Rasheed Sulaimon talks USA BB and more

[watzone]

Here is a link to a good read on Rasheed Sulaimon http://bluedevilnation.net/2013/06/rasheed-sulaimon-talks-usa-basketball/ where he talks USA Basketball, rooming with Duke prospects and more. Word is he has been going hard at Marcus Smart in practice which will only make him better. Sheed will be a go to guy for the Devils this season and perhaps the go to guy at crunch time.

[ChillinDuke]

Here is a link to a good read on Rasheed Sulaimon http://bluedevilnation.net/2013/06/rasheed-sulaimon-talks-usa-basketball/ where he talks USA Basketball, rooming with Duke prospects and more. Word is he has been going hard at Marcus Smart in practice which will only make him better. Sheed will be a go to guy for the Devils this season and perhaps the go to guy at crunch time.

Great read.

Thanks, Mark!

- Chillin

[Henderson]

Sheed's involvement isn't about Duke Basketball. But if Duke wanted to send an ambassador to other recruits and to Prague, they wouldn't find a better one than Rasheed. What a great young man. He's going to be huge next year.

I love the fact that when he described his taped wrist -- floor burn and blister -- his explanation was, "Duke Basketball." I think this team is hungry and know how good they can be.

[dball]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/USA-Basketball-U19-World-Championship-Training-Camp-Report-Part-Two-4274

Article includes summaries of performances of Rasheed and Duke targets Winslow and Okafor.

[BD80]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/USA-Basketball-U19-World-Championship-Training-Camp-Report-Part-Two-4274

Article includes summaries of performances of Rasheed and Duke targets Winslow and Okafor.

Thanks. Now I have drool all over my keyboard.

[Henderson]

Thanks for that link. I appreciated the interview with Rasheed -- acknowledging his role as a leader and recognizing that in the past a bad play or two adversely affected his game. Winslow and Okafor also very impressive young men. I could see Winslow in a commentary booth in the future. Both he and Okafor seem custom made to wear Duke jerseys.

[Billy Dat]

"Breaking down the Team USA roster"
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/9406272/billy-donovan-breaks-team-usa-roster-college-basketball

"Rasheed Sulaimon, 6-3, G, So., Duke
"He's a good scorer. He was with us last year. He's shooting the ball with more consistency. He's more comfortable with the international line. We've got to get him to take over more of a leadership role. He was on the trip last year with Smart [when Donovan led them to the gold in Brazil for the U-18 title]. And he played a lot with Duke and that's important.''

[Duvall]

Sulaimon talks about what winning a gold medal for the U.S. means to him. (http://blogs.fayobserver.com/accbasketball/July-2013/Gold-medal-meaningful-to-patriotic-Duke-guard-Rash)


“I would have to say that was probably my proudest moment in my life to call myself an American,” Sulaimon said. “I didn't realize how important it was until we actually won. To have that flag around me, that gold medal around my neck, my hand over my heart, to hear our national anthem play while we were champions, it just really made me proud.”

Sulaimon, who was born and raised in Houston, is the son of immigrant parents. His mother moved to the United States from Jamaica in her early teens, and his father, Kenny, left Nigeria in his early 20s. They met in New York, where most of Sulaimon’s relatives still live.

Sulaimon represented the United States last April at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., and two months later he averaged 10.0 points while playing for coach Billy Donovan’s U18 team in Brazil. Coached again by Donovan this summer, Sulaimon helped the United States post an average victory margin of 39.6 points.

“This country has done a lot for me,” Sulaimon said. “For basketball, what I've been blessed to be good at, if I can give back to my country just through playing basketball and represent it to the best of my ability, I'm going to do that. I'm glad we actually did represent the USA in great fashion.”

[Newton_14]

Sulaimon talks about what winning a gold medal for the U.S. means to him. (http://blogs.fayobserver.com/accbasketball/July-2013/Gold-medal-meaningful-to-patriotic-Duke-guard-Rash)


Thanks Duvall. Great stuff! As is another piece of info from that article that I pasted in below.


