Who are the main men? DeMarcus Nelson seems like he will be entering his 10th season at Duke, because the senior has been leaned on quite heavily during his Blue Devil career. He, along with Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer will be counted on to pick up the slack that Josh McRoberts left behind. There is also a trio of outstanding freshmen in the mix now: sweet shooting Taylor King, defensive stopper Nolan Smith, and all-everything Kyle Singler.
What are the team's strengths? Even in a season that saw Duke struggle, they were one of the best defensive teams in the league. That should stay mostly the same, despite losing the interior defensive presence of McRoberts. The shooting percentages should go up with King and Singler around.
When will we see them struggle? Duke turned the ball over entirely too much last year, which killed them. They also employ the 'donut offense' where they will gun it from the outside and get little production on the inside. If the shots ain't fallin' - they could be in trouble. Seriously, there is no one inside. Brian Zoubek, the only true big man on the roster, hurt his foot during the offseason.
Why should anyone care? Everyone seemed to care when Duke had their "down season" [more on that below]. Enjoy it, because Duke is back to contend. No, they aren't National Championship contenders yet ... but they have the chops to win the ACC if they young guys move along quickly.
How stable is the program? When you go 22-11 and everyone is laughing about how far your program has fallen ... things aren't too bad. Coach K hasn't had the kind of upperclass leadership he's been used to ... and it has really hurt him. The fact that they landed such a great freshman class means that the youngsters don't see a problem in Durham.
Where will they finish in the ACC? Duke will be back near the top again, and could contend for an ACC title. In a watered down ACC, Duke didn't lose much and gained way more ... which goes against the rest of the conference.
Name you didn't know, but will: David McClure is a Dookie in a good way: he hustles for everything and is one of those guys that does a lot of the dirty work for Duke. The Devils are mainly shooters, but this guy is the one who sets the screens to get them open, dives for loose balls and works hard on the boards.
ACC Hoops Preview: #3-Duke
Oct 31, 2007 – 11:00 AM
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