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DavidBenAkiva
01-02-2013, 03:06 PM
This Duke basketball season is going so well, I am straining to find things to get upset about. One things that is stuck in my craw is the lack of attention Quinn Cook is getting on the national stage. Case in point: the most recent edition of Jason King's blog post (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8801398/king-court-examines-most-critical-players-conference-season-college-basketball) on ESPN includes a quick ranking of the top PG's in the country. Some of ESPN's top basketball writers, including guys I like and respect, failed to vote for Cook among the top 20. Meanwhile, he's played head-to-head against three of the top 10 (Peyton Siva, #4 on the list; Aaron Craft #6; Andre Hollins #10; and Archie Goodwin, Honorable Mention). I did a quick stats analysis of those four games, and here's how it turned out for Duke's Point Guard against some of the best in the country:

Cook: 12.8 pts/gm, 4-9 shooting (44.4%), 4 rebs, 5.3 asts, 3.25 turnovers, 2 stls
Opponents: 14.5 pts/gm, 5-13.4 shooting (36.4%), 3.8 reb, 3.3 asts, 3.5 turnovers, 1.5 stls

Cook isn't scoring as much as his highly-esteemed opponents in these games, but's he's been a better shooter, distributor, had fewer turnovers, and more rebounds and steals. Also, from my memory, he was clutch in those games. What does #2 for the Blue Devils have to do be considered one of the 10 best in the country?

Time flies like an arrow
Fruit flies like a banana
-- Groucho Marx

dukelifer
01-02-2013, 03:16 PM
This Duke basketball season is going so well, I am straining to find things to get upset about. One things that is stuck in my craw is the lack of attention Quinn Cook is getting on the national stage. Case in point: the most recent edition of Jason King's blog post (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8801398/king-court-examines-most-critical-players-conference-season-college-basketball) on ESPN includes a quick ranking of the top PG's in the country. Some of ESPN's top basketball writers, including guys I like and respect, failed to vote for Cook among the top 20. Meanwhile, he's played head-to-head against three of the top 10 (Peyton Siva, #4 on the list; Aaron Craft #6; Andre Hollins #10; and Archie Goodwin, Honorable Mention). I did a quick stats analysis of those four games, and here's how it turned out for Duke's Point Guard against some of the best in the country:

Cook: 12.8 pts/gm, 4-9 shooting (44.4%), 4 rebs, 5.3 asts, 3.25 turnovers, 2 stls
Opponents: 14.5 pts/gm, 5-13.4 shooting (36.4%), 3.8 reb, 3.3 asts, 3.5 turnovers, 1.5 stls

Cook isn't scoring as much as his highly-esteemed opponents in these games, but's he's been a better shooter, distributor, had fewer turnovers, and more rebounds and steals. Also, from my memory, he was clutch in those games. What does #2 for the Blue Devils have to do be considered one of the 10 best in the country?

Time flies like an arrow
Fruit flies like a banana
-- Groucho Marx
I hope Quinn uses this as motivation to get better- because he is already good. Much better to be under the radar. Quinn has been a difference maker for Duke this year- but let the other guys get the headlines. Quinn will get his soon enough.

brevity
01-02-2013, 03:23 PM
Jan Brady syndrome. He's not a freshman or a senior.

camion
01-02-2013, 04:16 PM
I don't know if Quinn is a top 10 PG.

I do know that his play is one of the reasons the team is ranked where it is at the moment. We needed him to step up and he did, bigtime. :D

OldPhiKap
01-02-2013, 04:22 PM
He is the starting point guard on the #1 team in the country.

Good enough for me.


Personally, I am a fan of flying under the radar. I do find it difficult to believe, though, that he hasn't gotten the ink splash that some others have. It's not like he was MVP of a tournament where we beat three NCAA-bound teams in a row or anything.

UrinalCake
01-03-2013, 10:13 AM
I disagree - I want him to be getting more hype. Guys come to duke so they can be in the spotlight, not fly under the radar. We want our current players to be accustomed to playing under pressure, and we want recruits to see Duke everywhere, all the time.

My take on why Quinn hasn't gotten more press is
- Mason is having such a phenomenal season
- we have three seniors, who are the presumed leaders and thus an outside observer would tend to give them all of the credit for our success
- many people don't know that he was injured/recovering last year, so they weren't impressed by him. Now that's clouding their judgment.
- he does everything really well but doesn't stand out in one area, so on paper you don't get a sense for how good and how valuable he's been

gam7
01-03-2013, 01:00 PM
I disagree - I want him to be getting more hype. Guys come to duke so they can be in the spotlight, not fly under the radar. We want our current players to be accustomed to playing under pressure, and we want recruits to see Duke everywhere, all the time.