Finishing a 14-hour trip, Sulaimon arrived back in Durham on Monday night, and he attended his 2 p.m. markets and management class at Duke the next day


That's how real college athlete's roll.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Draft express has been putting together some long but nice scouting report videos that, if you can get past the annoying music, are pretty well done.

Sulaimon has played confidently, but the usual big dose of having been there confidence we'll likely see as a sophomore has him on the verge of a breakout year, IMO.

I haven't seen this posted here, so my apologies if someone has already put it up.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=P5L8d_0QEwg

[Kedsy]

Draft express has been putting together some long but nice scouting report videos that, if you can get past the annoying music, are pretty well done.

Sulaimon has played confidently, but the usual big dose of having been there confidence we'll likely see as a sophomore has him on the verge of a breakout year, IMO.

I haven't seen this posted here, so my apologies if someone has already put it up.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=P5L8d_0QEwg

Thanks, Wheat. Definitely worth the watch.

The good news for Duke is Rasheed should improve on at least three of the four weaknesses listed on the video (strength, finishing ability, shot selection) as he gets older and more mature. It remains to be seen whether his shooting form (the fourth weakness noted) improves.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Draft express has been putting together some long but nice scouting report videos that, if you can get past the annoying music, are pretty well done.

Sulaimon has played confidently, but the usual big dose of having been there confidence we'll likely see as a sophomore has him on the verge of a breakout year, IMO.

I haven't seen this posted here, so my apologies if someone has already put it up.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=P5L8d_0QEwg

These videos are a ton of fun. Sulaimon essentially got a ton of free amazing production value out of this video. His future agent's job just got a lot easier.

I've said it before but I'll say it again: Sulaimon will be our most important player next year. Maybe not our best, but certainly our most important.

I hate the basketball off-season...

[johnb]

On the video, all of Rasheed's drives were successful, and, on most all of them, Mason's defender elected to stay with him rather than try to clog the lane or get a block. I've got to think that other teams were aware of Mason's finishing, which seems likely to have contributed to Sheed's ability to get into the lane. It'll be interesting to see if next year's inside players will warrant the same degree of respect around the basket. If not, our slashing wings (and there are so many) might find it difficult to get to the basket. OTOH, a trio of shooters hanging around the 3 point line also opens up a lot of daylight inside...

[Kedsy]

On the video, all of Rasheed's drives were successful, and, on most all of them, Mason's defender elected to stay with him rather than try to clog the lane or get a block. I've got to think that other teams were aware of Mason's finishing, which seems likely to have contributed to Sheed's ability to get into the lane. It'll be interesting to see if next year's inside players will warrant the same degree of respect around the basket. If not, our slashing wings (and there are so many) might find it difficult to get to the basket. OTOH, a trio of shooters hanging around the 3 point line also opens up a lot of daylight inside...

I don't think that will be too much of a problem. Amile is a great finisher close to the basket. Jabari and Rodney haven't played for Duke yet, but I expect they're both pretty proficient around the rim as well. To the extent that Marshall plays, he's a Plumlee too. And if Semi plays at all he might have the most impressive ups of all of them. Plus, as you say, with Andre, Quinn, Rasheed (when he's not the driver), Rodney, Jabari, Tyler, possibly Matt, and possibly Semi, the drive and kick should be a powerful weapon for us this season.

[ricks68]

I don't think that will be too much of a problem. Amile is a great finisher close to the basket. Jabari and Rodney haven't played for Duke yet, but I expect they're both pretty proficient around the rim as well. To the extent that Marshall plays, he's a Plumlee too. And if Semi plays at all he might have the most impressive ups of all of them. Plus, as you say, with Andre, Quinn, Rasheed (when he's not the driver), Rodney, Jabari, Tyler, possibly Matt, and possibly Semi, the drive and kick should be a powerful weapon for us this season.

Boy, if they would expand the number of players that could be on the court at the same time, we would have a killer team that no one could match. And, while I don't like pro wrestling, this year could actually be played like a tag team match. Though it is extremely unlikely, given Coach K's history, we could run our opponents into the ground.:D

ricks