Most excellent.
The Paolo and Mark frontcourt next year is going to be outstanding. That's a pair of NBA players in the frontcourt.
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Most excellent.
The Paolo and Mark frontcourt next year is going to be outstanding. That's a pair of NBA players in the frontcourt.
Can I have my title back?
Great news. I like this kid and hope he blows up next year.
This is more like it! Glad you’re coming back Mark. Great news! Front court is gonna be awesome!!
Huge sigh of relief. Losing him would have been such a hit, both practically and emotionally. I can’t wait to see him next season after a full summer and preseason of workouts and training, then pairing him next to Banchero with John backing him up. Our frontcourt has the potential to be one of the best in the country.
This is awesome news for the program. Welcome back, Mark - I hope you enjoy next season half as much as we're going to enjoy watching you play!
A few random thoughts about Mark Williams and his situation. The first is that I will be looking forward to seeing him next fall - will he have bulked up as Hurt did this past year? If he can add 20 pounds of muscle he will make an even greater impact than he did last season. The second is that he would be able to use his experience, skills, and (hopefully) additional muscle against Gonzaga's new recruit, Holmgren. That should be an outstanding matchup. The third has to do with the value placed on how a player shows in practice. At Duke Coach K places great emphasis on working hard and progressing in practice. Players know this going in, so should be prepared to bring their A game daily. That said, practicing hard has its down sides. A friend of mine who was a hockey goalie would literally move out of the way of slap shots in practice. But he remained the starting goalie most of his career, and has championship rings to show for it. He was what we used to call a "gamer", and the coach wisely made allowances for him. A final comment on practicing hard is that anecdotally it seems to lead to more injuries. No scientific proof, just an observation that wear and tear adds up.
great news....for him AND us!!!!
The notion that players would not go hard in practice to "save it for games" is not really supported by any anecdotal evidence I have heard from players or coaches. Mark got better last season as he worked harder and harder with Coach James (and Tape, Coleman, and Worthington). Clearly, he is a guy who understands how to improve through hard work. The idea that he now ease up a bit seems somewhat bonkers to me. What's more, I trust Coach K to have a good handle on when the team needs to take a break and when it needs to work harder.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluenorth
And your comment about Williams matching up with Chet Holmgren reveals a bit of naivety about Holmgren's game and how he plays. Chet is a wing/guard trapped in a 7-foot body. He is highly unlikely to match up very much with Mark Williams when we play. He will match up a lot lot lot with Paolo Banchero, who is similarly very skilled on the perimeter (but is considerably stronger in the post).
I had heard about Holmgren's skill set, but still hope that two guys that size will match up at times. And if they don't, there will still be a couple of talented players to watch on the same court.Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonEvans
It just dawned on me. I love that he's coming back, but I never seriously thought that it would be a consideration.
Apparently it was, since the basketball program has made such a big deal about it. Knowing that, I guess year two will be his last one.
I hate these times.
Yep, seems that way. Mark was ranked in the 25-30 range coming out of high school which is the “sweet spot” some are looking for...(I think one service had him top 20).Quote:
Originally Posted by CameronBornAndBred
But who knows what the future holds. Glad to have Mark back for year 2 at least!
I gotta say, his coy tweets were lots of fun.
Super glad to have him back. I'll think he'll have a HUGE year and will go lottery. It would be great if he were the examplar for staying an additional year to bolster one's earnings enough to more than make up for the lost year of NBA salary.
That said, a young man of his talents can't be faulted for declaring after his season closing performance.
Based on information that I gleaned from various other sites, it was very much a possibility that he could have left. Given all the other departures, nothing should surprise us. He would potentially have been drafted higher than Hurt, and certainly higher than Steward. And he could have transferred to another school where he wouldn’t have to share touches with three five star recruits.Quote:
Originally Posted by CameronBornAndBred
Losing Mark would have been absolutely devastating, both on the court and off the court from a program status perspective. I am still breathing a huge sigh of relief.
I wouldn't read too much into that... after all, Duke treated Wendell's decision to return for a sophomore year similarly last season, and he's back for Year 3.Quote:
Originally Posted by CameronBornAndBred
That said, most prognosticators have Mark as somewhere in the first round next year, with some as high as the lottery. I think late first round is more likely than the lottery given the way that the NBA values bigs.
Here's the perspective I've made myself adopt: if a guy is a "fringe" candidate to leave for the draft and does, more often that not that means he played his way into improving his stock and the team benefitted from that performance. This year was the exception on that, especially on DJ (which made that decision such a gut punch)... but you could argue that even though it didn't translate into our W/L record, we got to see a pretty special season from Matt that led to his decision to go pro. To this point I think about a guy like Luke Kennard, who most of us didn't see as a lottery pick entering his sophomore year, but he played his way into that status and in the process contributed to our ACC Tournament title. Cassius Stanley also falls in that category to some extent... he wasn't expected to be a OAD, but even though he was a second round pick OAD he still got that point by having a stellar season that contributed to our success (if only we could've seen how the tournament would've gone with that squad!). As a more recent example, entering thsi year's tournament I told my fellow Michigan fans that the Wolverines would need Franz Wagner to play like a first round pick for us to make a run to the Final Four without Isaiah Livers, and he did so at least for our first three games... so if he decides to go pro (and he looks to be a potential late lottery pick) I'll consider that a fair trade for an Elite 8 run that was a couple rim outs away from a Final Four.
Through that lens, if Mark ends up leaving us after next year as a likely first round pick, in all likelihood that means he had a great season and Duke benefitted in kind.
Whether or not that's the right perspective to have is up for debate, but it's how I've adapted to the OAD era and appreciating what kids who leave earlier than we'd like contribute to the program.
My definition of "drinking heavily", along with the concept of "student-athlete", has greatly changed in the last thirteen months.Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil
Also, I'd be wary about wanting players to add "20lbs of muscle" in some cases, as that means they're also adding 20lbs of additional weight. For a guy like Williams, whose strengths were running the floor and leaping to catch lobs, does he really want that much extra weight?Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonEvans
I'd add, somewhat facetiously, that I'd be satisfied if he increased his weight as it is now up to his listed weight.Quote:
Originally Posted by FerryFor50
He is going to get bigger and stronger. But that does come with some consequences. It takes time to grow into your body. I sometimes wonder if more focused weight training in college has an effect on shooting in the short term.Quote:
Originally Posted by FerryFor50
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Originally Posted by FerryFor50
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Originally Posted by budwom
I jump in on these posts every off season to give my two cents.Quote:
Originally Posted by dukelifer
You can get really, really strong without adding all kinds of "weight". It's not as simple as lift weights + eat = gain muscle + be stronger.
Plyometrics, heavy barbells at low reps, and core work can get anyone super strong without adding much muscle.
Yes, adding muscle mass helps somewhat in gaining strength, but I can tell you that an 18-22 year old could really increase his strength without adding much actual weight at all.