My take on why Quinn hasn't gotten more press is
- Mason is having such a phenomenal season
- we have three seniors, who are the presumed leaders and thus an outside observer would tend to give them all of the credit for our success
- many people don't know that he was injured/recovering last year, so they weren't impressed by him. Now that's clouding their judgment.
- he does everything really well but doesn't stand out in one area, so on paper you don't get a sense for how good and how valuable he's been

Another reason to add to your list is that he's not considered much of a draft prospect at this point in his career.

Quinn's been a great fit for this team and is getting better and better, but there are some good college-level point guards out there right now. For this year at least, he may have to settle for recognition in the form of broadcasters saying every game that HE is the reason Duke is having such a great year.

COYS
01-03-2013, 01:46 PM
Another reason to add to your list is that he's not considered much of a draft prospect at this point in his career.

Quinn's been a great fit for this team and is getting better and better, but there are some good college-level point guards out there right now. For this year at least, he may have to settle for recognition in the form of broadcasters saying every game that HE is the reason Duke is having such a great year.

Quinn will have his day in the spotlight. He's got an infection personality and, when he's playing well, clearly has a lot of fun on the court. That combined with the fact that Duke point guards can only hide in the shadows for a small window of time means that I think he'll be looked at for All-ACC votes for one of the teams as early as this year and may very well go into next year near the top of the list of college point guards. That being said, I think he'd probably take it as a compliment that many fail to recognize how well he's playing. He's managing the offense very well which is helping Mason put up NPOY worthy numbers. It's helping Seth get open look after open look despite every defense on the planet knowing for a fact that they can't leave Seth open. He's keeping the floor spaced with his improved three point accuracy which opens up driving lanes for Rasheed and allows our star frosh to play to his strengths. Finally, he runs the pick and pop really well with Ryan (as does Seth), which has helped Ryan get more open looks over the last 6-7 games than he was getting in the first few games. The result of Quinn's play has been improved team play on offense as a whole for Duke. Regardless of whether people realize it or not, when they compliment Mason, Seth or Ryan, they are indirectly highlighting some of the contributions that Quinn has made.

To that end, Tyler has made incremental but significant improvements to his playmaking and shooting abilities. His assist rate is a full six percentage points higher than last season and now sits at a respectable 21%. His three point shooting has been solid as well. Many posters including your truly thought that the biggest addition Tyler could make to his game would be to knock down the wide open three point shot at a nice clip. So far, that's exactly what he's done, but he has also improved his passing and his defense, as well. Tyler and Quinn have combined to play some excellent basketball this year.

sagegrouse
01-03-2013, 03:04 PM
Quinn will have his day in the spotlight. He's got an infection personality and, when he's playing well, clearly has a lot of fun on the court.

That's my kind of Freudian slip. How do you treat an "infection personality?" Mercury and arsenic, or are there antibiotics?

sagegrouse

gam7
01-03-2013, 03:35 PM
That's my kind of Freudian slip. How do you treat an "infection personality?" Mercury and arsenic, or are there antibiotics?

sagegrouse

I just assumed Borat hijacked your DBR account. "High five."

COYS
01-03-2013, 04:00 PM
That's my kind of Freudian slip. How do you treat an "infection personality?" Mercury and arsenic, or are there antibiotics?

sagegrouse

Haha, whoops. I am apparently suffering from an auto-correction infection.

MChambers
01-03-2013, 04:13 PM
Haha, whoops. I am apparently suffering from an auto-correction infection.

I was thinking maybe Quinn was related to Typhoid Mary!

JasonEvans
01-03-2013, 05:27 PM
I am not sure how many folks have noticed, but Quinn has really turned into a dribbling wizard at times. Late in the game last night, he just weaved his way through the Davidson D on a couple occasions. It was fun to watch and the kind of PG play I have not seen from Duke very much over the past decade (other than Kyrie's short stint in Duke blue).

-Jason "loving what we are getting from Quinn so far... and salivating at what I see coming from him in the future" Evans

AtlDuke72
01-03-2013, 05:55 PM
He looked like he might be related to Phil Ford - and not many ever dribbled better than that Heel.

yancem
01-03-2013, 06:26 PM
Another reason to add to your list is that he's not considered much of a draft prospect at this point in his career.

Quinn's been a great fit for this team and is getting better and better, but there are some good college-level point guards out there right now. For this year at least, he may have to settle for recognition in the form of broadcasters saying every game that HE is the reason Duke is having such a great year.

