After seeing Kyrie Irving, the Plumlees (Marshall included), Dawkins, Curry, and Kelly I was compelled to start this thread.

Holy buckets Kyrie Irving is legit. That kid can fill it up. He is Chris Paul reincarnate. He can finish at the rim better than Paull could but his handle isn't to the level Paul's was. It is dang close though. I think he is a more pure scorer than Jason Williams, if that says anything. I am excited to see what this team will look like with him running the show.

Irving will make every player on the floor better, which is saying something given how good Nolan Smith makes everyone look. I don't know how Coach K is going to piece this group together. They must be incredibly unselfish for it to work. Given the players he has brought in I think that he has a group of kids who fit that bill.

My only worry is Ryan Kelly. His game has come along so much and he can score from anywhere on the floor. Sadly I don't know what he is going to do for the club. He probably shouldn't be taking 20 foot jumpers in the flow of a game, nor should he be getting back to the basket touches. He is a great player, but I wonder how he fits into the Duke system. Will be interesting to watch. He will probably rotate in with a Plumlee and will be used more in an open post type game so he can drag defenders out and utilize his outside game and ball handling.

Duke will be 9 deep at least. It makes no sense to project starters because there are so many options it is scary. If I filled one out from what I thought it looked like Seth Curry wouldn't start, as sad as that sounds. There is no way he won't get plenty of touches and won't be in the top 3 Duke scorers. Dawkins will have to find a way into rotation as will Josh Hariston. He could be a Lance Thomas type defender down the road, he will likely be serving that role as a freshman.

Lastly, Miles Plumlee is a beast at this point. Many weights have been lifted since April. No doubt as season comes around he will lose some of this bulk. But at the Pro Am there isn't a player on the floor who can physically move him. He is a monster down low. Still needs work finishing from 4-6 feet out, but I sense that with the improved guard play he will get lots of easy buckets in transition and will grab quite a few rebounds. I think if we had this Miles Plumlee last April, Ekepe Udoh from Baylor wouldn't have had nearly the game he did.

Side note, Carrick Felix who was scheduled to go to Duke. After Singler's return he backed out. Guess who was there to pick up Coach Ks scraps again? HERB! Felix went to ASU

Should be a fun year...depth...now that is something that we haven't seen from Duke in a while.

So excited for the coming year of Duke basketball The only thing that concerns me is the usual: Will K shorten the bench down to 8 as the year goes on? I see Kelly and Dre Dawkins having problems getting into the rotation, and wouldn't be surprised if one of them transfers. Unselfishness shouldn't be much of a problem, never really seems to be under K. Saw we signed Marshall a couple weeks ago, three Plumlees for one year Mason and Miles will have to step it up to make up for the loss of Thomas and Z.

just a guess as to the line up
1. pg KI
2. sg Nolan
3. sf Kyle
4. pf plum 2
5 c plum 1

Bench
1st off curry
2nd between Kelly and dre
4th hairston
5th thonrton

could see 4 and 5 not getting off the bench if/when K cuts short the rotation

I have a similar lineup in mind captvern, but I don't think there is any way that Curry doesn't start. Every player asked and even Coach K say that Seth is a floor leader and excellent game manager. I could see Kyrie platooning and learning to play along side Curry, but when it comes down to it the kid will probably start for this club because of his control and believed success in creating opportunities but not turning the ball over.

Because of his ability to solidly play both the 2 and 3, I think Andre will see plenty of action. Of course, much of that playing time will be split with backcourt mate Seth Curry, who, despite great, great talent, might be a back-up, at least early on. There is no way Irving doesn't start, and Nolan will be at the two. That leaves Miles Plumlee and Kyle Singler (Miles at the 5 and Kyle the 3, respectively) as for-sure starters and most likely Mason at the 4, with Seth and Andre battling for sixth man minutes. But, really, with the type of talent the Blue Devils have returning, there will be no traditional sixth man. K has so many options that a traditional starting lineup may not be in order. Different match-ups could call for different line-ups this season more than usual.

