Congratulations DeMarcus Nelson

[Bob Green]

Congratulations to DeMarcus Nelson, last season's leading scorer and Co-MVP, on being named Captain of the 2007-2008 Blue Devils.

[Ignatius07]

Who were captains last year? I know D-Marc and McRoberts were, but there was a third also (I want to say Paulus), meaning somebody has been de-captain-ized from last year to this year. Has that ever happened?

[Cali-Duke]

paulus was the third captain

[kramerbr]

Who were captains last year? I know D-Marc and McRoberts were, but there was a third also (I want to say Paulus), meaning somebody has been de-captain-ized from last year to this year. Has that ever happened?

Who's going to be de-captain-ized? McRoberts is gone so that means someone new will be added as captain along with Paulus and Nelson. I would say McClure or Lance.

[bdh21]

Who's going to be de-captain-ized? McRoberts is gone so that means someone new will be added as captain along with Paulus and Nelson. I would say McClure or Lance.

DMarc will be the only captain next year per the goduke.com article. Paulus is being de-captain-ized. I thought that was a little surprising. After the strides he made last year and the support offered to him by both K and the team, it seems a peculiar vote of confidence to strip him of his captaincy.

But then again it's easy to read way to much into this. DMarc will make a fine captain and Paulus will still be a vocal leader of this team even if he isn't a "captain."

[mapei]

I interpret it as K honoring his senior, but if I were Paulus I'd definitely feel a bit weird about it.

[Ignatius07]

Agreed. I doubt it's anything malicious, hopefully Coach K spoke to Paulus privately about the decision to explain. Maybe K thought that the title of "captain" added more/unnecessary pressure to the guy who already has the most on the team.

[Oriole Way]

I wouldn't be surprised if K is using this as a motivational challenge for Paulus. I can imagine Coach K telling the media "I told Greg that you have to earn being a captain".

I predict that Paulus will be made a co-captain before the start of the ACC season, if his play warrants it.

[Waynne]

I think Coach K definitely is sending a motivational message to Greg- see the DBR post about Barry Jacobs' talk with Greg. The "hard talk" K had with an unspecified player after the team's 4-8 finish last year probably was with Greg, and the fact he will not be a captain at the beginning of the season should be a huge motivational factor for a warrior like Greg. If he stays healthy and focused, Paulus could have a very satisfying year proving all his detractors wrong.

[micah75]

I think Coach K definitely is sending a motivational message to Greg- see the DBR post about Barry Jacobs' talk with Greg. The "hard talk" K had with an unspecified player after the team's 4-8 finish last year probably was with Greg, and the fact he will not be a captain at the beginning of the season should be a huge motivational factor for a warrior like Greg. If he stays healthy and focused, Paulus could have a very satisfying year proving all his detractors wrong.

Greg definitely is a warrior, no doubt about that. And I feel pretty sure that Coach K is counting on him to help lead this team. Coach also knows that Greg is always up for a challenge and is not the type to pansy down. So, I would have to agree with your assessment. If Josh had returned for his Junior season, would he have been stripped of Captain status as well, alongside Greg? At any rate, I have to believe that this development is in large part motivational and is not set in stone. Greg has the talent and grit to earn back his Captain honors as the season progresses. IMO. But Coach K is raising the bar. Will Greg rise to the occasion? We shall see. Stay tuned.

[micah75]

The "hard talk" K had with an unspecified player after the team's 4-8 finish last year probably was with Greg

I had been wondering about that. I was sort of thinking the same thing.

[Classof06]

This is why Coach K is the man. I think this is clearly meant to send a message to Paulus. And if it takes something like this to light a fire under Greg's behind (and I think it will), then so be it. I like this move a lot. No matter how well Paulus played towards the end of last year, I would have been a little uneasy had Krzyzewski just handed the captaincy back to Greg.

Like I've said before, I think this is an extremely crucial season for Paulus and I think Krzyzewski senses as much. I think he wants to make sure he has Greg's full attention and this was certainly the way to do it. I think this will serve as motivation for Paulus (as if he needed any more motivation) and this will help Duke over the course of the season.

[mapei]

Let's hope it improves Nelson's play as well!

[Indoor66]

Let's hope it improves Nelson's play as well!

IMO that is uncalled for.

[mgtr]

Nelson could probably play smarter at times, but nobody plays harder.

[mapei]

Hey, the guy has made a lot of mistakes and turnovers, especially in the paint, along with his very good points. I'm hardly the first to say so, and I don't think it is out of line to say that I hope his coach's vote of confidence helps him pick it up.

I agree that he plays very hard.

Personally, I think all the repeated slams on this board at McRoberts are unjustified, but I don't slam someone's right to express their opinion.

[SilkyJ]

I wouldn't be surprised if K is using this as a motivational challenge for Paulus. I can imagine Coach K telling the media "I told Greg that you have to earn being a captain".

I predict that Paulus will be made a co-captain before the start of the ACC season, if his play warrants it.

I agree, and even if it isn't by the start of the acc season, it will be shortly thereafter.

I think Coach K definitely is sending a motivational message to Greg- see the DBR post about Barry Jacobs' talk with Greg. The "hard talk" K had with an unspecified player after the team's 4-8 finish last year probably was with Greg, and the fact he will not be a captain at the beginning of the season should be a huge motivational factor for a warrior like Greg. If he stays healthy and focused, Paulus could have a very satisfying year proving all his detractors wrong.

I hadn't heard about this talk, but I would imagine Greg would be the guy to have it with. With his shooting he has the ability to be such a weapon if he can bring down the turnovers and up the assists, even if only just a little, and I think the combination of being 100% healthy along with another year of experience and off-season of training should be enough for Greg to provide a big impact...hopefully on both sides of the ball.

[pfrduke]

IMO that is uncalled for.

Don't be too sensitive. Hoping that someone's play improves is not a slam on them. Quite frankly, I hope every season that each one of our players improves, regardless of the caliber of season they had the year before. I would think that we all do.

[trinity92]

IMO that is uncalled for.

DeMarcus is a good kid, but unless his injuries have completely ruined his game, and he's finally recovered, from what we've seen, he's basically a short Nate James with a better handle and a bit more range. I really wish he'd be our all-purpose guy like Nate was instead of the focal point he's become. He should be a starter, but I don't think we can win running the offense through him.

There's no mean-spiritedness in pointing out a fact. Think he'd be insulted if we pointed out he's 6-4?

[riverside6]

DeMarcus is a good kid, but unless his injuries have completely ruined his game, and he's finally recovered, from what we've seen, he's basically a short Nate James with a better handle and a bit more range. I really wish he'd be our all-purpose guy like Nate was instead of the focal point he's become. He should be a starter, but I don't think we can win running the offense through him.

There's no mean-spiritedness in pointing out a fact. Think he'd be insulted if we pointed out he's 6-4?

I completely agree with you. I know it's not a popular assertion around this board, but to go all biblical, for Duke to succeed, Demarcus Nelson must decrease and Gerald Henderson must increase.

I think trinity makes a good point that Nelson is a much better 2nd or 3rd scorer than he is a guy that can be the focus of the offense. One reason Gerald Henderson's play in the UNC game last year was so exciting to me (and others), is that he showed he could be the focus of the offense.

Of course this doesn't mean that Nelson is not a very important player to this team, so please don't put words in my mouth there.