I think that this is probably a sizable reason for the lack of recognition but Marshall had the same issue as a freshman (and should have had it last year based on his rookie numbers) but he got all kinds of recognition and credit for unc's success which I find interesting. It will be interesting how Cook's draft prospects change over the next 2 years. I think that his height is going to prevent him from ever being considered a definite lottery pick but his game has developed far and quickly so I wouldn't bet too much against it. Either way, he is certainly making me feel much better about not trying to recruit a top notch pg the last two years and if we miss out on Tyus Jones in '14 I won't be sweating it as much I thought I would be a few months ago (that is until Cook proves me wrong by blowing up next season and going pro:rolleyes: )

Newton_14
01-03-2013, 06:34 PM
He looked like he might be related to Phil Ford - and not many ever dribbled better than that Heel.

For you young bucks, that is extremely high praise. Ford was much like Pistol Pete in that the ball was like a yo-yo in his hand. He was small and slight like Quinn, and could go where ever he wanted to go whenever he decided to. Just unguardable, especially when UNC went to the 4 Corners to salt the game away. The lead could be as small as 2 or 4 points, with 5 or more minutes to go, and in essence, the game was over, because of Ford's ability to dribble, and then attack if he decided to. I hated him and UNC but dude was a magician with the ball.

Quinn is showing similar traits, which is awesome. Given he is only a Sophomore and first year starter, his ceiling is high. Last night was awesome. As Quinn matures, he will only get better.

bedeviled
01-03-2013, 06:46 PM
Okay, I’ll martyr myself a little here for the OP by looking at areas for improvement. The players on the Top10 list have different attributes, so it’s tough to compare Quinn to them as a collective unit. Instead, I’ll focus on my view of Quinn: I think recognition will come with experience. Quinn is still a relatively immature player. Here are, more or less, 5 areas that reflect this (Honestly, the one I care about is #5 (dictating play) but it’s built on the others):

1. Consistency in internal intensity: It often appears that Quinn relies on a world-beater or highlight reel mentality to drive his motor. When things get more intense, he gets more spirited. This may seem great because it means he performs better on the big stage, but it has its drawbacks, too.

You can see him feed off the beginnings of good play. He tries to elevate his game by purposefully amping himself up (clapping, hitting his chest, ‘putting on a face,’ head nods, cajoling his teammates and the crowd). However, this is often the reverse of the way things should happen….the external pump (physical posturing, celebration, crowd noise) should be secondary to internal game, he shouldn’t rely on the external things to elevate his internal motor. Note, it’s cyclic in nature, so it’s definitely not black-and-white. But, in my eyes, it is evident that he relies quite a bit on external factors for his internal drive. Personally, one of my biggest hopes for Phase II was that Quinn would have to develop his own inner drive because the winter games don’t have the same intensity. Unfortunately, I wonder if, instead, this is one of the reasons for our lackluster starts (ie there’s little external intensity to feed off of in the 1st half against a middling team).
Related to his amping himself up, he has more of a tendency to talk and get chippy compared to our other players. More than one ref has had to verbally warn him this year, and, as I recall, his chippiness resulted in a technical foul for Tyler in one game. This can potentially cause instability and risk for the team in tense games.
His spiritedness isn’t always positive, as evidenced by his history of getting down on himself when things aren’t going well. Thus, it is yet unclear what will happen if we get down big to a quality opponent - will he rise up and dominate or will he get crabby, chippy, and try to force things too much?

2. Complex strategy and setting up mismatches: Quinn has an attack-first tendency. He may be setting up someone else for the attack, but he’s still predominantly full-throttle attack. The general tendency of inexperienced athletes is to aim straight for the goal, but veteran players may focus on other paths to accomplish the objective. I think this is easier to see in soccer where there is more spacing to see plays develop – an offense will often spend much of a possession getting position and disrupting the defense rather than going straight for a shot. It’s also evident in tennis where a player is not necessarily aiming every shot to be a winner, rather they are setting up the opponent over a series of plays.
I didn’t get to see the end of the Davidson game, but the DBR posts sound as though Quinn had a more deliberate approach in the stall-offense. For most of the game, Davidson dictated play on that end of the court by running their defensive scheme. It sounds like Quinn finally disrupted their scheme by pulling on their defensive formation with his dribbling. I didn’t see it, but my suspicion (and some of the DBR description) is that his dribbling wasn’t necessarily to-goal during this time. This is contrary to his usual nature, and I would guess that it was due to Coach K calling for stall-offense, not a decision by Quinn (though I’ll be a pleased puppy if this was really Quinn figuring out on his own how to break the defense apart). Regarding the Top10, I really appreciate the Louisville guards’ abilities to disrupt defenses via dribbling. I have also seen Craft do the same thing, too, but with passing. He will set up passes and his own movement, not to directly get a basket, but to set the offensive-defensive balance in a different manner for a subsequent attack.

