Hood Back at 100% After Achilles Injury

[NashvilleDevil]

Andy Glockner on twitter is saying that Rodney has a right Achilles injury. No further information at this time but there is NO mention of it being torn.

[dukedoc]

Oh jeez... hoping for the best. Twitterage from Andy Glockner (SI)

Andy Glockner‏@AndyGlockner
Got confirm from USA Basketball on an injury from last night. Rodney Hood has an "injured right Achilles." No further details at this point.

Andy Glockner‏@AndyGlockner
I spoke w/ Hood after the practice and he didn't seem to be in any huge distress, fwiw. If/when I get more info on the extent, I'll pass on

Andy Glockner‏@AndyGlockner
There are obviously many gradients to an Achilles "injury," so until there's more info, no reason to speculate on the degree.

[bluedevil007]

Trying not to put the cart before the horse on this but....really....again...seesh :(

[UrinalCake]

Seems like if it were a tear or rupture it would be pretty obvious and he'd have trouble walking on it. But at the same time, a minor strain could have a wide range of recovery time, from days to months, depending on the severity. I guess it's been too long since our last "vigil"... (Sigh)

[Henderson]

I wonder if the staff at the Duke Medical Center could team up with the Biomedical Engineering department and come up with a prosthetic foot/ankle in various sizes. The MBB team could keep a bunch of them in a box somewhere, pull them out, and attach them as necessary. If you had a part on your vehicle that kept breaking, you'd keep a supply of spare parts in the garage, wouldn't you?

That's a joke, folks. These things happen, there's no reason to think Duke has a problem with foot injuries in any systemic way (bad luck IMHO), and I'm sure RH will be fine. The fact that he wasn't stressing too much about it suggests he didn't blow it out. I was playing squash with a guy one time when he completely ruptured his Achilles tendon, and it sounded like a gunshot going off. He was immediately on the floor screaming in pain. That's not what happened here I gather. But I'll be interested (to say the least) to hear more about this.

[TKG]

I wonder if the staff at the Duke Medical Center could team up with the Biomedical Engineering department and come up with a prosthetic foot/ankle in various sizes. The MBB team could keep a bunch of them in a box somewhere, pull them out, and attach them as necessary. If you had a part on your vehicle that kept breaking, you'd keep a supply of spare parts in the garage, wouldn't you?

That's a joke, folks. These things happen, there's no reason to think Duke has a problem with foot injuries in any systemic way (bad luck IMHO), and I'm sure RH will be fine. The fact that he wasn't stressing too much about it suggests he didn't blow it out. I was playing squash with a guy one time when he completely ruptured his Achilles tendon, and it sounded like a gunshot going off. He was immediately on the floor screaming in pain. That's not what happened here I gather. But I'll be interested (to say the least) to hear more about this.

Perhaps some of the dollars being rasied for the Athletic Department as part of the Duke Forward campaign could be allocated for the purchase of a 3D Printer!

[rsvman]

insert face palm smiley here

[Billy Dat]

This paves the way for Alex Murphy to tap into those vast reserves of.............too soon?

Man...this stinks. Obviously, we hope with all our hopes, for his sake, that he is ok and this won't be a big deal. I really thought this USA Basketball experience was going to be the next stage in his coming out party. Huge bummer...on pins and needles for a meaningful update.

[CLW]

Hopefully, its not too serious and this Vigil will go away in short order. However, we appear to be cursed by some voodoo doll with a pin stuck in the foot in it. Just when you think all is well someone takes the needle and wiggle is around in the foot some more.

[nmduke2001]

This sounds like it isn't too bad (hopefully)
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22548305/dukes-rodney-hood-suffers-injury-to-achilles-tendon

"a source told CBSSports.com on Thursday that early indications have left those close to Hood optimistic. In other words, when Lakers star Kobe Bryant injured his Achilles tendon everybody immediately knew it was bad. That's simply not the case here, meaning the hope is this is more of a minor strain than a possible season-ending setback."

[wallyman]

Report says he was limping, but still on bench, still being considered for the team and that people close to him are nervous, but optimistic it's not a major, long-term injury.


http://duke.247sports.com/Article/Duke-Sophomore-Rodney-Hood-Injures-Right-Achilles-137020

[dukebsbll14]

I wonder if the staff at the Duke Medical Center could team up with the Biomedical Engineering department and come up with a prosthetic foot/ankle in various sizes. The MBB team could keep a bunch of them in a box somewhere, pull them out, and attach them as necessary. If you had a part on your vehicle that kept breaking, you'd keep a supply of spare parts in the garage, wouldn't you?


Given that there's been a serious foot injury every year that the class of 2014 has been at Duke, look for a series of foot related senior design projects from this year's graduating engineering students.

[jipops]

Oh terrific. A vigil thread in June:(

[roywhite]

Report says he was limping, but still on bench, still being considered for the team and that people close to him are nervous, but optimistic it's not a major, long-term injury.


http://duke.247sports.com/Article/Duke-Sophomore-Rodney-Hood-Injures-Right-Achilles-137020

Do we get to vote? :)

One vote for:
Hi, Rodney; thanks for trying out for the University Games team, but your health is more important; get some rest and we'll check on you later this summer.

[wallyman]

Do we get to vote? :)

One vote for:
Hi, Rodney; thanks for trying out for the University Games team, but your health is more important; get some rest and we'll check on you later this summer.




Make that two votes.

[MarkD83]

Oh terrific. A vigil thread in June:(

At least it is June and not January.

[mattman91]

I think I'm going to be sick

[subzero02]

All I want for christmas is a season with no injuries and a national title win over kentucky, kansas,louisville or unc... Is that too much to ask?

[mattman91]

I have been looking forward to watching Rodney play this year more than any other Duke player, ever.

[dukelifer]

Not great news but hopefully it just needs rest- but he may need to come back for some Duke attention. Will keep fingers crossed.

[NashvilleDevil]

Yahoo writer Jeff Eisenberg tweeted that Rodney is having an MRI done and that the hope it is just a strain or sprain. He also said that a source confirmed to him that Duke is optimistic it is not a full tear which is the same thing that Gary Parrish had reported earlier.

Please, please just be a strain and let him rest so he can be 100% when practice starts. I have been looking forward to him putting on that uniform.

[mattman91]

This should definitely be the Rodney Hood Achilles Vigil by now...we are just waiting around on news.

[Bluedog]

This should definitely be the Rodney Hood Achilles Vigil by now...we are just waiting around on news.

I would rather not have a vigil..those threads end up typically being bad news and drawn out forever. So, I'd rather have the positive mojo calling it an unspecified achilles injury and hopefully the MRI gives us good news tomorrow.

[MCFinARL]

Feel so bad for Rodney Hood, who has been waiting to play real games for so long. Hopefully it is not serious and, at worst, he will be fully recovered before practice starts. Even then I feel bad for him as he seemed very excited about playing on the US team and it sounded like he had a very good chance to make the team. If it is really minor I suppose that's still possible, but it has to reduce the chances considerably.

[wilko]

Feel so bad for Rodney Hood, who has been waiting to play real games for so long. Hopefully it is not serious and, at worst, he will be fully recovered before practice starts. If it is really minor I suppose that's still possible, but it has to reduce the chances considerably.

Yup.. man. I was sooo looking forward seeing him play for us.
If he misses significant time I'm gonna cancel TWC cable. This is the excuse that I was looking for to break the snake. I'll still listen and support by radio. Free myself up to do other things... my wife will never see it coming.

Good luck Rodney. Heal up man..

[Olympic Fan]

Yahoo writer Jeff Eisenberg tweeted that Rodney is having an MRI done and that the hope it is just a strain or sprain. He also said that a source confirmed to him that Duke is optimistic it is not a full tear which is the same thing that Gary Parrish had reported earlier.

Please, please just be a strain and let him rest so he can be 100% when practice starts. I have been looking forward to him putting on that uniform.

I don't understand this ... after reading the Maryland/Alex Len thread, I thought MRI's weren't called for until the injury persisted for weeks ...

[DukeAlumBS]

I don't understand this ... after reading the Maryland/Alex Len thread, I thought MRI's weren't called for until the injury persisted for weeks ...

Nothing about the Maryland incident. On exam as I stated before on the previous Maryland thread. There are ER/Orthopedic protocols that a provider has to go by to finish an exam of the foot and ankle. It is very involved to include a complete exam of the Achilles. This is one of those must do MRI. With the Achilles you can actually palpate the tendon and go from there. The MRI is done here to rule out subtle tears that get missed and turn up long time down the road. Again this looks like a strain given he is walking but limping.
I too want him back feel he will be.
Nice day my friends
Jimmy

[nmduke2001]

Not much of a surprise but Rodney is officially out of the world games...
http://blogs.fayobserver.com/accbasketball/June-2013/Duke-s-Rodney-Hood-ends-participation-in-World-Uni

still no update on the injury.

[subzero02]

Not good news but not surprising... I will wait for the results of the MRI before I start to panic

[wilko]

I will wait for the results of the MRI before I start to panic

I hear ya - I feel the same.
I might need PJ's number later on. Word is he might have something to help me relax..

[JasonEvans]

I will wait for the results of the MRI before I start to panic

http://www.lowlevel.it/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dont-panic-300x225.jpg
...I hope.

-Jason

[UrinalCake]

An update - soreness, no tear, Rodney headed back to Duke for full evaluation and treatment.

http://www.heraldsun.com/breakingnews/x1065839762/Injury-knocks-Dukes-Hood-from-Team-USA

Glad to hear there is no tear, as that would keep him out for a long time. Still, we don't really know much yet.

[davekay1971]

An update - soreness, no tear, Rodney headed back to Duke for full evaluation and treatment.

http://www.heraldsun.com/breakingnews/x1065839762/Injury-knocks-Dukes-Hood-from-Team-USA

Glad to hear there is no tear, as that would keep him out for a long time. Still, we don't really know much yet.

Glad to hear this...

But I'm still bringing my towel and my babel fish.

