Originally Posted by
sagegrouse
Moore is a year away from being a Justise-type talent; leave now, and he may face a Duval future. He should return.
I don't think Cassius is ready either. Yeah, I know -- he's old. But so what -- he doesn't attack the basket, and he is lacking basic shooting guard skills -- except running the break and shooting.
Hurt didn't show what he is capable of this year and would benefit from a return, but in a way he is more skilled than Wendell. I hope he returns.
Originally Posted by
Acymetric
NBA loves reaching for potential. I think Moore is gone.
Originally Posted by
sagegrouse
If the NBA is looking for "potential," why do the draft gurus, who talk to NBA scouts, not even list him in the second round?
Originally Posted by
kAzE
IMO, that's a bit of a stretch . . . Justise was already a very good playmaker as a freshman at Duke, and an all-America level defender. Wendell may resemble Justise physically, but talent-wise, Justise is just on a completely different level. He was killing it as a starting POINT GUARD for the Heat before his latest injury. I would envision Wendell as more of a rotation guy in the league, while Justise at full health has, at the bare minimum, starter level talent, and potential for much more.
But at the same time, I sort of agree that Wendell is more likely to go pro than Hurt based on his/his family's quotes from before this season. He fully expected to be a OAD player. I'm sure Hurt did as well, but was much less outwardly demonstrative of it. But neither of them has any business going pro yet.
You are probably right given that Justise was a #10 pick and has had a meteoric career (I am tempted to say, as in, "now you see it, now you don't"), and Wendell won't be drafted as a freshman. Wendell OTOH has the physique, as you mention, but also has the swagger, and as the season developed, serious defensive skills.
Wendell needs a much better handle, and that's one of the things that can be learned -- next season at Duke, I hope. He also needs to score and shoot better. His shooting stats are uneven -- 0.416, 0.211, 0.806 -- but his FT shooting was the best on the team (not counting Joey's 11/12), so there's hope. And he -- and much of this team -- needed to do a better job of finishing around the basket.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013