3. Within-play flexibility: Similar to #2, it is relatively unlikely that Quinn will de-commit from executing an attack he has already started. If he starts a drive, he will typically attempt to finish the attack, via drive or dish for a shot (again, an intense focus on the end-game). As far as I recall, it is rare for him to drive in and continue to dribble right on out of the lane if things don’t look good. Perhaps I should comment that it doesn’t seem like Quinn forces very much action on the whole. But, once he does start an attack action, he’s likely to follow through. Obviously, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but veterans tend to have more flexibility, less tunnel-vision toward the end goal.

4. Completing plays without the ball: I don’t know if this one is true or not because I’m limited by tv angles. Putting together the above characteristics, though, I would guess that Quinn has a tendency to pause at the end of plays. There have been some plays on tv where Quinn finishes his part of the play and hesitates for a moment, watching the completion of the play. This is a factor of the above characteristics because 1. in his mind, once the play is headed to the basket, that’s where it will end and 2. it is important for him to witness the play because he uses the external factors (eg watching us score) to drive his internal motor. Even if it is true, I don’t know of any specific times that it came back to hurt us (like him not getting the rebound or not getting back on D)….though I am curious if he got himself in positions to get the ball back from Mason after the Davidson double-teams. Anyway, (if it’s true), it would be more veteran of him to continue to participate in the play through to the play’s completion.

5. Dictating play (This is the most important quality to me, and one that some in the Top10 possess): It seems to me that our opponents are often dictating the style and play in games. I do think Quinn exerts his presence on the game. In fact, I think that Quinn, to this point, sets the tone for Duke. I don’t view his presence, though, as a complex/strategic presence. Due to his immaturity, the presence is one of expediency. I’ll go out alone on a limb here and say that I do not think we run an “inside-out” offense as has been the common rhetoric. I think we, like Quinn individually, are focused on getting the bucket in the most expedient way possible (within Duke’s usual recent spread motion offense). We take what is given. This has worked well because we are so very good at taking it!! :D Unfortunately, in my view, it has also led to a relatively underdeveloped sense of offensive identity and inconsistency within the offense itself. Moreover, it allows the other teams to dictate play. It’s crazy amazing that we continue to win despite going against teams’ desired defensive strategies.

In summary, the way I see Quinn’s game, I think there are areas that could improve substantially with experience. And, I do think recognition would follow.

Edouble
01-03-2013, 07:08 PM
I am not sure how many folks have noticed, but Quinn has really turned into a dribbling wizard at times. Late in the game last night, he just weaved his way through the Davidson D on a couple occasions. It was fun to watch and the kind of PG play I have not seen from Duke very much over the past decade (other than Kyrie's short stint in Duke blue).

-Jason "loving what we are getting from Quinn so far... and salivating at what I see coming from him in the future" Evans

I have noticed this. His left hand is incredible.

Indoor66
01-03-2013, 07:13 PM
That's my kind of Freudian slip. How do you treat an "infection personality?" Mercury and arsenic, or are there antibiotics?

sagegrouse

Where is devildeac when you need him most?

licc85
01-03-2013, 08:57 PM
Okay, I’ll martyr myself a little here for the OP by looking at areas for improvement. The players on the Top10 list have different attributes, so it’s tough to compare Quinn to them as a collective unit. Instead, I’ll focus on my view of Quinn: I think recognition will come with experience. Quinn is still a relatively immature player. Here are, more or less, 5 areas that reflect this (Honestly, the one I care about is #5 (dictating play) but it’s built on the others):

1. Consistency in internal intensity: It often appears that Quinn relies on a world-beater or highlight reel mentality to drive his motor. When things get more intense, he gets more spirited. This may seem great because it means he performs better on the big stage, but it has its drawbacks, too.

You can see him feed off the beginnings of good play. He tries to elevate his game by purposefully amping himself up (clapping, hitting his chest, ‘putting on a face,’ head nods, cajoling his teammates and the crowd). However, this is often the reverse of the way things should happen….the external pump (physical posturing, celebration, crowd noise) should be secondary to internal game, he shouldn’t rely on the external things to elevate his internal motor. Note, it’s cyclic in nature, so it’s definitely not black-and-white. But, in my eyes, it is evident that he relies quite a bit on external factors for his internal drive. Personally, one of my biggest hopes for Phase II was that Quinn would have to develop his own inner drive because the winter games don’t have the same intensity. Unfortunately, I wonder if, instead, this is one of the reasons for our lackluster starts (ie there’s little external intensity to feed off of in the 1st half against a middling team).
Related to his amping himself up, he has more of a tendency to talk and get chippy compared to our other players. More than one ref has had to verbally warn him this year, and, as I recall, his chippiness resulted in a technical foul for Tyler in one game. This can potentially cause instability and risk for the team in tense games.
His spiritedness isn’t always positive, as evidenced by his history of getting down on himself when things aren’t going well. Thus, it is yet unclear what will happen if we get down big to a quality opponent - will he rise up and dominate or will he get crabby, chippy, and try to force things too much?

