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View Full Version : Props to Jim Sumner



-jk
10-22-2007, 03:03 PM
That was a nice writeup.

Thanks for taking the time to give us an up-close look. I'm really looking forward to seeing this team develop.

-j"speaking solely as myself and not a Mod"k

stals
10-22-2007, 04:17 PM
Jim's stuff is always worthwhile.

OldPhiKap
10-22-2007, 05:02 PM
Excellent report, Jim!

ACCBBallFan
10-22-2007, 05:07 PM
http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=23645

Jim, am I reading too much into it?

Seemed to me you were almost saying starting lineup may be:

Nolan Smith
Greg Paulus
Demarcus Nelson
Kyle Singler
Lance or Zoubek

with Henderson and Scheyer playing significant roles off the bench, and all 11 including McClure,King and Marty seeing quite a bit of action.

Having the two best on the ball defenders in the starting lineup along with two guys able to guard 1-5 in Singler and Lance, plus Paulus who is quicker now on defense and best shooter (I am assuming Taylor King probably has better range and accuracy though).

Both Nelson and K continue to emphasize how valuable it is to have depth in practice so that everybody has to go all out, with no need for captain or coach to cheer lead or admonish, at least not for lack of effort.

Nelson also mentioned that King may play 4 and 5 some.

Bluedawg
10-22-2007, 05:38 PM
I must have missed one of Jim's. Can someone direct me to it?

mapei
10-22-2007, 05:56 PM
It's an article, not a post. Check the DBR headlines.

That was great, Jim. Well-written and informative.

jimsumner
10-22-2007, 06:03 PM
I'm pretty sure Duke doesn't know what the starting lineup will be so I don't. At this point, I think we can pencil Singler and Nelson in. I think Thomas is a clear favorite over Zoubek until BZ's conditioning improves. But maybe neither starts. Unlikely, IMO, but not impossible. Henderson, Paulus, Scheyer, and Smith are likely fighting for the other two spots, with at least one of Paulus and Smith starting.

Who knows where McClure will be when he gets 100%. King is the wild card for me. Everybody just raves about his shooting. He definitely seems to have a shooters mentality. Miss 10 in a row and that means the next 10 have to go in. But does King play ahead of Singler? Not likely. Henderson, Scheyer, Thomas? I just don't know. He may play 30 mpg, he may languish on the bench.

I suspect we're going to see some experimentation with PT, with combinations, with sets. Think 1991,1998, or 2003. The rotation will almost certainly compress come February and March but until then, I really thinkg we'll see lots of guys playing, with lots of substitutions.

My gut feeling is that K's work with the national team has energized him. He seems genuinely enthusiastic about the season, his team, and where he is right now. He did indicate that his health was good and he didn't see retirement anytime soon.

CDu
10-22-2007, 07:38 PM
I'm pretty sure Duke doesn't know what the starting lineup will be so I don't. At this point, I think we can pencil Singler and Nelson in. I think Thomas is a clear favorite over Zoubek until BZ's conditioning improves. But maybe neither starts. Unlikely, IMO, but not impossible. Henderson, Paulus, Scheyer, and Smith are likely fighting for the other two spots, with at least one of Paulus and Smith starting.

Who knows where McClure will be when he gets 100%. King is the wild card for me. Everybody just raves about his shooting. He definitely seems to have a shooters mentality. Miss 10 in a row and that means the next 10 have to go in. But does King play ahead of Singler? Not likely. Henderson, Scheyer, Thomas? I just don't know. He may play 30 mpg, he may languish on the bench.

I suspect we're going to see some experimentation with PT, with combinations, with sets. Think 1991,1998, or 2003. The rotation will almost certainly compress come February and March but until then, I really thinkg we'll see lots of guys playing, with lots of substitutions.

My gut feeling is that K's work with the national team has energized him. He seems genuinely enthusiastic about the season, his team, and where he is right now. He did indicate that his health was good and he didn't see retirement anytime soon.

I suspect you're right and that we'll see more experimentation with the lineup early than we have since the 1997-1998 season. There is just so much youth and such a variety of skill sets that it will probably take time (and game competition) to sort out what works best.

If nothing else, this should be a fun year to watch. For the first time in a long time there just aren't any expectations of this team. There's talent, but last year's late-season fizzle may afford this team the opportunity to be under the radar for once.

watzone
10-22-2007, 08:28 PM
I expect that eight players will start at some time or another for Duke this season. You can hold me to that.

mgtr
10-22-2007, 08:41 PM
Is it legal to start eight players? If so, we will probably do OK this year.

DU82
10-22-2007, 08:52 PM
Is it legal to start eight players? If so, we will probably do OK this year.

Far too many people terp that we always start eight guys on the court.

Devilsfan
10-22-2007, 09:34 PM
we have a set back or two we will revert to a 7 or 8 man rotation. It's hard to break old habits.

ACCBBallFan
10-22-2007, 10:14 PM
we have a set back or two we will revert to a 7 or 8 man rotation. It's hard to break old habits. If for no other reason than post players fouling out, I think Duke plays a minimum of 8 man rotation.

Let;s say for sake of example, Duke starts

Nolan whose on the ball defense is key to playing up tempo
Nelson
Henderson (or Paulus or Scheyer)
Singler
Lance

You can be pretty sure that K will play Paulus, Scheyer and McClure almost as much as the hypothetical starters, all of whom could help Mark Watzone's prediction of 8 different starters.

Could go either way for King who may be too big a weapon to sit if he can continue to successfully box out Zoubek in drills.

Marty and Zoubek are also wild cards, but hard to imagine not playing the tallest and heaviest guy at least sometimes.

Bluedawg
10-23-2007, 11:33 AM
It's an article, not a post. Check the DBR headlines.

That was great, Jim. Well-written and informative.

thanks, i will