's experience with Duke's players and coaches, he could be special in 2013-14.

BD80
07-04-2012, 06:52 PM
... As I saw the highlights and then saw your comments, couldn't help but think of a Harrison Barnes comparison. ...

Don't think he's the skype talker that the pigeon was.

NYC Duke Fan
07-04-2012, 07:19 PM
How many years of eligibility does Hood have...2 or 3 ?

Duvall
07-04-2012, 07:22 PM
How many years of eligibility does Hood have...2 or 3 ?

Three.

FireOgilvie
07-04-2012, 07:56 PM
-He IQ really jumped out at me. He played very much within himself, almost like a veteran NBA role player; he never barreled into the lane and exposed himself to help defense, and when he did attack, his dribble moves were almost exclusively geared towards getting himself a good jump shot that he knew he could make. He also never hesitated to kick the ball back out if the defense wasn't giving him anything, and seemed to be a deceptively smart passer with a very good sense of where the ball should be. Plus, he never let himself get sped up, ever, which is a mature quality for a FR.


-He actually did man the 4-spot in at least one instance, and MSU wasn't exactly light on talented big men. I had thought he was a pretty pure 3/2, but I suppose he could also spend some time at the stretch 4 for us with a year's added strength.



I agree about his basketball IQ. For one, he rarely makes turnovers; he averaged just less than one a game last season. He's also a good passer. In the video, you highlighted about 15 examples of him feeding the post, which is obviously something we need. He had better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio (best on his team - and only Quinn Cook put up better numbers at Duke). He'll be a great addition.

Given that, I really hope we don't use him at the 4 next season outside of the occasional defensive switch or end of game free throw situation. If he wants to maximize his draft potential (which will also correlate with great success at Duke), he needs to:

1. Maintain his quickness, while also getting stronger.
2. Work on ball-handling and getting better at driving to the basket (this hurt Harrison Barnes in the draft).
3. Improve his mid-range game.

IMO, these first three are huge and are the biggest things he has going for him at this point in terms of NBA potential; he's considered a big/"versatile" SG/wing who can also handle the ball and pass. Bulking up while maintaining quickness is great, but don't get too big and slow down - your draft position can really fall off a cliff. NBA teams want guys that are quick/mobile/versatile for their size on defense, and the NBA is trending this way overall (look at the Finals this year).

4. Improve his three point shot. This one will basically decide just how high he goes relative to his draft range/tier based on the first 3.

If he improves like I know he can under Coach K (and does the first 3 things), I think he will definitely be seen as lottery pick in 2014.



Thanks very much for the video and the observations.

As I saw the highlights and then saw your comments, couldn't help but think of a Harrison Barnes comparison. Didn't score like Barnes did, but maybe better shot selection and better in some areas like ball handling and passing?

With improvement in going right and a year's experience with Duke's players and coaches, he could be special in 2013-14.

I was wondering if someone would say that (Barnes comparison). I agree - Hood is the better passer, while Barnes was/is more polished on offense. Hood can learn from Barnes' mistakes, and 1) work on driving to the basket and 2) not give interviews about his brand.

plimnko
07-04-2012, 08:30 PM
I agree about his basketball IQ. For one, he rarely makes turnovers; he averaged just less than one a game last season. He's also a good passer. In the video, you highlighted about 15 examples of him feeding the post, which is obviously something we need. He had better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio (best on his team - and only Quinn Cook put up better numbers at Duke). He'll be a great addition.

Given that, I really hope we don't use him at the 4 next season outside of the occasional defensive switch or end of game free throw situation. If he wants to maximize his draft potential (which will also correlate with great success at Duke), he needs to:

1. Maintain his quickness, while also getting stronger.
2. Work on ball-handling and getting better at driving to the basket (this hurt Harrison Barnes in the draft).
3. Improve his mid-range game.

IMO, these first three are huge and are the biggest things he has going for him at this point in terms of NBA potential; he's considered a big/"versatile" SG/wing who can also handle the ball and pass. Bulking up while maintaining quickness is great, but don't get too big and slow down - your draft position can really fall off a cliff. NBA teams want guys that are quick/mobile/versatile for their size on defense, and the NBA is trending this way overall (look at the Finals this year).

4. Improve his three point shot. This one will basically decide just how high he goes relative to his draft range/tier based on the first 3.

If he improves like I know he can under Coach K (and does the first 3 things), I think he will definitely be seen as lottery pick in 2014.