2. Complex strategy and setting up mismatches: Quinn has an attack-first tendency. He may be setting up someone else for the attack, but he’s still predominantly full-throttle attack. The general tendency of inexperienced athletes is to aim straight for the goal, but veteran players may focus on other paths to accomplish the objective. I think this is easier to see in soccer where there is more spacing to see plays develop – an offense will often spend much of a possession getting position and disrupting the defense rather than going straight for a shot. It’s also evident in tennis where a player is not necessarily aiming every shot to be a winner, rather they are setting up the opponent over a series of plays.
I didn’t get to see the end of the Davidson game, but the DBR posts sound as though Quinn had a more deliberate approach in the stall-offense. For most of the game, Davidson dictated play on that end of the court by running their defensive scheme. It sounds like Quinn finally disrupted their scheme by pulling on their defensive formation with his dribbling. I didn’t see it, but my suspicion (and some of the DBR description) is that his dribbling wasn’t necessarily to-goal during this time. This is contrary to his usual nature, and I would guess that it was due to Coach K calling for stall-offense, not a decision by Quinn (though I’ll be a pleased puppy if this was really Quinn figuring out on his own how to break the defense apart). Regarding the Top10, I really appreciate the Louisville guards’ abilities to disrupt defenses via dribbling. I have also seen Craft do the same thing, too, but with passing. He will set up passes and his own movement, not to directly get a basket, but to set the offensive-defensive balance in a different manner for a subsequent attack.

3. Within-play flexibility: Similar to #2, it is relatively unlikely that Quinn will de-commit from executing an attack he has already started. If he starts a drive, he will typically attempt to finish the attack, via drive or dish for a shot (again, an intense focus on the end-game). As far as I recall, it is rare for him to drive in and continue to dribble right on out of the lane if things don’t look good. Perhaps I should comment that it doesn’t seem like Quinn forces very much action on the whole. But, once he does start an attack action, he’s likely to follow through. Obviously, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but veterans tend to have more flexibility, less tunnel-vision toward the end goal.

4. Completing plays without the ball: I don’t know if this one is true or not because I’m limited by tv angles. Putting together the above characteristics, though, I would guess that Quinn has a tendency to pause at the end of plays. There have been some plays on tv where Quinn finishes his part of the play and hesitates for a moment, watching the completion of the play. This is a factor of the above characteristics because 1. in his mind, once the play is headed to the basket, that’s where it will end and 2. it is important for him to witness the play because he uses the external factors (eg watching us score) to drive his internal motor. Even if it is true, I don’t know of any specific times that it came back to hurt us (like him not getting the rebound or not getting back on D)….though I am curious if he got himself in positions to get the ball back from Mason after the Davidson double-teams. Anyway, (if it’s true), it would be more veteran of him to continue to participate in the play through to the play’s completion.

5. Dictating play (This is the most important quality to me, and one that some in the Top10 possess): It seems to me that our opponents are often dictating the style and play in games. I do think Quinn exerts his presence on the game. In fact, I think that Quinn, to this point, sets the tone for Duke. I don’t view his presence, though, as a complex/strategic presence. Due to his immaturity, the presence is one of expediency. I’ll go out alone on a limb here and say that I do not think we run an “inside-out” offense as has been the common rhetoric. I think we, like Quinn individually, are focused on getting the bucket in the most expedient way possible (within Duke’s usual recent spread motion offense). We take what is given. This has worked well because we are so very good at taking it!! :D Unfortunately, in my view, it has also led to a relatively underdeveloped sense of offensive identity and inconsistency within the offense itself. Moreover, it allows the other teams to dictate play. It’s crazy amazing that we continue to win despite going against teams’ desired defensive strategies.

In summary, the way I see Quinn’s game, I think there are areas that could improve substantially with experience. And, I do think recognition would follow.

Great post! I do think you're being a tad overcritical, but I like your analysis, and agree with you on several points, mainly #1 and #2.

I've always been a Quinn Cook supporter, and I do think despite his flaws, he has to be in the conversation for top 10 PG in the nation. The nit picks you mentioned are all mental things that good coaching and diligent film study will eventually correct, maybe as soon as this year.