Also, if this is any indicator of the type of talent we are talking about here, Dawkins has been lighting the summer pro-am leagues, netting 35 the other night. There's a ton of hype surrounding the kid right now, and many close to the program are painting it true. Duke fans can only hope. We've already seen the flashes of brilliance, namely the two monster 25-footers Dre hit to stem Baylor's game-turning charge late in the first half of the South Regional finals.

I agree with swami that the Ryan Kelly situation is going to be the most telling. Where does he fit in with so much talent in the 3 and 4 positions? Hopefully, somewhere, because I'd hate to see anyone from this core leave Durham. We are going to be challenging for championships for the next two to three years with the group K, who according to some evidently lost his touch for recruiting years ago, has put in place.

The times, they are a changin'.

The times, they are a changin'.

Let's clarify a couple of things before you start pontificating.

First of all , k changed to match the times. He pursued and lost a "One and Done" player in John Wall and he pursued and signed a probable 'One and Done" player in Irving. He also recruited a JC kid, which further proves he has changed his recruiting philosophy to match the times.

Secondly, those that questioned k's recruiting were members of the duke posse and laid the blame on his involvement with Team USA.
I and others realized that his involvement with Team USA was never of recruiting problem, in fact it was and is a recruiting plus..

Prescott;432147 wrote:
First of all , k changed to match the times. He pursued and lost a "One and Done" player in John Wall and he pursued and signed a probable 'One and Done" player in Irving. He also recruited a JC kid, which further proves he has changed his recruiting philosophy to match the times.

..

This is the number 1 indicator why college basketball has been ruined....I said several years ago that if K didn't change Duke would be competitive but elite only 4-5 years....Im afraid this was accurate. The recruiting battle isn't to get a bunch of one and dones ala "Ive never won and only left ruin" Calipari...the true recruiting has become convincing these "one and dones" to stay possibly two or three years. The real coaching job...and Roy Williams did a good job of this with TH and that class....is making these kids believe they can prosper with another year in college..

Its way too early to speculate Kyrie Irving as being a one and done player. He may be this type of player, but it would be premature to suggest he would only be in Durham for one year.

As for John Wall, there was never anything to make certain he was a one and done player when Coach K was recruiting him. For all we know K would have floated a three year plan for Wall. You can speculate all you want now and say it was a given, but in the recruiting game there is no certainty until all is said and done.

All we know about Wall and Duke and Carolina is that his association with Brian Clifton (former Agent, one who got him into Word of God in Raleigh) and Wall's suspicion in a vandalism and trespassing case (which he ultimately did community service for) made him untouchable for Coach K and Roy Williams.

This is the number 1 indicator why college basketball has been ruined....

No doubt!!!

.Im afraid this was accurate.

Don't be afraid , it is OK to be accurate once in a while. LOL.

Its way too early to speculate Kyrie Irving as being a one and done player.

Why?? On what future date are we allowed speculate?? There is a reason that Irving is listed on most mock draft boards as a top 10 pick.NBADRAFT.NET has him at #2. Speculation is part of the process.

The same draft boards that had Darko Milicic as a potential #1 pick?

Speculation is definitely part of the process, albeit a broken process. I just wonder what this speculation is based on? There is no indication from Irving on his status after year one.

The same draft boards that had Darko Milicic as a potential #1 pick?

He was a potential #1 pick. In fact, that speculation was almost dead on as Milicik was taken with the 2nd overall pick.

I just wonder what this speculation is based on?

All speculation is based on potential.

ccrunner609 wrote:I think Curry starts. At least he gets the reps in ealry practice to prove himself. K will start both Plumlees but more then likely they will rotate minutes most of the season to keep fouls from adding up.

Who are your others starters? Forgive me if you said this previously.

As for Irving equaling a freshman Dawkins, that's not likely. At all. K has been very vocal about Irving's future role with this team and Duke has re-geared its offense wholly because of Irving's presence. Kyrie Irving will start from day one and he will be a star. He, along with Nolan Smith, will turn the Devils' backcourt into the best we've seen from Durham since Williams and Duhon.

I have a feeling I'm gonna get really sick of Kyrie Irving. Not looking forward to Carolina playing against him.