I was wondering if someone would say that (Barnes comparison). I agree - Hood is the better passer, while Barnes was/is more polished on offense. Hood can learn from Barnes' mistakes, and 1) work on driving to the basket and 2) not give interviews about his brand.

i know almost zero about hood, but i'll take him all day over barnes!!!

COYS
07-04-2012, 09:25 PM
No problem, and thanks - it was interesting to learn about him as a player. A few random thoughts that stood out to me:

-His form doesn't change whether it's a 5' floater or a 24' three. Seems to have great touch from all ranges. Plus, that high/quick release is pretty much impossible to alter if he decides he's going to shoot.

-He IQ really jumped out at me. He played very much within himself, almost like a veteran NBA role player; he never barreled into the lane and exposed himself to help defense, and when he did attack, his dribble moves were almost exclusively geared towards getting himself a good jump shot that he knew he could make. He also never hesitated to kick the ball back out if the defense wasn't giving him anything, and seemed to be a deceptively smart passer with a very good sense of where the ball should be. Plus, he never let himself get sped up, ever, which is a mature quality for a FR.

-He had great fakes which he used confidently. He's also good at "taking his space", despite his stature. Bobby Knight will like him.

-I don't think there was a single play that he finished going right; he almost looked scared to get in a position where a right-handed finish would be warranted. Many times, he'd stop, pivot around backwards, and shoot a curling jump shot rather than continue to the rim with his right. You could tell that was the scouting report on him, too, as a few lefty jab steps sent defenders flying a little further than they should have. Something to work on during his off-year.

-He actually did man the 4-spot in at least one instance, and MSU wasn't exactly light on talented big men. I had thought he was a pretty pure 3/2, but I suppose he could also spend some time at the stretch 4 for us with a year's added strength.

Very exciting to have him on board.

I think the nerd stats support your observations. Here are some advanced stats showing Rodney, Harrison Barnes, and Mike Dunleavy side by side. (http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=mike-dunleavy-jr&harrison-barnes=2010-2011&i=1&mike-dunleavy-jr=1999-2000&p1=rodney-hood&p2=harrison-barnes) Rodney's usage rate was pretty low, only 16%. And he hardly made any mistakes with a turnover percentage at 10.6%. He definitely plays within himself. I would venture to say that I actually hope he learns to be just a bit more aggressive as his free throw rate was teeny tiny (only 14.2 percent). In fact, he only attempted 41 free throws all of last season. If he were to get his free throw percentage into the 70-75% range and get to the line just a little bit more frequently while maintaining his low turnover rate, his already impressive offensive game would become pretty killer. His solid assist numbers should improve even more as he'll be surrounded by more talented scorers at Duke, as a whole.

He definitely did not accumulate rebounds or blocked shots like a forward (his defensive rebound percentage was about the same as Barnes' frosh season and his offensive rebound percentage was lower), so it does appear he is more of a really tall 2/3 in terms of his most natural position. In fact, his freshman year rebounding numbers were almost identical to Mike Dunleavy's. Dunleavy got to the line more frequently, didn't have the same assist rate and also turned the ball over more frequently his frosh season, but otherwise there are a lot of similarities in their numbers. They even had similar usage rates when they were on the court, even though Mike didn't play as much since Duke still had C-Well. They're definitely similar in that they are effectively tall players with guard skills whose natural inclinations are to play a guard like game. I'm not saying that Rodney will be just like Mike D and these types of comparisons are never perfect, but it seems from the limited tapes I've seen and the nerd stats that there are some similarities. In fact, since Rodney saw the court more on a team that probably needed him a bit more as a scorer, I'd guess that Rodney is probably not yet the scorer Dunleavy already was as a freshman. But still, I thought the comparison was interesting.

Newton_14
07-04-2012, 09:55 PM
I agree about his basketball IQ. For one, he rarely makes turnovers; he averaged just less than one a game last season. He's also a good passer. In the video, you highlighted about 15 examples of him feeding the post, which is obviously something we need. He had better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio (best on his team - and only Quinn Cook put up better numbers at Duke). He'll be a great addition.

Given that, I really hope we don't use him at the 4 next season outside of the occasional defensive switch or end of game free throw situation. If he wants to maximize his draft potential (which will also correlate with great success at Duke), he needs to:

1. Maintain his quickness, while also getting stronger.
2. Work on ball-handling and getting better at driving to the basket (this hurt Harrison Barnes in the draft).
3. Improve his mid-range game.

