PG K. Irving - Fr
SG N. Smith - Sr
SF K. Singler - Sr
PF Mi. Plumlee - Jr
C Ma. Plumlee - So
Bench:
SG A. Dawkins - So
SG S. Curry - So
PF R. Kelly - So
PF J. Hairston - Fr
PG T. Thornton - Fr
SF O. Czyz - Jr
Even without Barnes, this team will most certainly compete for a national championship.
At least 5 double digit scorers, and maybe 6 potentially. This team is going to KILL.
Absolutely agree and I think it is very likely that Singler returns...
Assuming that Ed Davis leaves after this year...
PG L. Drew Jr
SG D. Strickland So
SF H. Barnes Fr
PF J. Henson So
C T. Zeller Jr
Bench:
PG K. Marshall Fr
SG R. Bullock Fr
SG L. McDonald So
SF W. Graves Sr
PF D. Wear So
PF T. Wear So
Call me crazy, but I think Duke is the better team.
No more ifs, please.
If Gerald Henderson stays, if Harrison Barnes commits... just wait for Singler to make his decision, and then speculate on how the rotation will look.
Hey Guys. Long time Duke fan and DBR follower…first time poster. I wanted to chime in on the Singler sticking around for senior year talk. I’m a Bball coach and I attended this year’s Duke coaches clinic. In one of the Q&A sessions a gentlemen asked K about setting goals and such for the season. Coach K answered that he certainly doesn’t set goals about how many games the team would/should win and said that it was so early that the team hadn’t set it’s own goals for the season (i.e. ACC champs, FF, etc). However, he did state a personal goal of his this year was to help Kyle content for a NPOY award, to go to the NBA (he said leave early) and become a lottery pick. He continued by saying that Kyle has now begun to train like a pro. Singler has no classes before 11:30 and begins his day in the facility, lifting weights, doing agility training and getting lots of shots up. While I would love to see Kyle back for his senior year (and that could still be a possibility), I don’t think that’s the plan. Lets take it one season at a time and enjoy the ride! Go Duke!
P.S. The team looked great during the grueling 2hr. practices (double session that day). I think this team is extremely talented and if it got on a roll in March, well who knows.
If he stays, Duke has to be the favorite to win it all next year.
If he doesn't, they are still a team that is as likely to make a final four as any team in the country.
(The above rosters should also anticipate Henson going pro, as it is very very likely)
Last edited by chrisheery; 11-13-2009 at 10:54 PM. Reason: sentence fix
Not sure if Duke has to be the favorite but may be among the 3 to 5 teams that usually are amongst the so called experts picks if Singler stays.
If he goes, for my money all bets are off as there won't be that one upper classmen to rely on other than possibly Nolan. I won't say the team wouldn't be good but not championship good. On top of that, who would play a traditional SF role? No guarantee Rosoe comes and if not him or Singler is here you would either have Kelly or Dawkins possibly playing out of position. As has been the case the past few years, it just seems we are missing the proper balance of players such as PG and guard depth year and overall wing athleticism. I know the company line is that Coach K doesn't pigeon hole players to positions but you do need quality positional balance on the roster. You can't have 4 PGs and 6 PFs for example dominating your rotation and just think guys can be a perimiter scorer and have a PF now be comfortable playing SF on the perimter and chasing 6'6 guys around.
Coach still gets the All Americans but we just need to close the deal on some in order to provide the team the proper balance positionally.
If, If, If...I am sick of all the ifs. If we get this guy, if this guy stays, if this guy on Carolina leaves, if this guys breaks his commitment and comes to Duke, if this guy is healthy, if this guy gets hurt...it's all generally worthless conjecture, but doing it about some time a full year away and just looking past this season is unbelievable.
Can we just focus on 2009-2010 and leave this BS for the off-season? The guys who run the DBR always talk about the journey. Well, the 2009-2010 journey began tonight. Why don't we put our energy towards that. Trust me, if all you keep thinking about is the future and "what if" you will never be satisfied and you'll miss all the good stuff you have sitting right in front of you.
Rich
"Failure is Not a Destination"
Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016
Maybe I am just too optimistic, but I think this team, I mean this year, is going to be really good. I think Ryan Kelly will develop into a very very good player by next year and will be a very good 3-4. I think Olek is showing signs that he might be a real contributer next year. But, to answer the main question of what the team would look like with no Singler and no "true 3," I guess we could take a look at the team that absolutely demolished us in the elite 8 last year, Villanova. They start played 4 out, 1 in with three quick guards. Next year, we can do that as well. In fact, we will probably be able to do even one better, 3 or 4 out with 1 or 2 in (with the same lineup).
Quickness (3 out)
Smith
Irving
Curry
Dawkins
plus Thornton (not as well known what he brings yet)
Power/Swing (2 in or 1 in 1 out)
Hairston
Kelly
Miles
Mason
Olek
With any combination of 3 of the top group and 2 of the bottom group we have a mismatch at probably 2 positions on the floor. Spreading three quick, excellent shooting guards around the perimeter opens up the inside for the two bigs to play high-low and set screens for pick and roll. When Kelly is in (and maybe Hairston from what I have read), the floor can be spread even more.
The main issue might come in defending the other teams "3." Which will surely be an issue. But, I am not sure another teams "3" will have an easy time guarding any of the players we would have on the court either.
Amen Rich! I am with you. The team I watched tonight was quite good even while being short-handed. Plus, people can believe it or not, but we have the best basketball coach on planet earth and because of that we will always be a factor. This year's Duke team will be hard to handle once all of the pieces are back on the court and they get game experience to learn the new system and gel.
They deserve our full attention and support. I am actually very disappointed at the lack of posting in the thread about tonight's game. Constantly worrying about tomorrow instead of focusing on today is not good.
Inexperience will certainly be a valid concern. However, being worried about a traditional SF player shouldn't be that big of a deal. Irving, Dawkins, Smith, and Curry make for a great three guard lineup in basically any combination with Thornton there for additional speed and depth. In addition, the versatility of our backcourt will allow for K to go big without sacrificing athleticism if we need size at the 3. Mason, Miles, plus a combo of Olek and Hairston and two of our five guards used in limited stretches could be very effective. For the most part, though, our backcourt is going to be really good and I don't see why we'd need to force a traditional C, PF, SF, SG, PG lineup on a team whose best players will msot likely skew toward the SG and PG types.
Also, I am not so sure Hairston couldn't convert his game to more of a "3" game after watching some of his youtube clips. He's pretty mobile and more athletic than I thought. Reasonable ball handling as well.
I'd be surprised if Singler returns next year, and so would K.
http://community.foxsports.com/goodm...st_by_decision
If....
If he stays, Duke and Carolina will be having some of the most epic games ever. People will be talking about a March showdown all season. It makes me uncomfortable to think about.
with kyle scuffling a bit right now, at least maybe he's more likely to be back next year. chad ford currently has him 30th on his big board. here's his 12/8 update:
"Just when NBA scouts started to get comfortable with the idea of Singler as a top-20 pick, he's suffering from a terrible shooting slump. He's now shooting a career-low 42 percent from the field. Singler struggled to hit his jumper against Radford, Arizona State, UConn and St. John's. But it was the UConn game that raised eyebrows. Uber-athletic forward Stanley Robinson shut down Singler, raising more questions about Singler's inability to get his offense going against the long-armed, quick-footed, explosive leapers he'll face every night in the NBA."
here's hoping he picks up his play over the course of the rest of the season and proves mr. ford wrong (but still decides to return for his senior season, of course).