PDA

View Full Version : DeMarcus Being Only 6'1 Makes Me Respect Him More



Franzez
06-08-2008, 12:15 PM
The fact this guy had the heart to play the way he did is beyond me,he is literally the size of Chris Paul and he went up for boards and guarded guys who were actually 3-5 inches taller than him.

He played bigger because he had more passion and heart than almost anyone he matched up with,someone find me any other 6'1 Guard who can average close to 6 boards per game.

What intensity man What intensity!

Edouble
06-08-2008, 01:37 PM
The fact this guy had the heart to play the way he did is beyond me,he is literally the size of Chris Paul and he went up for boards and guarded guys who were actually 3-5 inches taller than him.

He played bigger because he had more passion and heart than almost anyone he matched up with,someone find me any other 6'1 Guard who can average close to 6 boards per game.

What intensity man What intensity!

I think he played bigger because he had longer arms and was stronger than most guards that he went up against. He is far bigger than Chris Paul. If you are that big and strong and somewhat short, your low center of gravity will alllow you to box out just about anyone. I'm not sure Nelson was really off the charts as far as heart and passion go... I couldn't put him in the same class in that department with guys like Carrawell, Laettner, and Battier. I'd say he was more a physical specimen who played to his strengths.

DevilDan
06-08-2008, 03:37 PM
I've been a little tough on DeMarcus (re his chances of making the NBA & his final 10-12 games last year ... not DN the guy--after all, he's a Blue Devil). He was a great asset to the program, and no doubt a terrific leader last year.

I didn't think he was 6-3 (or 6-4) as most described him, but damn, if he's truly only 6-1, he got a lot of gutsy mileage out of his four years at DUKE. I give him quality points for taking it inside, fearlessly as he did. I think it took those long arms, and a ton of personal pride to help him take on larger matchups.

I'm rooting for him more than ever now. If the door to the NBA doesn't open, I hope to follow his play with a program overseas.

devilboomer
06-08-2008, 04:51 PM
if you watched the pre-game warmups at all this season, it would've been evident that he was only 6'1. usually the team lines up in single file in height order during the national anthem, and Demarcus stood after Nolan Smith and before Scheyer/Henderson. He was the same height as Nolan.

to be fair, though, Demarcus has some form of scoliosis or something like that. If he were able to straighten up his spine, he would be taller. That helps to explain the seemingly impossible gap between his height and his wingspan.

phaedrus
06-08-2008, 05:38 PM
I think he played bigger because he had longer arms and was stronger than most guards that he went up against. He is far bigger than Chris Paul. If you are that big and strong and somewhat short, your low center of gravity will alllow you to box out just about anyone. I'm not sure Nelson was really off the charts as far as heart and passion go... I couldn't put him in the same class in that department with guys like Carrawell, Laettner, and Battier. I'd say he was more a physical specimen who played to his strengths.

This is pretty close to what I thought when Demarcus was publicly 6'3-6'4. Knowing that he's substantially shorter than that certainly makes his career more impressive to me.

eddiehaskell
06-09-2008, 10:21 PM
to be fair, though, Demarcus has some form of scoliosis or something like that. If he were able to straighten up his spine, he would be taller. That helps to explain the seemingly impossible gap between his height and his wingspan.I didn't know that! I have it too and had to have surgery for it when I was 16 yrs old. After the surgery which cut the curve in half and stopped it from progressing further, I was about 1.5" taller. I imagine a fully straight spine would've added around 3 inches to my height. I don't know how bad Nelson's scoliosis is, but he could very well be 2" taller with a straight spine...it would also make his arms look longer because they're on a 6'1" body instead of a 6'3" body.

Dukeford
06-17-2008, 02:37 AM
"DeMarcus Being Only 6'1 Makes Me" ......more easily understand why he ate so many "Wilson Burgers" this year.

Anytime he was hungry, all he had to do was drive into the lane, plant on both feet, elevate....and there somebody was, ready to feed him the Wilson Burger.

But I did love watch him sky in for an occasional offensive rebound dunk!

Edouble
06-18-2008, 01:18 PM
"DeMarcus Being Only 6'1 Makes Me" ......more easily understand why he ate so many "Wilson Burgers" this year.

Anytime he was hungry, all he had to do was drive into the lane, plant on both feet, elevate....and there somebody was, ready to feed him the Wilson Burger.

But I did love watch him sky in for an occasional offensive rebound dunk!

I'm really not as big a Nelson fan as many on this board, but in his defense, there was much less of this during the past season. During his first three seasons, that happened all the time, which made me wonder why he had to always plant and go off of both feet instead of going off of one foot at the end of a drive. He seemed to go away from that style this year and was finishing drives much more effectively (at least during the first part of the season) by finishing at the rim off of a running jump, instead of stopping in the paint. It's clear that the power jump was something that worked in high school for him, as he was probably too strong going up off of two feet for anyone to do anything about it.

CDu
06-18-2008, 01:27 PM
I'm really not as big a Nelson fan as many on this board, but in his defense, there was much less of this during the past season. During his first three seasons, that happened all the time, which made me wonder why he had to always plant and go off of both feet instead of going off of one foot at the end of a drive. He seemed to go away from that style this year and was finishing drives much more effectively (at least during the first part of the season) by finishing at the rim off of a running jump, instead of stopping in the paint. It's clear that the power jump was something that worked in high school for him, as he was probably too strong going up off of two feet for anyone to do anything about it.

Yeah, I can see how his power game allowed him to dominate in high school against smaller and less physically gifted players. Nelson came to Duke already a physical specimen, so with his speed, strength, and leaping ability, those power moves to the rim probably resulted in a lot of dunks and foul shots in high school. He probably also got a lot of steals and transition baskets.

He DID do a better job of shooting the floater this year, and wasn't nearly as likely to get himself into trouble around the rim. If he could have developed a mid-range jumper off the dribble, he'd have been nearly unstoppable. As it was, he was still a pretty effective scorer last year.