As the year winds down

[Lord Ash]

*sigh*

And so the year slips away a bit more.

Whelp, Marty did play well, and a lot of folks have wished to see more of him... and honestly, I can think of a solid half dozen times he has drawn charges in his limited minutes this year too; he hasn't been a defensive liability in my opinion. Play the guy, please Coach?

I wonder a bit what happened to the defense we had at the beginning of the year.

Nice to see Scheyer light it up, tho a few more late would have been lovely. Timing is, in basketball as in everything, everything.

Demarcus also looked a bit better, but his shot is awful flat. Still, some nice plays, especially the midrange jumper he seems to have borrowed from Gerald for the game.

Speaking of Gerald, everyone has known he was a star-in-the-making since that slam dunk contest. NBA blood helps, you know.

Josh... well... I don't know. He still has that body language that has bothered me from the beginning. There was a play where Thomas fouled a guy, and McBob sort of did this slumped shoulder, hands out, "Ohhhh... come ON!" whiney pose... twice... that really killed me. He doesn't seem to have that passionate, mature focus that the really killer players have. As silly as this sounds, and I feel like the teacher that I am saying it... but maybe Josh is honestly a little immature still... I would like to see him back next year to see if he can really step up and be The Man.

Thomas I expected more of this year... after keeping up with the war for him against Rutgers, I really expected something more... I know he wasn't touted as a big scorer, but... I suppose he will learn.

David looked good, tho I would like for him to look for his midrange shot a bit more. Am I crazy? I also loved Jamal. Everyone needs glue guys.

Brian just kills me. On defense he has his moments, but sometimes also gives up these silly fouls as guys drive past him. Offense is much worse; he gets the ball, waits a minute, looks around, brings it down to his waist, and then spins around until he travels. Just go UP, big man! Draw some fouls, get dirty! I am not a fan of finesse big guys (I would, however, marry Tim Duncan if I could, he killed us when I was at Duke) and right now Zoubek is playing like a finesse big guy with no finesse!

Greg Paulus has redeemed himself totally in my eyes. The start of this year was TOUGH. After watching that McDonalds All American game in which he and Josh DOMINATED as totally as a PG and a C could (that game was on my TiVo until this summer) I expected another Hurley. Last year was great, obviously, but I wondered how he would be without those weapons around him. The start of this year seemed to provide a painful answer... but he has really come around finally and is becoming that hardnosed leader we expected. The guy plays better after being hurt, for gods sake... and I still remember him taking out that cheerleader diving out of bounds to get a ball in the McDonalds game. I expect great things next year from the next memorable Duke point guard.

So. This season has, honestly, been disappointing. Two losses to MD, two losses to UNC, a first round exit in the ACC tournament, first time out of the top 25 polls in 200somethingweeks, players who didn't mature the way I had hoped, controversy over Paulus and seconds on the clock and Tyler's nose... and all, as someone pointed out, after the lax case, which has, like it or not, hung over my head and my Duke spirit since the story first broke. To be honest, I don't expect to win any games in the NCAAs... one would be lovely. I wish we could pull of some more, for the sake of the Duke tradition, but I think that is asking too much.

So. I find myself thinking about next year.

I hope Kyle is a scoring machine, inside and out, with a basketball IQ like Larry Bird.

I hope Taylor just makes people HATE him next year, a Mike Dunleavy with attitude and a quicker release.

I hope that Nolan plays exactly as I've seen him play in clips... fast and slippery and dangerous.

And heck, I wouldn't mind it if Patrick sees the light and brings some good old fashioned TOUGH to the post.

And, to be honest, I wouldn't mind having my school buddy who is moving away stick around for another season; would be a shame for this to be the last one we watch together!

Whelp, on to the tournament, and the last hurrah.

