Duke will be as good as ______ allows us to be

[houstondukie]

Fill in the blank and explain why.

My choice is Brian Zoubek. I think next year's team will be loaded with guards and athletic wings, but Brian is our best option for a low post scorer and rebounder. He has a lot of improvement to make, but I think the potential is there. Without him being close to a double-double guy, I don't think Duke will be a Final Four team next year.

[Chard]

Hmmm. I agree with you on some levels but I think Greg Paulus may play a bigger part in the overall success. This is his team. Demarcus will also claim some ownership but I have a feeling all the pressure will be on Greg's shoulders to lead the team.

[johnb]

I'd say what we need is for one guy to become one of the 10 or 15 guys in the country by being a reasonably unstoppable force on offense. That might be Paulus as a point or one of our many very good wings, but my hunch would be Singler.

[rtnorthrup]

Our season next year does not hinge on one person. We have so much talent that the real key will be how well the team comes together. Certainly Zoubek showed flashes last year of being an offensive threat in the post. If he can improve his footwork he should be a good one.

But at the same time, we really need Lance to play up to his potential;

And we need Demarcus to cut down on his turnovers and be stronger with his dribble;

We need Greg to stay healthy;

We need Scheyer to become a legit 3 point threat consistantly.

Again, im not trying to be obvious, just trying to stop this thing where too much pressure is placed on one of our players.

[hurleyfor3]

Duke will be as good as whomever we play in the Sweet 16 allows us to be

[Classof06]

I want to say Greg Paulus so so bad because nobody on this roster has more to prove this coming season. To me, at least.

But it's not Paulus, because we actually have someone (Nolan) to replace him, should he struggle again. Last year, broken foot or not, Paulus was the only primary ball-handler. If Paulus has another year like he had last year (the whole body of work, not just the last 15 games), he will not be starting by the end of this season. And I don't believe that would necessarily kill our season, either. This is why I can't say Paulus.

With that, I have to go with Singler. Zoubek is important, but if our chances hinged on him taking drastic strides over one off-season, then we'd be screwed and I don't believe that we are. With or without Thomas, I consider our 5 spot a bit of a question mark; if Singler falters, our 4 is now a question mark as well and that's trouble. Lack of frontcourt depth makes Singler that much more important. We need Singler to score consistently. I don't care how good he looked in HS, that's a lot to ask a freshman to do, especially in the ACC. I believe Singler is more than capable, but if he struggles, then we need to have better-than-expected seasons from 1-2 other players or we're probably no better than last year. And when I say "better than expected seasons," remember that we're already expecting our returning players to come back improved to begin with.

[VaDukie]

To me this question can be seen two ways. There are guys like Greg and DeMarcus who we need to play well to get us to a certain level, then there are other guys we need to play well to take us to the elite level.

For me, the two guys we take in question #2 are Singler and Henderson. If Henderson gets healthy and has his athletic asthma worked out, he could be scary good next year. Anyone else remember his play in the last two games of the regular season? He carried us against Maryland and UNC. We don't need Singler to be dominant to be good next year (maybe even very good), but if he comes in and scores 15 per game we will be very tough to beat.

[DevilAlumna]

My thought:

Duke will be as good as ITS CAPTAINS will allow them to be.


Coach K has built a system that relies on its players to provide leadership, on and off the court. I think each of the tri-captains last year were too young and had too many other, personal struggles, to focus on the concept of, and needs of, the team.

My hope this year is that whoever ultimately gets the nod for captains (my votes would be for McClure and Nelson, leaving Paulus out solely because I think three captains is one too many) is able to help mold the team into a cohesive unit (difficult, because there are so many interchangeable pieces), lead without worrying so much about self-performance, and take some pressure off of the younger guys (Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubs, plus the incoming frosh) still trying to find their A-games in the Duke system.

[delfrio]

There is no way Paulus is not a captain in the fall.

[Pistonsfan13]

Duke will be as good as their teamworkwill allow them to be

ive seen this too much, where there is major hype about a team and their recruits, and when season comes, they are too self centered about making them selves look good, that they become a team of individuals. now if they can get a type of chemistry if you will, and mesh together as one, than they will be pretty much unstoppable with all their raw talent that they have.

[VaDukie]

Duke will be as good as their teamworkwill allow them to be

ive seen this too much, where there is major hype about a team and their recruits, and when season comes, they are too self centered about making them selves look good, that they become a team of individuals. now if they can get a type of chemistry if you will, and mesh together as one, than they will be pretty much unstoppable with all their raw talent that they have.

Probably the most logical answer; but why say teamwork when we can endlessly argue which player will (hopefully) lead us to the promised land?