IMO, these first three are huge and are the biggest things he has going for him at this point in terms of NBA potential; he's considered a big/"versatile" SG/wing who can also handle the ball and pass. Bulking up while maintaining quickness is great, but don't get too big and slow down - your draft position can really fall off a cliff. NBA teams want guys that are quick/mobile/versatile for their size on defense, and the NBA is trending this way overall (look at the Finals this year).

4. Improve his three point shot. This one will basically decide just how high he goes relative to his draft range/tier based on the first 3.

If he improves like I know he can under Coach K (and does the first 3 things), I think he will definitely be seen as lottery pick in 2014.




I was wondering if someone would say that (Barnes comparison). I agree - Hood is the better passer, while Barnes was/is more polished on offense. Hood can learn from Barnes' mistakes, and 1) work on driving to the basket and 2) not give interviews about his brand.

I really don't see the Barnes comparison. In the video's posted, Hood was far more aggressive hunting his shot off the dribble then anything we have ever seen from Barnes. Hood seems unique to me in certain aspects. The Dunleavy comparisons are interesting, as they have similar bodies and styles.

Lots of things to like about Hood though. He is definitely going to help the team. Too bad he can't play this season. Still haven't heard if he will play in the Pro-Am or not, but it will be great if he does.

Duke is rebounding nicely from the poor post-season showing. The next few seasons are going to be fun!

FireOgilvie
07-04-2012, 11:35 PM
I really don't see the Barnes comparison. In the video's posted, Hood was far more aggressive hunting his shot off the dribble then anything we have ever seen from Barnes. Hood seems unique to me in certain aspects. The Dunleavy comparisons are interesting, as they have similar bodies and styles.

Lots of things to like about Hood though. He is definitely going to help the team. Too bad he can't play this season. Still haven't heard if he will play in the Pro-Am or not, but it will be great if he does.

Duke is rebounding nicely from the poor post-season showing. The next few seasons are going to be fun!

Let's look at that more closely. It's tough to get a clear idea of Hood's game from a highlight video alone, although it's very good, and I think the first 2 minutes makes him look way more aggressive than he really was. Even so, Hood only drives all the way to the basket 5 times in 13 minutes of video and spends the rest of the video taking pull-up jumpers and 3s. This is classic Harrison Barnes (pull-up jumpers and 3s). That's really Rodney's biggest knock at this point; he needs to be more aggressive. He barely got to the free throw line (41 attempts last year compared to 124 from Barnes his freshman year and 195 last year). Barnes shot more free throws than 3 pointers last year, while Hood shot three times as many 3-pointers as free throws (not a sign of a guy that attacks the rim). However, Hood is a somewhat better ball-handler than Barnes in the open court, in my opinion, and can eventually be better than Barnes at getting to the rim (if he does the things I spelled out in my earlier post). Also, a smaller percentage of Barnes' total FG attempts were 3s (39% freshman year and then 26% last year) than those of Hood (45%). Hood spent a lot more of his time on the perimeter than Barnes did and was 1 percentage point better than Barnes in 3pt FG%, while his total FG% was essentially the same. Barnes started to develop a post-up game his sophomore year and hopefully Hood can do the same.

Overall, it actually seems that Barnes was the more aggressive player on offense within the 3 pt line. Here's a video where our man Chris Collins actually breaks down Barnes' game before the NBA draft and he talks about how Barnes had an excellent mid-range game (and perimeter game), but struggled to get to the basket. The video mentions how Barnes often wasn't aggressive in driving all the way to the basket and would settle for pull-up jump shots (like Hood), although there are still multiple highlights in the video where he drives to the basket and also gets several dunks/layups in transition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAuvZdi7coQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=87s

Newton_14
07-05-2012, 08:23 AM
Let's look at that more closely. It's tough to get a clear idea of Hood's game from a highlight video alone, although it's very good, and I think the first 2 minutes makes him look way more aggressive than he really was. Even so, Hood only drives all the way to the basket 5 times in 13 minutes of video and spends the rest of the video taking pull-up jumpers and 3s. This is classic Harrison Barnes (pull-up jumpers and 3s). That's really Rodney's biggest knock at this point; he needs to be more aggressive. He barely got to the free throw line (41 attempts last year compared to 124 from Barnes his freshman year and 195 last year). Barnes shot more free throws than 3 pointers last year, while Hood shot three times as many 3-pointers as free throws (not a sign of a guy that attacks the rim). However, Hood is a somewhat better ball-handler than Barnes in the open court, in my opinion, and can eventually be better than Barnes at getting to the rim (if he does the things I spelled out in my earlier post). Also, a smaller percentage of Barnes' total FG attempts were 3s (39% freshman year and then 26% last year) than those of Hood (45%). Hood spent a lot more of his time on the perimeter than Barnes did and was 1 percentage point better than Barnes in 3pt FG%, while his total FG% was essentially the same. Barnes started to develop a post-up game his sophomore year and hopefully Hood can do the same.

