UNC and Duke

[gcdevil22]

he will be one of the premier players in the nation in the coming years...right now i just think it'd be too easy to gameplan for him/UNC

now as for next year and the year after if they stay...with him and wright on the blocks...look out

[1inStripes]

That is definitely going to be a tough twosome to defend, and score against on the blocks.

[gcdevil22]

i think Duke and UNC switch places next year

[CoeburnCane]

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i think Duke and UNC switch places next year

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I'll agree w/that--because even though they've got 3 really good freshmen coming in to go with what they've got coming back, they'll miss JJ & Williams.

Let's take a look...shall we?

Returning:
SG/SF Demarcus Nelson
SF/PF David McClure
C Eric Boateng
SF/PF Jamal Boykin
PG Greg Paulus
SG Martynas Pocius
PF/C Josh McRoberts

Incoming Freshmen:
PG/SG Jon Scheyer (4-star out of Illinois, averaging 35pts a game)
SG/SF Gerald Henderson (5 star out of Pennsylvania, averaging 18pts a game)
C Brian Zoubek (4-star out of NJ--7'1, averaging 21pts a game)

It's also possible that we get Lance Thomas (6'9, 200...averaging 17 a game). He's down to a final two, Duke & Rutgers. He's a NJ boy, so that's not as big of a no-brainer as it seems. If Duke gets him to go with the remainder of this class, and all of the returning guys work hard and get better, then Duke may not be #1, but I think they'll be top 10 for sure. Don't cry for them too bad. Note also that if Duke does win the title this season that McRoberts will probably look to turn pro. If they don't, then he would probably stay at Duke for 3 years. He's already given a 99.9% chance that he's coming back next year anyways...and I think that .01% is if they win the title.

The keys for next year are improvement, becoming more mature, and learning to play better team defense. If they can do that, then the talent's there. Starting lineup for next year (my projection):

PG Paulus
SG Pocius
SF Demarcus
PF McRoberts
C Boateng

First off the bench will be McClure, Boykin, & Henderson (Lance Thomas gets some burn too if he comes to play @Duke). Scheyer & Zoubek will probably be given more time to grow into the system. There is the possibility that if Boateng doesn't get much better, that they'll start McClure at the 4 and push McRoberts to the 5. I also wouldn't be suprised to see Boykin turn into the type of role player that Battier was for Duke while he was here...the coaching staff loves his style of play. There's another possibility that Scheyer or Henderson may come in and unseat Pocius from the 2-guard slot in the starting lineup, but Pocius will play.

[Dukefan3]

I definetly see Henderson or Scheyer startin in front of Pocius.
One big thing that Duke has to do is mature as a team becuase i thought that Paulus and McRoberts would have matured more than what they have by now. I know they are freshmen but when they arent averaging more than 10 or 12 ppg together when they both start and play almost the whole game, they need to step up. I am glad to see Nelson and Melchionni stepping up especially when JJ isnt on, but nothing can really replace the absent of JJ's points.