[gep]

I share your views, except that I'm not sure I'm calling it exactly "disappointing", given the team makeup... I'm sure we all Duke fans wanted more. But, I'm still hopeful with at least 1 win in the NCAA, if not 2 and get to the sweet-16... like you say, it all depends on the seeding. After all, Gerald is back, and the team knows now what a 1-and-done tournament means, and what it takes to win-and-advance. GO DUKE!!! The season has one more leg...

[Bob Green]

Good post! You vented without attacking anyone. I agree with some of your comments and disagree with some of your comments, but, all-in-all, I thought your post was spot-on! Some additional comments:

1. I am guilty of having unrealistic expectations of this year's Freshmen. Specifically, I thought Gerald Henderson would start and be a star. I was wrong, but I am not disappointed because he will be a star. He has come on strong and the "sky's the limit" for next year. Let's be real, the vast majority of high school stars need at least one year to adjust to the college game. The Carmelo Anthonys and Kevin Durants are not a dime a dozen. Watch out for GH next weekend and next year.

2. I thought Jon Scheyer would play significant minutes and be impressive. He has started and been really impressive. Jon is a complete ball player in that he has a nice shot, can drive the lane, and knows how to play defense. He will improve over the summer by getting stronger and come back next year a much better player. He has the potential to be a special guy.

3. Lance Thomas has been disappointing but that is because I, once again, had inflated expectations. I am optimistic he will improve dramatically and develop into a solid player.

4. Zoubek has the potential to improve year-by-year. He will be better next year and a solid big man in his Junior/Senior year.

On to the Sophomores:

1. Greg Paulus had a rough start but has had an very, very good season. I believe everyone (not just me) expected Greg to be the second coming of Bobby Hurley but he isn't. Once we all accept that Greg is Greg, we will be better off. Greg already knows who he is and I expect him to become nothing but better over the rest of this season and the next two years. The man can shoot the ball!

2. Josh McRoberts will most likely go to the NBA. I really hope he plays with aggression next weekend and leads Duke to a victory or two. I would love to see Duke do some serious damage in the NCAAs. If we are going to win our first game and knock off a higher seed on Sat/Sun it will be up to Josh to show us the way. He needs to play tough interior defense and score.

3. Dave McClure is a gutsy player and rebounding machine. It is unfortunate that he routinely draws defensive assignments against bigger, stronger players, but that is his role on this team. Over the summer, I hope he shoots about a 1000 mid-range jumpers a day. Dave McClure with a reliable mid-range jumper has the potential to be scary good.

4. Marty Pocius has struggled to earn playing time but has demonstrated a scorer's mentality. I'm not sure what the future holds for him with Nolan Smith and Taylor King coming in and competing for playing time at the 2 and 3 slot. Marty is a big question mark in my mind. He obviously has the skills required to succeed but...?

Juniors:

1. DeMarcus Nelson is my favorite Blue Devil. This year was his first healthy year and he led the team in scoring. He spent last summer working on his physical condition and I expect he will do some of that again this upcoming summer, but he will also concentrate on improving his outside shot and ball handling skills. DeMarcus is a tough nosed ball player with the potential to have an impact Senior year.

Well, that is my rambling, longwinded opinion on the current situation in regard to our nine scholarship players. I'll briefly state that I hope the incoming Freshmen live up to the hype, but I'm going to take a reality pill right now and realize that they will also need to adjust to the increased level of competition and speed of the college game. The future is bright Blue Devil Nation, so please keep the faith!!! I really hate it when the board has a meltdown. It is not 1974.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[accfanfrom1970]

I started rooting for Duke when my sister went there, specifically after attending a Duke-Maryland game, coached by Neil McGeachy (sp?)....so there's some perspective. I think the staff tried a lot of different things this year (I remember thinking Zoubek and McRoberts would be playing together a lot after some early success), some worked and some didn't. Hopefully everyone gets a bit stronger in the offseason and the pieces fit a bit better. The rest of the ACC loses a lot (hopefully Wright and Hansborough go, or at least Wright)....and we can come back.