Overall, it actually seems that Barnes was the more aggressive player on offense within the 3 pt line. Here's a video where our man Chris Collins actually breaks down Barnes' game before the NBA draft and he talks about how Barnes had an excellent mid-range game (and perimeter game), but struggled to get to the basket. The video mentions how Barnes often wasn't aggressive in driving all the way to the basket and would settle for pull-up jump shots (like Hood), although there are still multiple highlights in the video where he drives to the basket and also gets several dunks/layups in transition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAuvZdi7coQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=87s

Fair points, and good data. It is definitely difficult making a judgment solely on a highlight video. The numbers support your theory better than mine. That said, using the eye test, I do not see a Barnes clone, but concede the stats data show they are similar in style of play.

Kedsy
07-05-2012, 10:05 AM
Fair points, and good data. It is definitely difficult making a judgment solely on a highlight video. The numbers support your theory better than mine. That said, using the eye test, I do not see a Barnes clone, but concede the stats data show they are similar in style of play.

As much as most of us don't like Barnes, he was first team All-ACC and went 7th in the NBA draft after his sophomore year. If Rodney Hood is a "clone" of that for Duke, I think we'd all be pretty happy.

FerryFor50
07-05-2012, 10:12 AM
As much as most of us don't like Barnes, he was first team All-ACC and went 7th in the NBA draft after his sophomore year. If Rodney Hood is a "clone" of that for Duke, I think we'd all be pretty happy.

Agreed. And UNC fans will miss him next year, despite their claims that they won't.

He was much better than given credit for, IMO. The biggest knock on Barnes I had was that he never seemed to try... seemed to be distracted by getting to the NBA and branding himself. He will make Golden Stat fans fairly happy if he actually puts out some effort.

gumbomoop
07-05-2012, 11:03 AM
As much as most of us don't like Barnes, he was first team All-ACC and went 7th in the NBA draft after his sophomore year. If Rodney Hood is a "clone" of that for Duke, I think we'd all be pretty happy.


The biggest knock on Barnes I had was that he never seemed to try... seemed to be distracted by getting to the NBA and branding himself. He will make Golden Stat fans fairly happy if he actually puts out some effort.

I'm thinking this through, sort of "thinking aloud" about Kedsy's overall point here. FerryFor50's response to Kedsy is helpful. Maybe the best way for me to think this through is, in effect, to list ways in which Hood-as-Barnes-clone would be a good outcome, and ways in which a disappointment.

I'll be delighted if Hood's jumper, both 3-pt and stop-and-pop from inside the arc, is as sweet as Barnes's. I'll be delighted if Hood wants the ball in crucial situations. I'll hope Hood develops Barnes-like physical, uh, potential.

Despite Barnes's debatable first-team selection, over the clearly - clearly - more valuable Marshall, Barnes was something - or more - of a disappointment, in that he rarely "left it all on the floor." His regal self-image seems [to me] to have impeded his actual on-court attitude and behavior. I doubt many - including Carolina fans - would describe him as a hustle-guy, an energetic player. It's pretty widely acknowledged that although belatedly he himself recognized how mediocre was his handle, his summer of 2011 attempt to improve this skill didn't take. Indeed, Jay Bilas and others noted during this past season that Barnes had to take his pull-up jumper after no more than 2 dribbles. Force Barnes to dribble as much as possible, and you decrease his effectiveness.

Barnes probably had/has a more well-rounded game - better court sense, more willingness to rebound, more willingness to play fierce defense - than he showed. I've no doubt Barnes could have snared a few more rebounds. No doubt that Barnes could have defended many players the way he so obviously enjoyed the challenge of defending Kyle Singler. Coulda, yep. Shoulda, yep. Woulda, maybe intermittently.

So, to Kedsy's general observation, I have 2 rather opposite thoughts. If Hood were actually to achieve Barnes's ppg level, that would be impressive. Were he to achieve [well, let's call it] borderline 1st team ACC, definitely hard to turn that down.

