New Andy Katz Top 25 - Duke #11

[mpj96]

With the depth of talent that we have, but no clear indication at this point of a dominant starting five, this could be an opportunity for K to run squads in and out and keep up the tempo. We would obviously still have problems with teams that have an elite core (like, gag, UNC) but by the end of the year they might have problems with us too.

[dukerev]

In Spite of Mr. Iverson's proclamation that practice doesn't matter, practice will be HUGE this year for the Devils. It'll determine the starters (other than Greg I don't think anyone has a starting spot locked up and even he's going to be pushed significantly by Nolan) and the playing time. Practice will show whether Zoubek has gotten better, whether Lance is ready to be the man inside (I think he is and will be), whether the freshmen can contribute. Perhaps the only place more important than the practice floor (in determining starters/minutes) will be the training table.

As to preseason rank...who cares? Unlike football, the rankings mean nothing. Duke has to prove it on the floor.

[Matches]

Too high, at least to start. Potentially we could be that good by the end of the year, butt here are a lot of kinks to work out, and a lot of unknowns to ponder, before we will be the 11th best team in the nation.

[feldspar]

Too high, at least to start. Potentially we could be that good by the end of the year, butt here are a lot of kinks to work out, and a lot of unknowns to ponder, before we will be the 11th best team in the nation.

Agreed. I would have liked to see us on the bubble of the top 25 to start out the season, perhaps at 22 or 23. Coming off of last year, this team needs to earn being in the top 15. They need to come out of the gates feeling like they have something to prove because...well....they do have something to prove.

[kydevil]

Unless they improve drastically over the summer, playing Thomas and McClure together means that you have 2 out of your five players on the court with virtually no offensive ability save for maybe , and I emphasize maybe, getting an offensive rebound and putting it back up.

Also, if you mean playing Zoubek,Singler and either McClure or Thomas, I think that Duke might have trouble with teams that have a legitimate power forward to go along with a center because at 6-7 I don't see McLure guarding a true power forward with any consistency nor do I think that Singler unless he puts on weight can do it either. Add this to the problem as to what happens if Zoubek gets into foul trouble...then what?

I for one that Paulus is going to be an excellent player for Duke, but I think that the one player who can make Duke a top team is Brian Zoubek. If he can improve and be a presence then Duke can be a legitimate powerhouse. If he is mediocre, then I think that Duke will be just be average.

I should have clarified better with the smaller teams i meant you could play something like Thomas/Singler/McClure as the "5" and pass with Gerald as the "4" and go with a more 4 guard lineup. If that doesn't work then you could play Singler with either Thomas or McClure.
I do see Singler or McClure guarding a legit power ford consistently. Singler guarded Kevin Love brilliantly. If you haven't seen Love he's a pretty big guy. As for McClure, all last year he was guarding the other teams second big man and I remember fellow Duke fans raving about his defense!

[Richard Berg]

Unless they improve drastically over the summer, playing Thomas and McClure together means that you have 2 out of your five players on the court with virtually no offensive ability save for maybe , and I emphasize maybe, getting an offensive rebound and putting it back up.

I think LT will be ready to be a 3rd or 4th offensive option. He has a very quick first step, something you can't really teach. Like all young players, he needs to improve his ability to finish amid big ACC-quality defenders. LT also needs a softer short/mid-range touch. But those are pretty easily fixable. He was really improving at one point last winter before things started to unravel.

McClure will do fine as a Bowen kind of player: gritty defense, open shots, and garbage points. I predict he starts several games at the beginning of the season (offense be damned) until one of the 5th-8th guys differentiates himself.

[kydevil]

To me Lt looked timid throughout the year. IMO this was due to the fact that he just never got into a groove. I think with the more minutes that he will get this year, he will be able to get used to the offense and get his confidence going. All he needs is some minutes and some shots to go down and he will get going.

I don't think Lt would have been such a highly regarded recruit with the offense some are suggesting him having. I know that it wasn't one of his best qualities coming out of H.S. but still, K must have seen something he liked.

[Clipsfan]

To me Lt looked timid throughout the year. IMO this was due to the fact that he just never got into a groove. I think with the more minutes that he will get this year, he will be able to get used to the offense and get his confidence going. All he needs is some minutes and some shots to go down and he will get going.

I don't think Lt would have been such a highly regarded recruit with the offense some are suggesting him having. I know that it wasn't one of his best qualities coming out of H.S. but still, K must have seen something he liked.

There are clips on the internet which show some very good offensive abilities, but with enough footage I could create one of those clips by just putting the few good things I do into 30 seconds. However, I think that a large reason he didn't get more minutes was he would pick up a lot of quick fouls. He'll be able to get more into the flow if he manages to sort that out.

[dukerev]

I think you'll see LT as the most improved as the sophs. I also predict he'll be a captain for the 08-09 season.

[kydevil]

I hope that he is much improved.

However I wouldn't go quite as far as the captain for the 08-09 season Paulus will be a senior and so will McClure I think they get the nod. As for now though I personally don't care.