[subzero02]

His father indicated that he will be evaluated at Duke to determine if surgery will be necessary. I really hope that if the staff decides against surgery, this does not become an injury that hinders Hood throughout the year(seth curry)

[UrinalCake]

From what I know about Achilles injuries, surgery is a last resort and is typically only advised in the case of a complete tear (rupture). The Achilles' tendon is very slow to heal due to poor circulation reaching it, and cutting into it through surgery usually causes more harm than good in the case of minor or partial tears. Usually they will instead rely on a variety of techniques such as ultrasound stimulation, steroid treatments, and physical massage to promote healing.

[roywhite]

Is there a specific basketball god who has province over foot and leg injuries?

Surely we have displeased someone in the hierarchy. Our efforts have been directed toward not offending the weauxf-gods. Maybe we need a new strategy?

[mr. synellinden]

Is there a specific basketball god who has province over foot and leg injuries?

Surely we have displeased someone in the hierarchy. Our efforts have been directed toward not offending the weauxf-gods. Maybe we need a new strategy?

I have been saying for years that someone needs to investigate the floor surfaces in Cameron and our practice facility to be sure that is not a contributing factor. There seem to be way too many injuries that are of a stress on the leg/foot nature. Seth's stress reaction in his lower leg. Ryan's foot issues. Marshall's broken foot. Zoubek's broken foot. Kyrie's toe injury. And now this. And those are just recent ones - Boozer, Nelson, Brand, Hurley, Hill (not to mention his ankle issues as a pro) also come to mind.

The fact that there appears to be no tear is very good news. I hope that is confirmed with certainty.

[Lauderdevil]

An update - soreness, no tear, Rodney headed back to Duke for full evaluation and treatment.

http://www.heraldsun.com/breakingnews/x1065839762/Injury-knocks-Dukes-Hood-from-Team-USA

Glad to hear there is no tear, as that would keep him out for a long time. Still, we don't really know much yet.

Coming soon: pictures of Rodney in the pool. Yikes, I hate those pictures (but the pool sure has paid for itself many times over).

[subzero02]

People complain about boredom during the offseason... I think I am now a fan of offseason boredom

[Bluedog]

I have been saying for years that someone needs to investigate the floor surfaces in Cameron and our practice facility to be sure that is not a contributing factor. There seem to be way too many injuries that are of a stress on the leg/foot nature. Seth's stress reaction in his lower leg. Ryan's foot issues. Marshall's broken foot. Zoubek's broken foot. Kyrie's toe injury. And now this. And those are just recent ones - Boozer, Nelson, Brand, Hurley, Hill (not to mention his ankle issues as a pro) also come to mind.

The fact that there appears to be no tear is very good news. I hope that is confirmed with certainty.

Hood got injured in Colorado, I believe. Definitely wasn't on Duke's campus at the time. Kyrie also got injured away from Duke's campus - in the Meadowlands, if I'm recalling correctly.

[mr. synellinden]

Hood got injured in Colorado, I believe. Definitely wasn't on Duke's campus at the time. Kyrie also got injured away from Duke's campus - in the Meadowlands, if I'm recalling correctly.

Of course. But it doesn't mean that if there is a problem with the surface on one of the courts they play/played on most often and that that surface couldn't weaken the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, etc. by causing abnormal levels of stress which make players more susceptible to stress-type injuries that many Duke players have suffered in recent years.

[Kedsy]

Hood got injured in Colorado, I believe. Definitely wasn't on Duke's campus at the time. Kyrie also got injured away from Duke's campus - in the Meadowlands, if I'm recalling correctly.

Kyrie definitely got hurt at the Meadowlands. I was in the stands at the time. And as you say, Rodney's injury happened at the USA U19 tryouts.

[OldPhiKap]

I am not sure that we get more or less foot injuries than any other team. I think it is one of the more common injuries in basketball. When you have a guy 32 cinderblocks tall and weighing 27 cinderblocks jumping, stomping, sliding, running, springing, landing, twisting, turning, juking and jiving for hours on end, the feet are where the rubber hits the road. So to speak.

I would be curious to see where we stand in relation to others, although I think stats would be hard to assemble.

[mr. synellinden]

Of course. But it doesn't mean that if there is a problem with the surface on one of the courts they play/played on most often and that that surface couldn't weaken the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, etc. by causing abnormal levels of stress which make players more susceptible to stress-type injuries that many Duke players have suffered in recent years.

I realize this is very confusing grammatically. Here is the point.

If there is some issue with one of the court surfaces that causes damage or weakening of the bones, muscles, ligaments and/or tendons in the legs, ankles and feet, and if it is making Duke players more susceptible to the types of injuries we are seeing - stress reactions, breaks, etc. - then the fact that the injury occurs somewhere else means nothing.

[UrinalCake]

But then how do you explain Jabari Parker's injury last summer, Quinn's injury before his senior year of high school, Grayson Allen's knee problem earlier this summer, etc.? None of them had ever played in Cameron. Never mind the injuries that happen after guys leave - Hurley, Hill, Jay Williams, Elton, Laettner, Scheyer all have had careers severely lessened or outright destroyed by injuries. No, the only logical answer is voodoo curse.

[Duvall]

I realize this is very confusing grammatically. Here is the point.

If there is some issue with one of the court surfaces that causes damage or weakening of the bones, muscles, ligaments and/or tendons in the legs, ankles and feet, and if it is making Duke players more susceptible to the types of injuries we are seeing - stress reactions, breaks, etc. - then the fact that the injury occurs somewhere else means nothing.

I would pay a large sum in imaginary Internet dollars to get someone to tally up all the lower extremity injuries for other programs to see if Duke really has been suffering more than its fair share over the last 10-15 years.

[Dev11]

There you go.

Get well soon, Rodney.

[mr. synellinden]

I would pay a large sum in imaginary Internet dollars to get someone to tally up all the lower extremity injuries for other programs to see if Duke really has been suffering more than its fair share over the last 10-15 years.

I would too. But doesn't it seem like it's far more common at Duke?

Maybe just a comparison to UNC and NC State would shed some light.

[BismarckDuke]

I would too. But doesn't it seem like it's far more common at Duke?

Maybe just a comparison to UNC and NC State would shed some light.

Are you following the injuries that occur at UNC, NC St., Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, or are you just following Duke so close that you notice this is happening more at Duke?

Just curious.

[mr. synellinden]

Are you following the injuries that occur at UNC, NC St., Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, or are you just following Duke so close that you notice this is happening more at Duke?

Just curious.

It is absolutely possible that Duke players get injured at the same "rate" as any other school. That's why I italicized "seem' in my earlier post. I only follow Duke closely, but I follow college basketball probably as closely as most on this board. Because it SEEMS like Duke players suffer more stress-related leg injuries than at other schools, I always have wondered if there is in fact greater prevalence and, if so, if there is something causing that. If there is something causing that, the most likely explanation would seem to be the floor surfaces.

By the same token, there are certain injuries which seem rarer at Duke.

[Newton_14]

I have been saying for awhile now we should drop the whole "Duke Curse" crap, because the real Duke curse is injuries to our players. Ugh.

Glad to see it is not a tear with Rodney. Hopefully he can get healed up nicely with treatment and rehab, and be ready for the start of the season.

[duke09hms]

An additional thought - does the Duke defensive scheme that requires bigs to come out and hedge all the way out to the 3-pt line and play aggressive man-to-man defense with a lot of switching place extra risk on the feet/ankles of the bigs? This extra strain may then make them more susceptible to overuse injuries such as stress fractures/reactions. Any vulnerability due to the overaggressive defensive scheme would manifest itself mostly in the bigs.

One has to wonder.
-Does Syracuse's more passive zone defense have a lower incidence of big man lower extremity injuries?
-Duke lower extremity injuries seem to mostly occur to bigger guys - Kyrie and Quinn notwithstanding. I'd imagine this is true across all basketball, but perhaps we're significantly more. VCU's Havoc defense is mostly the little guys flying around, which would spare their bigs.
-In the year we played our "least" aggressive defense, 2010, none of our bigs had any lower extremity injuries. Sure, sample size of 1, and I don't recall any injuries to bigs in 2011, but across all team health, we had our most injury-free year that year playing our least taxing defense.

One could say that in 2010 Zoubek was super-active on offense, setting screens all around the court for the Big 3. I'd argue the difference is his activity was on offense, thereby more intentional/controlled, whereas defensive movement is more reactional, reacting to the opponent's decisions, giving less time for the body/brain to prepare and set itself in motion. This lack of total control puts players at higher risk of injury.

I doubt it has anything to do with the shoes/playing surface/medical treatment.

[mattman91]

So glad to hear there was no tear. I can now blow out my candle and go on with my life.

[Duvall]

so glad to hear there was no tear. I can now blow out my candle and go on with my life.

No, leave it burning until the Duke doctors give their second opinion.

[striker219]

So glad to hear there was no tear. I can now blow out my candle and go on with my life.

For the love of Hermes, do NOT blow out that candle.

[NashvilleDevil]

Stephen Wiseman is going to have the story linked soon. Says no year and he will have to stay off of it for a month. Coach K is quoted saying he's in good spirits and he'll be ready and healthy to start the season.

[Atlanta Duke]

Duke's Rodney Hood: Achilles not torn, out 4-6 weeks

“The injury is not believed to be serious but it will require the proper rest and treatment to heal completely,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Rodney is in good spirits and we’re excited to know that he’ll be healthy and ready to go in 2013-14.”

http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/x1065840157/Dukes-Rodney-Hood-Achilles-not-torn-returns-for-treatment

[billy]

I don't understand this ... after reading the Maryland/Alex Len thread, I thought MRI's weren't called for until the injury persisted for weeks ...

The discussion in the MD/Len thread was specifically about the use of x-rays in the situation of an ankle sprain where one needs to rule out a fracture rather than a bad sprain. The "Ottowa Rules" guide a practitioner to make a decision whether x-rays are needed or not; it's still up to the practitioner whether he or she wants to order the x-ray. FWIW, most insurance companies won't authorize payment for a MRI scan for several weeks after an ankle sprain.