Seems that NBA folks - or at least most of them, for Barnes's career projection is still a bit debated - think Barnes's UNC years were productive, and that he'll have a very productive pro career, definitely because of that sweet jumper and his physical skills and prowess, and probably/possibly because he will learn how to contribute in other ways.

But I sure hope Hood works more obviously, less regally, and with more success, to become - at Duke, not 5 years down the road - a fierce defender, willing perimeter rebounder, opportunistic passer, and joyous team player. For myself, I wouldn't be totally satisfied should Hood depart for the NBA without having come closer than Barnes to developing his wonderful talents more thoroughly.

I'm happy - schadenfreude - that Barnes was less than he might have been at UNC. Of course I am. I will be disappointed - and it won't be schadenfreude - should Hood be a Barnes-clone in that regard. Although curious, I don't much care how Barnes fares in the NBA. I care a lot about how Hood plays at Duke. And probably the emphasis there is on the word "how."

OldPhiKap
07-05-2012, 11:16 AM
Barnes was a very good player, whose hype got out ahead of him. The fact that he helped stoke that hype did not help.

I would be happy to have any player with his skills. Period.

As far as attitude -- I'm not objective enough to give a good indicator. I admittedly see what I wanted to see on that score. As far as Hood is concerned, though, everything I've read is positive and he does not seem to be a shrinking violet on the floor. So it's all good for me.

Kedsy
07-05-2012, 12:01 PM
But I sure hope Hood works more obviously, less regally, and with more success, to become - at Duke, not 5 years down the road - a fierce defender, willing perimeter rebounder, opportunistic passer, and joyous team player. For myself, I wouldn't be totally satisfied should Hood depart for the NBA without having come closer than Barnes to developing his wonderful talents more thoroughly.

Based on statistical comparison of Rodney's freshman year and HB's sophomore year (http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=harrison-barnes&harrison-barnes=2011-2012&i=1&p1=rodney-hood), Rodney is a much more opportunistic passer already, with both a much better assist rate and a much better turnover rate. His defensive rebounding was a little better than HB; his offensive rebounding was much worse. His usage rate was significantly less but his offensive rating was a little better. He had a few more blocks and a lot fewer steals, but that doesn't really tell us how his defense compared.

But that's just a comparison of how they played. Seems to me what you're saying is you'll be disappointed if Rodney Hood is the same kind of person as Harrison Barnes. Obviously, that's difficult to evaluate (and I'd argue our perceptions of Barnes the person are warped by the color blue he favored), but I'd submit that a good part of the response to your observation is this: Rodney Hood wanted to transfer, coming from what was by most accounts a dysfunctional team situation but where he would have shined statistically as the primary option, to what is by most accounts a place where he'd learn a lot and where team comes first and his overall statistics probably won't be nearly as impressive. He wanted that so much he was willing to sit out a season and postpone his NBA career. It doesn't necessarily say everything, but that should tell you something, at least.

gumbomoop
07-05-2012, 12:34 PM
But that's just a comparison of how they played. Seems to me what you're saying is you'll be disappointed if Rodney Hood is the same kind of person as Harrison Barnes.

I don't agree with you, but I'm not 100% certain you're wrong. Maybe 51% certain, which certainly isn't certainty.

In my post, I was in fact attempting to contrast how they played. Literally, how do these 2 guys play, what stuff do they do on the court? Not merely what we might infer from statistics about how they play.

I did, as did FerryFor50, link this "how" to Barnes's attitude [??], which I can't deny might have some connection to the "kind of person" Barnes seems to be. Although I have posted at some length on some Barnes thread speculations about what makes Barnes tick [and more important, why some adult didn't step in to help him recalibrate his ticking], I didn't in this thread intend to focus on his personality or character. I intended to focus on how he played at Carolina, not why he played that way.

Indeed, I might imagine someone - say, one of our several excellent UNC posters - explaining what I and others see as Barnes's game [not character and/or personality] deficiencies are mostly the result of the fact that Barnes didn't need to be a persistent rebounder, as Zeller and Henson had that covered. Or that Barnes quite sensibly left the passing to Marshall. Etc.

I'm more than willing to "think aloud' further about this, after some constructive criticism about flaws in my thinking, or emphasis, or whatever. I concede that, intending to analyze the "how," I might have implied things about the "why." I insist that others might infer things I didn't imply.

