Lord Ash
03-08-2007, 10:05 PM
*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.
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.