The "rules" don't apply to achilles tears, however. MRI scans aren't always needed for an achilles tendon tear. In fact, I've had MRI scans denied by insurance companies for presumed achilles tendon tears because the insurance company felt that a diagnosis by physical exam was sufficient. That said, in an elite level athlete, a MRI is obtained for pretty much any injury - hangnail, sprain, etc. Not saying that it's right, just that it's reality.

As far as surgery in Hood's case, given the statement by his dad that there was no tear, I can't imagine there's a role for surgery unless his injury involves some structure other than the achilles. Even in the situation of a complete achilles tendon tear, recent studies suggest similar outcomes for surgical and non-surgical treatment. Traditionally fully torn tendons in athletes are treated with surgery; I've never seen an athlete choose non-surgical treatment.

[Edouble]

I am not sure that we get more or less foot injuries than any other team. I think it is one of the more common injuries in basketball. When you have a guy 32 cinderblocks tall and weighing 27 cinderblocks jumping, stomping, sliding, running, springing, landing, twisting, turning, juking and jiving for hours on end, the feet are where the rubber hits the road. So to speak.

I would be curious to see where we stand in relation to others, although I think stats would be hard to assemble.

Exactly.

At least his tibia didn't explode through his shin.

[quahog174]

An additional thought - does the Duke defensive scheme that requires bigs to come out and hedge all the way out to the 3-pt line and play aggressive man-to-man defense with a lot of switching place extra risk on the feet/ankles of the bigs? This extra strain may then make them more susceptible to overuse injuries such as stress fractures/reactions. Any vulnerability due to the overaggressive defensive scheme would manifest itself mostly in the bigs.

One has to wonder.
-Does Syracuse's more passive zone defense have a lower incidence of big man lower extremity injuries?
-Duke lower extremity injuries seem to mostly occur to bigger guys - Kyrie and Quinn notwithstanding. I'd imagine this is true across all basketball, but perhaps we're significantly more. VCU's Havoc defense is mostly the little guys flying around, which would spare their bigs.
-In the year we played our "least" aggressive defense, 2010, none of our bigs had any lower extremity injuries. Sure, sample size of 1, and I don't recall any injuries to bigs in 2011, but across all team health, we had our most injury-free year that year playing our least taxing defense.

One could say that in 2010 Zoubek was super-active on offense, setting screens all around the court for the Big 3. I'd argue the difference is his activity was on offense, thereby more intentional/controlled, whereas defensive movement is more reactional, reacting to the opponent's decisions, giving less time for the body/brain to prepare and set itself in motion. This lack of total control puts players at higher risk of injury.

I doubt it has anything to do with the shoes/playing surface/medical treatment.

It does make me wonder if the shoes may be the real problem, not the court. When elite programs choose a specific shoe company to align themselves with, they are choosing based on how much that company will monetarily support them, I would imagine. The shoes that are given may be flashy, colorful, and have nice air bladder gimmicks, but they are surely assembled in some third world country and has anyone really ever scientifically tested them versus other shoes? I would like to see a study looking at the force dispersion these shoes provide. Perhaps the biomechanical guys can compare Duke to other schools to see if there is any difference?

[sagegrouse]

It does make me wonder if the shoes may be the real problem, not the court. When elite programs choose a specific shoe company to align themselves with, they are choosing based on how much that company will monetarily support them, I would imagine. The shoes that are given may be flashy, colorful, and have nice air bladder gimmicks, but they are surely assembled in some third world country and has anyone really ever scientifically tested them versus other shoes? I would like to see a study looking at the force dispersion these shoes provide. Perhaps the biomechanical guys can compare Duke to other schools to see if there is any difference?

Quahog has asked a good question. He assumes that Nike and other shoe companies provide off-the-shelf shoe designs to Duke and other teams and asks whether these meet the needs of individual Duke players? I have had the opposite assumption: Each high-profile player (i.e., any Duke player) gets a custom-made -- or, at least a custom-fit -- shoe. And that the feet and shoes are subject to all sorts of tests and checks in the shoe selection process.

Does anyone here have any information?

sagegrouse

[duke09hms]

It does make me wonder if the shoes may be the real problem, not the court. When elite programs choose a specific shoe company to align themselves with, they are choosing based on how much that company will monetarily support them, I would imagine. The shoes that are given may be flashy, colorful, and have nice air bladder gimmicks, but they are surely assembled in some third world country and has anyone really ever scientifically tested them versus other shoes? I would like to see a study looking at the force dispersion these shoes provide. Perhaps the biomechanical guys can compare Duke to other schools to see if there is any difference?

The reason why I doubted the shoes being the source of any problem is because so many programs wear Nike, and so many programs wear Adidas and so on. I don't think Nike is especially making a special shoe only for Duke. To look at why lower extremity injuries seem to be specifically targeting Duke, we need to look at factors that are unique to Duke.

[OldPhiKap]

The reason why I doubted the shoes being the source of any problem is because so many programs wear Nike, and so many programs wear Adidas and so on. I don't think Nike is especially making a special shoe only for Duke. To look at why lower extremity injuries seem to be specifically targeting Duke, we need to look at factors that are unique to Duke.

Big brains weigh heavily on the 'ol pods?

[CDu]

Duke's Rodney Hood: Achilles not torn, out 4-6 weeks

“The injury is not believed to be serious but it will require the proper rest and treatment to heal completely,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Rodney is in good spirits and we’re excited to know that he’ll be healthy and ready to go in 2013-14.”

http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/x1065840157/Dukes-Rodney-Hood-Achilles-not-torn-returns-for-treatment

Whew! That is as good a report as we're going to get given the injury. Glad to hear he'll be ready for fall practice. While I hate it for him that he'll miss out on the Team USA experience, I'm glad he'll be back in Durham for treatment and will get more time to spend with the team. Let's hope this is the last we have to deal with the achilles injury.

[Troublemaker]

It is absolutely possible that Duke players get injured at the same "rate" as any other school. That's why I italicized "seem' in my earlier post. I only follow Duke closely, but I follow college basketball probably as closely as most on this board. Because it SEEMS like Duke players suffer more stress-related leg injuries than at other schools, I always have wondered if there is in fact greater prevalence and, if so, if there is something causing that. If there is something causing that, the most likely explanation would seem to be the floor surfaces.

I would guess we have received those injuries more than most programs, but that there is no cause, just random distribution. Some programs necessarily must receive more foot injuries than others by normal distribution, just like some programs necessarily must have more memorable buzzer-beaters than others (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DpdxiLybmE ). (Then again, maybe there's a cosmic/karmic balance operating therein [and then again, maybe we just pay attention more to Duke buzzer-beaters]).

[Dukehky]

Whew! That is as good a report as we're going to get given the injury. Glad to hear he'll be ready for fall practice. While I hate it for him that he'll miss out on the Team USA experience, I'm glad he'll be back in Durham for treatment and will get more time to spend with the team. Let's hope this is the last we have to deal with the achilles injury.

Battier and I have repeatedly prayed to the basketball gods to give Duke an injury free season again. We're also thinking about starting an official basketball gods church. I'm still a little foggy on the details but I think that this has been Shane's plan since he declared his Religion major in school.

[Henderson]

Battier and I have repeatedly prayed to the basketball gods to give Duke an injury free season again. We're also thinking about starting an official basketball gods church. I'm still a little foggy on the details but I think that this has been Shane's plan since he declared his Religion major in school.

So is Shane Battier THE God or just A god? Does being a god disqualify you from being POTUS? I assume if he is THE God, his schedule would be full. I don't know that much about the scheduling commitments of mere gods. Are they busy too?

[drcharl]

As a lifetime runner I no stranger to injuries related to overuse and have logged 6 foot related surgeries. Yes you can blame your athletic shoes or the surfaces but are these young players stressing their bodies to much with the same activity year round until the stress accumulates and eventually finds their "Achilles heal"? Do they go through withdrawal or fear they will loose pace with others if they take time off from the game periodically? I have learned the importance of rest breaks before the injuries come and force you to take time off.

[mr. synellinden]

I just went back and did some research on UNC. The only references I could find to stress type leg injuries during the past 5 years were Ginyard and Hansbrough in 2008 and Zeller in 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3713121 Of course they've had two ACL injuries, but I don't consider those "stress" type leg injuries.

I tried doing some research on some other schools - Villanova, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas - and found one for Indiana (Creek) two for Villanova (Bell; Anderson), one for Georgetown (Wright) and four for Kansas if you go back to 2007 (Little and Withey plus both Arthur and Collins in 2007)

Is that compelling evidence when compared to 6: Hood, Kelly, Irving, Zoubek, Plumlee and Curry? Maybe, maybe not - but that's what I found doing some quick research.

On a very related note, I found this article (http://dukesportsmedicine.org/modules/ctr_sptmed_news/index.php?id=46) and thought it was worth sharing.

[Kedsy]

Of course they've had two ACL injuries, but I don't consider those "stress" type leg injuries.

* * *

Is that compelling evidence when compared to 6: Hood, Kelly, Irving, Zoubek, Plumlee and Curry? Maybe, maybe not - but that's what I found doing some quick research.

Why is an ACL injury not a stress related injury but an Achilles injury is? Also, I don't think Kyrie's was a stress injury -- he broke his toe when he stepped on someone's foot, right? I don't know that Ryan's was a stress injury, either, but I'm not completely sure about that.

And even if you're right about your injury classification, if UNC had three stress related injuries plus two ACL injuries (5 bad leg injuries total), plus Ty Lawson's toe injury (so maybe that's 6 leg injuries total), I don't think it would be a significant difference from the 6 Duke injuries you mention.

[MCFinARL]

I just went back and did some research on UNC. The only references I could find to stress type leg injuries during the past 5 years were Ginyard and Hansbrough in 2008 and Zeller in 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3713121 Of course they've had two ACL injuries, but I don't consider those "stress" type leg injuries.