As far as his impact on this team, I think he's our 2nd most valuable player. As many as have said, Quinn's huge improvement this year is the biggest reason for our success thus far, and he's only going to get better. Mason is obviously the one guy who we can least afford to lose, and he has also improved in a number of ways, but Quinn is really the biggest reason our offense is the #2 most efficient offense in the countryand if that doesn't make him a top 10 PG, then I don't what will.

dukeofcalabash
01-03-2013, 09:02 PM
For you young bucks, that is extremely high praise. Ford was much like Pistol Pete in that the ball was like a yo-yo in his hand. He was small and slight like Quinn, and could go where ever he wanted to go whenever he decided to. Just unguardable, especially when UNC went to the 4 Corners to salt the game away. The lead could be as small as 2 or 4 points, with 5 or more minutes to go, and in essence, the game was over, because of Ford's ability to dribble, and then attack if he decided to. I hated him and UNC but dude was a magician with the ball.

Quinn is showing similar traits, which is awesome. Given he is only a Sophomore and first year starter, his ceiling is high. Last night was awesome. As Quinn matures, he will only get better.

I would say that the "Pistol", Ford, and EDDIE BIDENBACH (NC STATE) are the 3 best ball handlers I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Pistol Pete was the greatest, but Eddie B was no slouch.

OldPhiKap
01-03-2013, 09:12 PM
Where is devildeac when you need him most?

Is there a time we need him least?

(((((((Vibes))))))))

bedeviled
01-03-2013, 09:29 PM
I do think you're being a tad overcriticalNo dissent here; I felt a little silly doing it, but the purpose was to be critical. I think some of the top10 are more impressive at this point in Quinn's career. But, we agree that these are things that will be learned. Personally, like last year, I think it's a little unfair to put the onus of a consistent, reliable system on the new guy. However, I think he'll be all the better for it on the back end.

AtlDuke72
01-03-2013, 09:51 PM
I would say that the "Pistol", Ford, and EDDIE BIDENBACH (NC STATE) are the 3 best ball handlers I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Pistol Pete was the greatest, but Eddie B was no slouch.

Dick Devenzio is on the short list too. I saw him driblle through the legs of the guy from State who was trying to guard him.

Newton_14
01-03-2013, 10:14 PM
Dick Devenzio is on the short list too. I saw him driblle through the legs of the guy from State who was trying to guard him.


That Kyrie Irving guy dribbles fairly well also.:D In the excellent article linked in another thread, the author notes that Kyrie is ambidextrous. While I was not surprised, I never knew that.(too bad he isn't amphibious also, like Shackelford was or he really would be dangerous:p)

But back to Quinn. His confidence is growing day by day, game by game and it is really fun to watch. Confidence is so huge, and can cause a good player to become a great player. I admit I have been skeptical of Quinn since he came in, but he has changed right before our eyes and made me a believer that he can and will be 1st Team All-ACC good before his career is over. He hit a mid-range jumper last night in the second half when the game had tightened back up and it was off the bounce, and smooth as silk. The wild circus shots have been replaced by "under control acrobatic shots".

He is not there yet, but he has come a very long way in 13 ball games. I would like to see the assists totals stay in the 6 to 10 range game over game, and he is good enough to do that. As he matures and starts seeing the play before it develops, the assists totals will go up. I would also like to see him drive more, and feed Mason or Ryan when their man leaves to help, or kick to a shooter. One of the things that made the 2001 team so lethal was having 2 or 3 guys that could drive the lane, draw defenders, and then kick to open 3 point shooters. That is Duke basketball at its very best and the 3 ball goes in at a much higher rate when it comes from a drive and kick. Quinn, Rasheed, and Seth all have the ability to do that. We saw it with Seth last night when he kicked it to Tyler in the corner from the lane and Tyler nailed it. Beautiful basketball.

We have a darn good PG. The rest of the world will figure that out sooner than later.

brevity
01-04-2013, 01:53 AM
How do you treat an "infection personality?"

I think they're discussing that in the UNCLA thread with regards to Larry Drew II.


I am not sure how many folks have noticed, but Quinn has really turned into a dribbling wizard at times. Late in the game last night, he just weaved his way through the Davidson D on a couple occasions. It was fun to watch and the kind of PG play I have not seen from Duke very much over the past decade (other than Kyrie's short stint in Duke blue).

-Jason "loving what we are getting from Quinn so far... and salivating at what I see coming from him in the future" Evans

The best dribbler I've seen is Sean May. We are talking about the kind of dribbling where the mouth waters so much it lands on the chin, right?

-Sean "loving what he is getting from Quiznos so far... and salivating at what he sees coming from their oven in the future" May

JNort
01-04-2013, 02:46 AM
Anyone else notice he received some of the votes as a top pg? The same guy who led UNC to a NIT runner up finish.


Well I hit the wrong thing for the title but I was referring to Larry Drew II

Struggling golfer
01-04-2013, 03:01 AM
I hope Quinn uses this as motivation to get better- because he is already good. Much better to be under the radar. Quinn has been a difference maker for Duke this year- but let the other guys get the headlines. Quinn will get his soon enough.