[Pistonsfan13]

Probably the most logical answer; but why say teamwork when we can endlessly argue which player will (hopefully) lead us to the promised land?

hey i just stated what i thought, you guys can feel free to argue about who will lead you to this "Promised Land:

[Clipsfan]

My thought:

Duke will be as good as ITS CAPTAINS will allow them to be.


Coach K has built a system that relies on its players to provide leadership, on and off the court. I think each of the tri-captains last year were too young and had too many other, personal struggles, to focus on the concept of, and needs of, the team.

My hope this year is that whoever ultimately gets the nod for captains (my votes would be for McClure and Nelson, leaving Paulus out solely because I think three captains is one too many) is able to help mold the team into a cohesive unit (difficult, because there are so many interchangeable pieces), lead without worrying so much about self-performance, and take some pressure off of the younger guys (Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubs, plus the incoming frosh) still trying to find their A-games in the Duke system.

I don't see any way that Paulus is not one of the captains this coming year. Not only was he a captain last year (and did nothing to convince me that he shouldn't be one again) but he is also going to be the focus of our offense. He has the will to win that this team needs and the hard-nosed attitude necessary to help get us there. He and Nelson should both be captains again

[DevilAlumna]

I don't see any way that Paulus is not one of the captains this coming year.

Oh, I totally agree with you; I'd eat my hat if he's not voted a captain.

But like I said, *I'm* only giving two votes. I think Tri-Captains is just silly; defeats the purpose of having a captain, IMO.

[Clipsfan]

Oh, I totally agree with you; I'd eat my hat if he's not voted a captain.

But like I said, *I'm* only giving two votes. I think Tri-Captains is just silly; defeats the purpose of having a captain, IMO.

I guess the only place we differ is that he'd be either my first or second choice to be captain next year (Nelson has seniority, which counts for a lot in K's eyes)

[DevilAlumna]

I guess the only place we differ is that he'd be either my first or second choice to be captain next year (Nelson has seniority, which counts for a lot in K's eyes)

Well, since we're explaining our votes (and with the understanding that this is all pure outsider speculation):

I think McClure would make a great 6th Man captain, in the role of Marty Clark (who only started 3 games his senior, captain season.) He's been through a lot, has some perspective/history of the team, and might provide some good, elder-statesman-type 'glue' for a young team.

I give DeMarcus the nod over Paulus for three reasons:

1) Nelson's a senior. Seniors are traditionally Captains. I'm a sucker for tradition.

2) Paulus needs to focus on getting his own game back, not worrying about the other Captain worries. His team needs him more as an on-court playmaker (assists, smart passes, etc.) than as a Captain. I don't think he can do both well at the same time.

3) Nelson's role next year on the court is still undefined; I think he can be a key player in any role, but the best role might be as the leader who just does the stuff that needs to get done (a la Nate or Shane or C-well.) That's worthy of a Captain's spot. (Though, I think this is the biggest question mark -- can he actually step up and do it right?)

[Buckeye Devil]

If it has to be limited to one person, I would say that it is Gerald Henderson. He showed flashes of brilliance and seems like he has the potential to take a game over with talent and pure athleticism.

[Clipsfan]

Well, since we're explaining our votes (and with the understanding that this is all pure outsider speculation):

I think McClure would make a great 6th Man captain, in the role of Marty Clark (who only started 3 games his senior, captain season.) He's been through a lot, has some perspective/history of the team, and might provide some good, elder-statesman-type 'glue' for a young team.

I give DeMarcus the nod over Paulus for three reasons:

1) Nelson's a senior. Seniors are traditionally Captains. I'm a sucker for tradition.

2) Paulus needs to focus on getting his own game back, not worrying about the other Captain worries. His team needs him more as an on-court playmaker (assists, smart passes, etc.) than as a Captain. I don't think he can do both well at the same time.

3) Nelson's role next year on the court is still undefined; I think he can be a key player in any role, but the best role might be as the leader who just does the stuff that needs to get done (a la Nate or Shane or C-well.) That's worthy of a Captain's spot. (Though, I think this is the biggest question mark -- can he actually step up and do it right?)

As I tried to say, I can see Nelson being the solo captain ahead of Paulus, although I can see the argument for Paulus ahead of Nelson as well. Given that we will have at least 2 captains next season, I think the argument is moot. What I don't agree with is your argument that McClure should be captain ahead of Paulus. As much as I like him and think that he brings some great things to the team, I don't see any way that K demotes Paulus and promotes McClure, especially given that I think that Paulus is more deserving irrespective of which one was a captain last year.

[VaDukie]

hey i just stated what i thought, you guys can feel free to argue about who will lead you to this "Promised Land:

I was saying that your answer was the right one; we have enough talent that it's not going to be one player, but how well we play as a team. But what's the fun in that when we can endlessly speculate which player will be the most important?

[Richard Berg]

____ = team defense. Last year proved that.