I tried doing some research on some other schools - Villanova, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas - and found one for Indiana (Creek) two for Villanova (Bell; Anderson), one for Georgetown (Wright) and four for Kansas if you go back to 2007 (Little and Withey plus both Arthur and Collins in 2007)

Is that compelling evidence when compared to 6: Hood, Kelly, Irving, Zoubek, Plumlee and Curry? Maybe, maybe not - but that's what I found doing some quick research.

On a very related note, I found this article (http://dukesportsmedicine.org/modules/ctr_sptmed_news/index.php?id=46) and thought it was worth sharing.

I have no medical training, so I don't want to suggest I know the answer to this question; in fact, I would love it if one of our medically expert posters answered it. But are all the injuries you have listed here "stress type"? I know Seth's was; I can see where Kelly's and Plumlee's might have been; I don't remember the exact nature of Zoubek's injuries. But Irving was injured when Matt Howard landed on his foot (or vice versa?) in a game; that strikes me as the definition of a "random" injury, not related to chronic stress or overuse. And Hood strained his Achilles, which to my non-expert ears sounds pretty different from a stress fracture.

Re injuries generally, as opposed to Duke injuries specifically, my non-expert instincts tell me that, increasingly, serious athletes at every level from pro down through high school and even youth league are asking their bodies to do things they weren't originally intended to do, and to do them repeatedly. When kids are choosing a single sport to play year round as early as 5th or 6th grade, often with little or no educated instruction on pre-game warming up, proper techniques, and body mechanics, it's probably not surprising that a lot of them get hurt, a lot.

[gep]

So... while the specific injury may not be a "stress injury", maybe the constant specific targeted "stress" from early ages causes other parts to over-compensate, and another injury occurs... maybe not the specific "stress injury", but injury related to stressed out other parts. :confused:

[drcharl]

I don't think it will always be clear cut, e.g. Kevin Ware's injury that could have been related to an undiagnosed underlying stress condition. Hard to believe that injury was solely the result of jumping and landing awkwardly.

[coldriver10]

I don't think it will always be clear cut, e.g. Kevin Ware's injury that could have been related to an undiagnosed underlying stress condition. Hard to believe that injury was solely the result of jumping and landing awkwardly.
Yeah, the morning after that happened, everyone in my department in the hospital seemed to agree there was probably an underlying bony lesion that would predispose him to fracture. An actual lesion, though, not a stress reaction (which would be painful, and I don't believe they mentioned him playing hurt prior to the injury). There was no mention of an underlying lesion, at least not publicly, so who knows.

[roywhite]

As a lifetime runner I no stranger to injuries related to overuse and have logged 6 foot related surgeries. Yes you can blame your athletic shoes or the surfaces but are these young players stressing their bodies to much with the same activity year round until the stress accumulates and eventually finds their "Achilles heal"? Do they go through withdrawal or fear they will loose pace with others if they take time off from the game periodically? I have learned the importance of rest breaks before the injuries come and force you to take time off.

Good points.

Some factors that could be resulting in an increase in foot and leg injuries:
playing and practicing more; not taking breaks as noted above
specializing in a particular sport (basketball in this case) at an earlier age rather than playing multiple sports through high school
weight training and general increase in weight among population, putting more stress on feet and joints

[lotusland]

I just went back and did some research on UNC. The only references I could find to stress type leg injuries during the past 5 years were Ginyard and Hansbrough in 2008 and Zeller in 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3713121 Of course they've had two ACL injuries, but I don't consider those "stress" type leg injuries.

I tried doing some research on some other schools - Villanova, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas - and found one for Indiana (Creek) two for Villanova (Bell; Anderson), one for Georgetown (Wright) and four for Kansas if you go back to 2007 (Little and Withey plus both Arthur and Collins in 2007)

Is that compelling evidence when compared to 6: Hood, Kelly, Irving, Zoubek, Plumlee and Curry? Maybe, maybe not - but that's what I found doing some quick research.

On a very related note, I found this article (http://dukesportsmedicine.org/modules/ctr_sptmed_news/index.php?id=46) and thought it was worth sharing.

UNC players's feet were not under the extra strain of walking or running to class so they've had a distinct advantage in that area. It's also unlikely that they were burdened by carrying the added weight of books around with them.

[Dukeface88]

Does being a god disqualify you from being POTUS?

I suspect that it would be considered to be a foreign title, given that the courts have previously recognized in Mayo v. Satan and His Staff that the Defendant was a foreign prince. In that case, it would be a disqualification under the Emoluments Clause unless Congress passed a resolution granting its consent (note that this actually did happen to President Eisenhower, who had been knighted by Denmark during World War 2).

[ricks68]

Does anyone out there have any new info on how things with Rodney's injury is working out?

ricks

[wk2109]

Good article and video interview here: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208895660

[jacone21]

Good article and video interview here: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208895660

Good video. Love his comments about the freshmen.

[Kedsy]

Good article and video interview here: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208895660

I like that he says his role will be to be the best defender on the team (as well as to score). With Rasheed on the same team, that would be quite an accomplishment and hopefully a return to the fearsome Duke D of the past.

Other fun tidbits from the 12 minute interview:

-- Matt Jones loves to play defense

-- Semi is a freak and a "once in a generation" player with regards to his strength

-- the freshmen call Rodney up all the time and ask him to play 2 on 2 in the gym

-- the team's going to run and press to make up for its lack of a true big man

Every time I watch one of these videos I think they all have to play. I mean, we know Matt's a great shooter (something Rodney confirms in the interview), but if he can play defense as well, why couldn't he get some time? We've seen Semi's hops, but if he's also that strong, why can't a 6'7 "freak" get some time at center? Rodney also mentions Alex as a do-it-all guy who can play multiple positions, maybe it's his turn to break into the rotation?

And then I wake up and remember only 7 or 8 guys are going to play. Still, it's exciting to think about.

[pfrduke]

Fixed thread title (if only because seeing Hood Suffers Achilles Injury popping back up to the top of the page gave me a mild panic before I remembered it was older news).

[OldPhiKap]

Fixed thread title (if only because seeing Hood Suffers Achilles Injury popping back up to the top of the page gave me a mild panic before I remembered it was older news).

Much appreciated. The new title was the best thing I have heard in awhile.

Go Duke!

[ScreechTDX1847]

Rodney referred to Jabari being 6"9' in that video. That obviously can't be right.

[MChambers]

Every time I watch one of these videos I think they all have to play. I mean, we know Matt's a great shooter (something Rodney confirms in the interview), but if he can play defense as well, why couldn't he get some time? We've seen Semi's hops, but if he's also that strong, why can't a 6'7 "freak" get some time at center? Rodney also mentions Alex as a do-it-all guy who can play multiple positions, maybe it's his turn to break into the rotation?

And then I wake up and remember only 7 or 8 guys are going to play. Still, it's exciting to think about.
You are managing to have the playing time debate all by yourself, thereby sparing the rest of us the effort! Thank you.

Having said, I too still dream of a season where 10 or more players are so good that they all get important minutes.

[MCFinARL]

I like that he says his role will be to be the best defender on the team (as well as to score). With Rasheed on the same team, that would be quite an accomplishment and hopefully a return to the fearsome Duke D of the past.

Other fun tidbits from the 12 minute interview:

-- Matt Jones loves to play defense

-- Semi is a freak and a "once in a generation" player with regards to his strength

-- the freshmen call Rodney up all the time and ask him to play 2 on 2 in the gym

-- the team's going to run and press to make up for its lack of a true big man

Every time I watch one of these videos I think they all have to play. I mean, we know Matt's a great shooter (something Rodney confirms in the interview), but if he can play defense as well, why couldn't he get some time? We've seen Semi's hops, but if he's also that strong, why can't a 6'7 "freak" get some time at center? Rodney also mentions Alex as a do-it-all guy who can play multiple positions, maybe it's his turn to break into the rotation?

And then I wake up and remember only 7 or 8 guys are going to play. Still, it's exciting to think about.

Well, we always talk about how Coach K tries to adapt the team's playing style to the players he has, rather than the other way around. Maybe this is the year he will surprise us all and play a much deeper rotation, which would lend itself to a faster, more pressing style of play anyway. I also think it's very exciting to think about.

But I'm not betting the ranch.

[COYS]

You are managing to have the playing time debate all by yourself, thereby sparing the rest of us the effort! Thank you.

Having said, I too still dream of a season where 10 or more players are so good that they all get important minutes.

First, let me say that I'm glad Rodney's doing better!

While we're dreaming, the perfect season would be if the starting lineup of, let's say Amile, Jabari, Rodney, Rasheed, and Quinn was perhaps only marginally better than the second best team in the ACC: Duke's "B" team of Tyler, Andre, Alex, Semi, and Marshall. Josh gets to be a "dirty work" sub for the A team while Matt provides depth and scoring punch for the B team. K plays each team exactly 10 minutes per half and, since Duke is crushing opponents so relentlessly, ESPN decides to start announcing the scoring numbers for the A and B squads in the box score, since that proves more interesting. It would read like this: "Duke Drops the Hammer on Wake: 123-47. Duke's A team narrowly defeats Duke's B team with a score of 63-60. Matt Jones' potentially game tying three for the B team was controversially waved off after official review because the officials judged the shot to have been released just after the buzzer."

The National Title Game between Duke and UK would involve Duke winning 118-74. However, after the game is over, instead of celebrating, the A team claims "shirts" and the B team claims "skins" and they lineup for extra time to break the 59-59 tie between the A and B teams. After 4 OT's, the B team loses but the NCAA changes its rules and awards the Runner-Up Banner to the B team. Duke wins the NCAA Title AND the Runner-Up Title in the same season. The first ten picks of the NBA draft are all Duke players. The Atlanta Hawks ('cause I'm an Atlanta fan) with Ferry at the helm work out the strangest of deals to land all 10 of Duke's draftees plus orchestrate a trade with the Cavs for Kyrie. With Kyrie piloting the "Atlanta Blue Devils" offense, the Hawks go on to obliterate the Heat in four straight Eastern Conference Finals, which would be the start of a 7-year stretch of championships for Atlanta. Lebron James retires after the fourth loss in the Eastern Finals. Rumors surface that he was seen begging Kyrie to convince Ferry to trade for him so he could play for the Hawks at the veteran's minimum and get the chance to provide 10-15 minutes off the bench as Jabari's backup at SF.