I could not have said it any better. Absolutely correct and I agree whole heartedly.

Struggling golfer
01-04-2013, 03:05 AM
I would say that the "Pistol", Ford, and EDDIE BIDENBACH (NC STATE) are the 3 best ball handlers I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Pistol Pete was the greatest, but Eddie B was no slouch.

What about the Big O , Oscar Robertson ? He might not have been the best dribbler, Marquis Haynes of the Globetrotters was, but as far as distributing the ball he was one of the best. When he had the ball, no one could take it away from him.

tele
01-04-2013, 07:10 AM
Well, I still think he is learning how to play the position and is making good progress, but still has a long ways to go to be a top 10 point guard. For example, he was able to bring the ball up against the press himself in the Davidson game, just by slowing down a bit and using kelly as a decoy to avoid the trap. This is progress from previouslyl where he would just dribble into the trap and have to give the ball up to kelly or mason and have them bring it up. Either way works, but you'd like you point guard to be able to handle it and keep the ball in his hands and not the bigs.

He could lose the high dribble act, doesn't accomplish much and not the sort of thing you need to do against ACC competition, just makes opponents want to play harder against you. He has cut back on it some already.
I still think he over dribbles and the plays where he was able to dribble through the Davidson defense was because defenders have been giving him open looks and sagging into the passing lanes. In the Davidson game he didn't take the open jumper, which he had been missing in previous games, but kept his dribble alive and went to the hoop and took the floater. It would be better if your point guard could drive and draw and dish for the finish to your big, but if the defenders are giving you the lane you have to take it and if they still don't guard you but are sagging to take away the pass to the big, then you have to knock down the floater. So this is a big improvement over just jacking up the open jumper, but defense is still giving you the play and being able to dribble the ball unguarded down the lane doesn't put you in Oscar Robertson territory, or even top ten point guards. This is because the opposing team is basically telling you they don't think you can beat them, although you do have to give Cook credit for taking what the defense is giving him. Generally you'd rather your point guard get the assist than the basket by dictating play than the other way around.

I agree he has improved a great deal and hope he can continue it during conference play, in road games, and in endgame situations, then he'll start getting more mention as a top tier point guard. So far he's doing fine.

miramar
01-04-2013, 02:44 PM
I don't watch enough national powerhouses to say (unless they are pounding UNC, as IU did), but Quinn is beginning to get some well deserved attention in the ACC. The N&O has placed him in the non-conference all ACC team, which is a start:

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/dukenow/revisiting-my-preseason-acc-ballot

We now have two very effective point guards, which Duke hasn't had in over a decade.

Duvall
01-04-2013, 03:02 PM
Anyone else notice he received some of the votes as a top pg? The same guy who led UNC to a NIT runner up finish.


Well I hit the wrong thing for the title but I was referring to Larry Drew II

Well, that was three years ago. This season, he's playing well. (http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=larry-drew-ii)

Barr8
01-08-2013, 02:21 PM
Quinn Cook not in Jay Bilas's top six point guards. There is some talent at that position this year. With that being said, I wouldn't trade Cook for any other. Not only is he a great player, he helps out off the court As well(recruiting among other things).

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/71986/video-college-basketballs-best-point-guards

My only negative on Quinn thus far is sometimes his "swagger" will lead him to hang his head for a second. He plays with so much emotion that one bad play sometimes(not as often as last year) will result in another. It is who he is, and he is one of the leaders of this team. Consider it a minor nitpick.

theAlaskanBear
01-08-2013, 02:45 PM
Quinn Cook not in Jay Bilas's top six point guards. There is some talent at that position this year. With that being said, I wouldn't trade Cook for any other. Not only is he a great player, he helps out off the court As well(recruiting among other things).

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/71986/video-college-basketballs-best-point-guards

My only negative on Quinn thus far is sometimes his "swagger" will lead him to hang his head for a second. He plays with so much emotion that one bad play sometimes(not as often as last year) will result in another. It is who he is, and he is one of the leaders of this team. Consider it a minor nitpick.

I actually think Cook's attitude is something this team needs. Curry, Mason, and Kelly are all a bit laid-back personality wise, and I love watching Quinn on the court bumping and thumping our guys after a good play. I think I remember one where it was funny watching him try to "support"-shove Mason after a nice play.

Billy Dat
01-08-2013, 02:58 PM
Everyone's favorite talking head, Doug Gottlieb, as some interesting comments about Quinn in this week's CBSSports.com CBB Podcast. He is talking about the proposed changes to the transfer rules where a player would not have to sit out. As part of that discussion, he mentions the problems with the early signing period, namely that a team might think a player isn't cutting it, recruit over him, sign a blue chipper in the early signing period, but then the existing player starts playing really well and there is a logjam.

