Quote Originally Posted by NYC Duke Fan View Post
I am not a UNC fan nor do I intend for this post to be negative. I am hoping for an intelligent answer or answers.

When Zoubek committed to Duke there was great enthusiasm and when Thomas announced that he had chosen Duke over Rutgers and maybe Florida more enthusiasm for what ," experts", said was one of the top recruiting classes. These were 2 top 20 players. Unless there are some out there who have seen it differently, I have not seen any progress during the year from either player. Does anyone have an explanation save for the statement as it pertains to Zoubek that it takes longer for a big man to develop? There are many freshmen around making major contributions.

Nelson is a nice player but not the one Duke fans thought. He is the All Time leader in points scored in the State Of California and was ," Mr. Basketball", there. I know that he was hurt his first 2 years...is that the reason for his developement.

Once again I am hoping for an intelligent answer.

Thank you
Want an intelligent answer, how about intelligent expectations?

1. Nelson has yet to put in a full healthy season until this year. Anyone paying attention could see that Markie struggled shooting a jumper coming into Duke. As a result of his injury issues, he's had very little opportunity to work on this part of his game. Same goes for ball-handling.

2. Zoubek has very little lower body strength making it very difficult for him to establish any comfortable position in the paint. Zoub's actually has some very nice skills in the paint but until he gains some strength he will have trouble using those skills. Also, you can't teach quickness.

3. Thomas came into Duke as a guy with potential to make an impact but no standout basketball skills. Lance made a living attacking the basket in high school. Against this level of competition, he simply hasn't had the strength to do this. Also, he simply doesn't provide any type of perimeter threat to offset this. If Lance were to develop a decent 12-15 jump shot (similar to what Brian Davis did) then I think he could develop into a very nice player for Duke. He's got excellent potential on defense.