[Billy Dat]

While we're dreaming...

I'm with you until everyone declares for the NBA and heads for Atlanta. First off, our team the following year would be compromised, and I'd hate for our guys to be forced to play in front the 5th least attended arena in the NBA :p

[SupaDave]

First, let me say that I'm glad Rodney's doing better!

While we're dreaming, the perfect season would be if the starting lineup of, let's say Amile, Jabari, Rodney, Rasheed, and Quinn was perhaps only marginally better than the second best team in the ACC: Duke's "B" team of Tyler, Andre, Alex, Semi, and Marshall. Josh gets to be a "dirty work" sub for the A team while Matt provides depth and scoring punch for the B team. K plays each team exactly 10 minutes per half and, since Duke is crushing opponents so relentlessly, ESPN decides to start announcing the scoring numbers for the A and B squads in the box score, since that proves more interesting. It would read like this: "Duke Drops the Hammer on Wake: 123-47. Duke's A team narrowly defeats Duke's B team with a score of 63-60. Matt Jones' potentially game tying three for the B team was controversially waved off after official review because the officials judged the shot to have been released just after the buzzer."

The National Title Game between Duke and UK would involve Duke winning 118-74. However, after the game is over, instead of celebrating, the A team claims "shirts" and the B team claims "skins" and they lineup for extra time to break the 59-59 tie between the A and B teams. After 4 OT's, the B team loses but the NCAA changes its rules and awards the Runner-Up Banner to the B team. Duke wins the NCAA Title AND the Runner-Up Title in the same season. The first ten picks of the NBA draft are all Duke players. The Atlanta Hawks ('cause I'm an Atlanta fan) with Ferry at the helm work out the strangest of deals to land all 10 of Duke's draftees plus orchestrate a trade with the Cavs for Kyrie. With Kyrie piloting the "Atlanta Blue Devils" offense, the Hawks go on to obliterate the Heat in four straight Eastern Conference Finals, which would be the start of a 7-year stretch of championships for Atlanta. Lebron James retires after the fourth loss in the Eastern Finals. Rumors surface that he was seen begging Kyrie to convince Ferry to trade for him so he could play for the Hawks at the veteran's minimum and get the chance to provide 10-15 minutes off the bench as Jabari's backup at SF.

I'll have two of whatever he's having...

[Duvall]

I'm with you until everyone declares for the NBA and heads for Atlanta. First off, our team the following year would be compromised, and I'd hate for our guys to be forced to play in front the 5th least attended arena in the NBA :p

That's only because he left out the part about Duke's 2014 recruiting class.

[devildeac]

I like that he says his role will be to be the best defender on the team (as well as to score). With Rasheed on the same team, that would be quite an accomplishment and hopefully a return to the fearsome Duke D of the past.

Other fun tidbits from the 12 minute interview:

-- Matt Jones loves to play defense

-- Semi is a freak and a "once in a generation" player with regards to his strength

-- the freshmen call Rodney up all the time and ask him to play 2 on 2 in the gym

-- the team's going to run and press to make up for its lack of a true big man

Every time I watch one of these videos I think they all have to play. I mean, we know Matt's a great shooter (something Rodney confirms in the interview), but if he can play defense as well, why couldn't he get some time? We've seen Semi's hops, but if he's also that strong, why can't a 6'7 "freak" get some time at center? Rodney also mentions Alex as a do-it-all guy who can play multiple positions, maybe it's his turn to break into the rotation?

And then I wake up and remember only 7 or 8 guys are going to play. Still, it's exciting to think about.

Go back to sleep. I like your dream;).

[ncexnyc]

It's been a fun summer so far with all of the entertainment our friends over at UNC have provided, unfortunately there's been a dark cloud over our program due to Rodney's injury. This latest news is fantastic and now that cloud is vanishing from over our heads.

While I don't buy into everything that is being said in the video, as these claims usually tend to be somewhat inflated. I too would love to see a team which enables Coach K to go extremely deep down the roster and let's us play a ferocious man to man D.

[ricks68]

It's been a fun summer so far with all of the entertainment our friends over at UNC have provided, unfortunately there's been a dark cloud over our program due to Rodney's injury. This latest news is fantastic and now that cloud is vanishing from over our heads.

While I don't buy into everything that is being said in the video, as these claims usually tend to be somewhat inflated. I too would love to see a team which enables Coach K to go extremely deep down the roster and let's us play a ferocious man to man D.

There's always a first time, and this may be it. You never know. After looking at Semi's size (how could anyone miss it) and his agility, along with all the other talent we have (including the players we often don't think about--like Dre and Alex), I think there will be lots of surprises this year.:D

rick

[BlueDevilBrowns]

First, let me say that I'm glad Rodney's doing better!

While we're dreaming, the perfect season would be if the starting lineup of, let's say Amile, Jabari, Rodney, Rasheed, and Quinn was perhaps only marginally better than the second best team in the ACC: Duke's "B" team of Tyler, Andre, Alex, Semi, and Marshall. Josh gets to be a "dirty work" sub for the A team while Matt provides depth and scoring punch for the B team. K plays each team exactly 10 minutes per half and, since Duke is crushing opponents so relentlessly, ESPN decides to start announcing the scoring numbers for the A and B squads in the box score, since that proves more interesting. It would read like this: "Duke Drops the Hammer on Wake: 123-47. Duke's A team narrowly defeats Duke's B team with a score of 63-60. Matt Jones' potentially game tying three for the B team was controversially waved off after official review because the officials judged the shot to have been released just after the buzzer."

The National Title Game between Duke and UK would involve Duke winning 118-74. However, after the game is over, instead of celebrating, the A team claims "shirts" and the B team claims "skins" and they lineup for extra time to break the 59-59 tie between the A and B teams. After 4 OT's, the B team loses but the NCAA changes its rules and awards the Runner-Up Banner to the B team. Duke wins the NCAA Title AND the Runner-Up Title in the same season. The first ten picks of the NBA draft are all Duke players. The Atlanta Hawks ('cause I'm an Atlanta fan) with Ferry at the helm work out the strangest of deals to land all 10 of Duke's draftees plus orchestrate a trade with the Cavs for Kyrie. With Kyrie piloting the "Atlanta Blue Devils" offense, the Hawks go on to obliterate the Heat in four straight Eastern Conference Finals, which would be the start of a 7-year stretch of championships for Atlanta. Lebron James retires after the fourth loss in the Eastern Finals. Rumors surface that he was seen begging Kyrie to convince Ferry to trade for him so he could play for the Hawks at the veteran's minimum and get the chance to provide 10-15 minutes off the bench as Jabari's backup at SF.


The title for the season could be "1999, Episode II: Coach K's Revenge".

I mean, if you think about it, the 1999 season is the closet thing we've seen to this actually playing out. Duke was so talented that year that it truly was a mismatch almost every time we took the floor (with the exception of the Cincy, MSU, and UCONN games, of course). Perhaps it's me getting older or that season getting farther and farther away in my mind, but, to me, that was the funnest Duke season(overall) that I can remember, with 1992 and 2010 coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

It's amazing how finishing 2nd in the NCAAT has diminished the accomplishments of this team in the minds of the "Non-Duke" Media. I mean, this team went 19-0 in the ACC and no one ever talks about it. I can't remember it being discussed last year(among the media) when Miami was coming close or at any other point in time.

Has it really been 15 years? Wow, I'm getting old.

[OldPhiKap]

The title for the season could be "1999, Episode II: Coach K's Revenge".

I mean, if you think about it, the 1999 season is the closet thing we've seen to this actually playing out. Duke was so talented that year that it truly was a mismatch almost every time we took the floor (with the exception of the Cincy, MSU, and UCONN games, of course). Perhaps it's me getting older or that season getting farther and farther away in my mind, but, to me, that was the funnest Duke season(overall) that I can remember, with 1992 and 2010 coming in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

It's amazing how finishing 2nd in the NCAAT has diminished the accomplishments of this team in the minds of the "Non-Duke" Media. I mean, this team went 19-0 in the ACC and no one ever talks about it. I can't remember it being discussed last year(among the media) when Miami was coming close or at any other point in time.

Has it really been 15 years? Wow, I'm getting old.

That was the year that I recall someone (maybe Brand) saying that the plan was to play all-out every time on the court, and then just sub out when gassed. Were the minutes different than normal? I'll let the stat pro's decide:

Langdon 31.0 mpg
Avery 31.0 mpg
Brand 29.1 mpg
Carrawell 28.6 mpg
Shane 23.8 mpg
Maggette 17.7 mpg
Burgess 15.6 mpg
Nate 14.7 mpg
Taymon 9.9 mpg
All others: 3.1 mpg or less (5 players)

I'd call that an 8-man rotation although you could stretch it to 9 I guess. Fourteen players with minutes. Our 5th starter "only" had 23.8 mpg, with only two over 30 (and by a smidge). The five starters averaged 143.5 of the available 200 minutes (ignoring overtimes), or 71.75%. Compared to last year:

Mason 34.7 mpg
Quinn 33.6 mpg
Seth 32.3 mpg
Sheed 29.2 mpg
Ryan 28.9 mpg
Tyler 22.0 mpg
Amile 12.7 mpg
The Good Hairston 12.7 mpg
All others: 6.3 mpg or less (3 players)

I would call that a 6-man rotation with a committee of two (Amile/Jiggy) sharing time (or, another way to say it, five starters with one full-time backcourt sub and two half-time front court subs). Only 11 players with minutes. Our fifth starter was a hair under 29 mpg. Three starters with over 30 minutes (and more than any player in 1999), and the five basically playing 158.5 of the available 200 minutes (ignoring any overtimes) or 79.25% of the minutes.