He uses Quinn Cook as an example of someone that he says he knows the Duke coaches thought wasn't going to cut it at Duke as a starting PG as late as this preseason but has proven them wrong with his quality play.

Go to the 27:30 mark.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21511584/podcast-doug-gottlieb-on--just-about-everything

timmy c
01-08-2013, 03:07 PM
Everyone's favorite talking head, Doug Gottlieb, as some interesting comments about Quinn in this week's CBSSports.com CBB Podcast. He is talking about the proposed changes to the transfer rules where a player would not have to sit out. As part of that discussion, he mentions the problems with the early signing period, namely that a team might think a player isn't cutting it, recruit over him, sign a blue chipper in the early signing period, but then the existing player starts playing really well and there is a logjam.

He uses Quinn Cook as an example of someone that he says he knows the Duke coaches thought wasn't going to cut it at Duke as a starting PG as late as this preseason but has proven them wrong with his quality play.

Go to the 27:30 mark.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21511584/podcast-doug-gottlieb-on--just-about-everything

Consider the source.
His comments in the podcast struck me as a bit of name dropping – like he is tight with the Duke coaching staff. I get the feeling that Gottlieb runs fast and loose with the truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stretched the facts to fit his meme.

Jderf
01-08-2013, 03:14 PM
Consider the source.
His comments in the podcast struck me as a bit of name dropping – like he is tight with the Duke coaching staff. I get the feeling that Gottlieb runs fast and loose with the truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stretched the facts to fit his meme.

It really is a shame for that point guard our staff recruited over the summer. Now he is stuck behind Quinn for at least two years.

Gottlieb clearly has no idea what he is talking about here.

jv001
01-08-2013, 03:38 PM
I would say that the "Pistol", Ford, and EDDIE BIDENBACH (NC STATE) are the 3 best ball handlers I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Pistol Pete was the greatest, but Eddie B was no slouch.

Can't leave out Bobby Hurley #11. He was one of the best ball handlers and distributors of the basketball that I've ever seen. GoDuke!

ChillinDuke
01-08-2013, 03:48 PM
It really is a shame for that point guard our staff recruited over the summer. Now he is stuck behind Quinn for at least two years.

Gottlieb clearly has no idea what he is talking about here.

Yeah, what is Gottlieb talking about?

This goes against everything we have heard on this board. And I like to think there are more than a few here who are well connected.

- Chillin

devildeac
01-08-2013, 11:12 PM
Where is devildeac when you need him most?

I know it's kind of a rhetorical question, I guess, but I've been out in Oregon with my family and my brother's family from 1/2 until 1/5 and just getting back to the boards.

Not my specialty anyway.

:p

3101

licc85
01-09-2013, 01:00 AM
Everyone's favorite talking head, Doug Gottlieb, as some interesting comments about Quinn in this week's CBSSports.com CBB Podcast. He is talking about the proposed changes to the transfer rules where a player would not have to sit out. As part of that discussion, he mentions the problems with the early signing period, namely that a team might think a player isn't cutting it, recruit over him, sign a blue chipper in the early signing period, but then the existing player starts playing really well and there is a logjam.

He uses Quinn Cook as an example of someone that he says he knows the Duke coaches thought wasn't going to cut it at Duke as a starting PG as late as this preseason but has proven them wrong with his quality play.

Go to the 27:30 mark.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21511584/podcast-doug-gottlieb-on--just-about-everything

The so-called "experts" at CBS are among the worst in in the media, in my opinion. Gottlieb leaving for CBS was a massive win for ESPN, who actually has some pretty respectable analysts now. Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg are both very, very good, and I think Eamonn Brennan is one of the best college basketball bloggers on the internet. Dick Vitale is slowly, but surely being phased out (to the relief of all). Also, my favorite SportsCenter anchor of all time, Scott van Pelt is a big ACC hoops guy (at least while Maryland is still in the ACC), and has a pretty great daily podcast that he does with Ryen Russillo. Can't go wrong with ESPN.

Now that I've said that, I'm totally content with where Quinn is now, as far as perception. With that performance against Clemson, there's no way that he can be ignored now. A lot of Quinn backers such as myself have been waiting for this game for a long time, and now that's he's finally had a big game, the media praise will surely follow. This is a guy who can take over a game when he's at his best, and can put the team on his back for stretches. I think he's easily been our best crunch time player all year. He hits tough shots down the stretch (remember the floater against Louisville?), doesn't miss free throws, and doesn't ever turn it over or make bad decisions when the game is in the final stretch. He's going to be huge for us in the tournament.