Originally Posted by
gumbomoop
If Baldwin chooses Duke, I see a Constant 6, but not a clear Constant 7. Whether Moore starts or not, he’ll play starter minutes.
Despite skeptical comments over the years by other posters about “shiny new objects,” I’m convinced that Banchero, Griffin, and Baldwin are legit from Day 1. It’s not clear to me, however, that Keels will play more than Baker; and I say that as an admitted if somewhat reluctant critic of Baker, whose handle and footwork must improve, substantially.
But this is Baker’s 4th year, so unless Keels quickly picks up K’s systems, Baker has that advantage. Between Baker and Keels, probably whoever gets hot from 3 in any particular game or stretch of games will play important minutes off the bench. Maybe Keels will be a solid defender. And Baker, for all his deficiencies, does hustle like crazy, and every so often makes an important disruptive play on D.
John should get 10-12 mpg as backup 5, so he’s in, if just at the “edge” of, the rotation. Will Keels or Baker clearly surpass the other, giving K his preferred 7.5-8-man rotation? Can all of John, Baker, and Keels offer enough, and consistently, to push K to something close to a 9-man rotation by ACC play?
I’d guess the answer is “No,” and that, instead, we’ll see the Constant 6, relief minutes from John, and, depending on circumstances, some of Keels or Baker from game to game.