Kedsy
07-05-2012, 12:56 PM
I'm more than willing to "think aloud' further about this, after some constructive criticism about flaws in my thinking, or emphasis, or whatever. I concede that, intending to analyze the "how," I might have implied things about the "why." I insist that others might infer things I didn't imply.

Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you in any way, or read more into your words than you intended. Seems to me, "how" someone plays has three components: (a) how they are taught to play; (b) what they are physically capable of doing; and (c) what kind of person they are -- which governs things like how much effort they put into defense and whether they generally choose to pass or shoot. Or, put another way, whether they attempt to help the team without regard to personal success or whether they assume personal success will lead to team success or whether they don't care either way as long as they get theirs, etc.

You asked for "a fierce defender, willing perimeter rebounder, opportunistic passer, and joyous team player," characteristics which to me would seem to fall into bucket (c). Possibly, to some extent, bucket (a), although at least for the next two seasons, Rodney should have an advantage there too.

gumbomoop
07-05-2012, 02:03 PM
Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you in any way, or read more into your words than you intended. Seems to me, "how" someone plays has three components: (a) how they are taught to play; (b) what they are physically capable of doing; and (c) what kind of person they are -- which governs things like how much effort they put into defense and whether they generally choose to pass or shoot. Or, put another way, whether they attempt to help the team without regard to personal success or whether they assume personal success will lead to team success or whether they don't care either way as long as they get theirs, etc.

You asked for "a fierce defender, willing perimeter rebounder, opportunistic passer, and joyous team player," characteristics which to me would seem to fall into bucket (c). Possibly, to some extent, bucket (a), although at least for the next two seasons, Rodney should have an advantage there too.

I promise you didn't offend me. Swear on the combined candle-power of Romney's and Obama's smiles. And other more meaningful standards.

It interests me that we're still, possibly, not seeing "how" as meaning the same thing. In my half-baked analysis of how Barnes played - especially the things he just didn't do very consistently - I mean only to comment on eye-test observation [of a pretty good number of games] about what he did and didn't do well. Maybe the word should be "what," though colloquially "how he plays" must usually connote "what he does and does not do on the court."

In your tag quote, I'm not into (a), how he was taught, for I've no desire to critique either his HS prep or Roy's coaching, system, etc. As to (b), I'm very impressed with Barnes's physical abilities. Except his handle, which I think and have said numerous times on EK, is the single most important physical skill for perimeter players.

As to (c), although I'm trying to avoid linking "what" Barnes did on the court to his character and/or personality, I may be fooling myself. How about this: how Barnes played, defined as what he did/did not do, is a function of "the kind of [I]basketball person" he was/is. It's a commonplace that player X is a teddy-bear [not a Ted-bear] off the field, but an aggressive "killer" on the field.

In fact - "thinking aloud" here - maybe this distinction helps explain the Barnes-as-player mystery. [I think there's a consensus that Barnes is a bit of a mystery, as a player.] Roy stated something like "Harrison is the most driven player I've ever coached." So we might infer that this very nice, friendly, warm, multi-talented young man was also driven to become a great player. But we all know - eye-test - that how he played [= what he actually did, most of the time] did not qualify as our consensus, common sense, standard understanding of what a driven player looks like on the court. The contrast between Barnes and Kidd-Gilchrist got some commentary. Painfully obvious difference, or so it seemed, eye-test-wise.

Thread relevance, and minor shiv: I'm pretty sure most posters want from Hood such things as fierceness, aggressiveness, opportunism, and joy. Re such attributes, Barnes's standard is actually too low; I/we want Hood to go way above that. Should he do so, he may or may not achieve either Barnes's ppg or his draft number. But he'll surely come close to his considerable potential, and will leave Duke fans missing him - emotionally - more than UNC fans seem to miss Barnes. Something went a little awry over there.

jimsumner
07-05-2012, 02:17 PM
Official press release

"Rodney Hood will transfer to Duke University after playing his freshman season in 2011-12 at Mississippi State, head coach Mike Krzyzewski officially announced on Thursday. Hood, a 6-8 wing, will sit out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“We are very happy to add Rodney to our program,” said Krzyzewski. “We recruited him out of high school and followed his progress at Mississippi State, where he had an outstanding year. We believe that with him sitting out a year and getting prepare he will have a huge positive impact on our program.”

