Mark!
Mark Williams
Paolo Banchero
Wendell Moore
Trevor Keels
Jeremy Roach
Theo John
AJ Griffin
Joey Baker
Bates Jones
Who was the MOTM?
Mark!
Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!
Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
9F 9F 9F
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Mark Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Based on his career game log, the 8 blocks were a career high; his previous best was 6. The 19 points were a career 3rd best, and the 11 rebounds were a career 4th best. (His career highs are 23 points and 19 rebounds, which he had in the same game, against Louisville in the 2021 ACC Tournament.) Of those rebounds, 6 were on the offensive side, which is a career 3rd best.
He played 27 minutes, tied for 4th highest. He shot 9-of-12 from the field. Those 9 made field goals tie a career high (he went 9-for-9, 9-for-11, and 9-for-14 during his surge late last season). He had "only" 2 assists, but his career high is 3. He added 1 steal and only 1 turnover. He was called for zero fouls.
For those of you who wondered if vintage Mark Williams would reappear, this is it. You could even argue that this is the best game he's put together yet; in that Louisville ACCT game, he committed 3 fouls, had only 1 block, and needed 6 more minutes to hit the same number of field goals.
And despite all that, there are a few other decent MOTM candidates today. Paolo Banchero had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting (no 3-point attempts) and 8 rebounds. Trevor Keels' stat line was Wendell-esque: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals. Theo John had 10 points (a season high; his Marquette high was 16) from 4-of-4 shooting.
Anyone who didn't vote for Mark voted wrong.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
“I love it. Coach, when we came here, we had a three-hour meeting about the core values. If you really represent the core values, it means diving on the floor, sacrificing your body for your teammates, no matter how much you’re up by or how much you’re down by, always playing hard.” -- Zion
Mark Williams. Because he's a welcome relief from small ball.
Last edited by CameronBlue; 01-17-2022 at 06:42 PM.
It's 'bout time everyone got on the Mark Williams stud train and quit nitpicking his intermittent faults here and there and speculating he won't be a first rounder and all that b.s. Tired of it and all the criticism on this board. He bobbles the ball. He doesn't keep it high so he gets stripped. He doesn't block out well enough. He fouls too much... Yadda yadda yadda. He's been the ACC leading blocker even before the NC State game and suddenly everyone acts like they just discovered electricity. Duke is a quintessential guard program. So the bigs ALWAYS get undervalued by fans. Mark will make some mistakes here and there, especially against bigger teams, but he dominated Gonzaga (BIG TEAM) and NC State (SMALL TEAM) and he's only going to get better. Duke's success hinges on him deep into the ACC and NCAA tourneys. Everyone needs to get behind him and get excited that he's working hard for us in the paint, on the boards, blocking shots, getting steals and throwing down some monster dunks. Plus he's a good, smart, hardworking kid we can all get behind and yes he'll be a first rounder. Nice to see DBR give him some front page luv.
I'm absolutely on the "Mark Williams" train, but I'm curious about the "first rounder" merit.
I don't pay attention to NBA mock drafts, but what's his best comp? Seems like Mark is a stud college rim protector and finisher, but does he have a spot in The Association without a killer jumpshot from AT LEAST fifteen feet?
If I were Mark, I'd log at least another year at Duke and spend my days at Kevin Durant Three Pointer Camp.
(This is at least 30% sarcasm, but I really can't find a flattering comparison for a talented big without a good jump shot that has been successful in the NBA from the last 15 years)
Rudy Gobert, Clint Capela, DeAndre Jordan, Steven Adams, and Dwight Howard are examples within the last 5 years. Robert Williams is starting to succeed (to a lesser degree) with that skill set as well. Not saying that Williams will be as good as any of those guys. But most of those guys were top-half of the first round picks. The expected performance for a late 1st round pick is much lower than that.
Those guys are significantly bulkier than Williams, and are all ehat I would consider outliers in the league - much more "last generation" centers in the NBA.
