Why hasn't Thomas, Zoubek and Nelson Progressed ?

[Troublemaker]

I'm sorry that I hold athletes to a higher standard. I mean, ask the kid who's got over $100,000 in loans after he graduates from Duke if he'd love to sit the pine and be able to go to frat parties and be a ladies man, all the while getting his/her education paid for by Iron Dukes who expect you to PRACTICE rather than be hanging out at frat parties....

Some would say your comment is idiotic because you have no idea how much time Z devotes to practice...

[dukewray]

Some can say what they want, whether I'm idiotic or not. But my guess is he's not practicing as much as JJ Redick did...or Shelden....or Christian or Grant...those who came to play hard and be the BEST...not ride the pine and party. We all saw where that got Patrick Davidson....

[Troublemaker]

That's funny because JJ outright admitted that he didn't work on his conditioning enough his first two seasons. Dude, you just have no idea how hard Z works or doesn't work. This is a terrible way to react to a loss. That's all I have to say.

[dukewray]

Hey....JJ might have partied his first two seasons...but the kid average 15 pts as a Freshman. He already wanted to be the best at that point in his career. And as for reacting this way after a loss...if you don't get sick when Duke loses in the first round...what kind of fan are you?

[DukeCO2009]

That's funny because JJ outright admitted that he didn't work on his conditioning enough his first two seasons. Dude, you just have no idea how hard Z works or doesn't work. This is a terrible way to react to a loss. That's all I have to say.

Just curious, but are you a student? This isn't people reacting to a loss; it's people pointing out ways that Zoubek needs to shape up. If Coach K knew half the things Zoubek did, he'd kick him off the team. He definitely parties more than Redick did, and I'm basing this on guys I know who graduated with JJ. There's no law against having fun, but when you're getting a free education rules need to generally be followed. I think Z needs to have a heart-to-heart both with himself and with Coach K.

[throatybeard]

I mean for christ's sake, the kid is 7 foot tall....maybe he can't jump over a rock in a driveway, but he's 7 foot?

So being 7 feet tall is sufficient qualification for PT. Got it.

I bet that Robert Waldo Pershing guy was an awesome basketball player.

[dukewray]

Thank you. I totally agree. That was all I was saying.

[dukewray]

A seven footer with his hands straigh up (making him about 9ft) is a better deterrent than a 6'1" player sitting on his hip as the guy drives by him...

[Troublemaker]

Just curious, but are you a student? This isn't people reacting to a loss; it's people pointing out ways that Zoubek needs to shape up. If Coach K knew half the things Zoubek did, he'd kick him off the team. He definitely parties more than Redick did, and I'm basing this on guys I know who graduated with JJ. There's no law against having fun, but when you're getting a free education rules need to generally be followed. I think Z needs to have a heart-to-heart both with himself and with Coach K.

Maybe you're a student but unless you're a stalker, you don't follow Z around all day long. You have no clue how hard he works.

[Troublemaker]

A seven footer with his hands straigh up (making him about 9ft) is a better deterrent than a 6'1" player sitting on his hip as the guy drives by him...

Josh is 6'10 and can jump well... I don't think we lacked size in this game. More like ball-handling ability and a quick backcourt.

[dukewray]

TroubleMaker...do you know of some law where Duke isn't allowed to play a 6'10" player alongside a 7'0"??? Especially when the other team has ONE player at 6'10" and the rest are no bigger than 6'7"???????

[tbyers11]

TroubleMaker...do you know of some law where Duke isn't allowed to play a 6'10" player alongside a 7'0"??? Especially when the other team has ONE player at 6'10" and the rest are no bigger than 6'7"???????

Zoubek's offensive potential (which has been increasingly non-existent as the level of competition has increased) would have been outweighed by his defensive liabilities against VCU. Hell, we couldn't even get the ball in the post to Josh that much because of the defensive pressure. As for playing Josh and Zoubek together, the VCU press dictated the style of play. As long as they kept pressing, we wouldn't have been able the play the halfcourt game necessary to take advantage of both Josh and Zoubek.

[Troublemaker]

TroubleMaker...do you know of some law where Duke isn't allowed to play a 6'10" player alongside a 7'0"??? Especially when the other team has ONE player at 6'10" and the rest are no bigger than 6'7"???????

No law, but there were probably reasons why that wouldn't work...

[DukeCO2009]

Maybe you're a student but unless you're a stalker, you don't follow Z around all day long. You have no clue how hard he works.

No need for the animosity.

Anyway, point taken; I never made any statements to the contrary. I'm sure Zoubek works extremely hard, as do all of our players. If he wants to party all the time, then so be it. Hey, it's his life, not mine. By all accounts, Brian's a smart guy. In choosing between Duke and Stanford, then, the deciding factor was almost certainly basketball. That being the case, Brian needs to make sure he knows where basketball lies on his priority list. I don't doubt his hustle, work ethic, etc. in practice, but I do question his commitment to the whole student-athlete concept once he leaves the classroom.

He's painfully out of shape (I see the guy at McDonald's 3 days a week) and goes out all to often to be a productive student-athlete. As far as I know, he's holding up the academic part of the deal, but let's be honest here: while he would have probably gotten in, BZ wouldn't be on scholarship if it weren't for basketball. If he just wants to be the "student" part of his role as a student-athlete, he needs to give up his scholarship.

Some other guys, most notably J.J., have dealt with similar issues. Zoubek doesn't have the same kind of talent as Redick did, however, and thus cannot afford to act the way he currently does and also produce on the court. J.J. had the luxury of being able to drop 15-20 and still slack off once out of K's sight; Brian, quite frankly, does not. I'm not justifying J.J.'s actions, just making a point. It's time for Zoubek to sit down and make some decisions.

[Troublemaker]

I haven't shown you any animosity. I still see no reason to believe that Z isn't work hard. You can work hard, play hard...

[DukeCO2009]

I haven't shown you any animosity. I still see no reason to believe that Z isn't work hard. You can work hard, play hard...

The "unless you're a stalker" bit was a bit unnecessary.

Again, I never once said Zoubek didn't work hard re: basketball. It's his off-the-court activities, habits, and practices I question.