Hood, an SEC All-Freshman Team selection, averaged 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for the Bulldogs a year ago. He shot 44.3 percent from the floor, including 36.4 percent from three-point range, in his lone season in Starkville. Hood reached double figures in scoring 17 times as a freshman with a season-best 20 points in an early season win over Louisiana-Monroe.

"I feel like coach (Mike Krzyzewski) and the staff can get the most out of me as a player and academically," Hood told ESPN.com’s Dave Telep late Saturday evening. "I liked the teammates and felt like we have a good chance to compete for a championship. He was pretty honest with me and told me what he saw for my future. He was up front and he didn't just tell me anything. He was specific and to the point. He said he can make me a better basketball player and one of the best in the country. His track record speaks for itself. I could tell he believed in me as a player."

The rangy left-hander had an outstanding high school career at Meridian, where he led the Wildcats to the Class 6A state championships as a senior and was a two-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 24.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while leading Meridian to a 29-2 record as a senior. During his junior season, Hood averaged 22.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.

Hood was a consensus top 50 talent coming out of high school, ranking No. 16 by Rivals, No. 30 by ESPN and No. 49 by Scout. Hood's father, Ricky, played basketball at Mississippi State from 1978-80.

With the addition of Hood, Duke now has eight players 6-7 or taller on the 2011-12 roster. Duke returns 10 letterwinners, including three starters, from last year’s team that spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll and finished the year 27-7 overall. "

Kedsy
07-05-2012, 03:29 PM
How about this: how Barnes played, defined as what he did/did not do, is a function of "the kind of basketball person" he was/is.

OK, I'll go along with that, although I'd argue there's often some overlap between what kind of person someone is and what kind of "basketball person" he is. For example, if a guy is interested primarily in his legacy or his future in pro basketball, he might play differently on the court then if he's primarily interested in helping the team. In the former case, the player assumes that if he gets his points and plays well then things will work out well for the team. So he plays to impress the pro scouts and hopes the team wins. In the latter case, the player assumes that if he plays well enough for the team to win then things will work out well for him. So he plays as hard as he can to get the win and hopes he impresses the pro scouts. It's a fundamental difference in on-court personality, but it's at least partially related to overall personality.

watzone
07-30-2012, 11:26 AM
We opened up an in depth interview with Rodney Hood from our premium side, which is worth a read to get to know one of the newest Dukies - http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/07/welcome-to-the-hood-a-rodney-hood-exclusive/

moonpie23
07-30-2012, 11:34 AM
am i missing something? it says you have to be a premium member to read the entire thing...

watzone
07-30-2012, 11:39 AM
am i missing something? it says you have to be a premium member to read the entire thing...

Whoops! Try it now.

Kedsy
07-30-2012, 01:05 PM
Whoops! Try it now.

Still says you have to be a premium member when I tried to read it just now.

watzone
07-30-2012, 01:50 PM
Still says you have to be a premium member when I tried to read it just now.

Try this link - http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/07/welcome-to-the-hood-a-rodney-hood-exclusive/ Sorry, the code was messed up in the original link.

Kedsy
07-30-2012, 02:07 PM
Try this link - http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/07/welcome-to-the-hood-a-rodney-hood-exclusive/ Sorry, the code was messed up in the original link.

Yes, this one worked. Thanks for posting it. It's an interesting read.

Billy Dat
04-30-2013, 10:44 AM
Nice Andy Katz ESPN piece on Rodney...at the very least, the kid knows how to answer interview questions, gotta love his attitude and mentality.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/9226878/rodney-hood-ready-boost-duke-blue-devils-college-basketball

sagegrouse
04-30-2013, 10:54 AM
Nice Andy Katz ESPN piece on Rodney...at the very least, the kid knows how to answer interview questions, gotta love his attitude and mentality.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/9226878/rodney-hood-ready-boost-duke-blue-devils-college-basketball

Money quote from a good interview, with considerable discussion of academics and Coach K's passion for excellence:


Andy Katz: How much did you consider declaring for the draft this spring?

Rodney Hood: There were a lot of people around me, not in my circle, but people talking that said I could have gone because it was a weak draft. I'm too invested in Duke basketball. I love it here. I've grown with the players and the coaches and coaching staff. This was a no-brainer to stay here. I wasn't even thinking it. I want to play at least one season here at Duke.