It seems to me that when K has the hosses, he lets them run. The idea that he is set in a seven-man rotation does not seem to hold (to my reading, at least) when we play uptempo "best defense is a great offense" pace.


http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/seasons/season-stats.php?season=1998-99

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/seasons/season-stats.php?season=2012-13

[vick]

Well, the thing about minutes from season averages is that they can be thrown off if the team is just really good and blowing people out (or, more pessimistically, if it suffers injuries) which make it look like the rotation that would play in meaningful games is deeper than it is. 1997-98 was a very fast-paced team, and if you look at the average minutes, you'd think with 9 players playing double-digit minutes, and 3 more averaging more than 6, it was a very deep rotation. But then when you look at close, late-season games, it was more or less a 7 man rotation (Brand, Battier, Langdon, Wojo, McLeod, Carrawell, Avery) with spot minutes for Chappell and Burgess. So, while I'm totally with the consensus that next year's team will play a quick pace because of it's relative weakness at center, I'd be surprised for the regular rotation by tournament time to be deeper than 7-8, and I don't really think it has to be to play up-tempo, unless by up-tempo you mean like the old Loyola Marymount teams of the late 80s and early 90s.

[Acymetric]

Good article and video interview here: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208895660

Sounds like a great video...too bad due to the terrible video streaming service they use I can't watch this one or any others. My connection is somewhat slow and unlike every other video player it won't let you continue to load the whole video with it paused, leaving me to watch the video cycle between play and buffering about once per second (basically frame by frame with extra choppy audio). Do other people have this problem?

[Kedsy]

Well, the thing about minutes from season averages is that they can be thrown off if the team is just really good and blowing people out (or, more pessimistically, if it suffers injuries) which make it look like the rotation that would play in meaningful games is deeper than it is. 1997-98 was a very fast-paced team, and if you look at the average minutes, you'd think with 9 players playing double-digit minutes, and 3 more averaging more than 6, it was a very deep rotation. But then when you look at close, late-season games, it was more or less a 7 man rotation (Brand, Battier, Langdon, Wojo, McLeod, Carrawell, Avery) with spot minutes for Chappell and Burgess. So, while I'm totally with the consensus that next year's team will play a quick pace because of it's relative weakness at center, I'd be surprised for the regular rotation by tournament time to be deeper than 7-8, and I don't really think it has to be to play up-tempo, unless by up-tempo you mean like the old Loyola Marymount teams of the late 80s and early 90s.

I agree, both that rotation depth can't be adequately assessed just by looking at minute averages, and that playing up-tempo does not require a longer rotation. The following table shows last season plus six selected fast-paced Duke teams (as determined by possessions per 40 minutes). The last three columns show how many Duke players played more than 10 minutes in "close" games (under 20 points) after January 1:



Year PossPer40 6-man 7-man 8-man
---- --------- ----- ----- -----
2013 68.2 6 10 2
1998 73.4 0 9 4
1992 74.2 10 9 5
1999 75.4 2 7 2
2000 76.2 11 5 0
2001 77.0 8 8 0
2002 77.1 8 3 0


Based on this data, our rotation does not get longer when our pace gets faster.

Also, to respond to OldPhiKap, the above table shows that in games that counted most, the rotation in 1999 was basically a 7-man rotation, not 8 or 9.

[wk2109]

I agree, both that rotation depth can't be adequately assessed just by looking at minute averages, and that playing up-tempo does not require a longer rotation. The following table shows last season plus six selected fast-paced Duke teams (as determined by possessions per 40 minutes). The last three columns show how many Duke players played more than 10 minutes in "close" games (under 20 points) after January 1:



Year PossPer40 6-man 7-man 8-man
---- --------- ----- ----- -----
2013 68.2 6 10 2
1998 73.4 0 9 4
1992 74.2 10 9 5
1999 75.4 2 7 2
2000 76.2 11 5 0
2001 77.0 8 8 0
2002 77.1 8 3 0


Based on this data, our rotation does not get longer when our pace gets faster.

Also, to respond to OldPhiKap, the above table shows that in games that counted most, the rotation in 1999 was basically a 7-man rotation, not 8 or 9.

I remember an ESPN article from last year with a compilation of scouting reports of each ACC team given anonymously by other coaches. The report on Duke was that Coach K had his starting five, and he only used his subs to buy minutes of rest for those 5 players, not because he actually wanted to play his bench (paraphrased of course). Not that this is the case for every Duke team (or that it was even the case for the '12-'13 team, because I think K actually wants to give Tyler minutes), but it goes back to the purpose of using the bench. Is it just to give the starters rest, to get guys on the court who can actually contribute, or some combo of both?

If you look at K's typical 7 or 8 man rotation, there are usually 4 or 5 guys playing the '1'-'3' spots and 3 guys playing the '4' and '5' spots. If you go much beyond that, you're essentially giving minutes to subs of subs, meaning you're giving minutes to bench guys at the expense of the starters. If your starters spend a few minutes on the bench and are rested enough to play, the idea usually is that a slightly-fatigued starter will be more effective than a fresh bench player, assuming you have the regular 'separation of talent' that is normal on a roster.

So using the '13-'14 team as an example, let's assume that Quinn, Rasheed and Rodney start at the 1-3 spots and Tyler and Andre are the primary subs, forming a 5-man rotation. If Andre replaces Rodney and plays for 5-7 min, giving Rodney ample time to rest, do you want to come back with a basically fresh Rodney, or do you bring in Alex/Matt/Semi? Conventional wisdom says you come back with your starter instead of going deeper into the bench. This is why, even with all the talent on this year's roster, I can't see K going much beyond an 8-man rotation. Unfortunately, I think Marshall, Alex, Matt and Semi will struggle to find minutes. However, I do think Marshall will be brought in strategically to play defense on any tall centers.

It's not just about giving minutes to guys just because they're good, it's about giving the most minutes possible to the best guys because they give Duke the best chance to win. I believe that's what Kedsy's table shows K's philosophy is.

[Troublemaker]

I think we can count on at least an 8-player rotation. Seems to me both Thornton and Dawkins have to play, and somebody has to back up the 4/5 positions (if say Amile starts, the backup could be Murphy or MP3 or Hairston). And I would consider a 9-man rotation to be more likely than 7. It's just tough to see how we could drop below 8 this season if everyone's healthy. My "gun to head" pick is an 8-man rotation though.

I would consider 8 to be "very good" depth; I mean, if you can have a point, a wing, and a big that you can count on for minutes off the bench, that's huge. I think there's a huge difference between a 7-man rotation and an 8-man rotation. I would categorize the various rotations as follows:

6-man: Shallow
7-man: Not good (but manageable)
8-man: Very good
9-man: Perfect
10-man: Overkill

[MarkD83]

As noted in a previous post other coaches mention that Coach K might play a "short bench" (my phrasing of the issue). We tend to only analyze Duke teams when this happens but could a few stats folks try to look at other teams that are "deep".

Folks usually think that UNC plays lots of players and last year's U of L team may have been considered to be a deep team (until Ware's injury). How do these teams compare to the Duke teams in the table that was posted showing the number of times 6, 7, 8 man rotations were used?

Thanks ahead of time.

[BD80]

There it is!

Fun game, will a thread first devolve into a discussion of minutes played or a mention of Hitler?

I'm tempted to start some sort of drinking game with respect to discussions of minutes played, but the levels of intoxication would probably be toxic / nearly lethal, which could lower the level of discussion to near IC depths.

[subzero02]

There it is!

Fun game, will a thread first devolve into a discussion of minutes played or a mention of Hitler?

I'm tempted to start some sort of drinking game with respect to discussions of minutes played, but the levels of intoxication would probably be toxic / nearly lethal, which could lower the level of discussion to near IC depths.

IC discussions are also heavily fueled by delusional paranoia and vitriol

[OldPhiKap]

IC discussions are also heavily fueled by delusional paranoia and vitriol

As was Hitler.

[Henderson]

As was Hitler.

Come on man, the Hitler card? Maybe the Rumsfeld card or the David Koresh card or the Glenn Beck card, or the mother in law card or the Kurz card or the ex-wife card, or the frat brother card. But Hitler? Hmm.

[devildeac]

There it is!

Fun game, will a thread first devolve into a discussion of minutes played or a mention of Hitler?

I'm tempted to start some sort of drinking game with respect to discussions of minutes played, but the levels of intoxication would probably be toxic / nearly lethal, which could lower the level of discussion to near IC depths.

Hey, I still think this is funny (well, maybe mildly amusing at least:o) from when I posted it up thread. Someone even suggesting bringing it BTTT occasionally for folks that missed it the first time. So here's AH himself (with subtitles/translation, of course) discussing PJ's criminal activities shortly after the news hit the press about his arrest in Derm.

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

(one bad word so don't say I didn't warn you;))

[Kedsy]

I think we can count on at least an 8-player rotation. Seems to me both Thornton and Dawkins have to play, and somebody has to back up the 4/5 positions (if say Amile starts, the backup could be Murphy or MP3 or Hairston). And I would consider a 9-man rotation to be more likely than 7. It's just tough to see how we could drop below 8 this season if everyone's healthy. My "gun to head" pick is an 8-man rotation though.

I agree the most likely rotation in close games will be 8, for exactly the reasons you state. I'd say it's also possible that instead of a third big we sometimes play Jabari and Rodney up front with three guards, making it a 7-man rotation, but I don't think it's likely. I think a true 9-man rotation is a long shot. The only other thing I'd add to your analysis is it's not out of the question that Semi is in the mix for 3rd big/8th man, along with Alex, Josh, and Marshall.

[Troublemaker]

True, forgot about Semi there. (And yet I remembered to list him as an option in the "Starting Center" poll.) I do think he's probably the least likely player to crack the rotation this season (being a freshman ranked in the 30s coming from a low level of competition), but it's at least physically possible. What a body he possesses.

