Who will lead Duke in scoring next year?

[Jumbo]

Who will lead Duke in scoring next year?

[dockfan]

Other = Josh McRoberts


Positive thoughts, wishful thinking. :)

[Jumbo]

:) Misguided, I'm afraid.

[VaDukie]

I'd like to go with Henderson or Singler here but I think that'd be expecting too much too soon; I went with Nelson because I think an offseason focused on ball handling and free throws instead of training to be a Navy Seal will improve his ppg or at least keep it steady given more distribution of shots.

[phaedrus]

i chose nelson. i expect him to get close to as many minutes, and improvement/progression over the summer should net him at least a couple more points per game. that would give him 16-17, and i'm not sure anyone else will match that. i see paulus, henderson, scheyer, and singler all between 11-15 ppg.

pocius, of course, would be the obvious choice were it not for the man holding him down.

[Chard]

I expect Henderson to blow up. Tip of the iceberg this year, folks.

[throatybeard]

I went with Nelson because I think an offseason focused on ball handling and free throws instead of training to be a Navy Seal will improve his ppg or at least keep it steady given more distribution of shots.

But haven't you heard? All our players are gassed because their training regimen is lousy. They all need to train to be Navy Seals.

Next, the Minnesota Governor's office. I nominate Scheyer.

[Fish80]

It will be close. Paulus spends the summer with Nelson, training to be a Navy Seal. Both of them come back totally buff and can literally jump through the hoop.

[juise]

I also voted for Markie, but I think next year's team will have 4 scorers averaging in the 10-16 range. I would love to see Henderson step it up consistently next year, but I think that there will be an immediate step before he rises to being an elite ACC player.

[cato]

I think Markie will continue to get more minutes than any other wing, and over the course of the season, that will mean that his average is slightly higher than the other wings.

I can't see Henderson getting enough minutes or shots to lead the team in scoring.

Read the boards these days is like watching a car crash. I want to look away, but I can't.

[Clipsfan]

It was between Nelson and Paulus for me, and I chose Paulus. I hope that we're not depending on him to provide the scoring punch which he provided during the end of the season, but I know that the potential is there and also know that he'll get the most minutes. And he can shoot. Perhaps Nelson exerts too much energy on the defensive end, as he didn't look like he had his legs for his shot towards the ends of games. If he adds a little more arc to his shots, and improves the margin for error as a result, I think that Nelson could easly become a 17-18 ppg scorer. He gets a lot of easy baskets off of defense, and can get to the line well. I'm hoping that the key to next year's team is that we have 5-6 guys in double digits, so that you can't shut down our offense.

[Bob Green]

I went with Kyle Singler. We need him to be a special player who can consistently light it up. Placing my hopes on a freshman is setting myself up for disappointment but I can't help myself. I expect DeMarcus Nelson, Jon Scheyer, Greg Paulus, & Gerald Henderson to all average in double figures, but Kyle needs to the 16-18 ppg guy. I am also excited about Nolan Smith and Taylor King and hope they see consistent minutes.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[imagepro]

I said about mid-season, he was about to explode, and was flogged. I stand by it. I think more confidence, more of a comfort level, adjustment to DUKE, etc, etc---- Watch this kid GO OFF.

[throatybeard]

Reading the boards these days is like watching a car crash. I want to look away, but I can't.


Except the reader is often in the car. :eek:


I said about mid-season, he was about to explode, and was flogged.

I don't recall that.

[imagepro]

I still say so. I shouldn't have brought up the "flogged" thing, but I was quoted and mocked for it back then. I actually said something like this- "He is a specimen and watch this kid explode" . Some people got on me for saying that. Sorry, as I thought it was a compliment. My point is, I still think he will GO OFF (sorry, a surfing term) next year.

[throatybeard]

I still say so. I shouldn't have brought up the "flogged" thing, but I was quoted and mocked for it back then. I actually said something like this- "He is a specimen and watch this kid explode" . Some people got on me for saying that. Sorry, as I thought it was a compliment. My point is, I still think he will GO OFF (sorry, a surfing term) next year.

I'm sorry; I was unclear. I remember you saying that. I don't remember you getting [figuratively] flogged for it.

[Cameron]

If Nelson stops being a human muscle and starts shooting well, then he could easily lead our team in scoring next season. But, my guess is it will either be Jon or Kyle. With another summer to imrpove his game, Jon will be in incredible shape next season, thus giving him that extra lift he didn't have near the end of this past one. I could really see him scoring somewhere between 15 to 17 points a game for us next year, especially with Josh gone to the NBA. I don't think, however, that anyone will average more than that. It should be pretty equal next season between DeMarcus, Jon, Gerald, and Kyle. Greg could also have something to say about this. Maybe not leading scorer or anything, but he's going to put up some great numbers next season.

[elvis14]

Henderson's upside is huge. His 3 point shot was falling towards the end of the season, he can take it to the rack, he can hit the pull up mid-range jumper. Our strength will be balanced scoring as we will be deep but someone has to be the leader (not to mention the man) and I think that'll be Henderson.

I'm already looking forward to next season!

[VaDukie]

Question for the board: If we don't get PP and Josh leaves, are the above 5 our starters? They'd seem to be our strongest 5 guys individually, but it'd leave us weak down low (Singler as the big, Nelson as the 4).

If Josh or PP returns they'd seem to be favored to start, but would Thomas/Zoubek start over these other 5? And if so, whose spot do they take?

[Richard Berg]

I voted Scheyer. Unlike most of the others, he's already a proven 12ppg guy. As for upside, the kid has "it" in spades. All he needs is the physical toughness to match. One summer should be enough given the shape he's already in.

Nelson is the only other sensible choice. In 2007 he led the other choices by a wide margin. As others have mentioned, merely improved FG% and FT% would hit the 16-18ppg mark using his existing game, which would almost certainly lead the team. I picked Scheyer over him only because of Scheyer's bball fundamentals, which I think give him the slightly better chance to make a similar leap.

Paulus is a nice shooter but that won't be his role. We'll have too many shooters next year, if anything.

Singler has the talent to be the next great Duke scorer, but he's a freshman. Not even Deng (the most talented freshman we've had this decade; possibly ever, along with Hill & Laettner) led us in scoring.

G is the fad of the moment, but I think he still has a lot of adjusting to do. He hasn't even begun to address the "how to deal with collapsing interior defenses" issue that inevitably takes penetrating guards -- even great talents like JWill -- a couple years to hone. Some (Nelson, Ewing) arguably never do. This year he got a free pass as the 3rd or 4th option on the floor. If he starts scoring big in the early season, he won't have that luxury by ACC time.

[Bob Green]

DeMarcus Nelson is my favorite Blue Devil and I would love to see him up his scoring to 18-20 ppg and lead the team. However, I don't see this happening. He will probably see less minutes next year due to the presence of the incoming Freshmen.

I expect Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson to be improved next season and both will average in double figures.

I voted for kyle Singler becasue I am really hoping he is a "Freshman Phenom" ala Kevin Durant.

Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas both need to improve dramatically over the summer. We need their inside game. This year, we lacked inside points, but next year, with McRoberts gone, someone has to provide rebounds and defense. Offensive points would be nice.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan