2006-07 Season Recap

It's very weird and unusual for me to be recapping the Duke season with so much of the college basketball season yet to be decided but let's face it, it was a weird and unusual season. Duke finished the season 22-11, which is a big-time year for most programs but it was considered a "down" year by Duke standards. Face it, Duke is the Yankees of college basketball and with the glory of all their success comes hating and rejoicing in their misery.

Even during last season, I was telling anyone who would listen that Duke would struggle this year. I figured they would lose 8-10 games this year, make the NCAA Tournament, and win a few games in the tournament before bowing out. The season actually went pretty much according to plan but yet, I still feel disappointed by an outcome that seemed more inevitable than it was surprising.

From watching various high school all-star games, including the Jordan Classic that I saw in person at MSG, I actually felt like Gerald Henderson and Brian Zoubek would be instant stars and fit right into the Duke system. Seeing Jon Sheyer up close, I figured he'd be a nice little player off the bench that could give them offense. From all the hype, I was giddy when I heard Lance Thomas was coming to Durham.

Ironically, the only real impact freshman throughout the entire season was Jon Sheyer. Maybe, it was because the Paulus injury made him play the point but he had much more of an impact than I thought he would this year. At times, he carried Duke with his hot shooting and heady play and at times, he struggled the find his shot and really shot them out of games. I think his small, unimposing body really wore down at the end of the year and that hurt the Blue Devils immensely.

Gerald Henderson had a very up and down year. I felt that he would be the go-to perimeter guy from day one but injuries halted his progress and it really took him a few months to start asserting himself into the system. At times, especially against North Carolina, he looked amazing and at times, he deferred way too much to his teammates. Unfortunately, his entire year has a black mark on it because of the whole Hansbrough incident.

Lance Thomas had a very disappointing first season in Durham. He began the season starting at the PF position and he really looked tremendous early on. Then, came a string of bad practices, a benching in front of his friends and family, and he never really recovered after that. Throughout the season, there were rumors that he would leave Duke at the end of the season because he was unhappy. He swore otherwise but I'm not so sure I believe him. People close to the program say he was one of the vocal leaders for this team but he play on the court never lived up to the hype.

Brian Zoubek was clearly the most disappointing of the four freshmen this season. After hearing about him throughout last season and seeing him dominate early on, it was shocking to see what little impact Zoubek had this season. He struggled adapting to the man-to-man defense, he struggled with traveling calls, and he struggled with confidence. Many games he didn't play more than 5 minutes because teams in the ACC had more athletic centers that could run up and down the court. He didn't even play against VCU because of their quickness and athleticism.

As for the returning players, they all had up and down years. Greg Paulus came into Duke tauted as one of the purest point guards to come into Durham since Bobby Hurley. Ironically, his point guard skills have been shaky at best but his shooting over the course of the season was incredible. If they can use Nolan Smith as the PG next year, I think Paulus would be better suited as an off guard. Paulus really showed me some grit and toughness this season. He was being absolutely mauled by the national media, including Duke fans, saying that he was no good and rightfully so. He had a two game stretch that was borderline putrid against VA Tech and Georgia Tech. Then, he started looking for his shot, which really helped the rest of his game. His turnovers were still very high but he was unquestionaly the leader of this team and he always tried to hold this team together even when times were really hard. I love how he didn't back down to Toney Douglas or Eric Maynor, he will be an excellent upper classmen for Duke the next two years. He does need to work on his defense though.

Josh McRoberts had a disappointing season from the point of view of points production but he was Mr. Versatile for them all season. At times, he seemed like he wasn't on Planet Earth and he does get on his teammates a little too much when times get hard but this team would've been NIT bound without him. People killed his lack of assertiveness and his inability to finish around the basket but overall, he filled Shelden Williams shoes pretty adequately considering the circumstances. I would love to see Josh stick around another season but those close to the program say he has already made up his mind to jump to the NBA. From what you hear, this year actually hurt his stock and with quite possibly the deepest draft of all time taking place this year, he would be wise to stay one more year. If he comes back, works on his shot and his ability to finish around the basket, and works on some post moves, he will lead Duke to great things next season and then he can bounce to the NBA as a lottery pick. Stay one more year Josh.