Not necessarily at Duke for three years, but that's the way the world works.

sagegrouse

dyedwab
04-30-2013, 11:41 AM
Nice Andy Katz ESPN piece on Rodney...at the very least, the kid knows how to answer interview questions, gotta love his attitude and mentality.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/9226878/rodney-hood-ready-boost-duke-blue-devils-college-basketball

Rodney's quote here:

"We're long, but we're not muscular guys. We're getting in the weight room and we're excited about the season. This will be a different team, a different dynamic. Other than Marshall [Plumlee], we don't have a true big man. But we've got a lot of versatility."

Outstanding analysis - and dead one. I like it when our players understand early what kind of team we are going to have.

Kedsy
04-30-2013, 11:46 AM
I like it when our players understand early what kind of team we are going to have.

I suspect the players usually understand. It's us fans who have the problems. :p

Nugget
04-30-2013, 12:42 PM
Money quote from a good interview, with considerable discussion of academics and Coach K's passion for excellence: . . .

Having read it, I vote for this as the money quote from Rodney's interview:

AK: How would you compare Duke to Mississippi State?

RH: The atmosphere here at Duke, the coaching staff and everyone around here expects excellence. Everybody is trying to do big things in life and in academics. They're doing the right things off the court and being held accountable. It has helped me be a better person in this off year.

It was an excellent interview -- Rodney comes across as a very impressive young man.

mr. synellinden
04-30-2013, 02:11 PM
That was a fantastic read. For me, the money quote was the last one:

Right now it's totally different than when I first stepped on campus. Then, it was Coach K and he had just won the Olympics. He is the all-time winningest coach in college basketball. I was in awe. I wasn't intimidated, but I was in awe. Now I'm excited to learn from him. And I've learned so much. I've seen how passionate he is as a coach and how he prepares for games. It's something I've never seen before in a coach.

The fact that there are several different opinions on the best quote says a lot. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed reading that. It reinforces the notion for me - if you are a top recruit - why would you not want to come to Duke and play for Coach K.

camion
04-30-2013, 02:14 PM
Dang. I really want this guy to play for Duke.


Oh wait, he will. :D

Billy Dat
04-30-2013, 02:16 PM
That was a fantastic read. For me, the money quote was the last one:

Right now it's totally different than when I first stepped on campus. Then, it was Coach K and he had just won the Olympics. He is the all-time winningest coach in college basketball. I was in awe. I wasn't intimidated, but I was in awe. Now I'm excited to learn from him. And I've learned so much. I've seen how passionate he is as a coach and how he prepares for games. It's something I've never seen before in a coach.

The fact that there are several different opinions on the best quote says a lot. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed reading that. It reinforces the notion for me - if you are a top recruit - why would you not want to come to Duke and play for Coach K.

I agree, but to me it says something even more specific, almost like the old Army "be all that you can be" ads. It says that Duke is interested in excellence in all facets, and if you aren't turned on by pursuing that ideal, and being held accountable for your individual effort toward that goal, then don't bother.

MCFinARL
04-30-2013, 04:23 PM
I agree, but to me it says something even more specific, almost like the old Army "be all that you can be" ads. It says that Duke is interested in excellence in all facets, and if you aren't turned on by pursuing that ideal, and being held accountable for your individual effort toward that goal, then don't bother.

Agreed. That no doubt turns some potential recruits off--and I'm okay with that!

wk2109
04-30-2013, 04:32 PM
Rodney also wrote a blog post on dukeblueplanet: http://blog.dukeblueplanet.com/2013/04/rodney-cant-wait/

He says this regarding next year's team: "It will be good to get home and look back on a tough, good year but I can’t wait to get this going. We’ve got a lot of versatility. We got depth. A lot of people will say we are young but we have great seniors with Tyler, Josh and Todd. We have a lot of talent and guys who can play multiple positions. I am excited to see how it’s all gonna work. Coach is real excited. I am just waiting for everyone to get back here on campus so we can get to work. I am anticipating a fast-paced game. We will be up and down, pressing. I can imagine getting into people’s faces and trying to pressure the ball. We will be really athletic and can take some chances on defense. We will see. There’s a lot of options for a team like this."

gumbomoop
04-30-2013, 06:57 PM
The fact that there are several different opinions on the best quote says a lot.

I'll pick this one .....

"I'm taking things that I really enjoy. The classes are fun. They allow you to be a student. It's not just multiple-choice tests. There are papers, and you can say what you feel on different things."

...... as it shows that some student-athletes in American universities actually are. I hope, given the amazing time commitment Duke bball demands, all of our guys actually get to be, indeed must be, college students.