[Kedsy]

True, forgot about Semi there. (And yet I remembered to list him as an option in the "Starting Center" poll.) I do think he's probably the least likely player to crack the rotation this season (being a freshman ranked in the 30s coming from a low level of competition), but it's at least physically possible. What a body he possesses.

Yeah, the ranking would seem to predict outside the rotation, but occasionally guys like Josh get overtaken as the last man in the rotation. Semi has the best vertical in Durham and according to Rodney is the strongest guy on the team. If he really is freakishly strong, at 6'7, he would seem to be at least a possible option to guard guys like Shaquille Cleare (6'9, 270), certainly a better option than Alex or Josh, possibly a better option than Amile or Marshall. At least until we see what happens in October/November, anyway.

[ForkFondler]

Come on man, the Hitler card?

Really. It's unfair to Hitler.

[subzero02]

Yeah, the ranking would seem to predict outside the rotation, but occasionally guys like Josh get overtaken as the last man in the rotation. Semi has the best vertical in Durham and according to Rodney is the strongest guy on the team. If he really is freakishly strong, at 6'7, he would seem to be at least a possible option to guard guys like Shaquille Cleare (6'9, 270), certainly a better option than Alex or Josh, possibly a better option than Amile or Marshall. At least until we see what happens in October/November, anyway.

You really think that it's a "maybe" in terms of whether or not Semi would fair better than Amile versus a 270 pounder?

[Kedsy]

You really think that it's a "maybe" in terms of whether or not Semi would fair better than Amile versus a 270 pounder?

Semi is a freshman who doesn't know how to play Duke defense. Amile has a year under his belt, has shown to be a crafty defender despite his lack of girth, and is 2 inches taller than Semi. Plus, I expect Amile to be the regular starter. Until we see different in real games, I think the word "maybe" applies perfectly.

[ricks68]

An interesting comparison just popped into my head: I think that Amile is like a rich man's Jamal Boykin. Full of energy; tenacious; kinda appears to be klutzy, but remarkably not; gets those sneaky rebounds; puts the ball in the basket; knows how to position himself; smart; team player; plays bigger than his actual size; dedicated to Duke; etc. His only real drawback appears to be his weight (which is gradually increasing, anyway), but so far, I haven't seen him shoved out of the way very much, if at all. So, he certainly is much,much better than Jamal (as if anyone has even mentioned anything about this comparison before). Just sayin'.

ricks

[tux]

... gets those sneaky rebounds; puts the ball in the basket; knows how to position himself; ...

I'm long on Amile for exactly those traits. Give me a guy with instincts and the knack for making plays (with a few physical limitations) over the guy with all the physical tools but without a true feel for the game. We've had a few of those latter types over the years, where every year is hailed as the year "they really break out" --- sometimes it happens, but often we're left talking about all that "potential". It remains to be seen where Semi will fall on that spectrum, but I really like what I see in Amile.

[elvis14]

Good article and video interview here: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208895660

Thanks for posting that. It's the first time I've seen an interview with Rodney Hood. He's pretty likable. Very happy to hear that he's healthy. As usual, I'm looking forward to the season. One of the things that really has me looking forward to this season is something was touched on in the video, the increased athleticism of the team and how different it might be than the last couple of years. Not that there was anything wrong with the last couple of years but I think it'll be fun to watch us play a little different with Hood and Parker on the court. It's nice to hear some first hand comments on the incoming freshman as well. I know his playing time might be limited but something tells me that Semi is going to fun to watch :-)

[subzero02]

It remains to be seen, but I think a 6'7" 260 pound player with a 6'10" wingspan, 40"+ verical leap and freakish strength would tend to fair better defending a 6'9" 270 pound post player than would a 6'9" 210 pound player with limited upper body strength.

[mattman91]

It remains to be seen, but I think a 6'7" 260 pound player with a 6'10" wingspan, 40"+ verical leap and freakish strength would tend to fair better defending a 6'9" 270 pound post player than would a 6'9" 210 pound player with limited upper body strength.

Has there been an updated height/Weight listing that I have missed? I don't remember semi being listed at 260.

[sagegrouse]

Has there been an updated height/Weight listing that I have missed? I don't remember semi being listed at 260.

Here are the official preseason stats from the Duke basketball roster, courtesy of GoDuke.com. Semi is listed as 230. -- sagegrouse



Jabari Parker 235
Quinn Cook 180
Tyler Thornton 190
Rodney Hood 215
Alex Murphy 230
Matt Jones 200
Rasheed Sulaimon 190
Josh Hairston 235
Semi Ojeleye 230
Amile Jefferson 210
Andre Dawkins 215
Marshall Plumlee 260
Todd Zafirovski 245
Nick Pagliuca 175

[subzero02]

Judging from recent video and pictures, I would say it is very likely he weighs more than 230 pounds... I found a July article that lists him at 6'6" 260 pounds.

http://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_15_best_sports_gifs_memes_screencaps_of_the_we ek/14197628?refmod=yb_art_top&ref_art_id=13977142

[Kedsy]

Judging from recent video and pictures, I would say it is very likely he weighs more than 230 pounds... I found a July article that lists him at 6'6" 260 pounds.

At 260, it's hard to believe he'd have the kind of vertical he has. I'm assuming Semi has 20 pounds on Amile until an official source says otherwise.

[subzero02]

http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/impact_of_duke_basketballs_incoming_freshmen_semi_ ojeleye/13977142

For some reason the link in my previous post doesn't work... This one should

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Judging from recent video and pictures, I would say it is very likely he weighs more than 230 pounds... I found a July article that lists him at 6'6" 260 pounds.

http://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_15_best_sports_gifs_memes_screencaps_of_the_we ek/14197628?refmod=yb_art_top&ref_art_id=13977142


If Semi was 6'6 260, I would think Coach Cutcliffe would be breaking down his door pleading with him to play football. He would have future All American DE written all over him...

[OldPhiKap]

At the risk of veering back on topic, I finally got a chance to watch the video. Holy cheese on crackers, I am pumped. If you aren't excited after just listening to him talk about what our team could be this year, and that young man's maturity, you need a different interest.

[Turtleboy]

http://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/impact_of_duke_basketballs_incoming_freshmen_semi_ ojeleye/13977142

For some reason the link in my previous post doesn't work... This one shouldWhen that writer graduates to junior high I hope he has a good mentor.

[johnb]

When that writer graduates to junior high I hope he has a good mentor.

I know it's the Internet, but sheesh, it does look like the writing of a bright and enthusiastic 14 year old.

[OldPhiKap]

I know it's the Internet, but sheesh, it does look like the writing of a bright and enthusiastic 14 year old.

... Which will be plagiarized by a UNC football player in a few years for a term paper ...

[Lunchab1es]

... Which will be plagiarized by a UNC football player in a few years for a term paper ...

Plagiarize a 14 year old? Must be a grad-level course.

[BD80]

... Which will be plagiarized by a UNC football player in a few years for a term paper ...

Plagiarized by the ACADEMIC COUNSELOR "assisting" the unc football player in the course that neither attended.

[Kfanarmy]

Come on man, the Hitler card? Maybe the Rumsfeld card or the David Koresh card or the Glenn Beck card, or the mother in law card or the Kurz card or the ex-wife card, or the frat brother card. But Hitler? Hmm. why go that far to the left?!?

[roywhite]

3-point shot: Rodney Hood's recovery
(http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/87112/3-point-shot-rodney-hoods-recovery)

From ESPN Hoops Blog:


...removal from the trials was just precautionary and Hood has been fine all summer at Duke. "He is completely recovered," said Duke associate coach Steve Wojciechowski. "He has participated in summer workouts." Hood could end up being the most important transfer at any major Division I school. He has the chance to be an all-ACC guard and a first-round draft pick. He should thrive playing at Duke. The most notable newcomer for the Blue Devils is Jabari Parker, but Hood may outshine him at times with his play on the perimeter.

[flyingdutchdevil]

3-point shot: Rodney Hood's recovery
(http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/87112/3-point-shot-rodney-hoods-recovery)

From ESPN Hoops Blog:

I'm getting really giddy about this upcoming season. And it's only early August! I have absolutely no basis for this, but I just view Hood and Parker to be an unstoppable combination. And then you have Sulaimon, who I think will be our most important player this upcoming season. And with Quinn, if we get 110% of his productivity from last year, wow (and I assume many, including Coach K and Quinn, are expecting 125% productivity+). It's just all too exciting!

[CDu]

I'm getting really giddy about this upcoming season. And it's only early August! I have absolutely no basis for this, but I just view Hood and Parker to be an unstoppable combination. And then you have Sulaimon, who I think will be our most important player this upcoming season. And with Quinn, if we get 110% of his productivity from last year, wow (and I assume many, including Coach K and Quinn, are expecting 125% productivity+). It's just all too exciting!

I think that we are unquestionably the strongest team from PG to PF. I'm hopeful that the staff and players are creative enough to address concerns about the C spot, and/or that we're just so much better everywhere else that any deficiency at C won't matter.

I think the three most important players are Cook, Hood, and Parker. That's not to say that Sulaimon won't be a big contributor; just that we know he'll be at least solid. The PG spot and the two unknowns in Hood and Parker are just going to be critical.

But the nice thing is that we have options. Behind Sulaimon and Hood we have Dawkins, Jones, Ojeleye, and Murphy. Behind (or alongside) Parker we have Jefferson, Hairston, Murphy, and perhaps Ojeleye. And we have any number of guys to try at the center position.

We have multiple guys (Cook, Sulaimon, Hood, Parker) who can create their own shot, and each of them can set others up as well if necessary.

I'm very much looking forward to the season as well!

[flyingdutchdevil]

I think that we are unquestionably the strongest team from PG to PF. I'm hopeful that the staff and players are creative enough to address concerns about the C spot, and/or that we're just so much better everywhere else that any deficiency at C won't matter.

