Do You Know The Way To Beat San Jose?

Duke defeated San Jose State 70-51 yesterday afternoon. At times, the Blue Devils looked solid and at times, they looked mediocre and were careless with the ball. As tempted as I am to blame the up and down performance on the 10-day layoff, the less than average opponent, and the extra holiday pounds, this game really highlighted the weaknesses they will have all year. Ever since Jason Williams left Duke, they have been exposed off the dribble by quicker guards and when San Jose State, a 1-11 team, can take advantage of that, it's really scary.

Josh McRoberts, as always, had a ridiculous all around game by scoring 15 points, grabbing a career high 17 boards in addition to 5 assists and 3 blocks. For the 3rd consecutive game, I have been very pleased with the play of Greg Paulus. He seems like the foot isn't bothering anymore and that he is ready for ACC Conference play.

Since it's around the halfway mark of the season, I want to give you my impressions on the four freshmen this year, their strengths and weaknesses.

Jon Sheyer: From day one, Sheyer has made his impact and does not look like a freshman out there at all. How glad are Blue Devil fans that he snubbed Bruce Weber at Illinois? Like Coach K allegedly told him in a recruiting visit "Illinois wins Big 10 Titles, Duke wins NCAA Titles." Sheyer was recruited based on his superior shooting touch but I have been plesantly surprised with his ball handling abilities and his leadership. Even when he's not shooting well, he seems to find ways to help this team win. As for his weaknesses, like JJ as a freshman, he is unable to create his own shoot with some regularity. With some work, that will change. I expect Sheyer to be an All-American by his Senior season.

Gerald Henderson: Gerald started off very slow this year but as of late, he has shown why he was so highly regarded coming out of high school. I still believe he will be the best player in this class when all is said and done. He has superior athleticism, a very good mid-range shooting game, and can play excellent defense. One problem so far has been his assertiveness. As he builds confidence and continues to start, hopefully that will work itself out.

Lance Thomas: Mr. Rollercoaster! At times, Lance looks like one of the best players on the floor and at times, he looks lackadasical. He recently found himself in Coach K's doghouse and is battling some ankle injuries as well. I feel like he will respond in a big way for this team and he will realize why he chose Duke over Rutgers.

Brian Zoubek: Stiff, enough said. It has been amazing to me that the guy who dominated McRoberts in the Blue/White scrimmage has been so unbelievably bad. I know he is used to playing a zone but come on now, he looks like he's never played basketball before. To me, it's all about confidence with Brian. He seems to get down on himself too fast and couple that with a lack of minutes and this is what you have: A 7 footer who is playing like he's 5 foot. Hopefully, he can get that straightened out. If not, he could be transferring very soon to a team that will play lots of zone. If that's going to happen, go to Hofstra Brian, my alma mater baby! They need size in the worst way.

Next up for Duke is Temple. Without John Cheney, this is a much different team. I expect it to be low scoring but I fully expect Duke to win with ease. Too much size for Duke and too little scoring from Temple with the departure of Mardy Collins.

Prediction: Duke 55 Temple 42, yeah it will be ugly.