is worthy of a number 7 seed as of 12/10/06. What are your thoughts on their current team.
PS. I know there are going to be haters responding.
2006-12-11 04:54:47 · 7 answers · asked by Dz Nutz 3 in Sports ➔ Basketball
They certainly are a top 10 team...probably between 6-10. They don't have as much talent as the last year's Dukies, or even a few year previous to that, but they still are coached well and play very fundamental basketball. They have average double digit wins and lost came to a rated team (Marquette), but they also beat a rated team (Georgetown). But, if you look down the rankings, no team you really can say is better than Duke. The only team you can say is better is Gonzaga becasue they beat North Carolina and Washington, but we will find out next week when they play. Someone could argue Kansas because they beat Florida who was #1 at the time, but Florida is ranked lower than North Carolina so you can say Gonzaga is still better.
So like I said earlier, between 6-10 is where they should be considering the other teams below them.
2006-12-11 05:21:13 · answer #1 · answered by Big Daddy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've been a Duke fan since the 84-85 season so I've seen quite a few different kinds of Duke teams over the years.
First off I think you mean are they worthy of being "ranked" #7 instead of "seeded" #7. Seeding is used in the NCAA tourny. If Duke pulls a 7 seed in this years tournament then they've probably had a disappointing year.
Is Duke worhty of being ranked in the top 10 at this point in the season? Not yet. They certainly have potential to be a very good team come March but they have some major issues right now.
Josh McRoberts is not the taking the offensive lead like many hoped he would. This is a guy who was rated higher than Tylor Hansbrough coming out of high school and should be averaging at least 15 points a game this year. He's around 10 right now and hasn't shown the ability to take over a game and make big shots. He has proven to be a great passer and ball handler wihich is quite impressive for a 6'11" guy but he'll have to start scoring with regularity for this Duke team to be great.
Greg Paulus just isn't a good as everyone thought he could be. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad player at all and he hit some big shots this season but he's a step slow on defense and will get abused by guards that are quicker than he is. His decision making is still questionable at times and he goes for the "big play" too often with less than stellar results.
DeMarcus Nelson is currently the go to scorer on this team. That's a problem. Again, I love Nelson's game but he's a slasher and a scorer who is only about 6'4" and too often he drives into the lane against big men he can't shoot over. He needs to improve his mid-range game and keep up the great defensive energy he has shown this season. If McRoberts gets it going in terms of scoring then Nelson's game will benefit greatly from the double teams Josh will command.
The freshman have been up and down. Scheyer looks like the best of the bunch so far and I love that he can play some point to give Paulus a break from time to time. Lance Thomas will be a force as he gets more experience and Brian Zoubek is the most polished freshman center in the ACC. He needs to get more minutes against teams that can't defend his size.
And then there's Gerald Henderson. Son of the former NBA'er Gerald Hernderson who came to Duke with all kinds of hype. He's been called the next "Grant Hill" by many but at this point he's just not there. He has shown a flash here or there but nothing like what was expected of him. Look at Wayne Ellington over at UNC. They were considered similar players in college and Henderson was even said to be more "NBA" ready. Yet Ellington has already adapted his game to the college level while Henderson is still struggling to find his groove.
Ok, I know that was crazy long but to sum it all up I'd say Duke is a top 20 team right now. If McRoberts can take his game to the next level then they'll be a top 10 team. If Paulus can minimize mistakes and get good help on defense that would be a huge plus.
Duke has lots of question marks right now. Best case scenario is they contend for a national championship. Worst case scenario is the 94-95 season all over again. In the end I think they'll finish in the top 20 and get knocked out in the round of 16. But watch out for next year.......they'll be VERY good if everyone returns combined with the best recruiting class in the nation.
2006-12-11 06:47:24 · answer #2 · answered by ecu_rich 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question, I believe they deserve a #7 seed do to the fact that they are Duke, their history, and the most important reason, they are coached but one of the best to ever grace the college basketball scene. Having coach K on your side neutralizes some of the fact that the team is so young. However I do believe they will struggle in many games this year due to the inexperience (for example Holy Cross) but I believe until they do something to loose the #7 showing they should remain there!
2006-12-11 05:21:27 · answer #3 · answered by BUCKSFAN 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
duke always has a good team but i dont really think that they have proven anything yet. so the number 7 ranking may be a bit too high. its really too early in the season to know how good a team is going to be. ask this question again in february and you'll get a better answer.
2006-12-11 05:45:11 · answer #4 · answered by relee03 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. I'm a duke fan. My duke fan side says #1. And my realistic side says #15. A top 10 team is good fo most programs but this is below par for duke.
2006-12-11 07:27:52 · answer #5 · answered by wchseagles4 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think duke should be at least a 3 seed. there team right now has a good shot at makeing it to the final four
2006-12-11 05:23:10 · answer #6 · answered by jetimach 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DUKE IS OVERRATED.
2006-12-12 03:20:41 · answer #7 · answered by smitty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