I think the three most important players are Cook, Hood, and Parker. That's not to say that Sulaimon won't be a big contributor; just that we know he'll be at least solid. The PG spot and the two unknowns in Hood and Parker are just going to be critical.

But the nice thing is that we have options. Behind Sulaimon and Hood we have Dawkins, Jones, Ojeleye, and Murphy. Behind (or alongside) Parker we have Jefferson, Hairston, Murphy, and perhaps Ojeleye. And we have any number of guys to try at the center position.

We have multiple guys (Cook, Sulaimon, Hood, Parker) who can create their own shot, and each of them can set others up as well if necessary.

I'm very much looking forward to the season as well!

I completely agree on the 1 to 4. Strongest in the country, hands down. I think we have very different definitions on the most important player(s). If you mean players who are good but can be great and hence bring are team a national championship, then I think you're right on Cook (and to a lesser extent Hood and Parker). My definition of the most important player is the one who is the most irreplaceable. While there are indeed replacements for Sulaimon (Dawkins and Thornton being the most obvious), I think that he will take on the most identities and tasks next year: best defender, most versatile player, quality mid-range jump shooter, ability to take it to the hoop consistently, effective 3pt shooter - essentially, the ultimate, ultimate glue guy. For a freshman, he showed so much promise and could tear up teams by himself. Also, he's not selfish, he can pass well, and he's got great size for the 2. We aren't winning the ACC, not to mention getting far in the tourney, without Sulaimon. I think that can be said for Cook, Hood, and Parker, but the I feel that to a lesser degree.

Btw, the fact that we're having this discussion shows the abundance of riches we have at the 1-4.

[Kedsy]

I completely agree on the 1 to 4. Strongest in the country, hands down.

Well, Kentucky will have Harrison, Harrison, Young, Poythress, and Randle at the 1 to 4. True they're mostly freshmen, and thus we have no idea how good they'll really be, but I wouldn't say our group is "hands down" stronger than that group, at least not until we see either group in action. It's also possible Kansas and a couple of other teams (Michigan State? Arizona?) will be as good or almost as good at the 1 to 4.

Having said that, Duke is going to be really, really good. So I don't care so much whether our 1 to 4 is "strongest in the country, hands down." It's going to be a fun season.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Well, Kentucky will have Harrison, Harrison, Young, Poythress, and Randle at the 1 to 4. True they're mostly freshmen, and thus we have no idea how good they'll really be, but I wouldn't say our group is "hands down" stronger than that group, at least not until we see either group in action. It's also possible Kansas and a couple of other teams (Michigan State? Arizona?) will be as good or almost as good at the 1 to 4.

Having said that, Duke is going to be really, really good. So I don't care so much whether our 1 to 4 is "strongest in the country, hands down." It's going to be a fun season.

Kentucky may have the best starting line-up (especially with Randle), but our 1-4 has a total of 4 years under their belt (5, if you count Hood's sit-out year last year). There are no headcases with this group (knock, knock Harrison twins), no insane egos (Harrison twins, Poythress), and not much shooting. They are more athletic (but with a group of Cook, Sulaimon, Hood, and Parker, do you really need more athleticism?), have more long-term potential (does that really matter for 1 year in the college?), and probably better at 1-on-1, but I'd take a semi-proven commodity over an unproven commodity that has too many egos, players who need the ball, and potential chemistry issues.

So, yes, I think we do have the best 1-4 hands down.

NOTE: this isn't a slight to Jefferson, MP3, or whoever else will man the 5. But we do have questions at the 5 (at least more pressing questions than the 1-4).

[hillsborodevil]

I’ll take our “Team” against anyone.

I remember around the same time last year some posters claimed MP3 was the projected 6th man. Yes, the injury set him back quite a bit and it showed in the few spot minutes he received. At times though, his enthusiasm and energy was a pleasant surprise. This is MP3’s third year on the squad. The pace of CBB should slow down for him. You can’t teach size.

I’m betting the farm that MP3 and Jefferson step up huge. It should feel like Christmas morning for anyone @ the C position each time Duke hits floor this year.

Back to the thread - hoping Hood takes MVP for the ACC.

Go Duke!!!

[flyingdutchdevil]

I’ll take our “Team” against anyone.

I remember around the same time last year some posters claimed MP3 was the projected 6th man. Yes, the injury set him back quite a bit and it showed in the few spot minutes he received. At times though, his enthusiasm and energy was a pleasant surprise. This is MP3’s third year on the squad. The pace of CBB should slow down for him. You can’t teach size.

I’m betting the farm that MP3 and Jefferson step up huge. It should feel like Christmas morning for anyone @ the C position each time Duke hits floor this year.

Back to the thread - hoping Hood takes MVP for the ACC.

Go Duke!!!

While I hope you're right and I enjoy your optimism, you have to be realistic. Our 1-2 are proven commodities. Our 3 was SEC All-Freshman. Our 4 was the first basketball high schooler since LBJ to be on the cover of SI. Our starting 1-4 is very, very capable. This is an insane group of talent manning this spot. Our 5 has serious potential, but there are plenty of questions. Yes, MP3 was hyped up but injuries derailed his true freshman year. When he took court, he looked lost. Furthermore, he went under the knife AGAIN in the off-season, preventing him from having a full off-season of training and conditioning. Amile is a natural 4, but a very skinny natural 4. Can he guard players 50+ pounds heavier than him?

These are legitimate questions and concerns regarding our 5. I really, really hope I am wrong and that the 5 becomes one of our strongest positions. But, right now, it's clearly our weakest.

[Ichabod Drain]

Kentucky may have the best starting line-up (especially with Randle), but our 1-4 has a total of 4 years under their belt (5, if you count Hood's sit-out year last year). There are no headcases with this group (knock, knock Harrison twins), no insane egos (Harrison twins, Poythress), and not much shooting. They are more athletic (but with a group of Cook, Sulaimon, Hood, and Parker, do you really need more athleticism?), have more long-term potential (does that really matter for 1 year in the college?), and probably better at 1-on-1, but I'd take a semi-proven commodity over an unproven commodity that has too many egos, players who need the ball, and potential chemistry issues.

So, yes, I think we do have the best 1-4 hands down.

NOTE: this isn't a slight to Jefferson, MP3, or whoever else will man the 5. But we do have questions at the 5 (at least more pressing questions than the 1-4).

First, we may have a good idea about who we think will/should start, but no one here knows for sure what our starting 1-4 will look like.

Second, we have no idea if the Harrison twins are headcases or if their team will have chemistry issues. Heck our team could have chemistry issues for all we know.

Though I will say outside of Kentucky, I can't think of anyone who could match us at the 1-4.

[flyingdutchdevil]

First, we may have a good idea about who we think will/should start, but no one here knows for sure what our starting 1-4 will look like.

Second, we have no idea if the Harrison twins are headcases or if their team will have chemistry issues. Heck our team could have chemistry issues for all we know.

Though I will say outside of Kentucky, I can't think of anyone who could match us at the 1-4.

1) I, as well as a lot of posters here, would be baffled if the 1-4 wasn't Quinn, Sulaimon, Hood, and Parker. Defensively, this makes the most sense for match-ups. Parker could easily play the 5, but I'm not sure Coach K would do that unless out of necessity (like Amile, MP3, and Hairston all were injured. Knock on wood...). Agreed that it's not 100%, but I'd take Vegas-odds of 95%.

2) Harrison twins negative publicity: here (http://collegespun.com/big-12/kansas/report-andrew-wiggins-saw-aaron-harrisons-vine-didnt-like-it). You're right: headcase may have been too harsh, but I've heard a lot of negatives about the twins. Their chemistry is going to be one of the more interesting stories this year. As for our chemistry, you're also right. But I'm giving Coach K the leg up on this one ;).

3) Kentucky may be better overall, but I think we're stacked at the 1-4.

[CLW]

We have no issues at the 5. Semi is going to use those 24 inch pythons of his and put the opposing big man in a head lock while the rest of the Blue Devils run wild.

[timmy c]

We have no issues at the 5. Semi is going to use those 24 inch pythons of his and put the opposing big man in a head lock while the rest of the Blue Devils run wild.

Maybe a full-nelson?

[Jim3k]

1) I, as well as a lot of posters here, would be baffled if the 1-4 wasn't Quinn, Sulaimon, Hood, and Parker. Defensively, this makes the most sense for match-ups. Parker could easily play the 5, but I'm not sure Coach K would do that unless out of necessity (like Amile, MP3, and Hairston all were injured. Knock on wood...). Agreed that it's not 100%, but I'd take Vegas-odds of 95%.

.... I think we're stacked at the 1-4.

I agree with the latter, but you ignore the return of Andre Dawkins at your own risk. I'm pretty sure this 5th year player will be a sometime starter. Not sure where, but his presence will be felt.

[Newton_14]

Agree with our 1-4. Damn strong. Not just the 4 projected starters either. We are very deep at the 1-4 positions with uber talented guys. I have no doubt Rasheed can run the point when Cook is resting, or if we needed a change of pace, and Tyler is a kid who just can't be measured in terms of value. At the 2, there is Rasheed, Andre, Tyler, Jones, Hood if needed, and Murphy if needed. At the 3 there is Hood, Rasheed, Andre, Tyler, Murphy, Semi, Jones, Jabari. 8 guys that could realistically play the 3. That's insane. Same thing at the 4 really. Jabari, Amile, Josh, but Murphy and Hood could play the 4 also.

That's a lot of interchangeable parts and mucho versatility. I do hope the combination of Amile, MP3, Josh, Jabari, Semi can man the 5 spot sufficiently enough that this team can do great things.

From a pure talent standpoint, it is the deepest team K has had in a very long time. I am stoked. Still disappointed the Summer League got deemed off limits for our guys (thanks PJ) and we did not get to see our guys out there. So we wait for CTC. It will be here before you know it.

[Kedsy]

Jabari, Amile, Josh, but Murphy and Hood could play the 4 also.

Also Semi.