Like rec said, he's gonna be the PG from Day 1. He and Smith are gonna be unbelievably good, unfortunately.

Defending National Champs 02........in case you forgot


You have your T.O. jersey yet?

I wish I could forget about that. Such a painful memory.

Nah, no T.O. for me. It'll be fun watching him and Ochocinco throw temper tantrums every week though. Maybe I should get a Colt McCoy jersey. One of these days the Browns are gonna be good again. (At least that's what I like to tell myself.)

ccrunner609;434547 wrote:Either way, Coach K will give Curry the first shot at it and I am sure that we know his potential.


Irving freshman year = Dawkins freshman year

Idiot

Prescott;434461 wrote:He was a potential #1 pick. In fact, that speculation was almost dead on as Milicik was taken with the 2nd overall pick.


All speculation is based on potential.

Prescott I think you are missing my point entirely?

What I am saying is that there are so many projections out there based on limited information and barely credible sources that it is driving players out of school and into drafts when they should be developing their game. In the case of KI, some are "projecting", him to be a first rounder. All they are doing is saying, "this kid put up good high school numbers, he is going to Duke, surely he will be a lottery pick." Someone ask Josh McRoberts how that worked out?

How has potential become the new measuring stick and not production? It is crap like this that sends good college players to post-draft workouts hoping to make a roster spot after being turned away because of faulty projections. It is the same behavior that has watered down NBA product, has allowed players like Eddy Curry, DeSegana Diop, Kwame Brown, and countless others to hang on in a league that would be better served by developed college players. Thank god no one got in Steph Curry's ear and encouraged him to go pro after his junior year. He needed his senior campaign to develop a more rounded game. I know his family has advantages that others don't, but the NBA is better off for it.

The whole process of NBA drafting is a joke, it is a hype machine based on handlers words, a few youtube clips, and Kiki V's random trips to Croatia to see some 6"11" 17 year old who "projects out" to be the next KG. I put zero stock in someone claiming Irving is a top 10 pick. It is complete BS to give weight to these people who spew garbage assessments with the hopes of selling another copy of their magazine or a subscription to their blog.

All they are doing is saying, "this kid put up good high school numbers, he is going to Duke, surely he will be a lottery pick." Someone ask Josh McRoberts how that worked out?

High school numbers are irrelevant. Players who are projected to be a top 10 pick before playing one college game have been evaluated by NBA people on the AAU circuit, while playing against the best their age group has to offer. They have displayed the speed, quickness, size, length, vertical,,, etc that makes them a POTENTIAL NBA player.

Do the NBA guys miss on their assessments, sure. That is the nation of the beast. I do not think think they fail because they were not thorough in their evaluation, because their jobs depend on their assessments. They miss on guys who have played more than one year of college ball, like Shelden Williams, Adam Morrison, Sean May....etc, and they miss on players who don't have a college pedigree.It isn't an exact science.

Someone ask Josh McRoberts how that worked out?

I have no idea where Josh McRoberts was projected right out of school. I do know he was a 2nd round pick, which may mean that his time in college damaged his draft prospects and cost him some serious cash.

How has potential become the new measuring stick and not production?

Production in college doesn't always transfer to production in the NBA. The NBA is a different game and requires a different skill set. The list of guys who produced in college and didn't produce in the NBA is a very long list.

The whole process of NBA drafting is a joke, it is a hype machine based on handlers words

Any GM that drafts a player based on some handler or youtube clip isn't going to last in the NBA.

mattinctown,

Since you live in NC now, have you made it to any of the pro-am games at Central? That's probably quite a hike for you, though.

I'd kill to be there tonight.

And iron, you're going to really want to die should we tie you for real championships this coming April

I feel this year is going to be a fun ride between UNC and Duke. Can't wait.

Haven't been there rec, too much going on with work

reclegend22;436299 wrote:And iron, you're going to really want to die should we tie you for real championships this coming April

I feel this year is going to be a fun ride between UNC and Duke. Can't wait.

Yes, if K and Duke get title #5 before Carolina wins another one, I will certainly be finished. For now, though, 5>4.