Wow! I thought based off the way last year ended that Duke would land somewhere in the late teens, early 20's. I think this may be a little high for a team that still has some serious questions marks. They should be relying on a freshman to carry the scoring load and more importantly, they are the oreo cookie team; hard/strong on the outside but soft in the middle. If Thomas and/or Zoubek play up to their high school billing than this team is a Top 10 team. If not, expect more peaks than valleys again this year.
Season starts tomorrow, coincidently on my birthday: Blue/White Scrimmage @7PM (Watch on Inside Access).
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Monroe Doctrine
Let me start by saying that I am really excited and enthuised about this year. However, I was last year as well and in Duke terms, it was an utter disaster filled with heartbreak after heartbreak. I am really looking forward to seeing Duke push the ball and finally, finally, finally, use their depth, which K swears he will finally do. I love the idea of Duke playing small ball, similar to Nova a few years ago. If they do this, there will be games where they shoot lights out and look like a big time squad and games where they will shoot badly and get completely exposed in the post. However, if they get hot from outside, I can envision a deep postseason run.
Again, although I am excited about this year, what may be lost in translation is that Duke lost out on their biggest target for next year, Greg Monroe. He chose to attend G'Town last week, which was stunning to me because all I've been reading over the last year is that it was between Duke and hometown LSU. That's a huge steal for John Thompson and the Hoyas even if it may be for only one year. Now, where does Duke go here? They received a commitment from the Ckyz but the only other guy on their radar is Eliot Williams, who is a shooting guard. So, the idea that Duke will play small ball for this year only could be a stretch. Duke has now lost out on Patterson and Monroe and couple that with losing Boateng and Boykin to transfer and you have a team where your best low post player is 6'3'' Demarcus Nelson. Ouch! I will reserve my judgment for now since I need to see how Thomas and Zoubek develop this year but I have to admit, I am worried about Duke in the post this year and at least, next year...
Blue/White Scrimmage on Saturday - can't wait, BRB is back and is geared up for another season. Let's hope this year goes better than the inaugural season last year...
Again, although I am excited about this year, what may be lost in translation is that Duke lost out on their biggest target for next year, Greg Monroe. He chose to attend G'Town last week, which was stunning to me because all I've been reading over the last year is that it was between Duke and hometown LSU. That's a huge steal for John Thompson and the Hoyas even if it may be for only one year. Now, where does Duke go here? They received a commitment from the Ckyz but the only other guy on their radar is Eliot Williams, who is a shooting guard. So, the idea that Duke will play small ball for this year only could be a stretch. Duke has now lost out on Patterson and Monroe and couple that with losing Boateng and Boykin to transfer and you have a team where your best low post player is 6'3'' Demarcus Nelson. Ouch! I will reserve my judgment for now since I need to see how Thomas and Zoubek develop this year but I have to admit, I am worried about Duke in the post this year and at least, next year...
Blue/White Scrimmage on Saturday - can't wait, BRB is back and is geared up for another season. Let's hope this year goes better than the inaugural season last year...
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