Oh Boy!

It was clear to me last night watching the Cal/Stanford game that Duke could really use Jamal Boykin. Who? He was one of the guys who didn't play much at Duke and transferred because of a series of family problems coupled with a lack of playing time.

Since joining the Golden Bears mid-season, Boykin has had some really good games and more importantly, is an active body off the bench in the nation's toughest conference. In just 16 games this season, Boykin is the 5th leading scorer on a Cal team that has some studs, mainly Ryan Anderson, Patrick Christopher, and Devon Hardin. Not to mention, he's went for double figure points off the bench in 7 of those 16 games, which is something Duke has severely lacked at their 5-position. Boykin stands the same height as Lance Thomas and with David McClure clearly feeling the effects of his multiple knee injuries, Duke could really use a guy like Boykin to eat up some minutes and even provide an offensive spark, something that Lance Thomas rarely gives you.

The transfers on Jamal Boykin and Eric Boateng were relative footnotes for Duke and its fan base when they happened but with McRoberts bailing for the NBA (or NBDL), Patrick Patterson going to Lexington, and Duke missing out on the Greg Monroe sweepstakes, those transfers seem to a hurt a lot more...