DeMarcus Nelson stayed healthy this season for the first time since he has been at Duke and at times, he was the best player and athlete on the floor and at times, he was a disaster. His problem is that he doesn't handle the ball well for a guy his size and he wants to play down low, which he can't do because he is so short. He is built like a man but treated like a red-headed stepchild down low in the paint. He was Duke's leading scorer this year and that may have been the problem. He is not a number one option on a big-time program. He is at best a 3rd option who is a defensive stopper.

Marty Pocius really puzzles me. Last season, he showed great offensive potential against Drexel and Memphis when DeMarcus went down and then he was never heard from. After rumors swirled that he would transfer and follow his buddy Eric Boateng, he came back and received virtually no playing time again this year. At the end of the year, he gave the Devils a huge lift and showed he could provide instant offense. To me, he was much too valuable an offensive weaon on a team that was putrid on offense to sit on the bench and collect dust. With Singler, Smith, and King coming in next season, the smart move for Marty is to bounce to another program. If he stays, K has to get this guy some PT.

David McClure was a very nice compliment to this team. I was uncertain with how he would play this season after missing all of last season because of two knee surgeries. At times, he did everything this team needed to win. He hit the winning shot against Clemson and played great defense all year. His lack of offense down the stretch really hurt Duke. At times, he would pass up open jump shots and it was like playing 4 v. 5. It also looked like he wore down at the end of the year. He will be a solid contributor next season.

Duke was ranked as high as 5 this season and as low as 26. They will inevitably finish much lower than that with their early exit in the NCAA Tournament. Duke gutted out a number of close games but let's face it, whenever they played a team with athletic backcourts, they struggled immensely. Nolan Smith should help them with that next season. Duke was the ultimate stock exchange team this season, very up and down. They won in spurts and they uncharacteristically lost in spurts. After they started the season 4-1 ending with a loss to Marquette, they then won 9 straight games only lose their first two in ACC play. They then came back to win 5 straight ending with an impressive home victory against BC, who led the conference at the time. Then, the season basically crumbled in front of our eyes with 4 straight losses, including losses at the buzzer against Virginia and Florida State. After talk that they would miss the tournament for the first time since 1995, the K-less year, they responded by winning four straight games ending with an absolute demoliion of St. John's at MSG in front of yours truly. That game was on February 25th. Little did we know that Duke wouldn't win another game for the rest of the year. Duke then proceeded to close the season on yet another four game losing streak, which included a tough loss to Maryland, a loss at UNC which was much more crippling than just an L in the loss column because Gerald Henderson was suspended and now has a bad reputation that will follow him for the rest of his career, a OT loss to ACC Tourney darling NC State who almost shocked the world and obviously a heartbreaking loss to a very underrated VCU team at the buzzer.

The year ended in heartbreaking fashion. Although they made you want to pull out your hair at times, I loved watching this team grow and learn over the course of the year. Hopefully, there will be no defections from this team and they will bring back everyone including Patrick Patterson. However, if that's the case, Duke would have 13 legitimate players on their team and we know K doesn't deal with depth very well. My prediction is that Patrick Patterson will come to Duke next season after he hears that McRoberts has defected for the NBA. Then, I see either Lance Thomas or Brian Zoubek, not both, considering a transfer because they feel like they will never play. I also see Marty Pocius leaving this team because of a log jam at the guard position. That would leave the following starting lineup I would love to see next season:

G: Nolan Smith
G: Greg Paulus
G: Gerald Henderson
F: Kyle Singler
F: Patrick Patterson

Bench:
Sheyer: backup point guard, shooting guard, give them shooting off the bench
Nelson: defensive stopper, takes a seat because Henderson is the better offensive threat
King: comes in as a pure shooter, will need to learn how to play defense
McClure: strictly for defensive intensity, until he learns an offensive game, he will be a bench player
Thomas/Zoubek: Whoever hangs around, will backup Patterson and when K wants two bigs, will play if they improve offensively

See you next season! I will continue to cover the NCAA Tournament and post about any relevant Duke news during the offseason. Go Devils!