http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=23661This is a nice season preview, but I wanted to add my own thoughts and start the discussion. :)
First off, although it pains me to admit that Carolina is probably better than Duke starting off this season, there is a silver lining to being ranked #11 while UNC is #1. It'll be that much sweeter if and when UNC falters somewhere in the NCAA tournament and also if we can knock them off the #1 ranking during the season. There's something more fun about being a relative underdog. Let UNC and their fans deal with the pressure and weight of expectation.
As for our team, I think we'll actually be quite a bit better than last year, maybe even capable of a final 4 run. Paulus is healthier starting off the season and showed some flashes last year. I still think he's going to end up being an excellent point guard. He has good vision, a nice stroke, and toughness. Henderson and Scheyer will only improve. And our freshmen are all nice additions. We'll miss McRoberts rebounding and size, but I think our offensive flow will improve without him. Too often, we would look to him to score or create in the half-court sets, and it was just awkward.
I don't Zoubek is really the answer at center, but I think we can go with 3 guards and 2 big forwards most of the time. Besides, how many really good centers are there in college basketball? Singler and King can play on the perimeter but still help on the boards. I think Singler in particular will be a star. He has a much better feel for the game and all-around skills than McRoberts.
One thing that will be fun to watch will be more running and better transition. We've got a lot of guys who can pressure the ball and a lot of good shooters. I'm predicting runner-up in the ACC, beating UNC at least once, and at least an Elite 8 appearance.
What do y'all think? Is anyone else excited to get this season started?
3 comments:
although the sports fellows don't get to watch the practices, dave did get to watch one through the coach k leadership conference. i'll get more details from him, but he thought they looked good. from what he hears from the trainers, henderson is the most athletic guy they've had since grant hill. he can touch the top of the backboard. they were saying this before he did so well in the blue-white game. also, i guess mcroberts was not a great team player, so they're saying it's actually good that he's gone. since we are back in the triangle, i am SO excited about bball and hope we do well. i think brian's prediction is a reasonable one. dave splits coverage of the basketball games with the other sports fellow, a primary care doctor, and a sports attending. so he'll be at a third of the games. of course, the attending gets the ones in mauii and the postseason games. still, i am SUPERPSYCHED!
it was just an exhibition game in which the score at one point was 54-8, but dave got to cover the game against shaw last night. he seems pretty impressed with the team, primarily at how much of a TEAM they are already. he said they're like an amoeba. henderson had some sick moves working around two defenders and slamming the ball - he sounds like he'll be fun to watch this season. dave also thought paulus, king, and singler looked great. scheyer isn't athletic, but very smart. the only one dave didn't think was great was zoubek who missed some easy passes and got hit in the head at one point. dave says he has about a 4 inch vertical. does coach k LIKE having oafs for centers? does he think the 3 guard, 2 forward set works best? i just don't get it. but it looks like we have the right guys for coach k's usual formula - great shooters, great defenders, and great team players. if it's true that there are no really good centers, then i guess i should stop worrying about the lack of good big men on our teams. even though it was shaw, it sounds like it could be a good season for us. go duke!
Sandra,
I like the inside perspective from Dave. Keep it coming. You can't get this stuff from anywhere.
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