I also intended to refer to guys who have come into the league recently, not who have succeeded recently, and probably should have shored it up from 15 years to ten years. That eliminates the veterans on that list.
My point (which I made poorly) is that skinny guys who block shots and dunk but can't shoot distance aren't being clamored for in today's NBA.
Capela and Gobert are certainly not bulky (and were no bulkier than Williams when they were drafted), nor are they "last generation" centers. Both are very much this generation. So is Williams.
And, again, we aren't talking about a lottery pick here. The back half of the first round is littered with guys with skill set question marks.
And my list wasn't exhaustive. Jakob Poeltl, Daniel Gafford, Jarrett Allen, and Mitchell Robinson also fit this category. Roughly 1/3 of the league's starting centers are thinner guys who can't shoot.
You need to be able to shoot a bit to be a high lottery pick as a big these days. But it isn't critical to be a successful starter. Nor is it critical to get drafted in the first round.
Last edited by CDu; 01-18-2022 at 09:14 AM.
While we'd all love this, the problem is we have two top 10 players (likely top 5) coming in who can play the 5. Filipowski (offensive guru) and Lively (versatile defensive player who shots 3s) are two talented big men, like Williams. Lively and Filipowski can play the 5 (and I assume that one, or both, will play the 4 next year). The two incoming frosh are very complementary players, with Lively a defensive guru who can shot 3s (a la Miles Turner) and Filipowski an all-round offensive stud.
If Williams comes back, he'll face a crowded front court. I do not see a world where Williams, Lively, and Filipowski co-exist. Lively and Filipowski, being top 5 HS ranked players, will demand to start (and rightly so. Don't think a top 5 Duke recruit has never not started). Williams, being the frontrunner for ACC Defensive Player of the Year, will demand to start. And no, unlike what Coach K likes to say preseason, all three cannot start with one of them (likely Lively) playing the 3.
So if Williams wants to come back, he can. But I assume Lively or Filipowski will second guess coming to Duke (and those LOI are weak) due to availability of minutes and starting positions.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Furthermore, as a big man who plays the 5, I don't think you need have a jump shot to get drafted in the lottery/first round. You do, however, need to have solid defensive chops. And Williams has elite defensive chops.
The true dinosaurs are the back-to-the-basket offensive gurus who can't do much else (Okafor, Carey). Elite defensive big men are still fairly coveted.
Isaiah Jackson got drafted 22nd pick, and he didn't shoot any 3s at UK. Same with Day'Ron Sharpe at UNC.
Williams is definitely potential first round material, even without a jump shot. I do think a bigger question is whether he can bulk up moreso than shoot 3s.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Well, after being schooled by CDu, I looked up draft day stats, and Capella and Gobert weighed less than Williams when they were drafted. I don't need to look up Dwight or Steven Adams, they are big dudes.
I guess I'm just trying to rationalize More Williams next year.
Since I don't keep up with NBA basketball like most on DBR do, I'll ask this question; What type player would you consider Wendell Carter? He looked pretty sturdy to me and seemed to have good shooting form from the perimeter. At Duke Wendell looked like a low post player that could play good defense and had a good offensive game as well. I'm too lazy to look up how he's doing in the NBA but I thought he had a promising pro career.
GoDuke!
You can rationalize Moore next year, not Williams.
For me, I rank the following 5 players in terms of how likely they are to leave (in descending order):
-Banchero (guaranteed top 3 pick)
-Williams (crowded front court next year; he's one of the best defenders in college basketball already)
-Griffin (NBA-style skill set, groomed to play in the NBA, had a brother who declared for the draft despite a second rounder at best)
-Moore (he's already a junior and is having a career year)
-Keels (there is a starting position for him next year; since the UK game, his stock has been falling)
I am expecting, at minimum, 4 rotation players to go pro/transfer and would get bank on 5. And I'd expect 4 to get drafted in the first round, including Williams.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club